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tt0247586 | Nueve reinas | The film opens at a convenience store early in the morning. Juan, a con artist, successfully scams the cashier, but later makes the mistake of attempting the same scam again on the next shift. Marcos, who has been observing the whole time, steps in pretending to be a police officer and takes Juan away. As soon as they are far enough from the shop, Marcos tells Juan he is not actually a cop but a fellow con man. Juan asks Marcos to show him the ropes, because his father, also a con man, is in jail and he needs to raise money quickly to bribe a judge to reduce his father's sentence from 10 years to 6 months.
Then a rare scheme seemingly falls into their laps: Sandler, a former business associate of Marcos, needs his help to sell counterfeit copies he made of some rare stamps called "The Nine Queens". The potential mark is Gandolfo, a rich Spaniard who is facing deportation and desperate to smuggle his wealth out of the country. He has no time to fully check if the stamps are authentic but he hires an expert to do a quick check and is satisfied. He offers $450,000 for the stamps, the exchange to take place that evening. In the intervening time, a number of things go wrong. The stamp expert demands a cut, as he knew the stamps were in fact forged. The fake stamps are then stolen out of Juan and Marcos' hands by crooks on motorcycles who, unaware of their value, destroy them by tossing them into a river.
To salvage the scheme, Marcos approaches Sandler's widowed sister, the owner of the real stamps, who agrees to sell them for $250,000. Marcos can put up $200,000 and asks Juan to contribute the remaining $50,000. Juan suspects that he is being scammed, as it's a remarkable coincidence that Marcos needs just the amount that Juan has saved up; but as the $50,000 is not enough to help his father, he reluctantly agrees. They buy the real stamps and go to Gandolfo's hotel, but he says he has changed his mind and will now only buy the stamps if he also gets to sleep with Marcos' sister Valeria, a hotel employee. Valeria's price is that Marcos must confess to their younger brother how he cheated him out of an inheritance. Gandolfo pays for the stamps with a certified check, but the bank crashes the next day, making the check worthless.
It appears that Juan and Marcos are both ruined, but the final scene is a surprise ending. Juan goes to a warehouse, where he greets the motorcycle thieves, Sandler and his sister, Gandolfo, and Juan's fiancée Valeria — revealing that the real scam was to swindle Marcos out of $200,000 as revenge for all the times he cheated his family and his partners. | plot twist, intrigue | train | wikipedia | This is a great film, one of the best non-American movie that I've seen.
You can see it 9 times and never get tired of it, it's so well performed and directed that it's just perfect.From the beginning to the end this picture keeps you alert, there are no boring moments, even if you don't speak Spanish the dialogues can be understood, the English subtitles are OK .
In fact, Mr. Mamet can take lessons from Mr. Bielinsky in how he accomplished writing and directing with a very tight budget and still given us a film that looks a lot more expensive than what it really must have cost.Suffice it to say that 9 Queens is a joy to look at.
To tell you the truth, I was a little wary of this movie at the beginning, because the minor scams the characters were pulling off seemed kind of lame, but as the story progressed and the stakes got higher and higher, it became an engaging, clever, well-paced and well-acted heist thriller.
I have never seen a film as relentlessly uncompromising about the allure, power, and banality of the con game as I have seen in the Argentine `Nine Queens.' From the opening sequence where small-time grifter Juan pulls a $20 switch at a convenience store to the final scam that looks like `House of Cards' and `The Sting' welded onto `Hard Eight,' nothing is as it seems and no one can be trusted.
Wonderful little movie about two small time con-men, Marcos & Juan, in Buenos Aires who come upon a scheme involving "The Nine Queens".
All I can say is stay with it until the final credits are rolling up the screen and don't let it's slow pace for the first 45 or so minutes or so make you turn it off the movie more then makes up for it in the end..
Marcos distributes percentages to a network of swindlers to work with him but there are too many con artists in action luring each other."Nueve Reinas" is one of the most entertaining Argentinean film that I have ever seen and the film that introduced the great actor Ricardo Darín to the Brazilian audiences.
I saw this film for the first time many years ago and today I have just seen it again with my family and friends.The story seems to be inspired in "The Sting" (1973) or "The Spanish Prisoner" (1997), with sophisticated entwined schemes where the viewer never knows who is conning whom.
In Nine Queens, however, the atmosphere of deceit is so complete that everyone is either running a scam, or expecting one.This Argentinian film will never be featured to promote tourism in Buenos Aires.
This film is done in the style of David Mamet's Spanish Prisoner or House of Games.I think it is better than either of those films.The plot is carefully crafted, with lots of twists and turns.When you get to the end, you realize that everything that happened up to that point had a significance.There is not a single detail that doesn't make sense (in retrospect).The acting is understated and that makes it even more believable.
Nine Stars for Nine Queens - Another Argentinian Gem. If you ever need a reminder that you can make a class A film on a shoe-string budget, rent Nueve Reinas (Nine Queens), a marvelous, gripping, and often very funny drama about the culture of con-men and those whom they con.
it should have ended after the bank closes...THAT REALLY happened in Argentina (and it was AFTER the movie was released!) everybody's assests in the banks were FROZEN and exchanged for bonds, that value NOTHING.It should have just ended there to clearly show that the government is the biggest con artist, the worst thief of them all!great movie, you can get a feeling (in a fun way) of living in Buenos Aires sometimes...
Very well acted by the main actors as well as the rest of the cast, the plot was superb, seemingly predictable at first, there was a moment when during the film you suddenly realised that you didn't have a clue who was conning who and what exactly was REALLY going on?!Very well written and as some have said here already, the twist is wonderful and surprising, by then I had suspected every possible scenario as the reality but failed to get it right!Recommended watching.
This is a pretty good movie about con artists possibly inspired by David Mamet films like The Spanish Prisoner.
The central idea of the classic con-trick movie, exemplified by 'The Sting' and perfected by David Mamet, is that there's always a bigger con; and the director usually tries conning the audience as well, convincing us we have finally understood what's going while retaining a trick up his sleeve.
In fact, there have been so many such movies that at first 'Nine Queens', Fabien Bielinsky's effort in this genre, feels uncomfortable to watch, as it seems likely we are going to get a fairly standard assembly of trick-upon-trick: more than once it explicitly acknowledges Mamet's 'House of Games'.
The real reason this works, with a plot arguably less intricate than Mamet's finest, is the great performances from the lead actors, Ricardo Darin, and Gaston Pauls; the two mean they play are very different, and Darin's character is logically (although not in fact) unlikeable; together, they give the movie an odd-couple charm, which spreads far enough that, after spending the whole film looking for the final trap, the audience is nonetheless distracted and fails to spot it in advance.
The place for this movie es excellent which better country that Argentina to film this.
But the problem is, people who have seen too many of these 'heist/con' movies might guess each curve ball (including the ending) some time before it comes along, so the effect of the 'aha!' moment is slightly reduced.
The entire movie becomes a game of whack-a-mole, where you see a twist coming up in some time, think you have a grasp of the plot in its entirety, only to notice small signals of another one coming right ahead.
All the characters were really well played (especially Marcos(Ricardo Darin)), which is rare for a movie of this genre.
This is a movie and not real life, and the situations are not reliably portrayed as they would occur in real life, so teach us nothing.However, for the thinkers among you, you can be satisfied in knowing that it's still possible to put together an entertaining, engrossing admirable film without needing big actors, special effects, name-brand scores, hundreds of millions of dollars, the English language, or the United States.
It is unfortunate, then, that the theme is based on deception, and we as viewers have no solid ground to observe the realities of the film until it grinds to it's unexpected but ultimately meaningless end.I would like to see the writing and production team that created this movie deliver a detective story or a comedy, it would certainly be something I would buy and put on my shelf.It gets 7 stars from me.
As an Argentinian living in Spain (and before in the United States for many years), it deeply saddens me to read so many good reviews for "Nine Queens" and at the same time see how profoundly unknown to the rest of the world viewers is the Argentinian Cinema otherwise.It is a real pity, since for several decades that country has been producing an excellent cinema (incredible fact, considering their chronic catastrophic economy!).
Did you know that their total yearly budget for the whole movie industry is equal to the budget of ONE single average North American movie?!I believe that for somebody interested in exploring a bit further about Argentinian films, IMDb could be an excellent start.All the above applies exactly the same for the Brazilian, the Mexican and the Spanish movies (I myself, since living in Spain, am head over heels in love with the Spanish cinema).A few (very few!) Argentinian movies I've seen and loved here in Spain:"El sueño de Valentín" ("Valentin")-2003- Director: Alejandro Agresti...
When considering the quality of the film a viewer definitely would notice the specific camera angles in which the scenes were shot and the non-dialectic sound, and know that Bielinksy put a lot of time and effort into this piece of work.
The con is always aimed at the audience, like a mystery movie with more complexities than simply "whodunit?, the audience needs to be fooled and then there needs to be pay off where all is revealed, this obviously should not be easy to figure out or otherwise the film wouldn't work.
It wouldn't be a proper con film.This brings a problem for writers, as more and more con movies are made and become a distinct style of its own, more and more elaborate and unlikely narrative tricks are needed to hoodwink the audience so in order they will remain guessing the outcome to the end.
Its very interest how the director shows Buenos Aires, not only in a decadent way as much of our films does (which is not a critic to them), and over everything, it´s original comparing to the what we have seen recently.
I think that Argentina cinematography is excellent, for an obvious reason, when you have a low budget to make a movie (with few efforts from the state, not knowing if it will be released in theatres, or will ever see the money invested again) you have to make something different and original to succed.
We can see real people doing the thing that are really done in Argentina...This is not an excelent movie but it shows that we are in the right way...
This film is about 2 guys who are con men, theres always a Teacher and an apprendice,but theres more than meets the eye in a con they get for selling some rare stamps to a mob boss,The movie moves fast and the dialogue is very funny and intelligent.
Caper/revenge movies like "The Sting" and "Ocean's Eleven" usually fill you in on the characters and their roles at the beginning and then you see how the whole scam plays out.
I saw this movie when I was 8 and it made me fall in love with cinema , a great movie full of drama , action and also funny moments ,the acting of Gaston Pauls and Ricardo Darin is excellent as always and you can see that the chemistry between the two starring character is great, the story keeps you on the edge of your sit at all times guessing if Marcos and Juan are going to the able to swindle the fake "nine queens" , and you're gonna loved the unexpected ending.Nine Queens is A timeless masterpiece ,The American version "Criminal" didn't do justice to this masterpiece but it wasn't bad.
"Nine Queens" is a movie in which we watch two con artists try to make a deal with a stamp collector by selling him a sheet of counterfeit rare stamps.
Also in their try to make this deal happen they have to give many things in order to get what they want, so we watch them fight with their selves to succeed this.I really liked this movie because of the plot which I believe it was great and in some moments I could not know what to believe or better who to believe.
About the interpretations of this movie I have to mention the very good interpretation of Ricardo Darín who was for one more time outstanding in his role and the interpretations of Gastón Pauls and Leticia Brédice who were equally good.Lastly I want to say that "Nine Queens" is a really different movie than the other Crime - Thriller movies because it combines very good the plot which is perfectly written with the cast.
Nine Queens is a fantastic film out of Argentina, with a screenplay by Fabián Bielinsky, who also directs.The story concerns two men, Marcos and Juan, both low-level con men, who become partners in order to pull off a once in a lifetime swindle.
The set of characters involved and the complexity of the scams grow crescendo, making it a captivating movie full of twists and turns.
the acting performances are fantastic (with a shocking ending well done), the storyline is well worked out, the music is at it's place, the sounds are promising, ...if you want to see a good foreign movie, don't hesitate to watch this one..
Nine Queens requires double the allotted running time to view, because as soon as it is over you will want to watch it again.Gastón Pauls is the hangdog scam artist Juan, a small-timer with the vestiges of a conscience that can only hamper his career as a grifter.
Well acted, directed and photographed, the basic story is simple but clever and has a great twist at the end that I just didn't see coming (and I don't think I'm easily fooled).We really do need to pay more attention to "foreign language" films.An English language remake, "Criminal", was released in 2004.
It is one of the best films about con artists and swindlers I have seen.It is great to see such good films coming from Argentina, a country with a lot of talent and artistic heritage to draw on.
I hope when the inevitable American re-make comes they get the right tone of more like "Usual Suspects" than "The Sting" though there's plenty of laugh out loud humor amidst "The Heist"-like treacheries.Writer/director Fabian Belinsky makes a terrific debut with a wonderful cast, including crafty Ricardo Darin (though sporting a more annoying haircut than in "Son of the Bride (El Hijo de la Novia)"), innocent-faced Gaston Pauls, and vixen Leticia Bredize.I didn't quite follow all the twists and Milo Minderbinder deals (though I appreciated the tribute to "Charade"), and the re-make will have to Americanize one financial twist unique to Argentina, but that can be easily Wall Street-ized.
At one point one grifter asks the other: "What kind of work do you qualify for by doing this (con games) and perfecting your skills?" Answer: "A ministerial portfolio?" I liked this film a lot and I love Argentina and its people, but the film also reminds you that Argentine society has been on the verge of breaking down for some time.
In contradiction of a poor movie which wants to run like a rich one (it's the same outline in the film : there's no rich men, all is fake), the 3 characters appears completely different from the beginning to the end and that's make a really "rich" film.
A wonderful film that must rank with all the great Con/Sting depictions in Cinema History.There is also the powerful subtext showing some of the economic problems that were to engulf the country in 2002.The storyline will keep you so engrossed that when the end comes.........WOW !!
A fitting irony considering this is a film about con-artists.It has a nice line in sardonic humour, especially the older con-artist Marcos (Darin)and the running gag with several villains complaining about 'crooks' etc.The double twist at the end perhaps doesn't take your breath away like 'the Usual Suspects' (Spacey's Oscar winning performance), but this is a cunning, interesting film (and much more intriguing than Mamet's 'Spanish Prisoner')..
Everything works fine in this movie: the direction, the timing, the end.
It reminds me to my all-time favorite argentine movie "Esperando la Carroza" in the way local color is used to make the picture believable and familiar to us, even if they are such different films.
They are hearless, evil-looking Marcos (Ricardo Darin) and gorgeous, baby-faced Juan (Gaston Pauls).Well done but slow moving...that's never a good idea in a movie where everybody is double-crossing everybody else.
You have to see it for yourself , nostalgia aside.I dare anyone to call a con movie from Hollywood, that is better than this.Even those that we have come to call Classics.I highly recommend this movie to anyone that loves twists surprises and plot plays that would have you thinking , what on earth just happened..
"Nueve reinas" has all of these elements in it, making this a great movie to watch!
Saying that it's often being clever does not mean that it's also totally going overboard with anything and the story becomes too hard or complex to follow.It has some solid characters in it as well and the movie gets mostly carried by its two main leads, played by Ricardo Darín and Gastón Pauls.
Nine Queens was undoubtedly one of the best thrillers i have seen in recent years.It has all the ingredients for a good movie.It has Good story,neat screenplay and excellent acting.I don't want to write even a single bit of a story in my review because its worth watching it,even without reading the plot.It is such a lovely movie where 2 hrs of your time will pass just like that.I didn't even get bored for a single moment.Hats off to the director Fabien Bielinsky for writing this wonderful script and executing it with panache.As far as acting is concerned, Ricardo Darin was excellent and Gausto Pauls was simply superb.The other artists also performed their roles well.Camera-work and background score was nice.So what are you waiting for go ahead and watch this movie..
The film pairs together two con artists who try to score one big take by selling a sheet of rare stamps, The Nine Queens.
...for those people that would miss this movie because it is with subtitles.This is an excellent, entertaining movie that if had been made by Hollywood it would have become a blockbuster for the only reason that it would be spoken in English...Well acted, including in its cast some of the best Argentinian actors; Darin is superb in his portray of a disgusting character that goes in the world betraying even his younger brother and asking his sister to go to bed with somebody she doesn't know when money is the issue. |
tt0120866 | Titus | A boy eating lunch in a 1950s-style kitchen plays war with his surrounding toys. A bomb blast outside the window frightens him under the table from where he is rescued and taken to an Amphitheatre, where an invisible audience cheers. An army resembling the Terracotta Army enters; Romans under the command of Titus Andronicus, the general at the center of the play, return victorious from war. They bring back as spoils Tamora, Queen of the Goths, her sons, and Aaron the Moor. Titus sacrifices Tamora's eldest son, Alarbus, so the spirits of his 21 dead sons might be appeased. Tamora eloquently begs for the life of Alarbus, but Titus refuses her plea.
Caesar, the Emperor of Rome, dies. His sons Saturninus and Bassianus squabble over who will succeed him. The Tribune of the People, Marcus Andronicus, announces the people's choice for new emperor is his brother, Titus. He refuses the throne and hands it to the late emperor's eldest son Saturninus, much to the latter's delight. The new emperor states he will take Lavinia, Titus' daughter, as his bride to honor and elevate the family. She is already betrothed to Saturninus' brother, Bassianus, who steals her away. Titus's surviving sons aid in the couple's run for the Pantheon, where they are to marry. Titus, angry with his sons because in his eyes they're being disloyal to Rome, kills his son Mutius as he defends the escape. The new emperor, Saturninus, dishonors Titus and marries Tamora instead. Tamora persuades the Emperor to feign forgiveness to Bassianus, Titus and his family and postpone punishment to a later day, thereby revealing her intention to avenge herself on all the Andronici.
During a hunting party the next day, Tamora's lover, Aaron the Moor, meets Tamora's sons Chiron and Demetrius. The two argue over which should take sexual advantage of the newly-wed Lavinia. Aaron easily persuades them to ambush Bassianus and kill him in the presence of Tamora and Lavinia, in order to have their way with her. Lavinia begs Tamora to stop her sons, but Tamora refuses. Chiron and Demetrius throw Bassianus's body in a pit, as Aaron directed them, then take Lavinia away and rape her. To keep her from revealing what she saw and endured, they cut out her tongue as well as her hands, replacing them with tree branches. When Marcus discovers her, he begs her to reveal the identity of her assailants; Lavinia leans towards the camera and opens her bloodied mouth in a silent scream.
Aaron brings Titus' sons Martius and Quintus and frames them for the murder of Bassianus with a forged letter outlining their plan to kill him. Angry, the Emperor arrests them. Later on, Marcus takes Lavinia to her father, who's overcome with grief. He and his remaining son Lucius begged for the lives of Martius and Quintus, but the two are found guilty and are marched off to execution. Aaron enters, and tells Titus, Lucius, and Marcus the emperor will spare the prisoners if one of the three sacrifices a hand. Each demands the right to do so. Titus has Aaron cut off his (Titus's) left hand and take it to the emperor. Aaron's story is revealed to have been false, as a messenger brings Titus the heads of his sons and his own severed hand. In Renaissance semiotics, the hand is a representation of political and personal agency. With his hand chopped off, Titus has truly lost power. Desperate for revenge, Titus orders Lucius to flee Rome and raise an army among their former enemy, the Goths.
Titus's grandson (Lucius's son and the boy from the opening), who helped Titus read to Lavinia, complains she will not leave his books alone. In the book, she indicates to Titus and Marcus the story of Philomela, in which a similarly mute victim "wrote" the name of her wrongdoer. Marcus gives her a stick to hold with her mouth and stumps. She writes the names of her attackers on the ground. Titus vows revenge. Feigning madness, he ties written prayers for justice to arrows and commands his kinsmen to aim them at the sky so they may reach the gods. Understanding the method in Titus's "madness", Marcus directs the arrows to land inside the palace of Saturninus, who is enraged by this added to the fact Lucius is at the gates of Rome with an army of Goths.
Tamora delivers a mixed-race child, fathered by Aaron. To hide his affair from the Emperor, Aaron kills the nurse and flees with the baby. Lucius, marching on Rome with an army of Goths, captures Aaron and threatens to hang the infant. To save the baby, Aaron reveals the entire plot to Lucius, relishing every murder, rape and dismemberment.
Tamora, convinced of Titus's madness, approaches him along with her two sons, dressed as the spirits of Revenge, Murder, and Rape. She tells Titus she (as a supernatural spirit) will grant him revenge if he will convince Lucius to stop attacking Rome. Titus agrees, sending Marcus to invite Lucius to a feast. "Revenge" offers to invite the Emperor and Tamora and is about to leave, but Titus insists "Rape" and "Murder" stay with him. She agrees. When she leaves, Titus's servants bind Chiron and Demetrius. Titus cuts their throats, while Lavinia holds a basin in her stumps to catch their blood. He plans to cook them into a pie for their mother.
The next day, during the feast at his house, Lavinia enters the dining room. Titus asks Saturninus whether a father should kill his daughter if she is raped. When the Emperor agrees, Titus snaps Lavinia's neck, to the horror of the dinner guests, and tells Saturninus what Tamora's sons did. When Saturninus demands Chiron and Demetrius be brought before him, Titus reveals they were in the pie Tamora enjoyed, and kills Tamora. Saturninus kills Titus after which Lucius kills Saturninus to avenge his father's death.
Back in the Roman Arena, Lucius tells his family's story to the people and is proclaimed Emperor. He orders his father Titus and sister Lavinia to be buried in the family monuments, Saturninus be given a proper burial, Tamora's body to be thrown to the wild beasts, and Aaron be buried chest-deep and left to die of thirst and starvation. Aaron is unrepentant to the end. Young Lucius picks up Aaron's child and carries him away into the sunrise. | murder, cult, psychedelic, tragedy, revenge, sci-fi | train | wikipedia | Now comes `Titus,' a film based on one of Shakespeare's earliest, bloodiest and least well known plays, `Titus Andronicus,' and, in many ways, this film is the most bizarrely conceived of the four, since it creates a world in which - amidst the architectural splendors of ancient columned buildings - Roman warriors, dressed in traditional armor and wielding unsheathed swords, battle for power in a land disconcertingly filled with motorcycles and automobiles, pool tables and Pepsi cans, punk hair cuts and telephone poles, video games and loud speakers.
Plus, in all honesty, Shakespeare's plays are themselves riddled with so many examples of historical anachronisms that the `crime' of modernization seems a piddling one at best.Those unfamiliar with `Titus Andronicus' may well be caught off guard by the ferocious intensity of this Shakespearean work.
Thus, even though we can never take our eyes off the screen, this is often a very difficult film to watch.`Titus' is filled with elements of character, plot and theme that Shakespeare would enlarge upon in later works.
At times, the surrealist imagery mirrors Fellini at his most flamboyant.The fact that this is one of Shakespeare's earliest works is evident in the undisciplined plotting and the emphasis on sensationalism at the expense of the powerful themes that would be developed more fully in those later plays with which we are all familiar.
`Titus' may definitely not be for the faint of heart or the weak of stomach, but the purely modern way in which the original play is presented in this particular film version surely underlines the timelessness that is Shakespeare..
And yet, Julie Taymor, renowned for her fantastical vision of The Lion King on Broadway, chose this, possibly Shakespeare's most problematic play, to be her introduction to film.This adaptation is wonderful.
Titus is a good character too, and Anthony Hopkins acts him well enough.It would be easy for a Shakespeare purist to say "eww, what was that," but I would call this retelling a gem.
Seeing Titus leaves one exhausted and exhilarated, believing one has seen true, gifted, timeless film making.Titus is one of Shakespeare's little-known, earlier works, and it is a violent, disturbing tragedy.
Taken from the Shakespeare play 'Titus Andronicus', A very dark humored and brutal work originally, Julie Taymor isolates and drives upon the very force that brought William Shakespeare to his immortal success: Shock your audience.A Roman General(Titus) after loosing many of his sons as soldiers in battle returns to a war-hungry Rome days after the death of Julius Ceasar.
Julie Taymor having not missed a beat with the visuals, which are terrible and powerful at times, only seek to punctuate tragedy, much unlike its 1999 counterpart 'Titus Andronicus' which focused more on hate and revenge making for very unreasonable 1 dimensional characters.My advice: Watch this movie more than once.
The original tragedy, one of Shakespeare's lesser known, plays like a 90's slasher film, with enough blood, guts, decapitations, amputations, murders, and missing limbs for several modern day horror romps.
It's like watching an on-screen play, with all the guts and glory of Shakespeare; the script does not even feel as if it was rewritten for the screen, but left for a modern dramatization of theater.
Her film "Titus," starring veteran actors Anthony Hopkins and Jessica Lang, is one of the most bizarre updates of William Shakespeare's work I can remember-and that is a very good thing.
Anthony Hopkins plays general Titus Andronicus, at the heart of the story, who, as the movie opens, returns from conquering the Goths.
Some of his plays have a plot which makes a good basis for a modern production, but Shakespeare's absolute forté is his language and his linguistic jokes and acting in old English requires settings true to the play.
Taymor is renowned for her stage direction, and based this film in part on her recent off-Broadway production of "Titus Andronicus.
So her unique and self-consciously absurd visual style, combining modern and ancient design elements in order to suggest that violence has been one of man's favorite past times throughout the ages, really shouldn't be that surprising.But it is that style which points to the fact that this is not a typical Hollywood film.
Perhaps if someone had taken Arnold Schwarzenegger into the Roman colloseum after he finished making "T2" he would've felt a little differently about his actions, too.In other words, it's all fun and games until somebody gets hurt.PS - As for the ridiculous notion that Shakespeare "reads better than it sounds," any ounce of credibility left in the angry critique of "Titus" which inspired this message was pretty much wholly obliterated by that comment.
And I was not to be found withing myself for hours thereafter.Not that it is necessary, but I had already read Shakespeare's first play (titus andronicus) from which this film hath been made.
No beauty, only random killing; I liked his later works much better.Until I saw this film!Directed by a very able woman, Julie Taymor, the pictures are intense in colours and framing, and the acting is equally intense (Jessica Lange and Anthony Hopkins against each other).
After that she starts planning revenge and she's got two other sons and a Moorish man toy named Aaron to both help her out and pour gasoline on her fires for revenge.Watching Titus Andronicus I thought of Hamlet which also about what turns out to be a bloody quest for vengeance where nearly every principal character winds up dead in the end.
A big fan of Shakespeare, I rented this movie not too long ago, expecting an average--if not mediocre--adaptation of the play.
But by blending modern-day conveniences with Shakespeare's immortal words, Taymor created a wonderful film.All of the actors made their parts seem tailor-made for them.
I figured a Shakespeare movie starring Anthony Hopkins - hey, it can't be all bad.Oh boy was I wrong.Like Leo Dicaprio's Romeo & Juliet, the movie retained the original Shakespeare dialog but was set in a modern time.
In any case, the last thing this scene needs is the visual suggestion that the army has just passed Rome's power plant (without disabling it), and will shortly come across the arterial highway.It's bad enough for Taymor to assemble such ludicrous costumes, sets and locations; it's unforgivable for her to think that all she need do is assemble them, without giving any thought to how they'd look on film.
Taymor's many lame ideas are ALL visual - none of them have to do with story or character or theme - yet because she was concerned with what things look like in the flesh, not how they would end up looking on film, even these are half-lost.
Anthony Hopkins murmurs, rants and snarls without once achieving significant emotion; Jessica Lange and Harry Lennix can barely speak, let alone fill their roles; Colm Feore (Canada's idea of a major classical actor) does nothing with his apostrophe to Lavinia; and Alan Cumming is not convincing as a heterosexual.
All these people whining that Julie Taymor has 'distorted the text' by presenting a Roman story in modern dress should prepare themselves for some shocking news: Shakespeare did the same thing.
This film, which hopefully will be Miss Taymor's last, is a pretentious hodgepodge of cinematic cliches served up amidst a mishmash of visual styles and settings, that not even the fine performances of Mr. Hopkins and, especially, Miss Lange can save.
Action devotees should enjoy this more than other Shakespeare.Taymor has included a frame-story about a boy playing with toys who then become characters in the story, also there are many shifts between ancient and modern settings.
Anthony Hopkins is terrific as the head of the excellent ensemble cast that provides some depth to the thin characters and Taymor is able to extract humor from the grim proceedings while providing dazzling imagery and an adrenaline rush.A special mention should also be given to Harry Lennix as Tamora's servant Aaron, one of the few black characters in Shakespeare.
In the phrase of author Charles Beauclerk, "Divorced from his works and cut off from the wellspring of his creativity, his unconscious inundates the plays and his emotional pain overwhelms the text." Taymor meshes three time periods in the film: ancient Rome, fascism in the 1930's and the modern era.
A robotic procession of soldiers in ancient Rome is led by aging General Titus Andronicus (Anthony Hopkins) who is returning to Rome after a victorious battle against the Goths.Andronicus brings with him prisoners Queen Tamora (Jessica Lange), Aaron (Harry Lennix) and her sons Chiron (Jonathan Rhys Myers) and Demetrius (Matthew Rhys).
Anthony Hopkins takes the title role, a general who was loyal for so long to the Emperor (flamboyant as possible, which means a lot, via Alan Cumming) that he's repaid by allowing his new step-sons via new Empress (Jessica Lange, sultry and dangerous) to cut off his daughter's hands and her tongue and rape her and leave her for dead.
But all of this, including a subplot with the Moor Aaron (tremendous actor, can't recall the name), is presented in a form that's alive and energetic, insistent on making us pay attention, even if not every single work sticks to our consciousness (it IS Shakespeare, of course, a few words might slip by in his poetic prose).While Taymor's and her crew have one of the most lavish and awe-inspiring productions of 1999, and the cast has their fun chewing up said scenery as anger boils and madness comes to a head, and a sort of odd flaw continues onward with the boy's character (maybe more a fault of the writer than Taymor, albeit with one of the worst closing shots I've ever seen in any movie), it's still Shakespeare's show.
Having just read Titus Andronicus for the first time I was eager to take a look at the 1999 film version.
I found it an uplifting experience, because though the film was quite different to my own visualization of the story, it was a perfectly consistent modern take that both respected the language and construction of the original play and provided an exciting, personal interpretation –respectful of Shakespeare but true to itself.
I am also extremely glad that a certain amount of restraint was shown in the direction –it could so easily have been totally overloaded with effects, forced gimmicks and gore, but here the visuals –and impressive they are– never overpower the language and the interaction between the characters.The performances are of a high level throughout, and the actors are all comfortable with the language, which is a relief because so many other "modern" versions of Shakespeare suffer from an inconsistent mixing of acting styles that distract us momentarily from the story.
Alan Cumming gives a very memorable performance as the emperor –I found this character difficult to fully get hold of when I read the play, but the boldness and audacity shown by Cumming makes him very clear –and again it's never over- the-top as it so easily could be.I think it does help to know at least something of the play before seeing the film as there is no real explanation of exactly who is who to begin with and this may cause some confusion – the unravelling of characters and their relationships is equally challenging in the opening of the play, so the fault (if it can be called that) lies with Shakespeare.
Director Julie Taymor has added another film to the list of modern renditions of Shakespeare's plays.
We start with Young Lucius (Osheen Jones) in a modern house playing with war toys and suddenly interrupted by violent explosions outside, when Titus (Anthony Hopkins) rushes in to save him and transports him to a place that is an odd mixture of old world Roman architecture, mixed ancient and modern dress, and an assortment of ancient and modern machines and weapons.
But despite the hodgepodge, maybe even because of it, I enjoyed this production.The visuals kept attention constant and the Shakespearean language, which I often find difficult to fully absorb in the beginning, soon became second nature as I was wrapped up in the story.Anthony Hopkins in particular does stellar performance as the seemingly half-mad general Titus Andronicus, who spars with the emperor even as he vainly attempts to placate him.
It's so rare that a movie is so unique, beautiful, and powerful.Julie Taymor has filmed Shakespeare's bloodiest and most violent play as an astonishing, surreal delight.
A very, very, very long movie.Everything seems borrowed from other Shakespeare film adaptations.
The disembodied phantoms who finally appear to have been silently attending to all that (seemingly) has passed before our own eyes, in the insistent image of the Stadium of Death, which is the Arena of Taymore's Shakespeare-mediated Senecan spectacle, are themselves - like their representative, Lavinia, - mute witnesses to the scenes relentlessly paraded before us in that Circus of Horror, which signifies nothing less than the very Orbit that circumscribes this World of Suffering.
The disembodied phantoms who finally appear to have been silently attending to all that (seemingly) has passed before our own eyes, in the insistent image of the Stadium of Death, which is the Arena of Taymore's Shakespeare-mediated Senecan spectacle, are themselves - like their representative, Lavinia, - mute witnesses to the scenes relentlessly paraded before us in that Circus of Horror, which signifies nothing less than the very Orbit that circumscribes this World of Suffering.
Having discovered so much contemporary - that is to say, eternal, - sense in the ancient spectacle of Senecan tragedy - the smallest symbolic details of the poetic language of which are brilliantly transferred into the film's visual imagery, and consistently re-worked in the retro-modern, comic-book pastiche of the Savagery that was Ancient Rome - , Julie Taymor achieves the unnervingly sublime poetry of excess and horror better than perhaps any creative intelligence since Thomas Lovell Beddoes, or Ken Russell - even proving a match for old Seneca himself.
Having discovered so much contemporary - that is to say, eternal, - sense in the ancient spectacle of Senecan tragedy - the smallest symbolic details of the poetic language of which are brilliantly transferred into the film's visual imagery, and consistently re-worked in the retro-modern, comic-book pastiche of the Savagery that was Ancient Rome - , Julie Taymor achieves the unnervingly sublime poetry of excess and horror better than perhaps any creative intelligence since Thomas Lovell Beddoes, or Ken Russell - even proving a match for old Seneca himself.
The filmmaker, Julie Taymor, offers a very personal vision of the play as a synthesis of different times: Roman ruins and (Roman-like) modern buildings as settings, hybrid costumes, modern special effects and old-fashioned theatrical gadgets.
Her adaptation of Shakespeare's bloodiest and lesser tragedy,Titus Andronicus has pushed Shakespearean film to another level.
The acting and adaptation was first-rate, but I think the real talent in this production came through Taymor's outstanding and fully realized vision of Shakespeare's darkest play..
This lastest film incarnation of Shakespeare's play is a visually stylistic melange of anachronistic historical juxtapositions of timeless themes of violent human passions; revenge, lust,euthanasia, ambition, loyalty,infanticide,racism,and vendetta.The film exploits the classic scenic grandeur of modern day Rome and it's surrounding countryside, and mixes it with Fellini-like sets that recall "Satryricon".They create a surreal and jazzy backdrop for the Bard's plot and lines, making the telling as fresh as modern day headlines.The performances are engrossing and seemingly effortless even when over the top.It brings Shakespeare into the age of "The Matrix" with sleek flowing leather costumes and freeze frame effects.
Julie Taymor brings a very beautifully stunning adaptation of Shakespeare's worst play.
You will be missing a great film that has great performances, a good story and some very original ideas about how to stage a Shakespeare play for the screen..
Unfortunately, it is emotionally demanding and he has said that this will most likely be his last performance of Shakespeare.The supporting cast is good also, particularly the actor who plays Aaron.
Whether or not "Titus Andronicus" was Shakespeare's first play, it is still captivating.
The acting is pretty excellent - the people in this movie obviously have a very strong grip on Shakespeare and show it.Thankfully, the storyline here in "Titus" stays extremely close to the original story.
Now, I have absolutely no problem with placing a Shakespeare play in different periods of time, but "Titus" really stumbles with its mixture.
What a strange confection this movie turned out to be.Usually I'm eager applaud all attempts to bring Shakespeare, plus his dialogue, into the modern age, but then usually his plays were good!
It is unmissable, the manic and enormous Hopkins unleashed, in fact fast forward to that scene, you'll miss nothing important from the story.If this is to be the definitive modern version of Titus Andronicus, it's true, the play was always as awful as everybody said it was..
The fact that it has Shakespeare as a source and Anthony Hopkins and Jessica Lange in it may fool some people into thinking it is an "art" film.
I'm not well-versed in Shakespeare and I've never read "Titus Andronicus," but I enjoyed this film immensely.
I would think you either make a movie according to the original play and with the intended settings or you fully adapt it into modern times, by updating the dialogues and expressions but keeping the storyline.
Shakespeare's plays, like those of all great world masters, are intemporal stories involving the same emotions modern people have.
Hopkins gives the expected powerful performance in this adaptation of Shakespeare's final play.
Although Titus is not a perfect film, at times it is too stagy, as if Taymor forgot at points that she was suppossed to be directing a movie and not a play, in the end the strong and daring voice of the director shines through..
Julie Taymor brings her avant-garde theater background to this stylistic, time-bending adaptation of Shakespeare's "Titus Andronicus", a lesser regarded, more lurid, violent play, not rarely performed today. |
tt0087985 | Red Dawn | "Red Dawn" envisions an alternate history of mid-1980's America. A few title cards that precede the opening credits tell of famine in the Soviet Union, leading to food riots in Poland. The USSR subsequently invades Poland. Troubles in Central America include Cuba and Nicaragua building their armies to immense, unprecedented numbers and invade the nations of El Salvador and Honduras. A Communist revolution breaks out in Mexico. In Europe, political divisions in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) lead to the dismantling of nuclear weapons. Finally, NATO dissolves, leaving the United States with no allies or support.The story is set in a small Colorado mountain town called Calumet. Before an autumn school day in September a young man named Jed Eckert (Patrick Swayze) is dropping his younger brother Matt (Charlie Sheen) and their friend Arturo (Doug Toby) off at school. While giving a lecture on Genghis Khan's tactics in conquering Asia, their history teacher notices paratroopers landing outside in the school football field. Thinking they may be American soldiers who are off course, he leaves the classroom to investigate and is immediately shot and killed by one of the soldiers, who then open fire on the classroom, killing at least one student. Matt and Arturo ("Aardvark") escape the chaos when Jed pulls up, having quickly returned. They are also joined by their friends Daryl (Darren Dalton), Robert (C. Thomas Howell), and Danny (Brad Savage) . They drive through town, witnessing more of the invasion. Arturo's father is seen being chased by the invaders and tries to reach them but is apprehended.The group drives out of town to Robert's father's wilderness store. Robert's father tells them to grab supplies for camping and gives them a few rifles and ammunition. They escape to the mountains; Jed's plan is to camp out there until the conflict is over. Back in Calumet, a Cuban colonel named Bella (Ron O'Neal) oversees the hasty occupation of the town. American forces have moved in from all sides and are attacking relentlessly. Bella orders his Cuban and Nicaraguan troops to defensive positions and orders another of his men, a Russian KGB agent, to acquire documents identifying local citizens who have privately-owned firearms.The boys arrive in the mountains and set up camp. An argument erupts between Jed and the high school class president, Daryl (the Calumet's mayor's son), who insists they group go back and turn themselves in. Jed orders him to leave, however, Daryl relents and stays with the group. The group also discovers that their radio has been destroyed, so their contact with the outside world is essentially cut off. While hunting deer, Robert makes a kill and drinks some of the deer's blood as part of a ritual that Jed, his brother & their father all took part in. Jed also suggests that everyone will notice a change in Robert from then on.A few weeks later in October, Jed, Matt, and Robert slip into Calumet to find out what has happened in their absence. They talk to a store owner, named Alicia, who tells them that the Russians know who they are and tells them that the boys are being blamed for a series of crimes in the town. She also tells them that many people have been remanded to a holding camp at the town drive-in theater. The boys go to the camp that evening and find that it's a communist re-education camp. Jed and Matt's father (Harry Dean Stanton) is a prisoner; when they see him, he has been severely beaten. Telling his sons that he was hard on them for an occurrence like this, he also implores them to avenge him.The next morning, the group next goes to the ranch of their father's friend, Mr. Mason (Ben Johnson), who's property lies far enough outside Calumet to go unnoticed. Mason informs the boys that a large portion of the western United States has been occupied by Soviet and Cuban forces and they are all 40 miles behind enemy lines. Beyond the Soviet/Cuban front lies "FA" or "Free America." They also tell Robert that his father was killed by the enemy; while gathering their supplies at his father's store before fleeing to the mountains, the group also took several rifles. The Soviet authorities had Robert's father publicly executed for providing insurgents (the boys) with weapons. Mason doesn't know what happened to Robert's mother. Robert breaks down and a distressed Jed feels obvious guilt for their deaths. Mason tells the boys that they are not at fault and that the lesson learned from the incident (symbolizing that of US government registration of privately-owned firearms) should sink in to them all. Before they leave, Mason gives them a radio and also asks that the boys take his teenage granddaughters with them, which they do. The two new additions are Toni (Jennifer Grey) and her sister Erica (Lea Thompson).Meanwhile, Daryl's father, Calumet's mayor, Bates (Lane Smith), a collaborationist of sorts, tries to appease the occupation authorities under Colonel Bella. He offers his assistance in getting the citizens of his town to adhere to the new laws that Bella imposes.Back in the woods, the group hears a radio announcement from the Free Zone that tells them the war is far from over ("John has a long mustache") and the combat is at a standstill ("The chair is against the wall"). The next day, the group sees a Russian patrol of three soldiers headed toward their position. While taking in the sites, the patrol sees the group and attempts to arrest them. Jed, Robert & the others kill them all. Robert later talks of his enjoyment in killing them, probably seeking revenge for the deaths of his parents. Jed remarks that they cannot return to town ever again because they'll be hunted.In reprisal, Colonel Bella orders the killing of several of the town's residents after they dig graves for the dead Soviets. A mass execution takes place, one that Matt witnesses from a distance. Among those killed are his and Arturo's fathers. Also present is Daryl's father, who is visibly sickened. Jed later tells everyone not to cry over their families deaths.In retaliation, the teens continue their guerrilla campaign, dubbing themselves "Wolverines" after their high school football team's mascot. They ambush Soviet and Cuban patrols, shoot up armored columns, and raid local armories to steal weapons such as AK-47 rifles, sniper rifles, land mines, RPG launchers, among many other weapons.A month later, Erica, while on patrol, sees a pilot land nearby by parachute. The pilot is an Air Force Colonel, named Andy Tanner (Powers Boothe), who joins the team and fills them in on the events of the war. The occupying forces are made up of Cuban and Soviet commando forces who invaded from both Mexico and Canada. The Soviet forces crossed into Alaska (cutting the Alaska oil pipeline). Tactical nuclear weapons were used to take out key U.S. nuclear missile and communication locations however, by this time the front lines of combat have mostly stabilized. Tanner tells the teens that the United States' only allies are Great Britain, who are suffering huge defeats, and about 600 million Chinese. When Daryl says that China's population is supposed to be over one billion, Tanner implies that they've been defeated by the Soviets as well, perhaps by mass slaughter in combat or by nuclear weapons.The team invites the Colonel to join their guerrilla efforts. Tanner also teaches them basic tactics for attacking larger targets; they attack an airbase located near the re-education camp. They free the prisoners and destroy a few key military targets. Tanner later notices Robert carving hash marks into the stock of his AK-47 rifle for every enemy soldier he kills. Tanner tells the boy that "all that killing is gonna burn you up inside." Robert replies, "Yeah, but it keeps me warm."Jed takes Tanner to meet Mr. Mason where he tells them both that there are rumors of the Soviets dropping special forces units into the occupied zone to hunt the Wolverines. There is also talk of sending in American Special Forces troops to aide them. Jed believes their only chance to survive the war is to cross the front lines into Free America. Tanner decides to show them the way out of the occupied territory.They go to the front lines of combat where an M1 Abrams American tank is engaged in a fierce battle with a few Soviet T-62 tanks. Tanner tells Jed that they'll have to cross the no-man's land between the tanks to reach the free zone where Soviet jets are dropping napalm. As they prepare to move forward, another Soviet tank moves up to their position, unaware that Tanner and the team are nearby. The tank begins to fire on the American tank and Tanner sees an opportunity to disable the enemy. In the skirmish, Arturo is killed and Tanner is critically wounded by a grenade. Before he succumbs to his injuries, he is able to mark the tank with a colored smoke bomb, making it visible to the American forces. They destroy the tank and Tanner along with it. Back in camp, Erica becomes deeply depressed over his loss, having been attracted to him. A small funeral is held for Tanner and Arturo. Their names are carved by the team into a nearby rock as a memorial.Meanwhile, Colonel Bella and his superior, the Russian Cossack Major General Bratchenko (Vladek Sheybal), call in a Soviet special forces team to hunt the Wolverines. Before they move in, their commander, Major Strelnikov (William Smith), orders the forces in the area to cease their reprisals and atrocities against the local population, saying terror tactics like those will not win the conflict for them in the long term.The Soviet commandos move into the mountains, using a tracking device to find the Wolverines, however, the teens are waiting for them and kill most of the commandos. One is left alive and is interrogated by the group. They discover the tracking device, which reveals that the Daryl is a traitor, having gone to town to see his father despite Jed's strictest orders. While there, he had been forced to swallow a tracing bug and reveal his and his friends' location in the mountains. The team makes a tough decision to execute both Daryl and the Soviet prisoner. Jed, enraged by the Soviet invasion, kills the soldier and turns his gun on Daryl, but is unable to kill him. Robert steps up and very coldly and casually shoots Daryl, leaving the team horrified at his callousness in executing a friend.By March of the following year, after five months of fighting, the Wolverines are physically and emotionaly weakened, however, by the attacks and other events, and their morale erodes as the war of attrition continues. Even though the American civilians are increasingly resistant to Soviet rule, the occupation forces are pushing the resistance of the Wolverines to the breaking point.A few days later, while observing a small detachment of Soviet vehicles, Jed notices that they drop a few cartons of food and calls off their attack. They scrounge what's there and take it back to their camp. However, the food has somehow been bugged and three heavily armed Soviet Mi-24 Hind helicopters move in and attack the group. Toni is shot immediately and is taken to cover by Jed. The rest of the group also makes it to cover, however, Robert's horse is shot out from under him. He makes a final stand, damaging one chopper with an RPG, killing the door gunner, and firing his rifle at a second. He is killed in a hail of gunfire. Jed and the seriously wounded Toni share a final moment and Jed leaves her a grenade. Later, when the Soviets find her dead body, the grenade has been left live under her and goes off, taking at least one Russian soldier with it.Jed adds Toni's and Robert's names to those already on the memorial rock. Tired and demoralized by the loss of their friends, Jed and Matt prepare an suicidal attack on the Soviet headquarters in Calumet itself which will serve as a diversion allowing Erica and Danny to escape to Free America. During the climatic final battle, many Soviet, Cuban, and enemy soldiers and officers are killed during the fighting. Jed and Matt kill Bratchenko and blow up his communications trailer with RPG's. While trying to escape on a nearby train, Matt is shot by the pursuing Strelnikov. Jed sneaks up on Strelnikov and the two shoot each other simultaneously at close range. Strelnikov is killed and Jed is wounded in his side. Colonel Bella sees Jed holding his brother, but does not shoot them and lets him pass. Jed takes his fatally wounded brother to a bench in the town's empty, snowy park square and cradles him as he dies. Jed refuses to leave Matt behind and stays, holding his dead brother while waiting for the Soviet troops to find and finish him off. At the same time, Bella, equally war weary and hoping to leave the prolonged conflict, returns to his headquarters and finishes writing out a letter of resignation from the Cuban Army.The film closes with Erica and Danny being the only two survivors of the original team. They make their way to Free America territory in the Great Plains. Erica narrates the final scene of the film, saying that the war continues with no end in sight, and that memorial to their friends is called "Partisan Rock" and has an inscription that invokes the words of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.The plaque reads: "In the early days of World War III, guerrillas - mostly children - placed the names of their lost upon this rock. They fought here alone and gave up their lives, so that this nation should not perish from the earth." | cult, cruelty, murder, violence | train | imdb | null |
tt1320253 | The Expendables | A group of elite mercenaries, the Expendables, are deployed to the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia to halt local pirates from executing the hostages. The team consists of leader Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone), former SAS soldier and blades specialist Lee Christmas (Jason Statham), martial artist Yin Yang (Jet Li), sniper Gunnar Jensen (Dolph Lundgren), weapons specialist Hale Caesar (Terry Crews) and demolitions expert Toll Road (Randy Couture). Jensen instigates a firefight, causing casualties for the pirates. Yang and Jensen fight over moral disagreements about hanging a pirate. Ross intervenes and fights with Jensen. As a result of his psychological problems, Ross reluctantly dismisses Jensen from the Expendables team.Ross and a rival mercenary Trench (Arnold Schwarzenegger), meet Mr. Church (Bruce Willis). He offers them a contract to overthrow a brutal dictator, General Garza (David Zayas), on Vilena, a fictional island in the Gulf of Mexico. Busy with other things, Trench tells Church to give the contract to Ross. Christmas visits his girlfriend, Lacy (Charisma Carpenter), whom he discovers has left him for another man named Paul. On Vilena, Ross and Christmas meet a local contact, Sandra (Gisele Itié), and drive to the vicinity of Garza's compound to look the situation over. A truckload of Garza's soldiers suddenly appear. When one of them grabs Sandra, he calls her the "General's daughter." He drags her to their truck, but before he can take her Ross and Christmas kill them all. Ross learns that Garza is backed by ex-CIA agent James Munroe (Eric Roberts) and his henchmen Paine (Steve Austin) and The Brit (Gary Daniels), who manipulate and keep Garza in power by making his people fear him. Ross decides to abort the mission and make their escape, but they return and attack Garza's men on a pier, killing 41 of them. Jensen, offended at having been fired by Ross, approaches Garza and Munroe and hires on to help them.Christmas visits Lacy again to find that her new boyfriend Paul has beaten her. Christmas easily beats Paul and several friends in an unfair fight, showing Lacy what he does for a living, and she leaves with him. Ross, Christmas, and Yang deduce that Mr. Church is with the CIA and that the real target is Munroe, as the CIA is unable to control him. Mission coordinator and former teammate Tool (Mickey Rourke) makes an emotional confession to Ross about letting a woman commit suicide during the Bosnian War and how it damaged his soul. Sandra is captured by Munroe's men who waterboard her in an attempt to learn what the Americans had been doing on the island.Ross decides to go back for Sandra. Yang insists that he come along. As they leave, they are ambushed and chased by Jensen and others during an intense gunfight and car chase. The pursuit leads to an abandoned warehouse where Yang and Jensen fight a second time. Jensen attempts to impale Yang on a pipe and after an intense fight, Ross retrieves a weapon from his truck and shoots Jensen. Jensen, severely wounded, apologizes and tells him about the layout of Garza's palace. Ross boards the plane with Yang and finds the rest of the team is also on board, ready to aid their friend.The Expendables infiltrate Garza's compound. Christmas, Yang, Caesar, and Toll plant explosive charges throughout the site, including the storage area full of drugs. The Expendables team fights and shoots its way through Garza's compound and dozens of soldiers. Ross rescues Sandra as she is about to be sexually assaulted by two of Munroe's men, killing them both, but they are both captured by more of Munroe's men, who beat him. He's rescued by Yang and Christmas, assisted by Caesar and other members of the team. After Garza sees Munroe torture his daughter, he changes his mind.They are cornered by dozens of Garza's soldiers. Garza calls out to them to remove the American disease, referring to Munroe as well as the Expendables. Munroe kills Garza. In desperation, Ross blows the charges inside the palace, destroying it and disrupting the attack. They attack dozens of soldiers throughout the compound, destroying them with all the weapons at their disposal: Noveske Rifleworks Diplomat assault rifles, AA-12 12 gauge automatic shotgun firing FRAG-12 explosive rounds, Beretta pistols, knives, and M67 hand grenades.Christmas and Yang kill The Brit and Toll kills Paine. Ross and Caesar destroy the helicopter Munroe, with Sandra in tow as a hostage, was set to escape in. Ross and Christmas fight Munroe and kill him, saving Sandra. Instead of taking payment for the mission, Ross gives it to Sandra to restore the village of Vilena. The team celebrates their victory at Tool's tattoo parlor, with the reformed and recovering Jensen. Christmas and Tool challenge each other to a game of knife throwing and Christmas recites a poem about his respect for Tool, before throwing the knife perfectly in the center of the board. | boring, murder, violence, cult, psychedelic, action, revenge, sadist | train | imdb | With a cast like Jason Stathum, Randy Couture, Jet Li, Mickey Rourke, Terry Crews, Dolph "I Must Break You" Lundgren, and cameos from Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger, you'd think it would be one crazy mess.
So let's get them out of the way first shall we?Q) Is the plot descent, with a substantial storyline including dramatic arcs, twists and/or turns?A) Not particularly.Q) Are there character arcs and meaningful character developments?A) A little.Q) Is there romance?A) Next question, please.Q) Is the overall film original?A) Not at all.Q) Is it a likely Oscar nomination contender?A) Hell no!Q) Is it still awesome?A) HELL YES!!!!!Critics should be banned from reviewing films such as these.
Anyone with half a brain can tell exactly what kind of film this is and what they're in for purely by the film's trailer alone.This is a film made for action movie fans and not just regular action movies - I mean REAL action films in the style of the classic 80's action movies where plot and substantial character developments and dialogue took a backseat to intense over-the-top violence, explosions, car chases, sex scenes and catchy, memorable one liners!The 80's action hero (and villain) breed was a rare phenomenon which will likely die with those very actors who gave them life.
No 90's or new millennium "action" movie star will ever come close to being anywhere near as genuinely tough and just plain bad-arse as their 80's predecessor's!
Even now with the main 'Expendables' cast pushing 60 +, you know that they would snap Matt Damon's spine in 2 with one hand tied behind their backs!The 'Expendables' cast consists of Sly Stallone as the fearless leader of the team, Jason (Basketball stabber) Statham as the trusty knife-throwing sidekick, Dolph Lundgren as the treacherous giant one, Jet-Li as the small one, Terry Chews as Wesley Snipes, Mickey Rourke as the tattoo/previous knife-throwing sidekick and Randy Couter as the "who the hell is this guy, oh he's a UFC fighter" guy.I still can't believe the unbelievable shape these guys are in!
It is certainly not for the faint hearted, or for kids, but for any true action movie lover this is the ultimate manly film.Sylvester Stallone, NICE JOB!.
Maybe that was the idea behind this one, too, though I heard a quote from somewhere that after seeing wimpy Tobey Maguire as "Spiderman" full of CGI and a stuffed/padded suit, he realized action heroes like himself were, well, expendable.This is fantasy baseball and fantasy rock-n-roll camp for adults all rolled into a wonderful action flick with enough of a plot to give the characters motivation for their action.
This movie is really loud!If you are a fan of big macho action cinema as it was like in the '80s, you will not be disappointment.
The first hour gives you the two 'big' cameos, which weren't worth the hype (or any hype for that matter), and an out of place Mickey Rourke emotional moment but not much else.The real payoff comes in the last half hour or so of the movie which is a beautiful symphony of mindless violence, and more than makes up for the beginning.Overall the movie seemed a little rushed as far as the story goes and I won't be surprised to see a extended cut when this comes out on DVD but it is a solid action movie and worth the watch.
And hats off to Randy Couture who actually steals the movie a little bit during the big action scene at the end..
Every last single aspect of this movie was a disgrace to the whole genre of action film.I already knew in advance that the plot was not the money maker of this movie, however, i would've appreciated a little more effort in making each scene flow smoothly into the next.
It didn't make any sense.I went into this film ready to see giant battle sequences with every single member in the cast that the trailer perpetually advertised, but instead I was given low quality action,atrocious dialouge, and scenes that that simply felt half done.For example, the big cameo with Arnold and Stallone,felt over played and...quite frankly...
Maybe just with Stallone and Statham playing off each other, this movie would've amounted to something more.Today's coolness and manliness then, according to this movie, consists of riding motorbikes or hot rods and killing lots of bad people for money.
Some of the jokes actually make me feel sorry for Sylvester Stallone and the movie as a whole made me lose all respect for him.You can write, direct and produce a film practically all by yourself.
Movie should be named "league of botox gentlemen", hope Slys face didn't melt down.Great cast, in the way i can compare it to a "Space Cowboys" not by the quality of acting or story.
Every bad scene, every bad story line, every bad one-liner that Stallone ever dreamt of during his entire career on set (but which were always duly rejected by directors with more sense for quality) found their way into this film.
So, why don't you do yourself a favor to end Summer 2010 by watching this explosive, action-packed movie, "The Expendables".First things first, the cast is obviously awesome.
Meet your favorite actors: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis, Steve Austin, Dolph Lundgren and even Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Of course we all know things are going to go horribly wrong at one point or another, but lets just pretend that a proper plan had been forged before our die hards have to resort to out and out carnage.Lastly, the one thing that attracted me to the movie in the first place -the fact that there were so many action heroes involved- ultimately led the movie to fail.
I'm not stupid: I realise that 'x' times the number of action stars does not necessarily equal 'x' times the amount of action, but with the biggest names of the genre together in one supposedly bad-ass, big budget, testosterone fuelled film, directed by Rambo himself, I at least expected to feel a mild rush of excitement at some point during the whole thing.
Instead, I just found myself cringing throughout, which was a tad disappointing, to say the least.Not only does The Expendables have a plot so weak that it probably would have been rejected for the A-Team (not the film, but the TV series, and we're talking Season 5 here), but it also suffers from charmless performances from its stars (who are not exactly helped by the absolutely dire dialogue), a very dull first half hour, and some of the most ill-considered action direction, lousy cinematography and scrappy CGI effects I have seen in years.The photography is inexplicably grainy and frequently out of focus, the scatter-shot editing is absolutely diabolical (does any shot last more than a second?), and the digital blood splats frustratingly unrealistic, but it is Stallone's overuse of 'shakycam' that is particularly appalling—seriously Sly, what's the point of signing up such an impressive all-star cast if you're going to turn every action sequence into unfathomable visual mincemeat?Oh, and Arnie....
It was supposed to be a outstanding movie, with all those cool actors coming back, all the hype and great action scenes without CGI to show that it's possible to do real action without too much annoying special effects made by computer.
"Could it be the greatest action movie ever?" some magazines breathlessly asked themselves, assuming perhaps that the cast could somehow just produce a good film by virtue of all just being in it.
It plays out just the way you expect it to do and those looking for action sequences will enjoy the many fights and scenes where everything blows up (Terry Crews in particular demonstrating to the world why Infinity Ward were out of their minds to make the AA-12 a "secondary" weapon in Modern Warfare 2!).
Of course looking at it fairly, the film is not great – the plot is obvious and full of "groan" moments that we have to have simply because of the genre plus it is hard to shake the feeling that the film is more for the stars benefit than it is about the viewers, like perhaps they enjoyed it more than I did?
During the 80's and 90's it was a common question whether action film superstars could ally and face evil enemies.Sly never allied with Arnie, and each superstar continued to trash evil guys by its own.Until today!In this film everything the audience could expect from the action movie genre is here:hard language, tons of big and small explosions, black humor and a small army of film heroes blowing away a large army of bad guys.All the stars we loved are here, along with our memories from past movies coupled with fresh stars like Jason Statham and Jet Li.Don't expect great acting here,neither a script that will be awarded an Oscar.Acting is decent,storyline absolutely predictable and the script is humorous and entertaining,simply perfectly fit for such a movie.
As a kid, I have grown up watching the big action heroes portrayed by Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Willis, Statham, Li, and many more.
Offer old dogs like me more of this type of thing and enjoy my "expendable" income as well.MR Stallone has come full circle and produced something both nostalgic and contemporary and above all, more fun than i've had in the cinema for a long time, good on ya Sly, now Expendables II please lickety-split !.
It's just a disjointed collection of silly action and comedy scenes that were cobbled together and eventually given the title of "movie".Anyone who gave this pile of poop more than 2 stars is obviously an industry shill, because anyone who finds it anything less than an insult:a) Can't count to three b) Can't form coherent sentences c) Can't pronounce "computer" let alone figure out how to work one well enough to submit an online review d) Is confined to an institution that doesn't allow access to the outside (or online) world.Just....so very sad.
If you want to enjoy "The Expendables", you have to forget all the good action movies of the past.
It is one of those state-of-the-art-shaky-cam things with some actors that were known in the 80s, but you can't tell that in the action scenes, not only due the mentioned filming, but also due to the editing, where they tried to set a new record for as many cuts as possible.
Nowadays however, action movies are a lot more family friendly, with bloodless action, few swear words, over use of CG and an annoying shaky cam.But when I heard Stallone (The star of Rambo) was going to make a big cheesy, 80's style action film with an ensemble cast, I couldn't be happier.
When I finally went to see the film however I was sadly disappointed.I was hoping for a simple plot, with an awesome team, an over the top villain (Unless Dolph Lundgren counts), cheesy one liners and old school action scenes.
Sadly the film only briefly delivers...The plot is just a bunch of terrorism propaganda which is very incoherent, Stallone and Statham seem to be the only characters the film focuses on, no memorable villain, not enough one liners (and some weren't even that good) and as for the action.
I was expecting a 'Predator' like film with a lovable team just wielding huge guns, killing bad guys and spouting quotable one liners.The action is still quite fun at moments and very explosive, but I just wish it was shot the same way something like 'Commando' was filmed.
It's a kind of action movie that has not been seen in decades, in that it's not about cramming explosions into a 90 minute block, rather telling an exciting story that involves characters you care about.
There are very few movies which give you nausea while you are watching them and ultimately you puke after some time.It has nothing,no story,novelty,nothing.I hate these guys for what they have done by participating in this sham.At least they could have tried one new picture frame.All it had was banality and shameless dialogs,which did not seem coherent at all.They were just there so that everyone seemed so cool.you can be forgiven for making a bad movie when you make a sincere effort but there is no forgiveness for it when its intentional.I do not know how many people will permanently hate cinema after this movie and how much damage it may have done to their psyche.I will like to vote this movie and all people who are associated with it for Razzies this year and pray to God that they win.America hates the terrorists and mercenaries after 9/11 and this is what they produce after that, a movie mercenaries are cool killing machines..
I love action movies, but I HATE this movie, it is a real abomination.An awful script, terrible Direction, wooden acting and rubbish explosions that would shame even Steven 'Straight to DVD' Segal (though this movie missed him, Van Damme, and Carl Weathers)When I first heard the '12 hardened mercenaries travel to the jungles of Central America' thing, I thought it was going to be a serious action movie, with jungle scenes like those in 'Predator', or even 'Rambo IV', not the half-assed attempted action-comedy that it is.Stallone's god awful rucked up in the neck toupee, Jet-Li's grating Beijing accent (sounds like a seal), Steve Austin's cretinous goon, Eric Roberts pantomime villainy !
So many reasons to hate this on a character level alone.What we discover happened to Dolph Lundgren's imaginatively named character; 'Gunnar Hansen' at the end of the movie just beggars belief, and is truly a Plan 9 From Outer Space moment !The only good thing for me was seeing Sly with Arnie and Bruce - although poor Arnie walks like a 63 year old man crippled with arthritis.That 28% of IMDb members have voted this as a '10' (the largest by far) is just laughable..
The meeting between Stallone, Schwarzenegger and Willis is little more than a boring cameo.This leaves the expendables actually consisting of Old Man Stallone, Dolph Lundgren ( where's he been for the last decade or two?), Statham, Jet Li and a couple of people I've never heard of.Mickey Rourke is an ex-Expendable who reminisces in an unintentionally hilarious scene.There is very little action in the first half but there is a massive action scene in the end where the Pensionables take on a vast army.
Ever since the film was first announced, way back in November 2008, Stallone's action ensemble spectacular, The Expendables, has been in the forefront of every genre fans mind since.
There is a sense that dramatic moments are forced in, but that was also a trait of the 80's action film in any case, and the now completely unsurprising scene with Willis, Stallone and Arnold has lost any enigma for first time viewers, which is a shame.
It's just great to watch an old school action film again, and to see a collection of tough guys doing their thing.
action packed it is but the plot sucked monkeys ass, as if we haven't already had millions of other movies made about old has-been actors trying to make a come back.
Well this is one of those movies that makes you say why I spend my hard money on this, this movie is pure crap,I remember the time when I watched Shaolin Temple,why I mention that because after Expendables Jet Li has to stop shooting for Hollywood I speak that because I love Jet Li movies and movie like this just made him look poor and boring,Sylvester Stallone has shown that not he only is a bad writer, he also is a bad director,Eric Roberts has proved to be one of the worst actors in Hoolywood,Steve Austin.......back to WWE thats all I can say,Randy Couture I don t know who he is but he was not the right choice for this movie,Dolph and Jason Statham is only good thing in this movie, everything else is crap.Only good fight scene is fight between Jet and Dolph.Sylvester Stallone should retire this his worst movie ever,worst than Rocky 5..
It is good old fashion action pack of the 80's-90's...There is no deep romantic conversations, there is no super unpredictable twist, there is no time for exploring and reveal deep each character, it is movie which goes straight to the point with good sense of humor...Those of you who LOVE rap and hip hope music, can't complain that rock or heavy metal don't have bit because it is ridiculous, it is different genre.
For me it was like sentimental memory of all old action movies which I watched with those people playing inner and I think it is extremely good to see them in Expendables.
However, it seems that the 64 year old liked the familiar taste of the now-outdated genre and has decided to attempt a loving comeback for it, bringing together the very best action heroes working today for its primary cast, including Jason Statham and Jet Li. Steven Seagal can suck it.The Expendables stars Stallone as Barney Ross, the head of a group of professional mercenaries, consisting of Lee Christmas (Statham), Ying Yang (Li), Gunner Jensen (Dolph Lundgren), Hale Caesar (Terry Crews) and Toll Road (Randy Couture).
Very high expectations, given the long list of great actors.However, the plot is obvious, the acting is wooden and the only saving grace is a constant stream of special effects and explosions.Arnold S does a 5 minute appearance, seemingly preparing himself for the end of his Governorship, when he needs employment again.I like a good action movie myself and do not need a complicated plot to enjoy it.
Stallone has shown a real knack for bringing back the hard action movie of the 80's and he does a good job here.
I am always more than happy to see Stallone coming out and do movies like this, Rambo 4, and the expendables are the reason why actions films are worth watching.
I guess it's a p***-take, because it's so bad, but I thought p***-takes were meant to be funny?It's a world gone wrong when people think that this film could be considered a "great movie".103 minutes has been stolen from my life, actually a little less, because I didn't bother watching it to the end.Get off the crack Stallone and retire already.. |
tt0096486 | Young Einstein | Yahoo Serious plays the lead role as Albert Einstein, a Tasmanian youth growing up on his parent's apple farm where he spends most of his time listening to music and thinking about the universe. When young Albert falls out of an apple tree and lands on a plank, causing a box of apples to fall on his head, he comes up with his first scientific theory: every action has an equal and opposite reaction.His father (Peewee Wilson) decides show him how to brew beer but, through all his successes, he can't seem to give his beer a proper head full of bubbles. In an attempt to please his father, and further his scientific prowess with his newly discovered formula, E=mc2, Albert succeeds in putting bubbles into beer, with catastrophic consequences. Doing so required the splitting of a beer atom and it causes the entire beer shack to explode. However, Albert's father proclaims him a genius and sends him off to mainland Australia to patent his idea as his mother (Su Cruickshank) bids him a tearful farewell.After weeks of travel, Albert catches a train bound for Sydney where he meets pompous Preston Preston (John Howard), head of the patent office, and Marie Curie (Odile Le Clezio), a Nobel Prize winning student of physics from France. Though Preston is less than impressed with Albert's rustic appearance, Marie is tickled pink by his theories on the universe. Once in Sydney, Albert proceeds to the patent office where he is quickly dismissed for not having a proper invention to patent. Albert decides to find a place to stay while he works on his theories and finds haven in a run down hotel, which turns out to be a brothel. There, he comes up with the theory of rock n roll and fashions his own electrical violin, explaining his idea scientifically. He brings it to the patent office as a genuine invention but is dismissed yet again.He meets up with Marie at the University of Sydney and talks more about his theories, getting kicked out of her class in the process for showing his formula. They spend more and more time together, discussing the theory of relativity while Albert comes up with new inventions. Marie implores Preston to give Albert a job at the patent office which Albert soon finds confusing while Preston confesses his love for Maria, along with his overall disdain for Einstein. Maria is less than impressed. Preston then finds Alberts formula for splitting atoms and decides to take it for himself and places Albert in a mental institution for mad scientists to keep him out of the way. He appears to fit in, discussing his theories with the other inmates despite receiving harsh treatment from the staff.After discovering what Preston intends to do with the formula (create the largest beer keg - essentially an atom bomb - in the world), Marie rushes to the institution to find Albert, disguised as his father. She finds him in the mens showers and, after a tender moment, tells Albert about Prestons plot. Dejected at first, Albert hatches an idea for escape using his theory of electrical rock n roll. He builds a new electrical guitar and hooks it up to the institutions main lines, shorting out all the circuits and opening all the doors. He escapes with the other inmates after avoiding a masculine nurse (Russell Cheek) and saving a pie full of kittens from a mad cook (Roger Ward).Then he crashes the Science Academy Awards where Preston has displayed his beer keg hanging from a hot air balloon. Albert manages to save everyone from certain doom using his electrical guitar to suck out all the energy within the bomb - a feat that would kill any normal man, but Albert is far from normal. He reunites with Marie and is congratulated by none other than Charles Darwin (Basil Clarke) himself. The government approaches Albert and asks him for the formula for splitting the atom, which Albert agrees to hand over. Marie questions his decision but Albert innocently states, If you cant trust the governments of the world, who can you trust? Albert takes Marie home with him to Tasmania where he sings and plays his guitar to swooning fans. | absurd, historical fiction | train | imdb | "Young Einstein" is not a great movie.
But it's an original, low-budget and very likeable movie.Of course, it's all complete nonsense.
The plot involves Yahoo Serious splitting beer atoms, inventing the electric violin and the surfing board, running into the cute Marie Curie and having a very bad hair day, and is of course full of anachronisms and other factual errors.But does that really matter?
And the parts were Young Einstein explains some concepts of relativity are great !
The only explanation I can give for the low rating this movie currently has is that most people simply don't understand the jokes.
If you don't know what splitting an atom is, and if you don't know that beer-atoms are none-existent, then you probably hate this movie.
'Young Einstein', as well as 'Reckless Kelly' certainly don't belong on any 'worst films' list.
These movies are better, by any artistic criteria, than half of the films on the IMDB 'best 250' list.
Albert Einstein is a Tasmanian apple farmer who surfs, E=mc2 is pronounced "Emck" and is used to put the bubbles in beer, and the chef at the mental assylum puts live kittens in a pie (Don't worry, Albert saves them).
It's a good movie for watching during a pajama party.
The director may be Yahoo Serious, but this movie is anything but..
Not everyone will be interested in YOUNG EINSTEIN because it's too goofy and offbeat for their liking.
Who believed history would have changed with the invention of rock-and-roll music in 1906?
We all know in real life that Albert Einstein didn't create a math formula for electric guitar noises, but this is a satiric approach to a world-famous individual who came up with E-equals-emcee-squared.
I guess if I was in a bad mood the movie wouldn't be half as good, but I thought it to be very enjoyable and would recommend for a movie for the parents and kids to enjoy.
I give Yahoo Serious a lot of credit for making this a good flick.
But I wouldn't go as far to say it was the best movie of all time and a beautiful piece of art but a movie doesn't have to be beautiful to be good.
I mean every time I watch this movie I always have a smile on my face.
This movie was conceived by Yahoo Serious (who plays Albert Einstein and also directed and wrote the movie).
He could come up with a million good ideas, but he could never surpass this hilarious movie.
As a writer, director, and lead role in this movie, Yahoo Serious not only made a lot of money, he made a great movie.
I saw this film when I was a teen living in Great Britain and for some really odd unexplainable reason, the soundtrack has still stuck with me.
The song played during the credits, "Ice-House - Great Southern Land" is by far one of my all time favorite songs.
The film itself isn't the greatest but I do enjoy watching the "Journey to the Mainland", not just for the song but for the amazing camera work and scenery.
Yahoo Serious' career never really took off and he's kinda like Carrot Top. You either love him or you hate him..
I'm big Einstein fan, so why not love the movie which tells his story.
I have read lot's of Albert, so I don't even want to watch again some historical document(film) of him.
I seriously think that this movie tells me about Einsteins character more than 10 books, because I see his attitude to world has been very similarly with this movie character.The movie have all elements to be loved in a good movie, romance, science, comedy and crazy inventions made by lovely and clever personality from our close history.
Even Marie Curie can't resist his authentic power to be that little rock on the seashore, in big Universum.And peoples who hate this one, please, go back to watch "The fast and the furious".
Do not watch for a history lesson only watch it with cream and salt forget about Einstein and his real history and who he was and just watch it with no preconceived notion's You will laugh so hard it is a grate movie it is good lighthearted humor nice romance just know historical value or scientific value whatsoever it is funny and was made 30 years ago so it is grate for the time in the Visuals and it was all done by one person Ritalin directed produced and stored by the same young man so you got to give him credit watch it its better than anything done nowadays.
I can probably say I've watched this movie more than a hundred times and it gets better every time.
A zany, silly, funny take on a Tasmanian Einstein with a nice little love story thrown in for good measure.
An excellent and difficult production, bolstered by a great performance by Yahoo Serious.
What is most heart-warming about the film is that Mr. Einstein never really puts his goal ahead of the present moment, which he always lives to the maximum.
There is no scene in this movie that isn't beautiful art.
The talent of Yahoo Serious, who starred in and created this movie, is awesome.
The scenes and acting are so good that this movie continually evokes the most wonderful memories between repeated viewings.
Although funny, this movie isn't "goofy." This is a witty script of wonderful, down-to-earth themes.
It's a unique work of art produced by a young genius who uses for a story line the idea "what if" Einstein was born on an Australian farm.
The real Albert Einstein would have given this imaginative work of art an enthusiastic standing ovation..
Yahoo Serious has probably become quite a bit of a joke, which is a shame because his debut effort is more entertaining than a lot of what Hollywood puts out these days.
Serious plays Albert Einstein as though he were an Australian from deep in the outback.
The movie is very offbeat but in a good way and very entertaining if you let it be.
I have always loved this movie and the soundtrack is excellent for any 80s music fan.
Serious went downhill with Reckless Kelly (which isn't a bad movie in and of itself) but got really bad with Mr. Accident.
If you want to see a good, funny, and just entertaining film, you can't go wrong with Young Einstein unless you have completely lost the child inside you..
Though I love this film dearly and have for many years crusaded fervently on its behalf, I have to admit that every single person I've persuaded to watch it has sat there for about half an hour with their mouths open, turned to me and said "This is appalling" (or words to that effect) and then paid no further attention, leaving me to giggle through the rest of it by myself.
There are more moments of original, inspired, unique, hilarious comedy in this film than in just about any other I've seen.
Serious' character performance is superbly charming and funny, and the rest of the film is filled with great acting, but it's the visuals that impress most, it's really quite astounding that such great production values could go into such a non-mainstream film, and be used so effectively.
This is a marvelous film that anyone thinking of taking up film-making should be forced to check out - it would certainly improve the general standard of movies today.
If you've not seen it yet, do; if you have, see it again; if you can, check out Reckless Kelly too - though not as great as Einstein it's up there, and looks just beautiful.
This film is wacky and zany but just isn't funny.
It truly is the worst film that I have ever seen.I went to see it at the cinema on the strength of the trailer and persuaded my cousin that it looked better than "Dead Poets Society" which was also showing.
Take this movie as it was meant - Australians having a good laugh at themselves.
Ok not the greatest movie about - but the soundtrack alone makes up for it - not to mention the great shots of Australian landscapes (and this from a Kiwi)..
Young Einstein bounces back and forth between the heights of imagination and creativity and the absolute depths of ludicrous vulgarity like no other film I have ever seen.
The plot, in which the eponymous character- transplanted from Germany to Australia- Discovers the theory of relativity in the process of making beer, and "invents" rock and roll (despite the fact that it's only 1906).
Despite this, I have to applaud the sheer imagination evident in the script, which includes Charles Darwin and Marie Curie as major characters; nonetheless, the elegance and creativity do not compliment the more ridiculous aspects of the film.
The words: stupid, boring, senseless, and unfunny come to mind.I can find something positive to say about most movies, but this is the only movie I've ever walked out of in my 43 years of life.The problem is primarily with the script, but having Yahoo Serious telegraphing every (questionable) punchline doesn't help.
Essentially, the entire movie revolves around this nut-bag splitting the beer atom.
Assuming you can suspend belief in the periodic table, the entire script doggedly revolves around the impossible premise, which does nothing to enhance the unlikely and inane adventures of the thoroughly unlikable, obviously-deficient (but supposedly genius) slacker, Yahoo Serious, as he attempts to patent the discovery.If your IQ is higher than 50, do NOT see this movie..
Where was Albert Einstein born?
All saw the movie Young Einstein and assumed since he was portrayed as a farmer growing up in Tazmania, that the young Albert Einstein was as an Australian.
In fact, I don't think Einstein ever stepped foot on Australian land let alone grew up in the country.
Just like this little known (maybe unknown) fact about Einstein, the movie Young Einstein is nothing more than laughable.
An excellent, fun, and amazing film I truly enjoy.
Young Einstein is one of the most unusual and creative films I've ever seen.
It is definitely one of my all time favorite Australian films.
For instance the invention of Rock 'n Roll serves to feed a great theme in movie.
Albert Einstein is a genius far ahead of his time and his attempts to introduce Rock 'n Roll and electric instruments serve to illustrate that genius is often not only misunderstood but completely unappreciated.
This is in fact one of the major themes of the film - his parents don't understand him, the scientist with Marie Currie, and her teacher simply don't understand him or his theories.
Yahoo Serious pulled together this hilarious and thought provoking film on a very small budget.
I have seen this film dozens of times now, on cable and in little art house theatres, and it always makes me laugh and gets my spirits a little bit up.
It is definitely a film ahead of it's time, and therefore perhaps just as misunderstood and unappreciated as it's title character..
It may have been out of date, and the sound quality may not have been to good, but overall the movie is great, who would ever think of creating a movie like this?
Wonderful movie, and I should know, I practically grew up on it.
Yahoo Serious uses an excellent amount of satire to portray a genius.
Although not even close to true events (splitting the beer atom to make bubbles in beer, Einstein being Australian), it makes the point that Albert Einstein never took his work as seriously as everyone else did; he just had questions that he wanted answered and he wanted to enjoy life.
Yahoo can't be serious in this wonderful film about splitting beer atoms.
Nevertheless, it has the best explanation of relativity I've ever seen, and as an amateur I can't find fault with the rest of the (incidental) science in the movie either, so I recommend it to physics teachers as well as to anyone else with a sense of humor.If you're looking for a movie in which scientists are the good guys and the fact that they are all in an insane asylum says more about society than about them, this is it.Of course, science gets all mixed up with rock & roll, beer & Australia, but that's as it should be..
This is an awesome movie with a wicked soundtrack..
Young Einstein is a movie that all Australians must see.
Quite Simply The worst film i have ever seen.
I would like to say i have seen Many film's , maybe about 2,000 so you could say i am a bit of an expert in my own household !
So if you only take one peice of advice from let it be this...Don't waste 90 minutes of your life and watch this film, it is the worst piece of codswallop i have ever had the misfortune to see , it makes the police academy films look like masterpieces of our time.
Instead of reading my review, you're actually probably best off reading the reviews for those that rated this movie positively, as you'll note that your head will hurt trying to read them.
That's what watching this movie does to you, it makes you write like them.Young Einstein is a moronic mix of 80s clichés and the kind of dumb, low brow humor that makes Dumb & Dumber and Billy Madison look like Royal Tenenbaums.I love myself some dumb humor, I can even laugh at some films that most people bash for being extraordinarily stupid like the aforementioned Billy Madison, but this...
all i wanted to say was that it was a great film.
This movie was never intended to set the acting world alight.
Face it, how many 80's comedy movies were?
Young Einstein just doesn't hide the fact like others do.If you want an inoffensive, fun and entertaining movie which intertwines the showcasing of the Australian landscape with an unlikely scenario - as in, splitting a beer atom with a hammer and chisel - then by all means, give Young Einstein a try!.
This was one of the first movies I ever saw at the cinema and I loved it.
Keep an eye out for the "cat pie", a delicacy in the mental asylum in which the main character is placed.Beware: the movie is quite 'aussie', Brits and Yanks may have a hard time with some of it ;).
I've seen this movie countless times.
A great and hilarious romp through what could have really been Albert Einstein's youth (in another realm perhaps!) Highly recommended..
Combining quirky Australian humor with excellent music, this movie is my favorite.
This is one of those movies you have to watch a few times to catch everything in it.
I have quite literally grew up on this film since I was 11 years old, and no matter how many times I watch it on video, it still stands up to the test of time!keep your eyes open throughout for small satire moments, some of which are subtle enough for adults to enjoy, while still delivering the slapstick that Yahoo is quite talented in--remember at the time of release in the US, he was 35!
Yahoo Serious: Embarrassing Australia Through Film.
But that aside, this movie was an abomination, Yahoo Serious is really terrifying, and it's no wonder he isn't making films anymore, considering the critique he received on all three..
In the turn of the century Australia, Albert Einstein (Yahoo Serious) grows up on a Tasmanian apple farm.
Albert solves it by splitting the beer atom.
On the train to Sydney to patent his discovery, he meets the arrogant Preston Preston and the brilliant Marie Curie.Yahoo Serious was a thing once upon a time.
Great movie , but what a name, Yahoo Serious!.
This movie has plenty to go on: comedy, action, and music.
I know the plot was well made, but the actor who played Einstein?
Seeems like he's the one who's got more attention in the U.S. than any other Australian actors around.
A brilliant movie but only for those who enjoy the likes of Monty Python and see the humour in the absurd.
Albert Einstein, a Tasmanian who splits the beer atom?Yes, it's a silly film, but it's also fun throughout and worth seeing for many of the inventions and the in jokes.
Australian Albert Einstein.
Young Einstein is a great Australian flick.It tells about >the life of Albert Einstein when he was young.The movie pretty >much changes the history, like when Albert discovers the beer >making process and invents rock'n roll in the year of 1906.Yahoo Serious takes his role seriously as young Einstein...or not.His >acting is great in the movie but the movie itself isn't too seriously taken.And better that way.Young Einstein is a funny comedy..
Honestly, about half the time I go to the Yahoo!
website, after nearly 20 years of seeing this movie, I think of it because of the name of the instigator.
I looked at the glass and just broke out laughing, watching the beer atoms splitting in the glass.I rented the movie a few years later and watched it at home.
I want to share it with my fianceé, however, as she is from the Czech Republic, where Einstein taught for a while and a land that takes its beer very seriously..
This movie is simply drenched with cleverly written and acted subtle comedy that is all-too-often not noticed by the average viewer.
I had already owned that original album since 1983, and instantly recognized the song when I first saw "Young Einstein" only recently.I highly recommend this movie to all TRUE Monty Python fans. |
tt0279286 | On the Line | Kevin Gibbons (Lance Bass) is singing in his prom night with his band. Everything is going alright, until the girl of his dreams arrives with her boyfriend, and Kevin fucks it up big time: he starts sweating, freezes and then passes out.Seven years later, Kevin works for an advertising agency which wants to prepare a campaign for Reebok. For that, his boss Mr Higgins (Dave Foley) tells him that he needs a lot of charisma and confidence, which is the image Reebok wants to portray. Boss assings Kevin to work in a team with Jackie (Tamala Jones), who basically thinks that Kevin is a bit useless and a pain on the neck. She doesn't like much the ideas put forward by Kevin.The next morning, Kevin goes to work in the same train as always. Taken away by the music he is listening to, he stands up and sings it aloud. All the rest of commuters look at him like he's a weird guy, except for one girl, -nameless, but which the audience will know later that her name is Rod- (Joey Fatone) who says she's liked his performance. They start talking. She studies archaelogy, and she notices his company pass saying he works for FKR agency. They keep on chatting, and they get off in the same station. While they are leaving, he asks her to tell him something which she would only tell a complete stranger she will never see again. So she says that her dad is a pilot and that she loves creating paper planes. She makes one, throws it up and it crashes onto some guy's thick afro hairstyle. His secret is that he can name all the presidents in order. She can name them as well. When they have to go separate ways, there is a weird moment of silence but she leaves to go wherever she needs to go.Kevin admits to his friends that the only thing he was able to say was "It was a pleasure committing with you.". They laugh about him. Eric (GQ) talks about Kevin's legendary lack of confidence. They are at a rock bar, discussing the matter. They all remember Kevin's disastrous night during his prom while playing with his school band.At home, Rod makes another paper plane, and she remembers her weekend in Chicago. Her friend Sam (Kristin Booth) asks her about the weekend she met with her boyfriend, but Rod is not so enthusiastic about that. She is more interested in that guy she met on the train.Boss presents the slogan for Reebok, "Step into the Future", but they expected a warmer tagline. Kevin is blamed for the disaster, and in frustration, he starts daydreaming. A song starts to sound, and he makes plenty of photocopies "Are you her? We met on the train. We talked about the presidents" with his telephone number. He distributes this all over town.A journalist called Randy "Freaky" Francis (James Bulliard) sees it and his editor thinks he's got a story. It happens that he was the guy who was dumped by the girl who went to her prom with Kevin instead of him. He is still on the story.When Kevin comes back home, the phone is ringing but none of his two flatmates picks it up. He does, and it's a girl who says she is the girl from the train. They will meet at 1:00. Of course, it's not her, because Rod is dating with her boyfriend, whom she has less and less in common. The weirdo who wants to date Kevin felt a "cosmic connection" with him by reading his poster. Rod's boyfriend is answering his phone all the time and keeps on forgetting her. She starts making a paper plane, bus his boyfriend buys her out with two tickets for the Al Green (himself) concert.Brady phones Kevin to interview him. The next day, the story gets printed, and everybody in the office giggles at Kevin behind his back - and in front of. The people at Reebok wants Kevin officially on the team which is working on their campaign, as they want that kind of passion. Margie the Receptionist (Jenny Parsons) is the one who has to deal with some of the prank callsKevin and his friends go to a baseball match where Eric is hit with a ball for the third time. The Reebok campaign goes on, but so many calls from different girls are starting to get disruptive. Mr Higgins thinks that Kevin is still lacking drive and confidence. Jackie is constantly pouting at Kevin's childish behaviour. He wants more involvement from Kevin in Reebok. When he says "yes" at this proposal, Kevin is also agreeing by phone to the night plans Eric has for him. Kevin thinks he's finally found Rod at a bar, but it was not her, only somebody who looked like her from behind. Eric is thrown out of the bar while Al Green is performing a song about Kevin's search. While Eric and Kevin leave the bar, we can see Rod entering, looking for her boyfriend and not happy at all. They didn't see each other.The next morning, in the same train, Kevin is commutting. The girl appears and tells her name to him, but he can't quite hear it because of the noise. Suddenly, he wakes up: he's just reached his station and it was only a dream. Kevin's friends start pretending to be him when answering the phone. Nathan (Jerry Stiller) goes out with some freaky girls.One of these calls was Randy's call. He is outraged that so many girls want to meet Kevin.Back in Chicago, Rod finally sees the newspaper article about Kevin. She phones him but it's one of his friends who picks it up. All his friends are dating these girls pretending to be Kevin, so one of them sets a date on Saturday evening with Rod. Obviously, when Rod arrives to the restaurant she realises that he is not Kevin. Rod is first surprised, then annoyed and leaves without having even sat up. The friend runs after her and he realises that this time, she is the real deal. He makes her believe that Kevin knows and approves of his friends dating the lonely girls who call him.Randy's girlfriend Julie (Amanda Foreman) tries to set a date with Kevin. She comes back home with a broken nose, a plastered leg and crutches. The next morning, The Chicago Post says that it was all a scam. The first thing Kevin notices is that Margie doesn't want to talk to him. Higgins also calls him to his office and takes him out of the Reebok team.Jackie has to make some photocopies for the Reebok team in a hurry, but the clerk is on his coffee break, so it's Kevin who helps her out. At the end of that day, at the station, Kevin notices Rod also waiting for a train, but for another train in the other side of the lane. He calls out for her, but she doesn't hear him. He runs to her, but she is already in the train. The doors close. He taps on the window on her compartment, but she shows him The Chicago Post's headline saying that it was all a scam.Kevin tells Eric while playing baseball that he found her but that she blew him off. Eric tells him that she had called and that he went on a date with her. Kevin gets angry and punches Eric. CUE to images of Rod and Kevin, both strolling around the city, feeling lonely and depressed.Kevin's friends want to straighten things up. Following Eric's description of Rod, they renew the efforts to look for this girl.Kevin visits his father, in an elder people's home. He gives him a baseball and advises him to find that girl. Jackie has told the Reebok people that it was Kevin's idea. Kevin puts billboards all over Chicago saying that he was sorry and further asking the "train girl" to meet him at 7 at their stop. All the media and the general public is there waiting for him and the train girl.Meanwhile, Eric presents his new song to Julie. It's getting late, and all the camera crews leave because the train girl is not going to appear. A paper plane appears. It's from Rod. Kevin looks up and it's Rod. He asks for her name and they kiss.The next day, there is a picture of Rod and Kevin on the first page with the headline BOY FINDS GIRL!EXTRA FOOTAGE: N-Sync singers / dancers / whatever they were show fake behind the scenes footage. | romantic | train | imdb | Lance Bass and his friends are past their college years, and Lance's love interest just finished grad school.So with that, it is difficult to predict who the movie was targeting, but it certainly got my attention..
Will Kevin connect again with Abbey, even as he's fighting off the attentions of other women?With NSync member Bass as the star of the show, one would expect a movie only tweens would appreciate.
The supporting cast is a bit goofy and grating at times (especially Kevin's friends) but, overall, the presentation of the movie is upbeat and humorous.
On The Line is a sweet and innocent movie for little girls or those who love cute little romances.
Lance Bass from Nsync fame is quite good as the lead who always chokes up around the opposite sex and in the workplace.
On The Line isn't Oscar winning but it is a movie that should appeal to those who love the innocence of young love..
I think that Joey and Lance were great in this movie.
I think that the plot was very good and the movie was funny.
Both Lance and Joey have good singing voices and I think that it is great that they both get to show off their many talents in this movie..
I had a hard time thinking of Lance Bass as anything but a singer, and his acting skills weren't all that convincing otherwise.
Don't get me wrong though, I enjoyed the movie because it was a very cute romantic comedy.
And the movie had a really good story line as well as comedy!
Why don't they just stick to singing?" We've all seen movies like this- singers trying to crossover into acting, and most of the time the movie flops.
People might think this movie is geared for preteen girls because it does star two members of *NSync-but I think more guys would relate to this movie- I know I sure did..
The only reason why I got it was because I wanted to see how much Lance Bass and Joey Fatone suck at acting.
By Hollywood placing two members of a relatively mediocre music group (Lance Bass and Joey Fatone of nysnc) into this already poor film is offensive and makes me feel ashamed to support many of Miramax's other films.
Before I saw this movie, I thought it was going to be just a vehicle for Lance and Joey.
Lance Bass did a great job, and well the sense was given that Joey was practically playing himself.
I have seen love stories, I have seen teenage movies that actually are pretty good!!!
the story is pretty bad and give an incomplete plot because you never understand what is really happened in the feelings of the girl and the boy...
Guys if you want to see a love movie watch THE NOTEBOOK!!!
Movies that out of a good story even if it is corny, it leave a message in your heart!.
This movie was a pile of garbage, packaged in a glossy wrapper to distract you from the poor acting, predictable plot, lazy writing, overly trendy characters, unlikeable leads, etc.
Bass and Fatone, AKA "Lance" and "Joey," as they have been dubbed by all the users here writing about how amazing this film is (who, apparently, are on a first-name basis with NSync) fall into that category.
It's just boyish, "Lance."Granted, if the movie had been any good, we could forgive Bass and Fatone's horrid performances (and Richie Sambora for that matter--a brillaint guitarist who needs to stick to the guitar) and focus on the intelligence of the script.
How's that as a start?In the beginning of October a movie called Serendipity came out that had a concept like this, with a guy who looses a girl when he really liked her and isn't able to find her, but not in the way you think, I mean more intentionally.
Remember when in the days of Ed Wood when his movies were shown in theaters and when people saw them they threw things at the screen and yelled at it and cursed at it and such, I felt like doing that while watching On the Line.Because while watching this movie I realized that romantic comedies should be buried, or maybe even cremated, without a wake or funeral.
Or, at least these type of romantic comedies, the types where beautiful people (they chock a lot of them in this movie) keep on being apart from one another, not because they want to be apart, but because of scripts that smell like they came out of the dumpster in the poor section of town in Calcutta (and have been written by the "elite" screenwriters of Hollywood).
The plot is something that I'll try to go through here- Lance Bass (ughh) of NSync (double Uggh from the guys) is an ad exec who meets a girl on a train (Emmanuele Chriqui who is actually rather admirable) and then just as they seem like they like each other a lot, Bass breaks it off and retreats back to his lair with his miscreant roommates- one of them another Nsync guy Joey (the fat guy to all you guys).I felt like screaming after seeing this movie, as I'm sure some of the smart people who wander into this drek will feel like doing, and even bad movie buff fans will want to hurl during the scenes that are meant to be "cute" and "funny".
Ten minutes later I couldn't be dragged out of the seat I was in.On the line is a fun movie, it shows romance and love is alive, even in the fakeness of Hollywood (or Chicago).
This movie is sweet, cute, funny, romantic, and overall great.
Lance Bass is great as the hopeless romantic and Joey Fatone as the hilarious wanna-be rocker.
Emmanuelle Chriqui was just as impressive in her part as the sought after perfect girl and GQ is absolutely hilarious as Kevin's smart-allick friend.As for the movie itself, it was maybe a little too pre-teenly geared for me, but that is easily overlooked when considering the other adult-related content.
15 minutes into the movie you don't even think about Kevin and Rod being in...what's the group's name again?However, I was very disappointed that Jerry Stiller didn't have a bigger part and with all the not-so-hidden advertisements (hello Pepsi and Frosted Flakes).But all in all I really think this is a great start for Lance as an actor and movie producer.
I went to this movie, like a few others I expect, ready for a good laugh at the expense of some non-actors and pretty much sure it was going to suck dead bunnies through a straw.
Joey's a natural (though I get the sense that's more a result of the fact he basically plays himself in this movie) and Lance is't atrocious :) Emanuelle and Lance have believable chemistry..a.nd hey, mucho Al Green...what more could you ask?.
Perhaps if you are a teenage girl who just loves the backstreet boys or n'sync or whoever is in this movie could be for you, but with really bad acting and an unoriginal plotline I would not bet on it.
Kevin's friends Rod (Joey Fatone), Eric and Randy proceed to take the impostor L train girls out on dates, most of which end catastrophically.New acting talents Gregory Qaiyum and James Bulliard play Eric and Randy, the ghetto boy and the preppy kid.
When asked about his predictions for the public's response Bass states, `oh yeah, this is going to be known as the 'N Synch movie,' but he feels that it's not just for the fans.
Besides just being lots of fun it is great seeing Lance and Joey having so much fun acting.
On the Line is an okay movie that is somewhat entertaining and enjoyable to watch.
Lance Bass and Joey Fatone (two of the guys from N'Sync) did a fairly well job for one of their first theatrical films.
Some of the most cringe-inducing bits were the supposed enthusiasm of Chicagoans for the successful resolution of Kevin (Lance Bass)'s search for the girl (Chiriqui) who he had seen on the train but whose contact information he had not got.
Having lived in big cities most of my life, I know that people would sooner stick a dull stake through their hearts than betray even the slightest emotion or make eye contact with someone on public transportation and yet when Kevin's attempt to connect with the girl who he had let get away becomes public, it is as though "West Side Story" or "Oklahoma" or some energetic musical has broken out in the movie and tired commuters all of a sudden have a deep passion for the success of a romance between two people they know nothing about.
The goofy love-story, sure, some girls (and maybe some gay men who would looooove to meet Lance Bass) may enjoy and it is harmless, if hoaky.
Presenting On The Line, starring both Lance Bass and Joey Fatone.
And this movie starred two of their members Lance Bass and Joey Fatone.
The soundtrack of the movie was good, but the story was cheesy, the acting was horrendous, and everything about this movie was just terrible.If you like these kind of movies, that's fine.
The charming Lance Bass can do nothing to save this movie, even with help from N'Sync buddy Joey Fatone.
I'll admit the only reason I watched this movie in the first place was because Lance and Joey were in it, and of course I knew it would be excellent, but it was sooo much better than I expected!!!
One of the best scenes (although the whole thing is the best movie ever!) was when Higgins (Dave Foley) was talking to Kevin (Lance Bass) and then the woman from Reebok was on the phone and said "Doesn't have any", and Higgins said "Hello?", that was sooo funny!!!
It seems like the role of Rod, Kevins best friend was made for Joey Fatone.
Its not your typical romantic comedy, I know people are going to be lame and give the movie a bad review because 2 'NSync members are in it(Boys, ya jealous much?) They probably won't even see the movie and give it a bad review, I know this cuz there is NO NEED for bad reviews on this film, its great.9/10.
AT the end when Kevin is at the station and ITS 7.10.....And she had not come I swear I had tears rolling down my face..And even why she met him he asked her for her name and number ...It was nice to know that in this wonderful world that we live in there's still some guys and girls who don't even ask each other their names on that first meeting...Cause till today no woman has ever made me wait or even left me...I wish I COULD find a woman who could make me cry ......because she has hurt me or left me ..where is she..LOL.
Sappy.......But I Liked It. Lets get this out of the way first, Lance Bass CANNOT ACT.
That aside, this movie was really frustrating, I just wanted the two to get together already......I loved Emmanuelle Chriqui she is gorgeous and very down to Earth I think shes great and going to be a big star one day.The other Nsync star Joey was pretty good I thought, much better than Lance, I just wanted to slap him out a few times.Overall a very sappy movie...........but i fell for it.It had to be Emmanuelle....she was great....absolutely fantastic.
Lance Bass and Joey Fatone prove that not only are they great singers but they can act too.
I recommend this movie to anyone who is a romantic and enjoys a good laugh..
I last saw this story done well in Serendipity (spelling?), but this one had actors in it, while On The Line was nothing but a blown up video clip that should rot on MTV not at movie theaters - Nuff Said!I give this 1 of 10 stars, but only since 0 is not possible....
(I sat on the aisle because the movie was packed with little girls who wanted to see Bill Cosby, but found out that this wasn't his movie...wow, they must have been disappointed due to the fact that Bill Cosby is in the Cosby family, and Lance Bass is in the Bass family...and last I checked, those are two different families, though I could, and probably am not, not incorrect.) But this movie was very gripping from the beginning, all the way to the end of the opening credits.
The only character that shows promise is Joey Fatone's, which is hard for me to believe since I don't really think he's got anything in NSYNC.
'On The Line' isn't the best film in the world and sure, it's not a contender but it's good fun and I would definatly reccomend it to any NSYNC fan.
There are some points in the film where you find it embaressing to watch seeing as Lance Bass isn't a very good actor.
Joey Fatone has potential as an actor but not as one that should be taken very seriously - definatly not oscar worthy but all in all this movie isn't that bad, it's good fun to watch on a friday night with some friends..
I was only laughing because Lance Bass and Joey Fatone CANNOT act!
After an initial buildup with a bare minimum of depth everything is cut loose to advance the story with what should be perceived as comedy but fails.After recently seeing "Serendipity" (which is by no means great but has a heart and you actually care about the characters) which also features the romantic quest about destiny and finding the right girl after a chance meeting, this one is a sure looser in every aspect.I hoped for Emmanuelle Chriqui to be in a better movie, 100 Girls featured her in a much more interesting role but I think at least for her there is hope for a better future - for this movie the only hope is to be soon forgotten..
For NSYNC fans, the movie was probably fun to see because of its cast, but for people who aren't die hard fanatics, do not waste your time..
Bad movie, but great actor....
The movie itself was okay in my opinion, I think that for all the Nsync fans, it was probably wonderful to them.
Kevin is too much like Lance for us to see the lack of Lance's acting ability.As for the rest of the cast, Jerry (Stiller) and Dave (Foley) are still funny, but the script didn't give them a chance to give their best performances.The other two guys (GQ and whoever played Randy) didn't real have much to work with either.
First off...i dont believe for a second that cliched line of "musicians cant make it in acting"...umm, hello??...who do u think pulls it off in their music clips??...acting doubles??...Lance has mastered ( and even better then some "professional" actors that have been in the game for years..) the screen face..the boys knows how to show emotion in his facial expressions...speaking..is another story...little more practice and he'll be game on.
Well anyway, as for the movie, "On The Line" is a boring and predictable romantic comedy aimed right at the pre-teen crowd.
Lance Bass is not too bad, and Joey Fatone is passable, the rest of the cast is not all that good though no one is overally irritating.
Its a shame that a good actress such as Emmanuelle Chriqui has to be in this movie and be in it with a man that can't act whose is Lance Bass.
Not even fans of Nsync would enjoy this movie, it's a disappointment and a waste of 90 minutes..
I am a huge Nsync fan, but when I found out two of the members were starring in this movie, I assumed it was going to suck....
While "On The Line" is, by most standards, a bad movie there IS a reason I saw it five times so far.
If you like chick-flicks, pop music, and can tolerate the lack of plot and good acting for an hour and a half, it really is a great movie.
On the Line is a romantic comedy film that stars Lance Bass and Emmanuelle Chriqui together with Joey Fatone and Jerry Stiller.
I bring up the year because this movie might have worked in 1981, but not in the internet-booming new millennium.Basically, Lance Bass' Kevin uses everything but what he needs, i.e. the net, to find "the girl of his dreams." And we, the viewer, have to suffer through 85 minutes of his journey to know exactly how it will turn out.
Even with a movie this short, it feels three times as long.So, beyond the sadly ironic title of "On the Line" because he doesn't know how to log online, the real tragedy here is Bass was never believable.
Most likely they did know about Bass being gay, but it didn't work as Bass wouldn't enter the real world for years later.Either way, it's not worth watching the whole movie for.
On the Line--N*Sync's first movie attempt!.
***possible spoilers?*** Okay, so I just got out of the theater from seeing "On the Line" about half an hour ago, and let me say, the reason I wanted to see it was because it starred Lance Bass.
ANYWAY, I think the movie was great, but that Joey Fatone's character was a little annoying, and he farted a lot of the time..
I had heard about on the line before....people had said that this was one of the worst movies ever.
I thought lets see how bad this is.But you know what...I don't think it was the actors that where bad it was the movie makers themselves.
Next time u watch this film don't let the movie makers get in the way |
tt0079437 | Last Embrace | The film opens in a Mexican cantina across the border from El Paso, where government agent Harry Hannan (Roy Scheider) is canoodling with his wife. Harry spots an informant that he was supposed to meet in a few days. Realizing he is about to be attacked, he shoves his wife to the ground and starts shooting at the informant's companions who return fire and flee the restaurant. Harry's wife dies in the attack, and he suffers a nervous breakdown. He spends 161 days in a Connecticut sanitarium before being released.On his way back to New York City, Harry stumbles and nearly falls into the path of an express train. He goes to the makeup counter at Macy's to retrieve his next assignment. The saleswoman gives him a lipstick shade called "Sunset Rose", but when he disassembles the applicator, the assignment slip inside is blank. He accosts his contact who assures him that the agency probably just does not have any work for him at the moment.When Harry returns to his apartment, he finds it is occupied by a doctoral student named Ellie Fabian (Janet Margolin). She explains that she had a perfectly legal sublet arranged while she is in the last semester of her studies at Princeton. Ellie claims that the housing office said the Hannans would be gone indefinitely. She gives Harry a note that was slipped under the door, but it contains only a few Hebrew characters that Harry cannot read.Paranoid that he is being targeted by his own agency, Harry visits his supervisor Eckart (Christopher Walken), who assures Harry that the agency has higher priorities. Eckart insists that Harry is not ready to return to the field, but that he is perfectly safe. After their conversation, Harry notices that he is being surveilled. He loses the tail and rushes to the American Museum of Natural History, where Ellie is carbon dating a skull. She is astonished that he found her, but he rattles off facts about her life, including that she is conducting a study of prostitution.He gleaned everything from his brief encounter with Ellie in his apartment. He gives her some money and urges her to stay in a hotel, because he fears she will be accidentally targeted by whomever is after him. Ellie stays in the apartment despite Harry's request. When Harry wakes from a nightmare, he tells Ellie about the death of his wife. He takes a prescription pill, but immediately spits out, realizing that it is cyanide.
Harry takes the Hebrew note to a local rabbi who can only partially decode it. The rabbi informs the agency that Harry has visited him, and Eckhart orders Harry's murder. Ellie suggests that they take it to her friend at Princeton who specializes in Hebrew studies. On the train, Ellie tells Harry about her grandmother, and confesses that she inherited her wild streak. Harry notices an old man looking at him, and the camera reveals that another agent is also on the train.At Princeton, Ellie introduces Harry to Richard Peabody (John Glover), who is very possessive of Ellie. He decodes the note for Harry and explains that it means "Avenger of Blood." Peabody has accumulated several of the notes over the years, and they were all attached to very peculiar murders. Harry is the first one to have received the note and lived.The next day, Harry is lured to a trap by the other agent. He manages to kill the agent during a shootout in a bell tower. There, he encounters the old man from the train, Sam Urdeil (Sam Levene). Sam explains that he is part of a committee investigating the blood murders. Together, they investigate the various clues, and they piece together that Harry's grandfather owned a brothel on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.Meanwhile, in Niagara Falls, Ellie is seen putting on makeup at a vanity. She is dressed as a prostitute, and she lures a married man into a bathtub with her. As she has sex with him, she drowns him. As Harry and Sam put together all their information, they are lead back to Princeton. Harry realizes that Ellie is the one murdering men, on behalf of victims of white slavery like her grandmother. He drives her up to Niagara Falls, where they have an emotional confrontation. She tries to kill him but confesses that she loves him. He is conflicted, but he tells her that he will turn her in. Ellie runs from him, and the film ends with a prolonged chase through the hydroelectric power plant. It ends above the falls, where Harry grabs Ellie, but she struggles and ends up plunging to her death. | cult, neo noir, violence | train | imdb | A very decent effort from director Jonathan Demme before he went on to better things,LAST EMBRACE is inevitably compared to the works of Alfred Hitchcock,with many scenes derivative from many of the master's most famous works(VERTIGO,THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH,STRANGERS ON A TRAIN,etc.),but this is actually an effective suspenser in it's own right,with an intriguing plot,good performances and an exciting finale.Roy Scheider plays a Secret Agent just released from care after suffering a breakdown after his wife was killed in a shootout in a restaurant.After finding a woman(Janet Margolin)who has moved into his flat,he begins to suspect someone is trying to kill him after sinister messages in Amharic keep turning up.The film would've been more superior with more humour and better pacing,but nevertheless this isn't at all a bad Hitch imitation,with the bird imagery(a motif Hitchcock used frequently in his films)and a fine musical score by Miklos Rozsa(who had himself worked with Hitchcock on SPELLBOUND)adding to the atmosphere.The performances are fine,especially Ms Margolin,an undervalued and lovely actress who never quite made it to the top,making her character quite pitiable despite her actions.Her early death at the age of 50 in 1993 was indeed a sad loss for a film performer who deserved better.LAST EMBRACE was made shortly before Hitchcock's death in 1980;one wonders did he ever see this film?
Although Jonathan Demme's 1992 Oscar-winner THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS was his first major suspense thriller, it wasn't the first film he'd ever made in that genre.
While LE definitely has strong elements of VERTIGO and other Hitchcock classics, I've always considered it to be more of a paranoia thriller with film noir touches, which I guess makes LE what might be called "film shachor." :-) Cool, craggy yet suave Roy Scheider had long been one of our family's favorite tough-guy actors; to many fans.
Janet, we hardly knew ye.) Scheider, Margolin, and Walken are aided and abetted by a rogues' gallery of stellar New York character actors, including John Glover as Ellie's insecure professor boyfriend; Marcia Rodd as Harry's nervous agency contact; David Margulies as a rabbi with connections; Joe Spinell and Jim McBride as thugs; Captain Arthur Haggerty as a bouncer waiting to use the phone; Mandy Patinkin and Max Wright in bit parts as commuters who may or may not have some 'splainin' to do; scene-stealer Sam Levene as the crotchety but likable head of a secret Jewish society; and director Demme himself cameo-ing as a stranger on a train.Some critics complained that despite Demme's obvious affection for the Hitchcockian material, LE could have used more of The Master of Suspense's zest and verve.
The settings contribute to the film's Demme-ness; his ace Director of Photography Tak Fujimoto really makes the New York City and Princeton, NJ locations integral to the plot and its Hitchcockian motifs, especially the bell tower sequence and an exciting climax at Niagara Falls (I can hear you making lewd jokes :-)).
Enjoyable mystery movie involves a guilt-ridden agent , and her new friend who attempt to locate a strange murderer who leaves Jewish signals ; as it begins with an ancient warning and it ends at the edge of Niagara Falls .
A feverish thriller in the Hitch style containing several iconographic elements and dealing with an ex-secret serviceman called Harry Hannan (a tremendous Roy Scheider) and his wife being attacked by hoodlums (Joe Spinell) when they find on holiday .
Scheider has his old colleagues (Christopher Walken) and his brother-in-law (Demme frequently casts Charles Napier) out to get him .Entertaining mystery movie packs thrills , action , suspense , pounding soundtrack and breathtaking outdoors from Niagara .
Good acting by Roy Scheider as a secret agent becomes involved in a deep nightmare and Janet Margolin as a strange woman who has taken possession of his flat .
Roy Scheider turned in his always good performance and I didn't mind looking at Janet Margolin in the bathtub..
And to complicate matters he falls in love with a young woman (the sexy, late Janet Margolin) with whom he is temporarily sharing his apartment.Two strong and gutsy performances from the two leading characters maintain the suspense levels right to the dramatic climax.
It's only fitting with films of this genre that Harry will fall for the beautiful young woman who apparently seems to be trying to help him solve the puzzle about a cryptic death threat he has received at home.Harry with the help of Sam Urdell, starts investigating about the meaning of the strange message he got.
Even before that there's also a great scene involving Harry's former brother-in-law in a tower at Princeton, which kept reminding us of "Vertigo".Roy Scheider makes an intense Harry.
Christopher Walken, Mandy Patinkin, Jacqueline Brookes, Marcia Rodd, Charles Napier, among others are seen in the film.Jonathan Demme proved he was a talent that would go to bigger and better things even then..
Director Jonathan Demme has done some interesting films since then, too.Most of the story involves "mysterious" people chasing others and if I went into it in any detail it would ruin things for anyone who hasn't seen it.
I also think the profanity could have been lowered in here, especially by Roy Scheider's character "Harry," and the film would still have been just as intense.What I really appreciated, more than the actors or story, frankly, was the photography and Demme's direction.
The film expects you to become close to characters that on the whole are very poorly fleshed out.The movie does offer a great opportunity to see Janet Margolin who is a very uniquely and naturally beautiful woman.
However, instead of just being a flawed Hitchcock homage, I think "Last Embrace" stands up well as an enjoyable movie in its own right.Harry Hannan, a secret service agent, has fallen foul of both the government agency he works for, and a mysterious killer who leaves notes for intended victims written in ancient Aramaic.
It features an ending at Niagara Falls that has strong echoes of Hitchcock's classic "North By Northwest".It seems Demme had doubts about the finished film.
Based on a novel, "The 13th Man" by Murray Teigh Bloom, Demme and his team created a new story around the basic plot with the result that the film, in my opinion, emerged as the superior work.Demme called on the services of Miklos Rozsa for the music.
Rozsa scored only one movie for Hitchcock - "Spellbound" - but his style was distinctive and the score for "Last Embrace" brings to mind that famous romantic thriller.
I think she brought a lot to this movie especially when it is seen simply as an intriguing and well-made thriller.Demme has not repeated the Hitchcock homage, but has gone on to hone his own distinctive directorial style - "Silence of the Lambs" gained him an Academy Award - one prize Hitchcock never received.
Someone is trying to kill Roy Scheider, and fine actors Christopher Walken, John Glover, and Charles Napier are essentially wasted as "red herrings".
Gripping from start to finish "Last Embrace" is one of those forgotten films by the movie-going public that over the years, since it's release back in 1979, that when re-discovered it has the Hitchcock thrillers compared to it instead of the other way around.
Surviving an assassination attempt that took his wife's Dorothy, Sandy McLoad, life government agent Harry Hannan, Roy Scheider, suffered a nervous breakdown from holding himself responsible for his wife's death by taking her to the restaurant where she was killed.
Based on the Murrary Teigh Bloom novel thriller "The 13th Man" the film "Last Embrace" is a well thought out story that keeps you guessing to just where it's taking you until the very end.
The beautiful Janet Margolin was never better as Ellie Fabian the young women with a past and secret that was the key to what was the real reason behind all those shocking and ritualistic-like murders in the movie.
And of course the final scene between Harry and Ellie at Niagara Falls that even the great Alfred Hitchcock would have been proud of making..
Jonathan Demme is such a character-oriented director that, to see him pulling a Brian De Palma (which is to say, aping Hitchcock), it's predictably distressing when he fails to work up much suspense within this mystery.
After having read many of the earlier reviews, however, I tend to agree that a lot of the theme is convoluted, and even the untrained eye will see familiar, much too familiar cinematography.If one thinks of "Niagara", "Vertigo" and "The Man Who Knew Too Much", you will have a pastiche of ideas similar to this film.Roy Scheider is very good, and underplays his role as a CIA/secret agent.
Perhaps this part of the story could have been more central, so we would not have wound up with a Hitchcock copycat film.That aside, there are some unique camera shots, the backdrop of Niagara Falls is an interesting choice, and if you are at all interested in Demme's work, this film is worth viewing..
The chemistry between Roy Scheider and Janet Margolin is so good, it's a real shame this movie wasn't conceived as a romcom: he even adopts her cat.
He tries to decipher a mysterious letter that is sent to him, written in an unknown language, in the hope to find out who is trying to kill him.Sometimes the acting by the supporting actors is somewhat overdramatic, deliberatedly done to again copy the original Hitchcock style in which characters often performed with large gestures.
To conclude: if you never have seen a Hitchcock movie and even if you dont know Roy Scheider either, "Last Embrace" is still a good suspense thriller.
Frequently referred to as 'Hitchcockian' don't let that promise of quality fool you into thinking The Last Embrace is anywhere near the same level as a good Hitchcock movie because it isn't.
Thriller involves a government agent (Roy Scheider) who has a nervous breakdown when his wife is killed in front of him and he is, partly, responsible.
With the help of a very odd woman (Janet Margolin) he tries to find out.Very good attempt at a Hitchcock-like thriller.
It's well directed by Demme (especially a great tracking shot at a train station), has an overstated (if good) music score, has an innocent man involved in murder, and has direct references to other Hitchcock thrillers (especially "Vertigo" and "Psycho").It has an excellent performance by Scheider and early small role for Christopher Walken!But it doesn't entirely succeed.
There are so many similarities between this relatively obscure thriller directed by Jonathan Demme and the works of either Alfred Hitchcock or Brian dePalma, that it's hard to know where to begin.
Even the plot outline suggests a Hitchcock film with someone like James Stewart carrying the lead.But here it's ROY SCHEIDER, a very intense Scheider (even more so than in JAWS), because he never recovered from a nervous breakdown after his wife's sudden demise.
Naturally, in a story of this sort, we have to have a femme fatale and in this case it's JANET MARGOLIN as someone who tells him she wants to help solve his dilemma.There are some tricky camera shots, odd angled and always interesting, and Scheider really does carry the film with an extra intense portrayal of a hunted man who doesn't know who his enemies are.Add to this the somber score fashioned by none other than Miklos Rozsa (who did that wonderful SPELLBOUND score for Hitch), and you have all the elements of a first-rate crime story.Unfortunately, there are a couple of drawbacks.
This is a very good mystery thriller from the director of The Silence of The Lambs, with Roy Scheider in one of his best roles, playing a government agent who is recovering from a nervous breakdown, after a botched assassination attempt on his life results in the death of his wife.
Roy's character, Harry, finds that his flat has been mistakenly leased to a woman called Ellie, who works at a university and later on they both become involved in trying to find out who is behind the murders of several people and the attempts on Harry himself.The last half hour of the film reveals a smart twist and an exciting chase that finishes at Niagara Falls, it ends on a satisfactory/what happened then?
kind of way, with the viewer wanting to know more.Sadly though, Last Embrace never saw box office potential when it was released in the late seventies, probably because of films like Star Wars and Jaws were more exciting at the time for the masses, still its a great film and one of Roy Scheider's best performances, also Janet Margolin is particularly good as Ellie and the two of them have good chemistry together.
The look and feel of the film put me in mind of De Palma's movie Obsession, which itself was a homage to Hitchcock's Vertigo.Roy Scheider is excellent as the shell shocked spy who uncovers what he thinks is a Jewish conspiracy but runs much deeper.
In fact, Demme, a director I often think of as clunky, proves himself well up to the art of sympathetic pastiche, and I actually found this movie a little more engrossing than many of Hitchcock's own, although the plot is still holey and the overall feeling is that of an early 1960s movie, unusually well done, rather than a real late 1970s film.
While this film is not in the category of those listed, it shows the promise of a great director.Roy Scheider, who won Oscars for All That Jazz and The French Connection, and who is probably best know for his role as the sheriff in Jaws, plays a man who has become a target after his wife's murder.
This movie was showing at the terribly late time of 12.00am Last Night on BBC1 which is usually reserved for awful Made-for-TV Dramas starring Jane Seymour or Patty Duke, So i'm always wary of staying up late ,usually Realising soon after that I Shouldn't have bothered,But 'Last Emnrace' a movie that I ashamed to say have never heard of was a very good film and well worth staying up for.It stars that bloke from Jaws with the big Nose Roy Scheider who plays Harry Hannan a Intelligence agent whoose Wife gets killed in a Restaurant shootout, He very quickly suffers a nervous breakdown a spends a few months in a Mental Hospital.
It has great performances from Scheider,Margolin and Glover with a Cameo From Walken, with a great climax at the Niagra Falls, Hitchcock would have been proud of, but it does seem to go on and on to pad out it's 100mins+ running time, Other than that I have no complaints.all in all one of the Best Films you've never heard ofA truly underrated Classic (over 25 years old) probably Scheider's BestMy Rating ***1/2 out of ***** or 8/10.
Roy Scheider plays this character who, in a state of recovery, after suffering a nervous break-down from seeing his wife gunned down becomes convinced that his own spy agency is trying to kill him because he is a liability revolving around a politically motivated serial killer who may have targeted him as the next victim for reasons he can only guess at.
It's slow at parts as it bounces around to the endeavors of various characters, and some of Harry's moments of sentimental dialogue may've worked for a 50s era Hitchcock film, but it sure is ridiculous for a movie like this.
A lot of people have mentioned Alfred Hitchcock,but the movie which crosses my mind is undeniably Henry Hathaway's much underrated "Niagara".Not only the scenes in the cave by the fall ,but also the one in the steeple with the bells which will remind you of Marilyn Monroe's murder by Joseph Cotten .I urge people who enjoy the Niagara falls location to see this gem.As for Demme movie,it oddly begins as a spy thriller and continues as an esoteric one,with connections with Jewish culture and the Bible .The hero receives bizarre notes ,which,if we trust the eminent professor of Princeton ,mean death.This fondness for riddles will later emerge again in his towering achievement "silence of the lambs".This screenplay also predates ,relatively speaking , "seven" and its horrible rehashes ,the likes of "Resurrection" .What's definitely lacking is tempo,humor and madness;the final scenes in Niagara falls drag on :just compare them with Jean Peters' odyssey at the end of Hathaway's film;and as many users have already pointed out,what the point of casting a first-class actor like Walken for such a useless part??.
Even if the viewer figures out where the story is headed, getting to the conclusion is an enjoyable journey.Making a difference is the ever personable Roy Scheider, playing Harry Hannan, a CIA agent who has to watch while his wife is assassinated in a cantina.
Well, this is not a Hitchcock film but still, I like this movie.
The late Janet Margolin enriches the film and counts in part for my high score.Roy Scheider, as always, has immense presence Locations in New York encase a time when the city looked particularly rundown and that somehow defines an effective iconography though I have no idea why.
And the finale was spectacular in the surroundings of Niagara Falls.Jonathan Demme did a good job directing this suspense thriller.
Roy Scheider's performance as Harry Hannan is admirably bitter and integer, but his character is repellent and I'm pretty sure I would also want to kill him.
I can see what the critics say about the Hitchcock aspects, and it it similar to the Marilyn Monroe film, Niagara (towards the end), but this is quite a good film from director Jonathan Demme (The Silence of the Lambs).
When his wife and a cop are killed, Harry Hannan (Roy Scheider) has a breakdown, and the department he works for don't want him back. |
tt0086567 | WarGames | David Lightman (Matthew Broderick) is an intelligent, underachieving teen who spends most of his free time playing arcade video games or messing around on his computer. During an automated modem search, he finds a strange computer that appears to be affiliated with a game company. A list of games appears, but Lightman doesn't have the password. After doing extensive research, he correctly guesses it. As would-be girlfriend Jennifer (Ally Sheedy) watches, he begins playing "Global Thermonuclear War" and targets his hometown (Seattle) and Las Vegas for Soviet strikes.Unknown to the teens, the computer behind "Global Thermonuclear War" is not a game software company -- it is the War Operations Plan Response (W.O.P.R.) -- a top-secret military system that helps the Air Force decide what to do in the event of a Soviet attack. On their situation screens deep below Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, the military actually thinks a first-strike is occurring. Top programmer Dr. McKittrick (Dabney Coleman) figures out what has happened, but it seemed all too real for a few minutes.The government soon finds out who broke into their system, and Lightman is arrested and taken to Cheyenne Mountain for debriefing. It is assumed that he is affiliated with the Soviet KGB! He realizes that the W.O.P.R. is still "playing" Global Thermonuclear War, and needs to be stopped. The computer is feeding false data to the Americans, trying to get them to "move." General Beringer (Barry Corbin), a hawkish sort, is putting US forces on increasingly higher levels of Alert (known as Defense Conditions, or DefCon). When the computer convinces him that full-scale Russian attack is inbound, the General will order a counterattack.Lightman cleverly escapes from Cheyenne Mountain, seeking Dr. Stephen Falken (John Wood), the original programmer of W.O.P.R. Dr. Falken grew increasingly concerned about the program, took an assumed name and retired to Oregon. Jennifer helps Lightman to find the Doctor, and they manage to convince the cynical programmer to stop World War Three.At the last minute, while W.O.P.R. is busy feeding "game" data of inbound Soviet nuclear missiles to General Beringer's staff, Lightman and Falken arrive. They convince the General to wait and see if actual nuclear hits take place (which of course doesn't happen). The computer then tries to "guess" the encrypted launch code that will allow it to launch the US missiles and "win." Lightman and Falken try playing Tic-Tac-Toe against the super-computer, which ultimately teaches it the concept of futility. Just before launching the US missiles, W.O.P.R. quickly runs all the possible nuclear scenarios looking for a situation where it can truly triumph. It ultimately decides that Global Thermonuclear War is futile: there is no winner. Better to play a nice game of Chess.================================In a remote part of a desert, two Air Force members, one an office, the other enlisted, arrive at a seemingly abandoned house. They go through a strict security check and walk into a nuclear missile command room, bidding the previously stationed men a good night. The two begin their shift with a few checks of the equipment. After a few moments of conversation they receive a "flash traffic" message ordering them to confirm launch codes for the missiles. The codes are confirmed at the men insert the keys that will launch the missiles. The commanding officer, Jerry, demands that his subordinate, Steve, try to get Strategic Command on the phone. Steve argues that calling someone isn't the correct procedure but Jerry insists. When Steve is unable to reach anyone, Jerry continues the procedure for launch. However, when the moment arrives to turn both keys to "Launch" Jerry takes his hand off the key. Steven threatens him with a pistol...The scene suddenly cuts short and the opening titles of the film begin. Two United States government officials are arriving at NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. The two men meet with the commanding general, Beringer, and the chief computer systems programmer, John McKittrick, about the two Air Force men who failed to launch their missiles. Unbeknownst to Jerry and Steve, their launch mode order was a simulation designed to test the psychological resolve of both men to launch their missiles when ordered to. After a brief discussion about the mental limits of committing such an order, with Beringer defending the tradition of having actual human beings in the command bunkers, McKittrick recommends that they "take the men out of the loop" and put computer software in the bunkers, with command of that software resting at NORAD. McKittrick also shows the officials the WOPR (War Operations Programmed Response) computer, a supercomputer system that takes all incoming data from the NORAD war room and analyzes it, creating endless scenarios of nuclear war. If McKittrick's idea is accepting and implemented by Washington, then WOPR would provide instructions as to how the United States will respond in a nuclear attack. The government men decide to pass McKittrick's idea on to authorities in DC and to the president.In Seattle, Washington, in a video arcade, a high school student, David, is playing a game called Galaga when he looks at his watch and realizes he's late for school. He passes the game on to a younger friend of his and rushes to school, late for his biology class. After a few moments sitting and reviewing a test that he'd failed, David insults his belligerent teacher and is sent to the school's disciplinary officer. While he waits in the outer office, he slyly checks a hidden list of passwords.After school, David is picked up by his biology classmate, Jennifer, who'd inadvertently helped him acquire the password -- David regularly gets in trouble with the express purpose of stealing the password, which is changed every few weeks. She takes him to his house and he shows her his room where he's set up an elaborate personal computer system. David is a computer hacker and he quickly logs in to the school's system using the password he'd stolen. He accesses his own grades and jovially changes his biology grade from an F to a passing grade. Jennifer is stunned by his actions and becomes agitated when David pulls up her grades. He changes her biology grade as well but she insists he change it back, which he does. After she leaves, he changes her grade to an A.In the bunker that Jerry and Steve worked in, their personal command equipment is removed and replaced with a remote device that will do their jobs for them. Jerry looks crestfallen.While dining with his indifferent parents, David finds an advertisement for a software company called Protovision, which plans to release new video games. David calls Information and gets the number for Protovision, as well as the the other prefixes for the area of Sunnyvale, California. He has his computer begin dialing all the numbers in the area, not only looking for the software company but other businesses that could be useful in his hacking. Later, at the video arcade, Jennifer finds David and asks if he could change her grade again. David suggests that the password might have been changed again but Jennifer insists. When they go back to David's room, David shows Jennifer that he's programmed his computer to dial every number in the Sunnyvale area, mining them for other businesses. He also tells Jennifer that he changed her biology grade already. When David checks the numbers he's mined, he finds one that will not allow him to log on. He asks it to "list games" & a list appears showing some standard games like Chess, Backgammon and Tic-Tac-Toe and "Falken's Maze". However, the last two games on the list are named "Theater-wide Biotoxic and Chemical Warfare" and "Global Thermonuclear War."David takes the list to a computer technician who tells him that though David can't get in the system through normal channels so he should look for a "back door", a password left by the original programmer that may give him access. David begins to research the name "Falken" and discovers that it's the name of a computer programmer and artificial intelligence expert from the 1960s named Steven Falken. Falken himself had a son named Joshua who died in a car accident with his mother. Falken's health deteriorated and he himself died several years before. When Jennifer visits David again, David suddenly realizes that Falken's password is his son's name. He types in the password and is granted access to the system where he poses as Falken and asks the computer if they can play Global Thermonuclear War. David chooses the side of the Soviet Union and orders both Las Vegas and Seattle to be primary targets for nuclear strikes.At NORAD, the attack suddenly appears on the screens of their command center. The simulated warheads have already gone over the North Pole, causing a brief panic -- the staff of the command center wonder how their early warning system failed to detect the actual launch. Beringer orders a change in DEFCON (DEFense CONdition) to a status level of three. Back at his room, David and Jennifer are delighted at the complexity of the "game" when David's father yells for David to clean up some garbage the family dog had spilled. David abruptly turns his computer system off and the simulation disappears from NORAD's screens. A technician rushes in yelling that the scenario isn't real. He goes on to explain that someone from the outside has hacked into the system and ordered a simulation. Though they can't pinpoint David's precise location, they determine he's in Seattle.David returns home one night to see a news report about the alert he inadvertently triggered. David quickly becomes anxious and disappears to his room. Jennifer calls saying she'd seen the news report too. David panics, worrying that government officials will find him. Jennifer tells him not to call the phone number again. While he destroys all the printouts of his research on Falken, the phone rings; the WOPR computer, AKA, Joshua, has called him. David tries to tell it that he's not Falken and that Falken is dead. Joshua doesn't accept the truth and tells David that the game program is still running; in a matter of hours Joshua will be able to launch a full-scale nuclear attack. David hangs up the phone but receives another call with the same computer tone; he unplugs his phone.Some time later David is leaving a 7-11 store when he's suddenly surrounded by FBI agents and forced into a waiting van. He's taken to NORAD and held in custody while McKittrick & Beringer meet with the FBI. They discuss how David was able to hack into the WOPR; somehow the phone lines in Sunnyvale had gotten crossed. They also assume David had either been working with another operative and was recruited by the Soviet government to be a spy. McKittrick requests that he be allowed to talk to David himself. David is temporarily released and shown around NORAD by McKittrick - David is slightly awed when he actually sees the WOPR, realizing that it's Joshua. In McKittrick's office, David is grilled for a bit - McKittrick wants to know how David could bypass his security. McKittrick receives a phone call and has to leave his office immediately. David uses McKittrick's office computer to talk to Joshua and finds out that Falken may still be alive, getting an alias and an address in Goose Island, Oregon. Moments later, he's seized by the guards, ranting to McKittrick about Joshua and Falken. He's returned to his "cell" a small, locked room in the facility's infirmary. David searches the drawers and finds some surgical instruments and a mini-tape recorder. He tricks the guard into opening the door and makes a recording of the code, opening the door himself. He rigs the door to lock permanently and escapes the infirmary through an air duct. David joins a tour group in the facility and escapes NORAD.David hitches a ride with a truck driver who drops him off near Grand Junction, Colorado. He jimmies a pay phone and calls information, asking about Falken's address in Oregon. There is no phone listing for Falken, or his alias. David next calls Jennifer in Seattle, who tells him that his parents are freaked out at their son being arrested and that he should come home immediately. David tells her he can't & asks her for money to buy a plane ticket to Goose Island. When he lands, he's surprised by Jennifer, who drove down to meet him. The two catch the ferry over to the island; on board David explains that Joshua is still playing the "game" and plans to launch US missiles in a 1st strike attack against the Soviets. Jennifer says she believes him & the two of them kiss on the way to the island.While walking around the island looking for Falken, they are nearly hit by a remote-controlled model pterodactyl. The artificial bird's owner is a friendly gentleman who turns out to be Falken himself, who tells them they're trespassing and begins to leave. When David mentions Joshua, Falken relents and invites them to his house. While showing them a film depicting extinct prehistoric creatures, he tells the teenagers that the threat of nuclear war is too great to stop and that humans are meant to become extinct, much like the dinosaurs, therefore he's not interested in stopping Joshua from completing it's mission. Falken also asks Jennifer if she ever played Tic-Tac-Toe. Jennifer says she did but doesn't anymore because it always ends in a tie. Falken reinforces his logic, saying the game is pointless.David and Jennifer argue that life is worth living and that Falken would try to stop the coming holocaust if his son were still alive. Falken doesn't have an answer & tells the two that they've missed the last ferry to the mainland. He invites them to stay but they refuse. While walking around the island again, they look for a boat. Jennifer suggests they swim to the mainland but David tells her he never learned to swim. Saddened by his failure with Falken, David becomes depressed and Jennifer comforts him. Suddenly a helicopter appears and chases them for a few minutes before Falken reveals himself as the pilot. He has them board the helicopter and they take off.At NORAD, a staff member in the war room is alerted to a missile launch from a Soviet submarine. Beringer assumes it to be a preemptive strike by the Soviets and orders the mountain facility to be sealed and orders DEFCON to be set at one.David, Jennifer and Falken arrive at the mountain just before the thick pressure door is closed and sealed. In the war room, Falken meets McKittrick and tells him the situation is a bluff engineered by Joshua. He suggests to Beringer that the Soviet Union would never attack unprovoked with all the weapons shown on the screens. He also suggests that they "ride out" the attack and let the 1st strike happen. Beringer communicates with officers from three military bases that will be hit first. He tells them to ride out the attack. When impact finally occurs, the officers report that they are very much alive. The war room celebrates and Beringer happily orders his bomber planes and missiles back to "stand down" status.Falken discovers a strange code running on one of the screens that shows 10 random numbers and letters cycling endlessly. He tells David and Jennifer that the digits are codes to launch the missiles and that Joshua is rapidly deciphering them. Falken and McKittrick try their own passwords but all access to the system is locked out. Jennifer scolds David for playing the game and David has a revelation: Joshua must be taught that certain games are unwinnable. He uses a terminal & commands Joshua to play Tic-Tac-Toe which gives him access to Joshua. David plays Joshua, resulting in a few tie games. He has Joshua play itself, resulting in hundreds of tie games until the screens change and show several hundred scenarios of 1st strikes by and on various nations, each with no winner listed. Suddenly the screens go blank and Joshua's electronic voice pops up, greeting Falken himself. Joshua says calls the game "strange" and says "the only winning move is not to play." Joshua has learned that there can be no winners in nuclear war. Joshua asks if anyone wants to play chess. McKittrick, Falken, David, and Jennifer join the celebration in the war room. | anti war | train | imdb | Imaginative story, great cast (who, despite other reviews, do not phone it in) Wargames is a true gem, as it was recently listed by AFI as one of the top 100 sci fi movies of all time.
While it's not a film classic, it's a very, very good popcorn thriller of uncommon craft, charm, and humanity.Seattle high schooler David Lightman (Matthew Broderick) has only a few hours to undo what he thought was a sneak preview of an upcoming computer game but what instead got him tinkering with the U.S. Air Force's WOPR (War Operation Planned Response) computer system in such a way as to trigger a countdown to World War III.
John Wood as a reclusive professor and Barry Corbin as a tobacco-chewing general get much of the kudos, and rightly, but there's a whole deep bench of quality work beyond that, like Kent Williams as a curt White House advisor, William Bogert and Susan Davis as David's out-of-it parents, Alan Blumenfeld as the swaggering bully of a biology teacher, and Juanin Clay as a beautiful but underappreciated assistant (even by herself as she uses her own mouth as an ashcan for her boss's discarded gum.) You know the casting people behind this movie were on the ball when the opening sequence features two very recognizable faces, those of Michael Madsen and John Spencer, in what were film debuts for both.That sequence with Madsen and Spencer as missile men point up another quality of "WarGames," the way the movie works in terms of setting up expectations and developing pace.
We get a macro-view where Dabney Coleman as a tunnel-visioned warroom executive effectively makes the case for "taking the men out of the loop" and then zoom back into what seems a totally unrelated story, that of slacker teen David Lightman and his high school travails.The film could have just started with Lightman, and worked its way out to the business with the WOPR.
The NORAD warroom is really a character onto itself, the ultimate source of reality in this film (and better for my money than the warroom in `Dr. Strangelove,' an obvious inspiration.) The way the cameras dart around from terminal to terminal as uniformed USAF technicians follow the progress of an apparent Soviet attack, lighting onto one of them just before he or she relays an important piece of information, is highly addictive and entertaining.There's some sloppiness in the movie.
For all the technical innovation on display, it's ironically appropriate we remember it for showing us how to butter an ear of corn, because it's the human side of the equation `WarGames' keeps in its sights at all times.[The DVD features a terrific, candid commentary from director John Badham and writers Lawrence Lasker and Walter Parkes that gives one a real appreciation for the value of creative license as well as factual diligence in making a film of this kind work.].
The government had these marvelous machines and the internet by which they communicated for decades before the public was given access from these ancient Commodore 64's, Amigas, and Atari home computers via phone line, back in the late 1970's.While this work is entertaining, it also bears a valid warning, even today.Broderick and Ally Sheedy both were 21, playing 17 year olds, competently.It rates a 7.6/10 from...the Fiend :..
Let's play Global Thermonuclear War. WarGames is a film which in some ways seems hopelessly dated and in other ways seems to have been way ahead of its time.
Ahead of its time this movie is.While certain aspects of the story may seem less relevant today there is no denying that WarGames is an effective, entertaining thriller.
And it often looks spectacular, most notably in the scenes which take place inside the NORAD war room, a movie set which was stunningly impressive for its time and actually would still be stunningly impressive today.
A rogue young man named David (Matthew Broderick) along with his best friend Jennifer (Ally Sheedy) hack into their high school's computer to change his grade and later on , find a back door into a military central computer in which reality is confused with game-playing, possibly starting World War III .
With that in mind the film could quite easily be classed as a bit clunky due to the now almost Neanderthal toys, games and computers used in the movie, but casting aside the nostalgia feelings I had with it, it still hits the spot as both a poignant piece of interest, and a dam good thriller as well.Matthew Broderick is David Lightman, a young computer gamer geek who is something of a whizz kid on the PC.
During one eventful sitting he hacks into a computer called Joshua and plays a game called Global Thermonuclear War, he harmlessly chooses to be The Soviet Union and proceeds to launch a nuclear attack on his own country, the U.S.A. Trouble is is that the game is for real and the wheels are in motion for World War III!.It helps to remember the time this film was made {for those old enough of course}, for it was the time of the ever worrying cloud of the Cold War, a time when nuclear war was more than a hearsay threat.
Never had the capabilities of computers been so realistically portrayed than in WarGames, a film that introduced the world to home computers, hacking, and how humanity can be replaced by machines (as well as the idea that nuclear destruction is still a threat).When two missile controllers fail to launch a missile during a test launch due to uncertainty, government bigwig McKittrick (Dabney Coleman) introduces his superiors to WOPR (War Operation Plan Response), a giant super-computer that repeatedly plays games with itself to generate stats and results of possible nuclear war outcomes.
With WWIII nearing, the movie takes some twists and turns and it's all good fun.Broderick is well-cast and this is probably one of the roles, along with Ferris Bueller, that stereotyped him as a continual teenager--which makes it hard for him to get adult roles nowadays.
(He's in the upcoming remake of "The Producers"--yay!)Ally Sheedy and Dabney Coleman both have supporting roles.I thoroughly enjoyed this film and rate it a solid "4" of five stars.Trivia note: Sheedy and Broderick both appeared in separate movies by John Hughes: "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" and "The Breakfast Club.".
the sequence where Broderick's character gets the password for the school computer.) Hacker movies have rarely come this close to being real - and, as someone who had been there and done that at about that time, it was scarily right.In no way is this one of the greatest movies ever made.
Kind of like The Goonies, it is a movie that finds a young kid in an extraordinary situation, except that rather than the Indiana Jones type adventure that the Goonies go on, David (a young Matthew Broderick) has inadvertently come frighteningly close to starting a massive nuclear war between the United States and Russia.We meet David early in the film after a tense missile launch training sequence (in which the men on hand do not realize that they are only participating in a training drill).
Technology is an amusing thing, especially when it's taken so seriously in the movies and then is so completely obsolete a decade or so later.Wargames, however, despite being jam-packed with outdated machinery and computer technology, is no less potent as a military thriller, because the technology is not the point of the film.
Instead, the movie tells the story of how David goes searching for video games on the 1983 version of the Internet, only to accidentally stumble upon a top-secret military database, WOPR (endearingly referred to as `Whopper') that runs hypothetical sequences of what World War III would look like, including how the Russians would react to American reactions to their actions, and so forth.
Probably the most hair-raising scene in the film is when David's mother calls him downstairs and congratulates him on passing his classes (which he had changed by hacking into the school's computer system), by which he is thrilled until he turns to look at the TV, where the news is reporting the war that has been set in motion because of his tinkering on the computer.
Wargames requires a substantial suspension of disbelief because of such things like the United States military's inability to tell whether or not those blips coming from Russia on their screens are real weapons of mass destruction of if they're just a computer game, but the fact that the world is tottering so lightly on the edge of Global Thermonuclear War, even if only because of the very presence of these types of weapons, is the frightening concept that the movie tries to get across.
We see it playing through World War III on the military intelligence screens near the end of the film (during which it evidently has a field day messing with the lighting in the room) showing missiles coming from every direction and destroying everything on the map.`This is a strange game,' it says.
Great Cold War drama.A high school kid, David (played by Matthew Broderick), accidentally hacks the powerful computer that runs global thermonuclear war simulations for the US military, and which controls the US's nuclear weapons arsenal.
Though not anywhere near as biting as Dr Strangelove in its demonstration of how Cold War paranoia and the nuclear arms race can go awry, it is a fairly chilling indicator of what could happen.Solid work from Matthew Broderick in the lead role, in only his second movie.
...not that it's just for kids.Released in 1983, "War Games" is about a computer whiz (Matthew Broderick) who accidentally hacks into a super computer that controls the US nuclear arsenal.
Broderick and his sidekick, Ally Sheedy, were both 20 at the time of filming, but look around 15-16.Although overrated in some quarters (Roger Ebert, for instance, gives it a perfect rating), "War Games" is a fun, entertaining youth adventure with some good suspense here and there.
There is no such thing as absolute security, and finding ways around things is frequently easier than anyone would ever like to think.The only thing I roll my eyes at in this movie is the whole WOPR scenario, I'm still waiting to see voice recognition that works reasonably well, let alone something with artificial intelligence.This movie was made 25 years ago, long before everyone had a computer sitting on their desk at home, and I'm still waiting to see a movie about computers that even remotely compares to "WarGames".
This factual event is the origin of the film " War Games." Herein we have a high school computer whiz kid named David Lightman (Matthew Broderick) who is seeking to play advance computer games.
"Wargames" is truly an astonishing motion picture for a myriad of reasons not the least of which have to do with both the plot and the superb dialog.David Lightman (Matthew Broderick) is a 17 year old truant case, undisciplined and lacking in academic interests whose only passion is video games.
While the movie is full of stereotypical characters (geeks, would-be geek, army nut, high school girl, brainy soft-spoken Englishman), its beauty lies in the way it explores the relationship between people and computers, emotion and decision, and also pokes into the world of AI, which seems just as far away now as it did in 1983.I have no idea how much of that technology a kid would have possessed back in '83, but it was all possible in the early days of the Internet, and in its military forebear, ARPANET.
I mean, we have this kid, David, who is a total computer nerd and spends his time playing games (know anyone like that?), hacks into an ultra sophisticated military mainframe, almost screws it up but ends up saving the world and getting the girl (the totally doable Ally Sheedy!).
John Badham directed this computer-gone-mad picture that stars Mathew Broderick as David, a rebellious teenager and computer whiz who likes to hack into his high school computer system to change his grades to an "A", or insult his science teacher.
It was an edge of the seat film, though the suspense wasn't as well done as it could've been.Matthew Broderick played David Lightman, a young computer "geek" who thinks quickly, very well, but other than him I thought the acting was pretty bland (not bad, just not great).Although I'm sure that it would've been a better movie for me had I seen it around the time it came out, in the midst of the cold war when this was much more plausible then it is now, it still was well worth the 2 hours.
He thinks he is playing a new computer game instead of actually warming up a World War.The cast also includes Ally Sheedy, Barry Corbin, Dabney Coleman and John Wood..
I know that Joshua (the computer) is outdated by today's standards and David (Matthew Brodrick) never would have broken into NORAD but it's still the best hacker movie made and one of the best cold war thrillers.
Maybe even the first I'm not sure.Bottom Line: Wargames is a quality film that will take older moviegoers back to their childhood or young adulthood and will make younger viewers think "they had computers back then?!" A true classic and one that makes a great addition to my collection..
1st watched 5/6/2001 - 7 out of 10 (Dir-John Badham): Timely, compelling drama about a kid hacking into the security system's computer system and almost starting World War III.
Broderick, who knows computers (in1983), inadvertently gets into a game (or so he thinks) of Thermonuclear War. It turns out that he has actually hacked into a military program that is feeding the U.S. information about that very subject.
The film deals a young man (Matthew Broderick) who taps into the computer's defense system and is planning to start World War III.
Watching it when I was young made me want everything Matthew Broderick's character had: Nice house, great computer set-up and computer "nerd" connections.Okay the movie might look dated now not to mention a little far fetched with a young teenager hacking into the miltary system, but so what at least it doesn't throw itself overboard like so many other films have in recent times (i.e. Independence Day, sorry if that's a dumb comparison).Interesting to also know that this was also voted "IMDB movie of the day" considering that it was shown only recently on TV (with the profanity edited though.
I love that movie because it is all about computers and Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy star in it.
It is interesting to see "Joshua" want to win this game of global thermonuclear war, but then realize at the end, that there are no winners, and the only way to win is not to ever play.
This movie plays with the real threat of that time - nuclear war.
People teach the machine not to kill people, because, "The only winning move is not to play." It sounds similar to a familiar quote: "There won't be any winners in a nuclear war." The general frame of this movie is based on the 'combinatorial thinking' of one computer which is practicing in adaptive learning of games outcomes.
Matthew Broderick plays a high school kid who loves computers and discovers a program called "ThermoNuclear War," left by a computer legend, which he thinks is a video game.
In fact, it turns out to be a great film, one that remains endlessly enjoyable despite the leaps and bounds that computer technology has made since this movie came out.Matthew Broderick stars as the likable lead, a teenage computer genius who accidentally hacks into a NORAD computer and all but brings about nuclear war.
Fraker, and well acted by a young Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy, it's a film that came out at a time when America (and by extension Hollywood) was obsessed with the idea of nuclear carnage, and while some movies used that premise for devastating emotional drama -- "The Day After," "Testament," to a certain extent "Silkwood" -- "WarGames" uses it to build an exciting, crafty adventure/suspense film, more Steven Spielberg than docu-drama.
One day, David's best friend Jennifer (Ally Sheedy) is with him and he decides to hack the toy company Protovision seeking new games and he accidentally connects the War Operation Plan Response system in a computer located at the North American Aerospace (NORAD) at Birmingham using the password Joshua that was the name of the son of its creator, the deceased scientist Stephen Falken (John Wood).
But not the system he thinks.When he taps into Joshua, David gets the chance to play Global ThermoNuclear War. And accidentally sets in motion the countdown to World War III.There is something almost blackly humorous to the way WarGames' screenplay turns.
An exhilarating and rather disturbing story dealing with the potential of computer technology to over-rule humans in a nuclear crisis, "Wargames" is a memorable thriller which made stars of Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy.
In a race against time, David and his girlfriend Jennifer (Ally Sheedy) try to track down the brilliant but reclusive programmer, Professor Falken (John Wood), who designed Global Thermonuclear War, in the hope that he may know how to stop the computer as it prepares to wipe out mankind.It's a simple but thoroughly exciting premise, played out with maximum intensity.
The other great roles in the movie were John Wood playing the enigmatic Dr Stephen Falken and Barry Corbin playing General Beringer.This film is one of my personal favorites and that is because of these two lines.Once upon a time, there lived a magnificent race of animals that dominated the world through age after age.
A final thought, there is a great quote from the WOPR computer near the end of the film about nuclear war, "A strange game. |
tt0222012 | Hey Ram | The movie begins at present day with Saket Ram (Kamal Hassan), an 89-year-old South Indian Brahmin who is dying. The scene reverts to the past as Saket remembers the 1940s, when he and his good friend, were archaeologists working together under their boss, Mortimer Wheeler, in Mohenjo-daro (Indus Valley Civilization) in Karachi. Relations are pleasant between the Indians and the English, and Saket and Amjad do not approve of Partition and the creation of Pakistan.Aparna Ram (Rani Mukerji), Saket's simple Bengali wife, is a school teacher. She lives in Calcutta in the midst of riots and chaos over the issue of the formation of Pakistan and the call by Mohammad Ali Jinnah for "Direct Action". Saket goes to Calcutta and is swept into the madness. In one instance, Saket saves an innocent Sikh girl from the hands of a barbaric Muslim gang. When he returns to his house, he finds a group of Muslims entering his house. They brutally rape and murder Aparna. Saket, unable to cope with his tragic loss, kills the Muslims who raped and killed his wife in a fit of rage.Outside his house, he runs into another Brahmin, Sriram Abhyankar (Atul Kulkarni), who is part of a Hindu militant group determined to fight the Muslims' malice with similar brute force, and assassinate Gandhi for what they perceive to be his treachery towards Hindu dominated India (Gandhi wanted Hindus and Muslims to co-exist peacefully with hope of winning over the hearts of the rioters through sheer self-pity). However, Abhyankar and his fellow extremists had lost patience at what they deemed Mahatma Gandhi's unreasonable stand to appease Pakistan, who had already invaded Kashmir by that time. Gandhi was pressurizing the newly founded Indian state to pay Rs. 62 Crore to Pakistan and some territorial concessions as well.Urged by family to remarry, he weds Mythili (Vasundhara Das). However, on a trip to Maharashtra, he reunites with Abhyankar and becomes a part of his militant organisation that plots to do away with Gandhi. Due to an horse-riding accident, Abhyankar is left a quadriplegic and has Ram swear that he will carry on his work, that of killing the Mahatma.Saket comes to the belief that Mahatma Gandhi (Naseeruddin Shah) is solely responsible for the division of India and of the two religions and also of having supported whom they viewed as the enemy. Hindu fundamentalists, including Saket, are furious and plot to murder Gandhi. However, Saket, after several incidents surrounding and leading to Amjad's death (with whom he reunites briefly in a congested Delhi area), changes his mind about Gandhi. He decides against assassinating the leader, and attempts to beg for forgiveness. Soon afterwards, Gandhi is killed by another assassin, Nathuram Godse. Ironically, Gandhi dies without his famous last words: "Hey Ram!" as popularly believed, and as in Richard Attenborough's film Gandhi (film).(Though actual witnesses have denied having heard Gandhi utter those famous last words.)Then on, Saket Ram lives by Gandhian principles. As the 89-year-old Saket Ram is being taken to the hospital, he is told of bomb blasts in the city due to Hindu-Muslim communal riots. He asks "Innuma(even still)?". They were forced by the police to be taken into an underground shelter for their security, but Saket Ram dies there. in his funeral gandhis grandson come and see saket private room with full of historical photos. Saket's grandson handed over gandhis footwears and spectacles which Saket collected from place of shoot out and keep like inspirational treasure.Thanks to Wikipedia | psychedelic, murder, violence, flashback | train | imdb | The film supports religious harmony and breaks a lot of myths (including the one that Gandhi said 'hey ram' after being shot).
In fact, the main character, Saket Ram (Kamal Haasan in a powerhouse performance)learns to appreciate Gandhi by the end of the journey.
Ram" is not only an epic film but perhaps the biggest casting coup of the decade with actors like Nasseeruddin Shah (who makes a better Gandhi than Ben Kingsley), Om Puri, Shahrukh Khan, Rani Mukherji, Girish Karnad and many other prominent names of the Indian Film Industry.
I had heard that Kamal Hassan was a good actor, so I decided to check out Hey Ram. I knew nothing of the plot (best way to see a movie; no expectations...) and I must admit I was emotionally overwhelmed by the end of it.
And what a pleasure to see Shah Rukh in a minor part.Hey Ram is a film that every American actor, writer, and director should study.
A truly amazing experience.....One cannot explain the kind of feeling that creeps into your heart at the end of this movie...its a hard-hitting mixture of reality with a very interesting element of fiction thrown in.....every aspect of the movie was breath-taking...the music by the Maestro Ilayaraaja..especially the songs...Nee partha, Isayil thodanguthamma and hey ram.....The BGM completely gels with the movie .....
Coming to the acting, I personally feel this is one of the best movies of almost every actor in the movie..Kamal is his usual splendid self....Watch him become the happy lover, the broken human being, the idealist and finally the old man with wrinkles of experience...the idea of having used colour in the past and b/w in the present is definitely a great concept.....Other than Kamal Haasan, Atul Kulkarni and Rani Mukherjee have given mind-blowing performances....Kulkarni is an incredibly talented actor and one can see the emotion in his eyes that speak most of his dialogues in the movie...Rani mukherjee is the perfect fit for her role of a Bengali teacher and has given a wonderful performance......The movie comes as a kind of rebel in the usual masala Indian movies genre and is a must watch for anyone interested in gaining a wholesome experience....Another feather on India cinema's cap......
This movie has it all,whether its Hard-Core Reality, maturity, direction, special-effects and most of all great acting and true-to-the-core screenplay which provides us with nothing but tough reality which can be bargained for nothing, NOT even for what everybody calls, Religious Tolerance.
My personal favourite from the movie though is not Kamal's character but that of Atul Kulkarni's.The way he lives his life as tough as that,his inteligence,his intense love for his motherland which overrides his mind even in the eventuality of facing a physical disorder which he has to suffer and also as a result of which he get bedridden is truly inspirational.And most of all it was TRUE in those days!
Truly, this movie enjoyed the well deserved nomination from India's part in the category of Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards.And it well could have been the winner if only it could have been possible for Kamal Haasan to put much more necessary efforts in that direction.
If the Always Talented Kamal Haasan makes a next movie even half good as this one I would like to watch it.
the movie's complex techniques of flash-trhough, visual & aural associations, extended pauses & the use of the mental imagery of the protagonist to express his thoughts most probably did not connect with the indian audience.the movie, im sure, is hailed as a classic at film institutes and by connoisseurs but the demanded too much involvement from the audience, for it to have any kind of mass appeal.the sensitive story and the harsh visuals would have further delineated the audience, but for discerning viewers who like to get involved in the movie, this is a must see.the way the protagonists thoughts, views & ideals on the issue of patriotism, struggle & Gandhi keeps changing and evolves slowly through his own experiences are extraordinary to watch.
Kamal Hasan is a truly great actor and with this film he has cemented his status a talented director.
An excellently crafted Indian film, the lead actor Kamal Hassan amazes me not only with his histrionics as the lead actor but also as a good writer and director.
It brings to light something Indian history books were embarrassed to talk about!The story itself covers 50 decades and has characters from every region of India, the hero is a Tamil Brahmin, his first wife a Bengali, his best friend a Muslim pathan, his 'guide', a Maharashtrian, and his target, a Gujarati!
This critic says, Kamal has shown Muslims at first, offending Hindus of all castes and types including the Sikhs,the South Indians,the Maharastrians and others AND this particular Hindu gets into the 5th gear, does an act of revenge and then blames this poor guy Mr. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.
But the other Star of the movie was of course the ever-talented Aamir Khan revealing his pure acting brilliance.Mr. Critic No.1 should pick any newspaper from any stall from any locality from any Country and he should find major news on the lines of rivalry between America-Iraq, India-Pakistan or Israel-Palastine, the Babri Masjid issue and other such news.
Did somebody say Influenza ?This movie is only made for adults no doubt, but it is meant for ONLY MATURE THOUGHTFUL REASONABLE ADULTS.Sex is a nature's creation necessary for propagation of life and a KISS in particular is a universal symbol for expressing Love among living creatures including all animals but definitely NOT flowers as some Indian directors show in their nonsense '3 out of 5' star rated movies something UNNATURAL like flowers kissing each other instead of the hero and the heroine.
If sex and violent scenes are removed from this movie it will become a truly visual effects family movie with a message at the end,middle and the beginning.In fact, I found a lot positive aspects in 'Hey Ram(2000)' :1.
One more myth like millions of others which was prevalent in India was buried that M.k. Gandhi uttered the words 'Hey Ram' moments before death.
FORENSIC STUDIES have positively proved that if a live body is hit by a bullet, the body will simply slump down to the ground.Some Other Things : Vasundhara Das, Atul Kulkarni and Shahrukh have performed in an OUTSTANDING way in a life-time role.
Shahrukh doesn't over act and this proves Kamal's Effective Direction.And now for those who say that this movie is disturbing or controversial :All great masterpieces right from 'The Godfather(1972)' to 'Schindler's List(1993)' and to the recent 'The Sixth Sense(1999)' and 'Artificial Intelligence(2001)' all had been controversial but TRUTHFUL EYE OPENERS.In fact, according to me, an individual should watch only TWO types of movies :1.TRUTHFUL EYE OPENERS : These types expose real facts but violence and sex are not necessities to be depicted.
There have been instances where a daring movie clicks and becomes a classic, but not all people who make really good movies are lucky to have appreciative audience.This time around KamalHaasam not only seems to expect too much of concentration and open minded analysis from the viewers but also knowledge of Hindi, marathi, Bengali and tamil languages from the viewers.
I guess a constant insecurity,although totaly unfounded, that one is missing the plot because one doesnt know the language seems to bias the viewers that the moviemaker strategically failed.This movie which is a story of a man who is deeply affected by the death of his wife and the brutal way in which she was raped and murdered, avenges her death by killing as many muslims as he can,including the murderers of his wife.
A good tribute to our nations leader who, other than being largely ignored by this country, has also been criticised for the calcutta riots for not doing something, that was beyond the realms of his capacity.Anyway The reason I like this movie is because, for the first time a hero's views is portrayed as incorrect and the hero realizes his mistake and changes to a good person in the end.
Though at times we get the feeling that its gonna pace up, but it still moves in slow pace which might have disappointed some viewers and hence the movie couldn't do well in box office!I think the background music ram ..
I know that because there are thousands and thousands of Indian films out there, I sure will look for those from other companies first.The story is told as a giant flashback by Saketh Ram (Kamal Hassan) and is set in 1946--just a year before India became independent of the United Kingdom.
The movie would have been better had the character saket ram stuck to his original passion instead of changing and making the passion seem more like a mere like or dislike.
They could have been better picturised and not seem as obscene and vulgar(I am not a prude BUT I do object to soft porn!- more so cuz it was badly visualized ;-)) Vaali and the aunt(forget her name) did a fantastic job and so did vasundhara das.Shah ruhk khan and the other supporting actors/actresses (like in all other kamal movies) were suitably given only a couple of scenes.
However their domestic bliss is soon destroyed during the "direct action day" riot in Calcutta following the 1947 Partition of India when a raging mob breaks into the house raping and killing his wife.Saketh emerges hellbent on revenge and is soon convinced that Mahatma Gandhi who was against separation and preached tolerance of all religions including Islam is responsible for all the problems happening in the country.
He is enlisted for the job of assassinating Gandhi by a young Hindu extremist, One of his best friends, Amjad Ali Khan (Shahrukh Khan) is a whiskey drinking Moslem and the two will have to protect each other later from raging Hindu and Muslim mobs as the film progresses.
Interestingly SRK agreed to take a secondary backup role in this film but though he has far less screen time than Kamal he just about steals every scene he is in.
The films major instance Direct Action Day (16 August 1946-announced by the Muslim League Council to show the strength of Muslim feelings both to British and Congress) event shown in movie is a good effort to depict the killing of around 4000 people on that day(the overall killing happened due to partition riots is estimated to be 2lakh approximately(could be even between 200 Thousands to 2 Million and stands next to holocaust which cost around 10 Million lives app)) is an shocking information to know for political outsiders like me to understand what India has gone through as a nation.
Historical fiction is the best genre because we need not take care of the theme and sense as the history intertwined in the story takes care of itself(this theme been before in Mani Ratnams Bombay and Salman Rushdie's midnight children).Many characters were even based on true story like Mortimer Wheeler, Gandhi(Gandhi sleeping with lights ON told in the movie is interesting to know about his eccentricity indeed proves the depth of research done on Gandhi(and his writing volume is 65000+ papers is an surprise info i heard recently)) etc.
After a rib- tickling endeavour, Kamal Hassan grabbed the reigns to direct a powerful film of a completely new genre, 'Hey Ram' a film which displayed the communal instability in India post Independence in 1947.
The film starred Kamal Hassan as the protagonist while Bollywood actors like Shah Rukh Khan, Rani Mukherjee, Hema Malini, Naseeruddin Shah & Om Puri handled small but significant roles.
The film time- travels to the era of 1940's where Pakistan & India where being partitioned and that was the reason why two best friends Saket Ram (Kamal) & Amjad Ali Khan (Shah Rukh), who were archaeologists working for a British named Wheeler were told to stop their work & return back to their respective homes.
The scenes are so detailed that you find yourself astonished as why Censor Board did not intervene with their snipping tool.The film revolves entirely around Saket Ram's life as he collaborates with Abhyankar and Maharaja and offers to help them in the plot to assassinate Gandhi.
The film indeed deserved more of Shah Rukh Khan's exquisite display of acting skills as his inclusion in Hey Ram poster must have promised the viewers a parallel role alongside Kamal.
Hey Ram is story of fictional character whose life gets turned up-side down because of some real life incidents in 1940's that have changed the course of history.
A semi-fictional tale of Saket Ram (Kamal Hassan) who in flashback remembers India of 1940s where he and his pal Amjad Ali Khan (Shahrukh khan) work as archaeologists trying to uncover Harappa civilization.
Ignoring the political happenings around they try to stay happy among their lives as they soon realize their life is much different as Saket Ram goes to Calcutta to be with his wife and soon discovers himself becoming part of the riots as he comes to terms with Abhyankar (Atul Kulkarni), a Hindu militant after his wife (Rani Mukherjee) is raped and brutally murdered by Muslims in the midst of chaos.
Saket Ram is unable to come to terms that life moves on even after remarrying and holds MK Gandhi responsible for his wife's murder and division of India.
I would like to say that this CONTROVERSIAL Indian movie is slow but of International standard made from heart by one of the most versatile artists Kamal Hassan challenging the belief regarding the last words "Hey Ram" said by Gandhi Ji as depicted in Ben Kingsley's Gandhi movie and moreover screenplay and portrayal of characters of that time seems so actual that you can't get away from your seat.MY RATING: 8/10.
I say a movie like Hey Ram is worth a 1000 films.
Many films fail here, including Lagaan which had 6 balls bowled per over instead of 9.With an cast of India's finest actors Like Kamal Haasan, Naseeruddin Shah, Girish Karnad, Om Puri, Hema Malini, Rani Mukherjee, Atul Kulkarni and Shah Rukh Khan, one cannot complain about the performances.
Kamal Haasan's character, Saaket Ram, in a moment of madness following the death of his wife, decides to join the extremists and assassinate Gandhi.
But what Kamal has brilliantly done is to sketch a character which is well-reasoned and well-placed to hate Gandhi's principles, make the character feel victimized by Gandhi's ideologies, and later bring the character as close as it gets to Gandhi himself and make the character realize, with the help of his selfless Muslim friend (brilliantly played by Shah Rukh), that non-violence is indeed the answer for the communal riots.
The sensitivities that affect Saket Ram, the protagonist of the movie, and bring about vissicitudes in his character and his life, would only be understood by those who have lived in the times of the Partition of India or who have lost their kin and kith in events of Religious Riots in India.There are several statements made in the film (in my opinion, though I am not sure if the director intends to or not), first, how in the course of being affected in a bloody riot, a perfectly normal and sensible human being can be turned into a savage animal who disregards his morals and becomes a killer.
is a lesson as to how, compassion, level-headedness and brotherliness are the only solutions even in moments of extreme discord or distress between fellow human beings.This movie has brilliant acting performances by Kamal (obviously!), Shahrukh Khan and even Vasundhara Das (who plays the role of a typical Indian woman, who inspite of her core values, condones her husband, inspite of him participating in a hunting expedition, after he exhibits his sexuality as love towards her).Truly, a tremendous movie, with a wide array of nuances to be studied and looked for.
After so many song/dance/romance films coming from all over India, "Hey Ram" was a breath of fresh air.
Another breath taking performance is given by Vasundhara Das who plays Kamala Haasan's second wife and an excellent job she does of her part.The movie starts in 1999 with flashbacks to the partition period of 1946-1948 where the story is set.
Unlike almost all indian movies, Hey Ram has live location sound making the job of getting it right on the spot an imperative one.
Make-up effects leave a lot to be desired, especially for Shah who plays Gandhi and Das who plays Haasan's second wife.So who do I like this movie?
Because this is simply an engrossing 3 hr plus drama of the life of a person, the LoC between fiction and fact can go to hell.What makes the movie engrossing is a wonderful form of cinema that Kamal Hasan has rediscovered and it is called acting !
He approaches the spot where Gandhi Ji is heading for a prayer meeting but before he could decide in favour or against of killing him, Naathu Ram Godse shoots the great man from a point blank range and he dies uttering - 'Hey Ram' leaving Saaket Ram behind to repent for the rest of his life and go for penitence.Kamal Hassan has undertaken many responsibilities in this movie and as a producer-director he has made a gigantic effort in bringing that period alive on the screen.
However Atul Kulkarni has left impact in this debut movie of his and he won the national award for the Best Supporting Actor for his role.Hey Ram is a technically very superior movie and it was India's entry to the Oscars for the year 2000.
How the next sequence of events make Saket Ram realize by his own conscience, Amjad Ali Khan (SRK) that Gandhi is the only sanity remaining is the plot of the movie.Acting: Kamal Haasan portrays his character in such a great fashion hardly ever seen before : Jubilant, Grief Stricken, Innocent, As an Aveneger , In Severe Dilemma , Man Reformed the range is awesome. |
tt1110626 | The Cutting Edge 3: Chasing the Dream | Zach Conroy and Celeste Mercier are the hottest couple on and off the ice until a nasty spill knocks Celeste out of competition. With their dreams of gold medals put in ice and their romance chilling as a result, Zach has to find another partner for the championship in Paris. And fast.
In glides Alejandra Alex Delgado, a beautiful, tough talking hockey player with fierce moves and a fearless skating style. Zachs willing to give her a chance, but his coach, Bryan quits in a huff to train Zachs biggest rivals, Cindy Halgyord and Jason Bright. That leaves Zach with a newbie partner and no coach until he convinces former figure skating champ Jackie Dorsey to step in. She puts Zach and Alex through their paces, but the hardest trick of all is keeping them focused on practice and not each other as they bicker and struggle with a growing attraction both on and off the ice. Jackie knows these kids are fire and ice, and sees the chemistry between them. She also knows that if they cant get it together, theyll set the skating world on fire. That is, if the heat between them doesnt cause a total meltdown. With the competition fierce and the stakes higher than ever, the only way Zach and Alex can win is by putting aside their feelings and pulling out a secret weapon: the deadly Pamchecko jump. But is it worth the risk? Can Zach rise above the past and his history of injuring partners? And can Alex prove that shes got the moves to match her passion? It all comes down to the biggest moment of their lives when they learn that sometimes on the ice and in life youve got to risk it all. | romantic | train | imdb | Better.
OK, not sure why I felt compelled to comment on this movie, but having now sat through both the original (pretty good), the 2nd one (awful), and this one (much better), I have a good basis of comparison.This was not high art, but it was a FAR better movie than the 2nd one.
the key here being a pair of relatively unknown actors in the leads who did a nice job and had real chemistry (especially the female lead who was full of bounce and sass without being obnoxious).
The leads in the second one were so horribly awkward it was like pulling teeth, but here you have likable and sympathetic characters.
And the script lets them be likable too -- another thing that the 2nd movie got horribly wrong.Unfortunately parts of the script are also the biggest weaknesses with this movie.
There a handful of awkward scenes, and down the back half of the movie it was as if they hired some hack to try to artificially find some way to plagiarize as much of the original movie as possible and force it into this one, even when the pacing and fit was off.But any romance is basically about the romantic leads.
If they succeed and work well together, then the romance works.
And so, not a classic, but eminently watchable for this sort of thing..
Way better than the second part.
I saw it last night and loved it.
I loved the first one too.
It was one of my favorite romantic movies.
When the second one was announced, I was so excited.
But the movie disappointed me because although the protagonist are great, the movie was slow.
In some scenes, they weren't acting natural.
I aren't accusing the protagonists maybe the guilty one was the director...
who knows?
It was such a pity.
On the other hand, this movie is way better than the second one.
It is fantastic.
The chemistry was there and the movie was smooth and sweet.
He is so handsome and she is gorgeous.
They made such a cute couple.
The only "but" was the ending.
It was almost an exact replica of the first one.
How sad, the plot was different and refreshing.
Regardless of that, it is a nice romantic movie..
Addictive and Motivating.
I can describe this movie in one word "Addictive".
I loved the first Cutting Edge, and I liked the second but I can not remember the last time a movie has had such an impact.
Matt and Francia were wonderful actors and along with the whole cast, they brought this movie to life and made it seem real.
It reminds me of the start of mine and my husband's relationship.
When I found out this movie was coming on TV I had to record it and have watched it every night since.
The story line, the music and the skating draw you in and make you feel a part of this movie.
If you are a skater, ice or roller you will be "Motivated" to go skating after this movie.
If you like Romance and Skating this is definitely a Must See Movie and Must Have DVD..
Matt Lanter is the star..
This TV movie would not be as good as it is, if Matt Lanter was not in it.
He looks really pretty throughout the movie.Several stock scenes of Seattle were repeated in this movie.
It was not necessary.During their "Paris" competition, it is obvious that the arena is the same as they used for the US national competition.
And it looks totally unreal, because there was no advertisement around the skating area.
And the signs were all in English.Matt was wearing all those skin tight hot looking, colorful lycra t-shirts which made him incredibly hot.
Male figure skaters always wear those skin tight, fancy looking pants and tops when they compete.
Why did the costume people give him those boring long sleeves shirt and regular pants to wear when he was competing?
Unlike the "Cutting Edge 2" movie, the body doubles' faces were not very visible which is good.The story is almost predicable.
Of course, this is expected for most of the inspirational movies..
The Best movie in the World!!!!.
I love this movie and it is better than any of them.
the music is great, especially the one named "it's to late to apologize" and the last song played at the final skating scene.
The pan Chen jump is the sweetest skating move i've ever seen.
This movie is a masterpiece you have to see and buy on DVD.!!!!
I love this movie and its so engaging and it will make you want to get up and skate.
The people in this movie are good looking and great extraordinary actors.
I wish I was one but over all this movie is a one of a kind a thriller Its an exhilarating ride for Ice skate lovers everywhere!!!!!
O MY GOD i love this movie really..
Loved the movie.
Would watch it over and over again.
I really loved the first one, and usually the second ones arn't as good.
But i felt this one was really good.
I loved the intensity and it kept me on my toes all i wanted to do was watch it again and a again.
I would recommend this movie to anyone that likes these types of movies.
I felt this one is maybe more so for kids than the first one.
It seems to concintrate on a younger generation, which is a awesome thing.
The first thing i am doing today is going to buy it so i can watch it over and over again.
I wouldn't really recommend it for men/boys it's kinda more of a chick flick.
I loved the story line of this one and the mantality of the actors.
And of course the guy Zack is very very good looking..
i expected more.
i thought this movie was the weakest of the three movies,mainly because there's zero tension between the two main characters,and the story isn't really there.that's just my opinion,of course.there also isn't really any excitement,even in the skating sequences.i never really felt invested in the story or the characters.having said all that,i did find the movie passably entertaining,and i never felt bored.Christy Romano(Jackie Dorsey) has a very small role in the film,which is unfortunate.to me,this film had a TV movie feel to it,which isn't always a bad thing.i just expected more from this movie.it's not horrible,by any means,,but for me,it's about average.i give The Cutting Edge 3:Chasing the Dream a 5/10.
conventional, conventional, and conventional.
"Cutting Edge 3: Chasing the Dream" is an ABC original movie that doesn't fail to entertain but is rather formulated and cliché, especially since the previous two movies in the Cutting Edge series have the same plot: An ice hockey player teaming up with an ice figure skater to win an ice figure skating competition.
I personally find it annoying, why can't the figure skater turn into a hockey player to win the ice hockey championship for a change?
Anyways, following the exclusive "Cutting Edge formula," through their partnership, the players get infatuated to each other, or should I say "fall in love".
The actors were okay, I thought Francia Raisa did a great job acting as the high-headed and aggressive hockey player while Matt Lanter looked good but wasn't all that interesting.
Christy Carlson Romano didn't have much to do except walk around and look unsatisfied as their coach..
What a Waste of good talent.
Man, this movie should've been called "Wasted Talent" because that's what it is, I'm not gonna hold back because Christy Romano is a Talented Actress that has yet to bust loose because of a certain "Transformers" actor & I DON'T MEAN OPTIMUS PRIME OR MEGATRON!.
This is a hack & slash job of a Bad movie.
Christy can do ANYTHING in the world & I'd still love her work, but this is by & large the biggest mess of a movie.
It just took the worst of the first two films & pasted it together.
Christy had nothing to do & what's worst I had more fun watching cheese age.
I'd rather be paid money to watch Ben Affleck & J.Lo in Gigli.
With only one exception that Christy Romano is awesome talent this movie shouldn't have been made..
wow.
I LOVE the original CE.
And the second was okay too.
But the 3rd just doesn't cut it.
So they set up two new lead male and female characters, and bring back Christy Carlson Romano, switch a few MINOR details, and yet it still didn't make me feel a thing.
They brought a new male skater who is really hot and a good actor and skater.
But the girl just couldn't carry her performance along his side.
The chemistry between the two leads fells almost forced.
But Romano does give a more solid job in this movie as their badass coach.
The love story AND ending is SHOCKINGLY similar, just with more drama regarding the male character's previous relationship.
Oh, and there is an engagement in this part too.
This movie is nothing special but will help as mindless entertainment..
Better than the second, thats for sure..
I loved the first Cutting Edge, and as a figure skater myself, it's fun to watch movies all about the sport I love.When the second CE came out, I immediately wanted to watch it.
But as I watched it, I became more and more disappointed.
First of all, Kate and Doug weren't played by the regular actors, which saddened me.
Second, the movie was slow and confusing at times.
It seemed like the only thing they did was fight!
Finally, when Chasing the Dream was announced, I was excited, yet skeptical.
I didn't know what to expect, since the second one was a disappointment.
I didn't watch it on ABC Family, but I came across it at the video rental place and rented it.I watched it and I immediately decided that it was better than the second CE.
I could feel the chemistry between the main characters, and even the actors.
I was very excited that they brought back the deadly Pamchenko twist, too.
Even for a few minor goofs, it was still and awesome movie, and I want to buy it on DVD now so that on a boring day I can liven up by watching my new favorite movie!
I recommend this to every Cutting Edge fan, and even those who don't like the Cutting Edge films, because even they could enjoy this fantastic, dramatic, romantic movie that makes my heart melt every time I hear Alexandra say "Yes, I will skate with you...always.".
The Cutting Edge 3 Is A Blatant Rehash Of The First Film.
The Cutting Edge 3: Chasing the Dream is a TV movie that follows the 2006 direct-to-video release movie,The Cutting Edge: Going for the Gold.It was shown on ABC.It stars Matt Lanter and Francia Raisa.Christy Carlson Romano,the star of the second The Cutting Edge,is among the supporting cast.Zach Conroy and Celeste Mercier are the hottest couple on and off the ice.Then a nasty spill knocks Celeste out of competition.
Zach has to quickly find another partner for the Paris championship meet.
In glides Alejandra "Alex" Delgado, a beautiful,tough-talking hockey player with fierce moves and a fearless skating style.
Zach is willing to give her a chance, but his coach, Bryan, is hesitant.
However after a fight almost erupts between Bryan and Alex's brother he quits in a huff to train Zach's biggest rivals, Cindy Halgyord and Jason Bright.
This leaves Zach with a newbie partner and no coach.Then Jackie Dorsey steps in and puts Zach and Alex through their paces to remain focused on practice in spite of their continuous fighting and bickering.What is also bothering them is their growing attraction to one another.When Alex sees a photo with Zach kissing Celeste she feels hurt and leaves but with the help of her brother and Zach they get back together right in time for their performance.
Right before they are about to get their turn at the competition,Zach profess his love for Alex and both give a flawless performance.The End.Just like the The Cutting Edge 2 movie,this third film follows the same thematic plots and elements of the first film such as one being a hockey player only this time the woman happens to be one instead of the male and professing the partners love for one another that leads to winning performance in the first Cutting Edge.Do I need to even mention that Zack and Alex are going to do the same Pamchenko twist that Kate and Doug did after professing their love to one another?Too bad that is is practically a blatant rehash for the Sweeney- Kelly starrer.Many of the events in the screenplay is taken from the original.The only good thing about it is that the leads,Matt Lanter and Francia Rais,have decent chemistry and more energy.Although it is a better film compared to The Cutting Edge 2,it still does not hold a candle to the first classic film.Only younger viewers or viewers who aren't familiar with classic Cutting Edge movie would probably appreciate it..
This time..A Male Figure Skater & A Female Hockey Player.
The Cutting Edge 3: Chasing The Dream is the second sequel of the original cult classic that featured D.B.Sweeney and Moira Kelly entitled The Cutting Edge.In it,we get to see a story that involves a male figure skater in search of a new female partner after her previous one got injured.That happens to be Zach Conroy.In his own search,he discovers Alex Delgado,a talented hockey player when he gets to play with her brother and her as well after a skating scrimmage.After recruiting her,he recruits Jackie Dorsey,the main character of the second sequel as their coach.
Sounds familiar?
In the original cult classic,we get to see Doug Dorsey,a former hockey player gets recruited as a partner to a female figure skater,Kate Moseley.This time,some sort of a "sex change" occurs.
LOLWell,this particular sequel was obviously in the same vein of the first film.
Not only was it similar with that respect of having a hockey player become a figure skater.
In addition to that,we also get to see romance develop between Alex and Zach as well as the "re- incarnation" of the Pamchenko twist in the final scene for them to win the gold medal.
While many fans of the cult classic would consider this an exact replica of Tony Gilroy's screenplay, I probably would consider it a remake of sorts for the younger generation who were too young or weren't born yet when the original film was theatrically released.But if there is one big difference in it is the fact that there is less quarreling this time around between the two partners - Alex and Zach.
That could be considered somewhat original with that respect.The screenplay just had one big one before the final skate and the final scene where both proclaim their love for one another.Overall,it was a decent sequel or remake and it would definitely be appreciated by the younger fans of the original classic..
The Cutting Edge Trilogy.
I loved this movie, however, I am forced to recognize other people's comments as valid.
And just a historical fact the Winter Olympics are only held every for years.
The end of the movie they win the Gold.
This was supposed to be them at the Olympics right?
And someone mentioned the line delivered by Christy Carlson Ramono about it being 5 years since seeing each other at the last Olympics and they still had like 5 weeks before qualifying point is time-lines for all three movies are off.
From The Cutting Edge to Going For The Gold, she was an adult in the movie yet like another person mentioned it would have been impossible for her to be but 13-14 years old mathematically.
And the transition to the 3rd movie is mentioned as 5 years, but the banner says 2006, which means it had to be 2 years.
IF you can overlook the time-line, I think all 3 movies have their upsides and their drops.
It's a toss-up for me whether the original or the third is better.
I think the third is more appealing to the younger crowd, but the first one will definitely be the classic. |
tt0051654 | Giant from the Unknown | The movie opens with title and credits shown over a rainstorm in a high mountain forest and a 16th century axe imbedded in an old log.We are in the small mountain village of Pine Ridge (Big Bear, California). A station wagon drives into town. Young Charlie Brown (Gary Crutcher) tells the townsfolk that the sheriff will be bringing the body into town. There have been other incidents involving livestock. His sister, Ann Brown (Jolene Brand) nods in agreement. The incidents seem to be localized to Devil's Crag. Sheriff Parker (Bob Steele) pulls up in a pickup truck. Parker explains that "The coroner's report shows Banks died of a brutal beating at the hands of a person or persons unknown." The Café Owner (Oliver Blake) pulls back the tarp covering the body. Ann, and other others, recoil in revulsion. Some of the townsfolk think the goings on are supernatural. A man reminds Ann of the legend of the curse. Another tells Ann to talk to some of the Indians that still populate the town. A well inebriated Indian Joe (Billy Dix) sitting on the stoop of the bait and tackle shop giggles and warns, "All white men die." He then laughs maniacally. The Sheriff asks Joe is he knows anything about the death of Banks. Joe is annoyed that the white men think he's crazy. Joe reluctantly leaves town, but first warns the sheriff, "People who walk on Indian grave die." The sheriff puts Devil's Crag off limits. He plans to ask everyone where they were the night before. One of the men suggests he start with Wayne Brooks as he had another run in with Banks and was run off the Banks' property with a shotgun. Wayne Brooks (Ed Kemmer) wanders into town after three days in the woods. Charlie and Ann tell him about the death of Harold Banks. Wayne walks over to talk to the sheriff. Sheriff Parker asks Wayne about the murder and his whereabouts. Wayne tells him he was up in the mountains collecting rock specimens. Wayne admits to crossing the Banks property a week before. A Jeep pulls up into town. Driving the vehicle is Dr. Frederick Cleveland (Morris Ankrum). His daughter, Janet Cleveland (Sally Fraser), sitting in the passenger seat complains, "Pine Ridge. But Dad, this is just a wide spot in the road." Their destination is the Lagonita Lodge. With no proof, the sheriff reluctantly allows Wayne to leave, but tells him not to leave town. Janet and Wayne enter the store. The sheriff notices two tent poles sticking out of the back of the Jeep and asks Dr. Cleveland for his driver's license. He reminds Cleveland about a warning flag needed on the poles. Dr. Cleveland explains he will be staying up in the mountains and that he is an archeologist. Wayne helps Janet with her bags of supplies. Wayne recognizes Professor Cleveland and admits he attended some of his lectures at the University. He introduces himself to the professor. Parker warns Cleveland to be on his guard, then pointedly tells him to be careful with his associations, nodding towards Wayne. Cleveland tells Wayne he will be around for a week or more. Wayne volunteers to help as he knows the area. Wayne invites the Clevelands to dinner at the Lodge, and Janet quickly accepts.Wayne and Cleveland are sitting at their table in the Lodge. Charlie comes over to take their order. They discuss the sheriff and their clash of personalities. He tells the professor about the livestock mutilations and the ancient curse. Wayne admits he has uncovered a few artifacts and Cleveland asks to see them. Cleveland explains, "This might save me a great deal of time and effort." Cleveland tells Wayne, "I'm looking for a giant, but one that has been dead for over 500 years." Cleveland is working on a book about a Spanish conquistador. To complete his book he wants to know what happened to the Diablo Giant and his band of renegades. Vargas was the name of a lieutenant that deserted and headed inland in search of Indian Gold. Janet joins the men at the table. Dinner arrives and Wayne and Janet make a date to see a picture later.Wayne shows Janet and her father his small field lab. He shows the professor the Indian relics including arrowheads. Janet is frightened by a lizard she saw in a box on the table. Wayne explains that the creature was thought to be extinct. He found the lizard sealed inside a rock in a state of suspended animation. Janet and Wayne exit the lab to see the picture. They leave Cleveland to examine the artifacts. Indian Joe spies on the professor through the window. Wayne and Janet return from their date. Professor Cleveland asks them to come in to see something. Cleveland pushes a couple of pieces of rock together that form a cross, an Indian relic of Christianity. It is an important lead and Cleveland wants to know where it was found. Wayne volunteers to take Cleveland to the spot where it was found. They agree to meet at the lodge for breakfast then start after that. Wayne tells them they will be going to Devil's Crag.The café Proprietor serves a cup of coffee to the sheriff. Parker looks out the window and sees the Cleveland's Jeep drive by. Sheriff Parker gets in his car and drives off after the Jeep. He follows them into the mountains. The Jeep stops near a pile of boulders. Janet sees a face in a clump of bushes. She alerts Wayne and her father. Parker pulls up in his car and tells Wayne he has disobeyed orders: 1) to stay in town, and 2) Devil's Crag is out of bounds to everyone. Cleveland shows Sheriff Parker a permit he has to do his research. Cleveland assures Parker that he will assume responsibility for Wayne and they are armed and able to see to their own safety. The sheriff leaves and Wayne and Cleveland set up camp.The next morning Janet exits her tent. A fire is already burning. She pours herself a cup of coffee as her father wanders back into camp. He tells Janet he and Wayne have been up for hours. Wayne is exploring and notices a broken branch. Indian Joe sees Wayne from behind a boulder. He is armed with a rifle and takes a shot at Wayne. Joe explains he was shooting at a rabbit, and Joe assures him that he never misses what he aims at. Wayne assures Joe he isn't looking for Indian artifacts, but traces of a Spanish soldier. Joe assures Wayne they are friends, but warns him that this is an evil place. Back in camp, Cleveland asks about the shot he heard. Wayne assures him it was just a hunter. Wayne tells Cleveland that a recent storm has changed the landscape. Next on the agenda is Devil's Crag. Wayne shows Cleveland, on a map, where he found the cross. They intend to use a metal detector to search for Spanish artifacts. They leave Janet to tidy up the camp.Wayne and Cleveland take turns searching the area with the metal detector. Janet drops by with coffee and asks about progress. Janet reminds her father he's been on his quest for three years with no luck. Janet plays with the metal detector and asks how it works and tries her luck. By a fallen tree, Janet sits down to rest and reapply a little makeup. Janet and Wayne start walking back, but Wayne returns to the log to get Janet's compact she dropped. The detector registers metal. Wayne calls Cleveland over to the site. They dig down and find a Conquistador helmet and chest armor. They also find a sword and axe. A full suit of armor is also found containing the skull of a human. Janet congratulates her father on the find. Cleveland wants to get the armor and relics to the museum. He admits that he is disappointed there were no traces of Vargas. A storm is brewing. Wayne thinks he knows where a lightning strike hit. It is the same rock formation where Wayne found the lizard. Wayne finds the Diablo Giants Axe, but he is unable to pull it free and leaves to join Janet and Cleveland. Beneath the log a human hand clenches and moves. Under the leaf litter human eyes open and look around. The Diablo Giant/Vargas (Buddy Baer) comes to life. Thunder crashes and lightning lights up the scene as Vargas stands and looks around.The next day, Wayne, Cleveland and his daughter return to the area where Wayne found the axe handle, but it is gone. They look around the area and find a medallion and a breast plate. Janet asks, "Oh no, you don't think he could still be alive?" Wayne thinks it is possible, but the professor thinks it is impossible. They find more armor pieces and place them on a post. Charlie wanders into camp and exclaims, "Holy Mackerel." Wayne tells Charlie not to tell anyone of the find, not even Ann. That evening, Cleveland works on his notes near the fire, while Wayne and Janet go for a walk. Vargas is prowling around and sees the pair admiring the view of the lake. Wayne kisses Janet. Janet hears something and complains of feeling jumpy. She admits to feeling uneasy about disturbing the graves. She asks about Ann and is assured she is only a friend of Wayne's. They walk back to camp and turn in for the night. Janet checks her gun and places it under her pillow. Vargas retrieves his armor and gold medallion and puts them on. He sees Janet undressing, in shadow, in her tent and approaches. The clumsy giant knocks over a can which startles Janet. She fires her gun which startles Vargas and he leaves the camp quickly. Cleveland and Wayne run to her tent. She says she heard footsteps, and Wayne notices the giant's armor is missing. Cleveland notices a huge footprint.Charlie is concerned about leaving his sister home alone. Ann convinces her brother to go to work at the lodge as they need the money. After Charlie drives off, Ann takes a bucket to fetch water from the well. Vargas spots Ann and confronts the girl. She screams. Back in camp, Cleveland notes that the armor of the giant was better preserved than the others. He concludes that there is something in the soil that acts as a preservative, perhaps tannic acid. He speculates that Vargas was not dead, but unconscious when the Indians buried him and that he was held in suspended animation by the substance in the soil. The electrical storm and a bolt of lightning reanimated Vargas. Parker shows up in camp. He is there to arrest Wayne and handcuffs him. The charge is the murder of Ann Brown. Wayne explains he hasn't seen Ann in over a week. The sheriff produces the medallion as proof and takes him away. Wayne explains that someone stole the artifacts and that the same person is responsible for the murder. Wayne convinces the sheriff to visit the cabin of Indian Joe. The cabin appears empty, but up on the wall is the bloodied body of Joe. Cleveland makes a plaster cast of the large footprint. Cleveland moans, and Janet leaves her tent to investigate. She call to her father and walks around looking. She finds her father at the feet of the giant. It approaches her, but she runs away screaming. Cleveland comes to. Janet tries to escape in the Jeep but it floods and she faints at the sight of the giant standing next to her. He pulls her out of the Jeep. A short time later, Cleveland gets in the Jeep and drives away. Wayne and the sheriff drive into town. They spot a large crowd milling about and looking none too friendly. Cleveland drives up to report the giant has Janet. Wayne and Cleveland take the sheriff's car and drive back to the mountains. The sheriff follows in the abandoned Jeep. Wayne and Cleveland arrive at camp first. Cleveland chops the chain of the handcuffs off so Wayne can grab a gun and run into the woods. The sheriff and his men fan out and aid in the search after Cleveland explains things. Vargas carries Janet over his shoulder. He pushes a giant tree towards Wayne, which misses. Vargas carries Janet, then puts her down in a clearing when he hears Wayne approaching. Vargas grabs an axe, and Janet warns Wayne in time to avoid being struck. Shots fired by the sheriff scares the giant away into the forest. Wayne, Janet and the sheriff walk back into camp and greet a very relieved father. The sheriff apologizes to Wayne. They shake hands.Charlie guards the camp. The posse spotted the giant at Box Ledge. The men take flares and track their quarry. Wayne suggests they douse their flares, as the giant will be able to see them. Vargas picks up a rock and kills one of the men. They shoot at the rock throwing giant. A well thrown flare lights up the target and they shoot the giant, but his armor protects him. The sheriff suggests a retreat until morning to care for the wounded. Janet and Charlie meet the men returning to camp. Charlie feels guilty about leaving his sister alone. Charlie, against orders, grabs a rifle and heads off on a little revenge. He finds one of the guards, Bill, dead. He signals with rifle shots. Wayne and Sheriff Parker go look for Charlie. They find Charlie injured, but he did hit Vargas three times. He is able to tell Wayne the giant is heading for the Old Mill. Wayne walks up to the mill as snow begins to fall. He kicks the door in and cautiously explores the interior. Vargas is inside and misses Wayne with his axe. Wayne escapes out a window. Once they are both outside, Wayne hits Vargas with a tree branch. He hits the giant again and again. Cleveland, Janet and the sheriff arrive at the mill. The giant tries to make a run for it over a walkway over the dam. Wayne and the giant struggle and Vargas loses his footing and falls through the handrail and down the waterfall into the river below. Cleveland asks the sheriff to help him recover the body. Sheriff Parker explains to the professor that it is impossible. The river empties into a volcanic lake that is nearly bottomless. They conclude without the body no one will believe their story. We close with a scene of Janet and Wayne kissing. | murder, melodrama | train | imdb | This was the decade that brought us giant ants and other mutant insects, evil aliens coming to take over our bodies, good aliens out to save mankind from destroying itself, Godzilla and all his Japanese monster buddies destroying every inch of Japan, and the films of Richard Cunha, Missile to the Moon, She Demons, Frankenstein's Daughter, and Giant From the Unknown.
Giant From the Unknown is indeed a bad film.
It tells the story of a professor and his daughter driving through the southwest looking for the remains of a giant Spanish conquistador known for his cruelty.
While driving they just happen to come to a town where Ed Kemmer(an affable leading man if nothing else)just happened to find a lizard alive in rock that was thousands of years old.
The giant is alive in century old rock and begins to eat his way through everyone's livestock and likes to kill for no apparent reason.
Kemmer falls in love with the daughter Sally Fraser, whilst proud pops(the great Morris Ankrum)realizes his dream come true of finding evidence that this giant once lived.
If you just want to be entertained in that magical 50's B picture way....take a look at Giant From the Unknown..
I can't think of any movie that has Morris Ankrum that I didn't really like...and yes, I have seen The Giant Claw (three times, in fact).
That fact notwithstanding, Giant From The Unknown is a pretty good movie.
The basic story has a Spanish Conquistador (who happens to be a giant and who happens to have travelled up into northern California after breaking with Cortez) waking up after five hundred years of suspended animation and going on a rampage of death and cattle mutilation.Don't let the plot turn you off.
Cowboy and serial legend Bob Steele is the sheriff, and the lovely Janet Fraser is the love interest.The monster himself looks pretty good as well...for an unburied conquistador, that is.
That fuzziness is optically-printed snow on the sequence (it took me a couple of minutes to realize that...I thought the print had deteriorated).Giant From the Unknown is a good all-around example of fifties science fiction that is worth a look by fans of the genre..
When I say the giant of the title was just a little bit taller than the rest of the cast I was disappointed at first but the spell of this movie quickly won me over.
I mean, how can you not like a movie that has former B western star Bob Steele as the no-nonsense sheriff of a small mountain town?
Ed Kemmer (EARTH VS THE SPIDER), Morris Ankrum (INVADERS FROM MARS among many others) and Sally Fraser (WAR OF THE COLOSSAL BEAST) are searching a mountain area with the foreboding name of Devil's Crag in the hopes of finding proof that a legendary renegade Conquistador named Vargas really did exist ("A man of unusual size and strength .
Well luckily this film is now on DVD so you can find out without having to stay up until 2 in the morning like I did when I was a kid.The makeup for Buddy Baer was done by Jack Pierce, who created such memorable scary faces as the Frankenstein Monster, I'm-Ho-Tep, Kharis and the Wolfman.
It was directed by Richard Cunha who gave us 3 other memorable late night classics: MISSILE TO THE MOON, SHE DEMONS and the unforgettable FRANKENSTEIN'S DAUGHTER..
Darn It, This Movie Was Kinda Fun. Truth to tell, I wasn't expecting a whole lot from "Giant From the Unknown." I'd seen two of director Richard Cunha's later works, "Missile to the Moon" and "Frankenstein's Daughter," and had found them both incredibly awful, albeit entertainingly so.
Still, it was to my surprise that "Giant," although certainly not a good movie by any reasonable definition, turned out to be yet another entertaining diversion from director Cunha.
As played by Buddy Baer (brother of heavyweight prizefighter Max), and featuring a makeup job by Jack "Frankenstein" Pierce, this giant does make for one imposing sight.
Scientist Morris Ankrum, his daughter Sally Fraser, and an ex-student, Edward Kemmer, all happen to be in this CA mountain community when old Vargas goes on his rampage, and the three make for appealing leads.
The old guy has come to town to search for artifacts to prove whites had been there centuries before Columbus and that one of them was a giant.After a few minutes of searching he decides to give up,then they stumble on a mass grave.They dig it up and without any evidence of a giant he gives up again.Then the younger guy finds the giant's armor while hitting on the older guy's daughter, AND IT'S JUST BURIED UNDER SOME LEAVES!!!!!!!!
It's about a trio of expeditionists unearthing an infamous 6' 6" Spanish Conquistador who promptly picks up his axe and stalks around the woods for a while.Ed Kemmer makes a likeable leading man, and Sally Fraser is the standard helpless heroine.
Morris Ankrum seems hesitant to deliver his lines, and the film is sprinkled with enough silly acting to make it endurable for a single viewing.The film falls short with the title character; a helmeted tall man with dirt and mud on his face just doesn't terrify me.
The giant does little during the time he's onscreen, and is disappointing.The best film director Cunha made in the genre - and required viewing for any fifties monster fan - is FRANKENSTEIN'S DAUGHTER..
Giant From The Unknown is a standard classic in my collection in that I have watched it nearly a dozen times since purchasing the DVD.
I like most of my generation grew up on these B-movies almost second hand through late night television shows with strange horror hosts who poked harmless fun at the pictures but really taught us to embrace the classic films usually ignored by big box office standard studios.
Push it aside and Giant From The Unknown like a lot of old movies is really a great story that is both entertaining and filled with adventure.
Cunha and stars Ed Kemmer, Buddy Baer, Sally Fraser and Bob Steele.This movie has a pretty interesting and fantastical story that deals with real giants of historical legends which just sets the mind to wonder.
The Giant is pretty intimidating and unlike most movie monsters of the era he looks convincing realistic.
Over all the film is a great way to introduce kids to the old black & white genre stuff and a film that hold's it's own against any giant lizard or mummy.
I have just seen Giant From the Unknown for the third time and I find this movie rather enjoyable.A professor and his daughter driving through the South West looking for the remains of a giant Spanish conquistador come across it at Devils Crag, a scenic landmark near a small town.
The giant has been in suspended animation for hundreds of years and comes to life and starts murdering people for no reason.
One of the locals gets the blame for these murders at first by the town's sheriff but is then let off and the two team up to kill the giant, who falls off a dam into a deep lake in a volcanic crater at the end.The movie's cast includes an excellent performance from 50's sci fi regular Morris Ankrum (Invaders From Mars, Kronos), Sally Fraser (Earth vs the Spider, War of the Colossol Beast), Ed Kemmer (Space Patrol, Earth vs the Spider), Bob Steele as the Sheriff and the giant is played by Buddy Baer.Depite it being a bad movie, this is certainly worth having in any sci fi/horror collection.Rating: 3 stars out of 5..
All small mountain towns have a resident geologist, don't they?Half way through the movie, Vargas, also known as the "Diablo Giant", wakes up and goes on a killing spree...
Giant From The Unknown= 7Ft. Conquistador From Big Bear Ca..
Another good reason is that director Richard Cunha knew how to stretch a budget and keep things moving and absurd and interesting enough to keep ten year olds glued to their seats.
A geologist and a Archaelogist and his hot daughter go hunting in Devils Crag to find traces of El Giant Diablo a sadistic Conquistador of great size.
Now this is weird because the first time we see the comatose giant rise out of the ground is during a lightening storm so either the electricity brought him back to life or he did the murders and then covered himself up with mud and leaves before taking a snooze but it just makes a film like this more fun.
The silly plot for Giant From The Unknown sees a 500-year-old Spanish soldier, Vargas the Giant (played by Buddy Baer), revived during a lightning storm, after which he goes about murdlerising the good folk of Pine Ridge, the blame landing on the shoulders of archaeologist Wayne Brooks (Edward Kemmer), who is busy helping Dr. Frederick Cleveland (Morris Ankrum) dig up various conquistador artefacts (whilst also getting smoochy with Cleveland's tasty daughter Janet, played by Sally Fraser).
When local lawman Sheriff Parker (Bob Steele) finally realises that Brooks isn't the killer (after shooting at the poor guy during a car chase), the men set about trying to catch the giant (while Janet cooks meals, pours coffee, and faints before being carried away by the oversized ancient Spaniard).The name of legendary Hollywood make-up man Jack Pierce is prominently displayed in the opening credits for Giant From The Unknown, but don't go expecting anything as iconic as Frankenstein's monster or the wolf man: Pierce's work here amounts to little more than slapping some mud on the actor's face.
Still, it's in keeping with the rest of the film, which divulges its low-budget in almost every department, from the hastily thrown together script, to the forgettable cast of B-movie no-marks, to the uninspired direction from schlockmeister Richard E.
When archaeologist, Dr. Frederick Cleveland (Morris Ankrum- KRONOS, THE GIANT CLAW, etc., etc.) and his daughter, Janet (Sally Fraser) come to town, they draw the sheriff's suspicion.
Cleveland just happens to be searching for evidence of an ancient, sadistic, towering conquistador known as Vargas, The Devil Giant.
This is one of the most dreadfully bad of the 50's B flicks,rating right down there with turkeys like The Giant Claw,From Hell It Came,Killers From Space,Beginning of the End,Robot Monster,etc.
Giant from the Unknown (1958)* 1/2 (out of 4) Rather boring 50's horror tale about an expedition in Northern California where they unleash a giant Spanish conquistador who has been dead for over four-hundred years.
Buddy Baer, Max's brother, plays the giant here but that doesn't really matter because this is the type of film that holds the monster away until around the fifty-minute mark and even then we only see him ever so often.
Bob Steele does a good job at playing the sheriff and he's the main reason to see this thing.
The movie does have a few good things going for it and that includes the final chase that looks pretty good as the snow is falling.
This isn't an outright horrible movie but I think fans of 50's horror will be disappointed because there's just not much going on here and certainly not enough to carry the 77-minute running time.
That latter movie is considerably more entertaining than Giant from the Unknown.
The basic premise of the film is reasonable enough though, with archaeologists arriving in a remote cabin town to discover that a 500 year old giant conquistador has been preserved and reanimated by special minerals in the local soil.
It just so happens that this giant is a raving lunatic and goes around killing people for no reason other than he is evil, and that's what evil giant reanimated conquistadors do.I suppose the trouble with the movie is that the title villain only really gets into his stride in the latter stages of the film, the rest being a somewhat unremarkable build-up.
While there are some undeniably memorable set-pieces like the final confrontation at the dam, there aren't really enough and the film isn't entertaining in a campy sense either as, to be fair, it's too solidly made and acted to provide many cheap laughs.
Bob Steele, veteran of over 200 films and a familiar face in Westerns, does a very good job as the local sheriff.
He is probably best known today for his recurring role as a trial judge in Perry Mason, but like Steele he had already been in hundreds of movies when "Giant" was filmed.
The supporting cast is good, and manage to approach the silly premise of a giant conquistador on the rampage with a straight face.
The frightened townspeople believe Vargas is the reincarnation of an infamous Spanish Conquistador who was killed in the mountains many years ago.
Folksy anthropologist Dr. Frederick Cleveland (excellently played by Morris Ankrum), his fetching daughter Janet (the really charming and attractive Sally Fraser), and affable local Wayne Brooks (an engaging portrayal by Edward Kemmer) run into Vargas during an expedition into the woods.
Nice supporting performances by Bob Steele as stern, no-nonsense Sheriff Parker, Gary Crutcher as nice guy Charlie Brown, Jolene Brand as Charlie's sweet gal pal Ann, and Billy Dix as crazy doomsayer Indian Joe. The legendary Jack ("Frankenstein") Pierce did the crusty make-up for Vargas.
Local geologist Wayne Brooks (Ed Kemmer) teams up with visiting archaeologist Dr. Fredrick Cleveland (Morris Ankrum) to search the local mountains for the remains of a 300+ year old Spanish conquistador and a reputed giant of a man named Vargas.
Another draw for Brooks is the opportunity to spend a little time with the Dr.'s vacuous but attractive daughter, Janet (Sally Fraser).
It's not long before the giant Vargas makes his return and sets his own sights on young Janet and anything else he can maim and destroy.By all rights, I've most likely overrated Giant from the Unknown.
It features a multitude of easily identifiable weaknesses – a plot that moves at the break-neck pace of a slug, the dim-witted Janet randomly stumbling on the Spanish artifacts, Sheriff Parker's beyond ridiculous persecution of Brooks (Why in God's name would anyone think that Brooks would be running around the country-side slaughtering cows and destroying hen houses?), Bob Steele's laughably bad performance as Parker, the whole notion of Vargas "living" in a sort of suspended animation for 350 years, and the poorly done special effects in the film's finale.
Giant from the Unknown literally has everything you could hope to find in any regular bad movie.
All I know is that for most of Giant from the Unknown, I was entertained.
There's a good little movie here if you just look for it.
I hope the giant took a bath in the lake after getting out of his 500 year old dirt grave!.
Sally Fraser, that's who, in this entertaining but sometimes silly science fiction tale of a Spanish conquistador who comes back from the dead, preserve in a petrified forest, and seeking revenge (and female companionship) as he finds a whole different world around him, even in the great outdoors.
Ed Kemmer escorts scientist Morris Ankrum and his daughter (Fraser) out to this desolate countryside where they find the skeletons of the long dead conquistador's army as well as some of his headgear and weapons.
Veteran western actor Bob Steele plays a local sheriff who doesn't believe in the supernatural causes behind the murder, excelled when a young girl is approached by the grunting Baer, and later found dead, apparently raped before being murdered.
It's when professor Cleveland played by the venerable "Eternal Colonel" himself Morris Ankrum, in a rare non military role, shows up or rolled into town with his lovely and available, yes she's not married, daughter Janet, Sally Fraser, that things really started to get out of hand.That's in the towns handsome and single and unattached hard as well as soft rock specialist Wayne Brooks, Edward Kemmer, by him taking a shine more to Janet then to the rocks that he's studying.
As for the professor he's interested in finding the remains of this giant Spanish Conquistador named Varges "The Diablo Giant", Buddy Baer, who vanished with his men in and around Pine Ridge some 500 years ago.
Rampaging through the area Vargas murders Ann Brown, Joline Brand, as she was fetching water from a nearby well.It turns out that it's Wayne who's suspected in Ann's murder in that a Spanish medallion that belonged to him was found at the murder site.***SPOILERS*** It took a while for Wayne to convince the local Sheriff Parker, Bob Steele, that he's innocent after a number of brutal killings that included that of the wise old Indian Joe, Billy Dix, while Wayne was still in custody.
With a search party organized by Sheriff Parker that included the late Ann's brother Charlie Brown, Gary Crutcher, who by going on his own almost ends up getting himself killed by Vargas.
A criminal group of Spanish conquistadors leave their mark with local mountain Indians.
Police and scientists try to solve crimes and find artifacts.*Special Stars- Bob Steele, Ed Kemmer, Sally Fraser, Morris Ankrum, Buddy Bear.*Theme- Evil is often not buried with a evil person's bones.*Trivia/location/goofs- B & W.
This is an excellent film of the time and still manages to entertain even today..
The film is set in a California mountain town where there are some killings--and the sheriff is a complete moron.
Worth seeing if your standards are pretty low...otherwise you can certainly do better.NOTE: at the end, the giant falls through a fence to his death--smashing the fence in the process.
However, look at the fence immediately after--it's still all in one piece and isn't broken!By the way, the evil giant was played by Buddy Baer.
Long dead, or perhaps hibernating conquistador is revived and terrorizes some people in the wilderness.Not really a giant in what we normally think of as a giant the title character is more a really big man. |
tt0110631 | Nattevagten | A young law student, Martin (Waldau), takes a job as night-watchman at the local morgue. It seems a good idea as he needs the money, the quiet will be great for studying and the current watchman is retiring. Before he leaves, the watchman shows Martin his duties, one of which is checking on the morgue itself. This seems pretty creepy, especially when the old man won't tell him why he is leaving, but Martin is young and eager. That evening, after leaving his girlfriend, he returns with his radio. As everyone leaves the building silence descends -- the slightest noise makes him jump, the rattle of moths stuck in the lamp seems almost welcoming. Walking the corridors we can feel his apprehension at entering the morgue, being among the eternally silent corpses. Everything is fine, of course, but it's a strange job.Martin's friend Jens (Bodnia) doesn't seem to mind, but then he's a fairly unusual person. During a boring lecture they fall into a game of dare, where the stakes are that the loser marries his girlfriend. Later on, in a bar, their girlfriends are hassled by some fascist thugs, although they choose to look the other way and stay conscious. Martin then challenges Jens to argue with them, which he does -- deftly insulting them before running away. In return Martin is set up with a prostitute, Joyce (Rikke Loise Andersson), whom Jens knows. Before meeting her Martin works some more nights at the morgue, one of which is disrupted when the latest victim of the local serial killer is brought in. Through talking to the detective (Ulf Pilgaard) on the case of this psycho-killer Martin sees the victim, horribly mutilated through scalping. The circle of characters is completed when Martin meets Joyce, who was a friend of the murdered prostitute.As time passes in the morgue strange things happen, pushing Martin into doubting his own sanity. It seems that evidence is mounting up which proves that Martin is the serial-killer when corpses are found disturbed (shades of necrophilia). The tension builds higher and higher, to an almost painful level, as Martin walks through darkened hallways with the killer seemingly only one step behind. Everybody seems a possible suspect, both to Martin and to us. The final, extremely bloody, slaying only seems to seal his fate.The grim and macabre feel of this story seeps through the screen with shots of dim rooms, lit by flickering fluorescent lights, and low-key acting. Although there are some holes in the plot, and it is probably possible to work out the ending early on (if you wish to), this doesn't detract from the incredible level of suspense. It feels as though your whole rib cage will explode under the pressure as we see the serial killer carry out his deadly plan, with a high level of intelligence and cunning. The supporting performances are quite reasonable and add substance to the film, as a welcome contrast to the psychological cat-and-mouse game being played out. Although some of the scenes are extremely disturbing (think: 'Se7en,') they do add to the total impact.Overall, this is a film worth seeing but be prepared to stop breathing for minutes at a time. | insanity, cult, suspenseful, murder | train | imdb | null |
tt0076504 | Orca | Captain Nolan (Richard Harris) is an Irish Canadian who catches marine animals to pay off the mortgage of his boat, and returns to Ireland. Nolan's crew is looking for a great white shark for a local aquarium, but a scientist named Ken (Robert Carradine) is targeted by the shark. An orca comes and kills the shark, saving Ken. This switches Nolan's target to the orca. While Nolan is on the journey with his crew, he tries to capture what he believes to be a bull orca, but mistakenly harpoons a pregnant female. Nolan and his crew get the orca on board, where she subsequently miscarries. The captain hoses the dead fetus overboard as the male orca looks on screaming.
Seeking release of his near-dead mate, the male orca tries to sink the ship. One of Nolan's crew members, Novak (Keenan Wynn), cuts the female off the ship, but the male leaps up and drags him into the sea, too. The following day, the orca pushes his now dead mate onto shore. Alan Swain (Scott Walker) berates Nolan on his actions after finding the dead whale. Nolan denies responsibility, but Swain and the villagers eventually find out his involvement. The villagers insist that he kill the orca, as the latter's presence is causing the fish vital to the village's economy to migrate. The orca then terrorises the village by sinking fishing boats in broad daylight and then breaking fuel lines, thus destroying the village's fuel reserves.
Dr. Rachel Bedford (Charlotte Rampling), a colleague of Ken and a whale expert, shows him how similar whales are to humans and tells Nolan that, "If he [the orca] is like a human, what he wants isn't necessarily what he should have." Nolan confesses to Bedford that he empathises with the whale, as his own wife and unborn child had previously been killed in a car crash caused by a drunk driver. Nolan promises Bedford not to fight the whale, but the orca attacks his sea-front house, containing an injured crew member of Nolan's, Annie (Bo Derek) within it. The house starts slipping into the sea and the whale bites Annie's left leg off. Nolan decides to fight the orca, although with Novak dead and Annie maimed for life, Nolan and Paul (Peter Hooten) are now the only crew members left. Bedford and Ken join the pursuit, along with a Native American man, Jacob Umilak (Will Sampson), enlisted for his orca knowledge.
The crew begins to follow the whale after he signals Nolan to follow him. Ken is leaning over the side when the whale surfaces and grabs him, killing him in the process. They follow the whale until they reach the Strait of Belle Isle, though when Paul starts to get into a lifeboat, the maddened orca knocks Paul out of the boat and drowns him. The next day, the whale shoves an iceberg into the boat and starts to sink it. Nolan manages to harpoon the whale just before he and Bedford escape from the boat, while Umilak is crushed beneath an avalanche of ice just after sending out an SOS.
Nolan and Bedford hide in an iceberg, although Nolan slips onto another. The orca separates the icebergs, trapping Nolan. The whale jumps onto the ice, causing it to tilt and sending Nolan into the water. The whale lifts Nolan up with his tail and throws him onto another iceberg, killing him. Bedford looks on as Nolan slips into the water in a cross shape. With his revenge complete, the whale swims southward under the ice, while a helicopter is seen which presumably will rescue Bedford.
As the credits begin to roll, the Orca is shown swimming away beneath the thick arctic ice, leaving his fate uncertain. | revenge, violence | train | wikipedia | null |
tt0098105 | Police Academy 6: City Under Siege | The police must investigate a series of robberies along a strip of land in the city. The mayor (Kenneth Mars) assigns Captain Harris (G.W. Bailey) and Lt. Proctor (Lance Kinsey) to the case. While on stakeout the Wilson gang, composed of Ace (Gerrit Graham), Flash (Brian Seeman), and Ox (Darwyn Swalve), manages to slip through their fingers. The mayor wants Harris and Proctor to work with Commandant Lassard (George Gaynes) to apprehend the gang. Lassard assembles a seven-man team consisting of Hightower (Bubba Smith), Tackleberry (David Graf), Jones (Michael Winslow), Hooks (Marion Ramsey), Callahan (Leslie Easterbrook), Fackler (Bruce Mahler), and Lassard's nephew, Nick (Matt McCoy).
After distributing flyers as to the information of the Wilson gang and getting nowhere, Nick stumbles upon a paper reporting an antique diamond heading to a museum, and gets an idea to use it as bait: however the robbers nab the diamond anyway by cutting a hole in the truck and escaping through the sewer system. Nick then decides to go undercover to get information regarding a possible hideout, but Harris decides to go undercover to get a confession. Despite his fear of heights, Harris goes undercover as a window washer at a tall building and gets a confession of himself on tape after Proctor accidentally knocks him over the balcony.
The robberies are committed by a group of three dimwitted criminals who don't seem to be able to do this on their own, and it's revealed they are being guided by a shadow figure known as the "Mastermind," who speaks to the three behind a wall of glass and uses a voice distortion device. He devises a plan to get the cops out of the way.
Commandant Lassard and his men are later suspended after jewelry from the gang's last robbery is found in Lassard's office, pending an investigation. The gang decides to clear his name by nabbing the gang and the ringleader. Accessing data files from a computer, Nick deduces that the robberies are occurring along a bus route, thus intentionally lowering property values in that part of the city. They also learn that someone must be leaking information to the bad guys, which is why they are always one step ahead of the police.
The police academy force finds and does battle with the Wilson gang, taking down Ace, Flash, and Ox, while Nick chases the leader. A pursuit follows, which leads to Commissioner Hurst's (George Robertson) office. Though the others are fooled by the fact there are two versions of Commissioner Hurst, Nick wasn't fooled and is able to help them point out the real Hurst from the fake with a Pinocchio test. With that, Hightower removes the mask and reveals the "Mastermind" as the mayor. Caught, the mayor admitted that Captain Harris has been unwittingly leaking information during his daily meetings with him and how he could've made billions off the properties if it hadn't for Lassard and his team. Hurst tells Hightower to take the mayor into custody with his gang. He apologizes and reinstates the force, and a plaque is given to honor the officers' bravery the next day. As the movie closes, Harris is sitting in a chair when a string tying the balloon float is cut, lifting his chair and floating him up into the air as he shouts Proctor's name. As he floats away, it is revealed that it was Commander Lassard who actually cut the string. | comedy, prank | train | wikipedia | We all know them from before, and once you've seen one episode, you kinda saw them all.Weak point of the movie is the absence of Mahoney (the star of the series) and Zed (the funniest).
In "Police Academy 6: City Under Siege", the gang's all here to save a crime-ridden city from the wrath of 3 white guys named the Wilson Heights Gang...I imagine this complicated premise was pitched to Warner Bros execs something to the effect of "Um, they like to rob stuff...and they're bad guys.
Oh, and the city's under siege because of them." I know this is slapstick and it was never intentioned to be taken seriously, but even when writing a film like this you have to TRY, at least TRY to write something good!!Anyway, the cast is all here, again, and they're not unlike the line of lower-income, shady low-lifes I see waiting outside the Department of Labor office every morning to pick up their unemployment checks.
There isn't much of a story but what there is of it consists of a gang of 3 goons who work for a MR BIG bringing down property prices by going on a City wide crime-wave with the Academy the only people who can stop them..
Most of the other usual cast remains What with Bubba Smith (hightower) doing his strong man thing, Leslie Easterbrook (Callahan) doing her strong ass-kicking woman thing & The late David Graf (Tackleberry) doing his gung-ho ass-kicking stuff that we've seen in all the other 5 movies so It might get tiresome for hard to please critics, but for a bit of lightweight entertainment that won't tax your Brain too much it's nigh on Unbeatable My vote for what it's worth 7/10.Followed by Police Academy 7: Mission to Moscow the last movie which flopped at the Box-office (maybe it was an academy too many for film fans who though they'd suffered enough).
Finally, almost done with the Police Academy sequels, I finished the 6th movie in the series, Police Academy 6: City Under Siege, now this movie by no means is the worst movie ever, but it's the weaker of the movies and disappoints more than makes you laugh.
With the earlier sequels, I've been surprised, with all the low ratings, I still was laughing at the movies, just because I think people were taking the movies too seriously or comparing too much to the original Police Academy.
Now the last Police Academy may not have had Mahony, Steve Guttenberg's character, but it still made me laugh, but I miss the old gang, they were what made the sequels a lot of fun.
I also once again missed Zed and Sweetchuck, certain characters just made these movies into fun comedies, but City Under Siege tries too hard.The class is back together to save the city from jewelery thieves, but the plot thickens when they find out that the leader of the gang is connected with the police.
But they find out that there is something deeper than just having the jewels, the thieves are going to own this town unless the police academy stops them.Police Academy 6: City Under Siege still delivers some really good laughs here and there, you always have to love the pranks the class pulls on Harris, G.W. Baily plays them off so well and makes the memorable.
Police Academy 6: City Under Siege, I recommend it if you are looking to see the series, but as a comedy, it's just alright.3/10.
POLICE ACADEMY 6: CITY UNDER SIEGE is one of the funniest in the POLICE ACADEMY series due to its hilarious characters, great scenes of slapstick, funny lines, and good music.
This is the most exciting movie in the POLICE ACADEMY series since there is a lot more action than there is in the other ones which I like..
Like the last movie, Police Academy 6 starts out with Harris and Proctor on some ridiculous mission to outsmart the rest of the crew and ensure that they get all of the glory for something or other.
At least this time they're not breaking and entering like they were in the last movie, but have stationed them on a stake-out at a location that they are sure is going to be the next hit for the dreaded Wilson Heights Gang who, if nothing else, should definitely find someone else to come up with a threatening name so they'll sound more like a group of hardcore criminals and less like a gated community.
You could argue that the slapstick was the first real narrative story-telling that came along in film, and the Police Academies are no different, they just haven't stood up to the test of time so well.Oh, and they're also hampered by stupid-ass sequels like this one and the next one.
We have another small group of mind-bogglingly stupid bad guys, which is not a bad thing in itself, but apparently someone took my words too seriously when I originally reviewed Police Academy 5 and said that the movies are essentially kid's movies, because in this installment we get a cartoonish villain that is a bizarre combination of the Wizard of Oz and Dr. Claw from Inspector Gadget.
At least they didn't have a villain who tried to outdo even the most outlandish 007 villains and like, you know, hold the sun for ransom or something.Again, most of the original cast is back, but I still miss Mahoney and Zed, and the screenwriters (yeah, it took more than one to come up with this thing) unfortunately have no idea what to do with the characters that we've come to know and love laughing at.
But I do have to say that, like part 5, there are some moments in this one that I distinctly remember loving to death when I was about ten years old, like the scene where the huge bad guy who looks like a lumberjack comes outside with an ice-cream cone with like eight scoops of ice cream stacked up on it and goes, "Oh BOY!" but then takes one lick, pushing it off where it lands with an audible splat on the pavement and he goes, "Crapola!"Okay, so it's not funny in writing.
Check this out, besides glorifying the movie like it's some overlooked Oscar winner, director Peter Bonerz (my god, can you imagine having THAT name in junior high school?) lists off the numerous references and homaaaaaages that can be found within its pristine contents, including everything from Orson Welles to Hitchcock himself!Sadly, your brain has to be securely in the "off" position in order to enjoy the movie, but it may add to the comedy just to know that some effort was put in to put those references in there!!.
Michael Winslow and Bubba Smith just aren't enough, and the obnoxious Captain Harris can't save the movie either, and neither can new addition Kenneth Mars.
City Under Siege is the sixth of the Police Academy movies, a series of satires on modern America almost Swiftian in their subtlety.To be honest, as a film anorak, I was tempted to give this one a miss, as I hate watching movies out of sequence.
Possibly the worst is Bruce Mahler as Fackler, an accident-prone cop instigating wearily mistimed and predictable slapstick sequences.What's great about the Police Academy series is how it unites everyone - the humour is so low-brow that even really thick people don't find it funny.
Surely even his own mother wasn't laughing at this stage.However, the semblance of some sort of plot and the presence of three genuine laughs - more than in all the other Police Academy movies stuck together - take this one up to a mighty 3/10..
This time the pretext is a rip off of Police Academy 2, with a group of thieves starting a crime wave, while facing police corruption in the city in this atrocious sequel which leaves the viewer begging for death.
Another question that constantly springs to mind is where, in the midst of a power grid sabotage, Michael Winslow gets the power to amplify his microphones.As the trivia entry states, this was the last time the characters of Hooks, Hightower, Proctor, and Fackler were seen in this series.
Winslow makes his noises, Graf does his gun-nut routine, Bailey does his pathetic little momma's-boy thing, Hightower stands there looking big, and Matt McCoy tries to pretend he's Steve Guttenberg.
You know a Police Academy film is plumbing a rotten depth when the biggest laughs come from the acts of the criminals, who are on-screen for a total of maybe twenty minutes.All told, I gave Police Academy 6: City Under Siege a one out of ten.
Police academy 6: City under siege i thought was a good movie, the actors and the actresses were brilliant and they are great i think.
A metropolitan crimewave hits the city of our bumbling cadets, and so Moses Hightower (Bubba Smith), Eugene Tackleberry (David Graf), Larvell Jones (Michael Winslow), and Laverne Hooks (Marion Ramsey) are called into action to find the jewel burglar and bring him to justice!
It is evident that Bonerz, like the rest of the directors from this series, has a sense of what makes a funny half-hour television show, but he is lacking the feel for cinematic comedy.There is a big difference.
And that's pretty sad."Police Academy 6: City Under Siege" is not funny at all, and to be brutally honest, that's all there is to know.0/5 stars.
Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this film pretty much reused the same old gags of the previous 5 movies in the series with the only exception being that a couple of them had slightly more depth.
Even so, the fact of the matter is that this particular film still wasn't quite as good as the first two movies in the series and for that reason I have rated it as slightly below average..
"Police Academy 6: City Under Siege" is the latest in what I like to call the "Police Academy mini-series".Nothing has really changed in this one...it's the same old police officers trying to make the city a better place and making fools of themselves at the same time courtesy of Capt.
Harris (G.W. Bailey).It just gets stale after a while and I get anxious for the ending to come.Still, the same old gang the I have enjoyed watching since the first "Police Academy" movie are back and it's nice to seem them again..
Didn't some of these actors (George Gaynes, David Graf, Marion Ramsey, etc.) have anything better to do than to keep turning up in "Police Academy" movies?
While it was with the fourth film where things properly got particularly stale, it was from the fifth film where finding redeeming qualities proved to be difficult.'Police Academy 6' is one of the series' worst, with very little to recommend and almost completely laughter-free.
It is just saved from unsalvageable doom by Michael Winslow, Bubba Smith and George Gaynes giving their all, with the best moments provided with Winslow's admittedly one-joke but wry-smile-worthy imitations and noises and the best line being Hightower's wonderfully apt line about bad jokes being where he drew the line.The rest of the acting really isn't good, with the rest of the regulars struggling to bring any freshness to basically one-joke and ridiculously lame-brained characters or having very little to do (especially Leslie Easterbrook and Marion Ramsey reduced to just looking alluring, while GW Bailey is pretty much wasted this time).
The villain is neither fun or threatening (as bad as the fifth film was, Rene Auberjonois actually at least livened things up if only a little) and Kenneth Mars is basically a cartoon.Bigger letdowns are the writing and story.
While Police Academy 6: City Under Siege is certainly no cinematic masterpiece, it is a very entertaining and funny film that gets a bad rap, probably in part to how bad the previous and following films in the series were.
Police Academy 6 is actually, in my opinion, the best of the sequels and is rather funny if you give it a chance.The main characters from the previous film are all here, with Michael Winslow (as Jones), Bubba Smith (as Hightower), David Graf (as Tackleberry), and G.W. Bailey (as Harris) as the main characters, with the other half dozen good supporting actors.
The film is aimed at a younger audience, but adults should enjoy the numerous jokes, especially Harris' overbearing scenes, Jones' sound effects, and Tackleberry's use of firearms and his obvious joy in driving Bigfoot during the awesome chase scene.While maybe the not greatest comedy, if you are looking for some simple fun, I'd say Police Academy 6 is a very good and entertaining film.
It almost seemed to me like the studio tacked this film on just to tie up the loose ends, they should've just let the series go with Police Academy V..
Police Academy 6: City Under Siege (1989) D: Peter Bonerz.
Especially Harris and Proctor deliver some good laughs in this one, the bus scenes are pretty funny.
OK, the first Police Academy was pretty reasonable, but all those very bad sequels after that...
If you like a depressive, boring Sunday afternoon, just watch one of the Police Academy movies..
I'm not a big fan of the Police Academy series.
The action and the comedy were equal, the fun of the 80 minutes is masterly, but maybe it wasn't huge and creative as the original, otherwise the people at the time became more than full with 5 movies already.(Police Academy 6: City Under Siege) is nice light time, a perfect movie for my Friday afternoon, and a memory from lovely age was ageing at the time.
A poor comedy that just does what all the other Police Academy films do.
With Lassard's team making good progress in the investigation into the gang behind the crimes, Harris seems more concerned with saving face with the Mayor by trying to show up the rest of the unit.Hard to imagine that anyone would come to the Police Academy series in the sixth film and expect it to be anything but the same old stuff that it has been doing for years.
this one is a lot more exciting than the others i say.it has a lot of danger,{not counting the the part where harris and procter on the sky rise that sort of stuff happends all the time with them clowns)they take a lot of risk in it.when i first seen it i thought the fuuniest thing was when fackler set of the fire works.and the part where johnes and flash where fighting that was the best fight in them movies ever since part 2 where he saves the green grocer from the 2 thugs.and this one is a lot cleaner than the others.but i wish zed and swuitchuck made it in this one..
It includes a lot of good jokes and marvellous acting work of the original cast Leslie Easterbrook, Marion Ramsey, Michael Winslow, David Graf, Georges Gaynes, Bubba Smith, G.W. Baily and Proctor.
You wouldn't think that a sixth installment of a film series would be good but Police Academy 6 was great.The precinct is gripped by a crimewave; three crooks are robbing banks and the police can't seem to catch them.
As usual, Harris and Proctor bumble everywhere and it's the other guys who catch the bad guys.The film could not be considered as strong as Parts 1,2,3 and 5 but it is very very good indeed.
This is a movie you should only watch if you want to see what happens when a bunch of old pals get together and decide to play dress-up around old movie sets.The whole gang returns, of course (even Mahler returns as eternally-clumsy Fackler) to make life miserable for Cpt. Harris (Bailey) and try to apprehend a notorious trio of thieves (Moe, Larry and Curly?) whose escalating series of crimes have the "City Under Siege".
Hmm...great idea for a movie?Not for this one.I tell you what, let's make a pact: I won't review any more of the "Police Academy" movies if Hollywood promises to find Bubba Smith better work.The best part of the whole movie?
Police Academy 6 is so bad, that you would rather vomit the contents of your stomach than watch the movie.
I mean, anything from the police officers rapping to a super-strong guy making a bad joke about "Boo who", this movie's jokes are really sub-par.Just, don't watch it.
Bailey does well again as Harris but the few pranks are way too infantile this time.Over all its not a bad film really, its still better than number four and about on par with number five.
The cops along with Lassard, Harris and Proctor try to uncover the crooks and work out who the mastermind is.This film has many more funny moments than 5 and 7, and the characters get a chance to fully exploit their individual traits, juxtaposed against the 3 criminals.
I think that this (and the next in the series, where the silly gang go to Moscow) is two of the worst movies ever made actually.
Bubba Smith, Michael Winslow, David Graf, Leslie Easterbrook, Marion Ramsay, Matt McCoy, G.W. Bailey, Lance Kinsey, Kenneth Mars and George Gaynes star in this 1989 comedy sequel.
In this installment, police misfits, Hightower (Smith), Jones (Winslow), Tackleberry (Graf), Callahan (Easterbrook), Hooks (Ramsay), Harris (Bailey) and Proctor (Kinsey) encounter a trio of criminals working for a mastermind who plans on shutting the city down for profit.
The first time I saw this film, I was 12, and I liked it, largely because Police Academy had been shoved down my throat, thanks to the yearly sequels.Seeing it now, you realise how poor the actual film is, and that the screenwriters couldn't come up with an original idea between them.It's all the same stuff.
Police Academy 6: City Under Siege.
Police Academy 6: City Under Siege.
Police Academy 6: City Under Siege.
If you can bring yourself to watch a police academy film make it this one |
tt0449059 | Little Miss Sunshine | During a strained and awkward family dinner, it is revealed that Frank, a homosexual professor and renowned scholar of Marcel Proust, tried to kill himself after a love interest left him for an academic rival. Cued by her father to change the subject, Olive tells the family about the beauty pageant routine she is working on with the help of her grandfather. Though Olive is not of the typical pageant ilk (an average-looking, bespectacled seven-year-old), she adores pageant work and had won second place in a regional contest. During dinner, the family hears a phone message from Olive's aunt, informing that them that the winner of Olive's recent pageant had to forfeit, and that Olive now has a place in the Little Miss Sunshine pageant in California. Olive is overjoyed, and after some arguing about transportation (and a pressuring pep-talk from her self-help guru father, Richard), the entire family agrees to travel to Redondo Beach in their Volkswagen microbus.Conversation in the bus reveals that Grandpa Edwin (Adam S. Gottbetter) was kicked out of his retirement home for selling and using heroin (which he still enjoys). Dwayne, Olive's brother, has been taking a vow of silence for nine months straight, and plans to keep it up until he gets into the Air Force. He spends his time reading the works of Friedrich Neitzche and ignoring his squabbling parents and Grandpa's brazen sex advice. At a rest stop, the clutch on the microbus breaks, forcing the family to push-start the bus whenever it is not parked on an incline. At a gas station, Richard receives news that his book deal has fallen through. Frank is humiliated after running into his ex-lover in a convenience store. The family returns to the road, all in bad tempers, but realize (after Dwayne notices) that they have to return to the gas station for Olive, who they'd forgotten in their bad moods.They check into a motel for the night, Richard and Sheryl sharing a room, Frank and Dwayne in another, and Grandpa and Olive in a third. Olive confesses to Grandpa that she is scared about the pageant the following day, but is reassured by the doting Edwin that she is a beautiful person and will 'blow 'em outta the water." Sheryl and Richard have an explosive argument about the failed book deal, and Richard drives to Scottsdale in the middle of the night to confront Stan Grossman, his partner in the deal. Richard's ideas are rejected again, and he returns to the motel.Olive wakes her parents in the morning because "Grandpa won't wake up." Edwin is rushed to the hospital where he is pronounced dead of an apparent heroin overdose. The family grieves, but the paperwork they are instructed to carry out will ruin their chances to get to Olive's pageant on time. Determined to honor his father's memory, Richard has the family smuggle the body into their van. Soon, however, their horn breaks and will not stop honking. They are pulled over by a state trooper who nearly uncovers Edwin's body in the trunk, but is sidetracked by Grandpa's porn collection that falls out. He lets the family go in exchange for the porn mags, and the road trip continues.The Hoovers are almost at the pageant site and are making good time. Olive is giving Dwayne an eye test that she got from the hospital, and Frank realizes that Dwayne is colorblind. Realizing that this wrecks his dream of becoming a test pilot (and negates his nine months of total silence), Dwayne loses it. Richard stops the bus, and Dwayne runs into a culvert in a rage insulting his family. Refusing to continue the trip and failing to be comforted by Sheryl, Olive manages to win him back on board with a silent hug.They arrive at the Redondo Suites hotel with much confusion about parking, and make it to the sign-up table four minutes late. Though a snippy pageant official initially refuses her entry, a kindly employee adds Olive to the lineup. Richard finds an undertaking service to remove Edwin's body, and sadly bids farewell to his father. Dwayne and Frank, repulsed by the freakish child pageant atmosphere, walk out to a pier. Dwayne (now vocal again) expresses his frustration with being a teenager and life in general. Frank offers his nephew a piece of Proust philosophy: that it is your suffering, not your happiness, that defines you as a person.The pageant begins, and the prepubescent contestants, slathered disturbingly with makeup and fake tan, take the stage. Richard becomes nervous for Olive as he watches from the audience, knowing that she will not fit in. He and Dwayne, sharing the same concern, go backstage to convince Sheryl to call it off. Sheryl stands her ground, saying that they have to "let Olive be Olive." The family watches nervously as Olive is led to the stage to perform.Dressed in a suit and top hat, Olive dedicates her dance performance to Grandpa, who had choreographed it. The rest of the family have not seen it yet. Olive's dance turns out to be a strip-burlesque routine to Rick James's "Superfreak," which Olive performs with gusto, as she is innocent of its raunchy overtones. The audience is appalled and even begins to catcall, but the Hoovers stand up and cheer her on. The snippy pageant official orders the emcee to remove Olive from the stage, but Richard butts in and begins dancing next to his daughter to support her. One by one, Olive's family takes the stage and joyfully finishes the number with her. After a brief visit to the police precinct, the Hoovers are permitted to leave as long as Olive is never entered in another California beauty pageant.Having become closer and more confident during the trip, the Hoovers push-start the microbus once again and pile in. They drive into the sunset, back to Albuquerque. | comedy, depressing, cult, suicidal, cute, clever, feel-good, psychedelic, humor, satire, philosophical, inspiring, entertaining | train | imdb | And although getting there is only half the fun and family drama, you have got to see what happens to believe it when they finally arrive and Olive gets to "do her thing." The strong cast sounds not a single false note, and when the more touching moments arrive, they don't seem forced the way they would in most other big-budget behemoths, because these moments are truly earned.
Greg Kinnear is letter-perfect as Olive's judgmental, failed motivational-speaker father; Steve Carell finds new shades of darkest despair and human comedy as her suicidal gay uncle, a leading Proust scholar; Paul Dano does amazing things with little more than facial expressions as Olive's older brother who's deep into Nietzche and a vow of absolute silence, and Alan Arkin, though he has played this kind of role with both hands tied behind his back and his eyes closed, still shines like a crazy diamond as her cantankerous and hedonistic grandfather.And barely holding this motley crew together is Toni Collette, who amazes by playing a mother again and yet manages not to portray the role exactly the same way, (you might recall her Oscar-nominated turn as Haley Joel Osment's put-upon mom in THE SIXTH SENSE.) I'm not at all familiar with the work of the two directors, Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, or the writer, Michael Arndt, but they have definitely raised the indie film bar with this effort.
The premise itself can lead to years of therapy for a family that should get a group rate in psychiatric care.Expert editing and superb comedic performances from all the principals involved will have many overlook the fact that the plot line is a little too contrived at times.
The scene at the gas station contains moments of deep sadness and offbeat humor, something that Carrell pulls off wonderfully, and none will be able to look at the trunk of a car, some dubious literary material, and highway patrol the same way after seeing the infamous scene in the film.The best is of course, saved for last, and by this time we are waiting for something outrageous which "Little Miss Sunshine" delivers unapologetically.
A classic track will probably be recharged for a new generation, as the bonds of family precariously balance a moment that could be as tacky as they come."Sunshine" is one of the best things to come out of American cinema this year, an original film that relies on a script that understands the differences between generations in the same family.
They remind me of The Squid and the Whale another recent movie that comes to mind when I think of this type of character development these are just normal, regular people, and the filmmakers developed them as such in the most in-depth, well thought-out and just ingenious way possible.That brings me to the second adjective: Realism.
When Little Miss Sunshine gets funny, it's hilarious we're talking pitch-black dark and very quirky comedy, but it works admirably, reaching sort of a peak in the infamous, hilarious and totally wacky traffic cop scene.The acting is.
Basically, the film's message can be summed up in one brilliant line delivered by Arkin's character, Grandpa Edwin: "A real loser is someone who's so afraid of not winning he doesn't even try." This is a family who see tragedy after failure after disappointment, and it's just so, so sad to see them so down, because we love them all and we know that they don't deserve it, despite all their flaws.
I went to a screening of this film at Sundance earlier this year, and this is what I wrote about it immediately following:This was a little less indie, cast-wise, but was jarringly real in a way that Hollywood rarely fosters.
Little Miss Sunshine refers to a pageant to be held in California (the movie never states where the family lives, but most of the road scenes were definitely in the Phoenix, Arizona area.
(added 8/2/06: I know now that the movie is set in New Mexico, for those of you who are interested in that sort of thing!)The story follows little Olive, a normal child, who by a fluke wins her way into the finals of the Little Miss Sunshine pageant.
The family decides they must accompany her in their old VW bus, so a road trip ensues.The final third of the movie, which deals with the actual pageant, is by far the funniest part of the film.
You can't help rooting for Olive, who is refreshingly normal amongst the frighteningly plastic other contestants.(After discovering that I was in the (opposite of loved it) category on IMDb, I changed my subject line, because this was one of the best movies I've seen all year!!
Driving its Volkswagon bus down the middle of these two extremes is "Little Miss Sunshine", a comedy both inclusive and exclusive, one that some will get entirely, while others will whiff on to the same degree.The title stems from a beauty pageant in which seven-year old Olive (Abigail Breslin of "Signs") competes.
But if you excel at finding the askance humor in life and film, then you will relish this offbeat look at a collection of family dynamics perhaps only slightly stranger than most, although definitely more extreme.Bottom Line: One of the year's best, and likely its best comedy.
Keeping up with the recent buzz-worthy films coming out of Sundance the past couple years, Little Miss Sunshine is a gem of a movie.
There is so much a viewer can relate to in each member, allowing for a certain amount of compassion for the views of all involved and seeing that each really does want the best for one another, even if they have a messed up way of showing it.Greg Kinnear and Toni Collette are wonderful as the patriarchs, proving as always that they are probably two of the most under-appreciated actors working today.
At first it seemed like the movie wasn't going to be funny at all...I mean can a mute and a suicidal man make a comedy?
I laughed so much I got tears in my eyes during the last dance scene.The whole cast was great, Paul Dano, Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell playing really serious at first...when I went into the movie, I thought it was a drama at first...Steve Carell was what brought me to the film in the first place...and Alan Arkin is funny in anything he does...I don't want to say much about this film...I want people to go to it and be surprised....
"Little Miss Sunshine" certainly has been luckier than most Indies in terms of budget and cast, but it still is a modest black comedy that takes advantage of its own limitations and relaying only in great acting and a lot of heart, makes more than the hundreds of comedies the big studios make in a year.The plot is the story of the Hoover family and their trip from New Mexico to California, in order to take their little daughter, Olvie (Abigail Breslin), to the finals of the Little Miss Sunshine Beauty Pageant.
The road trip will prove to be a test not only to Olive, but for the rest of the family."Little Miss Sunshine" is the very first work by writer Michael Arndt, and for the most part he makes an amazing job in setting up what's basically a character driven road movie.
Arndt's script may not be very original (and that's probably the film's biggest problem), but he uses the conventions of his genre in a very clever way, mainly by focusing on his different characters and letting them and their own personal stories to carry the main plot.
Sure, it's an overtly exaggerated portrait of that dysfunctional yet lovable family we all have, but this delicious black comedy it's done with such charm and heart that it actually works, and even makes the story feel fresh despite not having a really original plot.This movie not only marks Arndt's debut as a writer, it's also the first feature film by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, a team of music directors famed for their work with rock bands across the 90s.
The subtle approach taken by the Dayton-Faris tandem succeeds in giving life to this charming story by letting the actors to completely own their characters and be the most important part of the film."Little Miss Sunshine"'s magic would not be possible without one of the best assembled cast in years.
Comparatively, Paul Dano comes up as the weakest link, but that has more to do with the high quality of his cast-mates, as his work is still effective and worth of praise on its own.Many have criticized the way "Little Miss Sunshine" remains too close to the road movie formula and its use of overused clichés, however I find that to be unfairly harsh, as well as misdirected, as it's not really the plot what matters in the end, it's how the characters react to the situations that this trip presents them.
While probably predictable, few movies of this optimistic feel good style could carry its plot keeping the same energy from beginning to end."Little Miss Sunshine" is the little big surprise of 2006, a black comedy that attempted to do a lot with very little, and that for the most part succeeded in its attempt.
At first it looks like different movie with no impact that was fairly common in this time, it took the theme of a dysfunctional family that isn't a common theme for many reason.
To sum up little miss sunshine is by far the best movie of 2006 it was worthy of every it was nominated but sadly the academy are more commercial than true critics.
But the true story that causes an impact in our heart hearts are the ones that comes that come from the real life mix up with some clever ideas that to me is little miss sunshine is one of the best achievement in cinemas of all time.--Goyolap.
The setup is practically there; a scene so distasteful feels like it's just off-screen (or on the cutting room floor) in this wholly objectionable movie.Long after a ridiculously unbelievable "chance meeting" in a gas station, long after paper-deep villains have been thrown at the screen, long after the annoying Murphy's Law plot line is exhausted, comes the most sick, saccharine, crappy moment in all of film history which involves a family attempting to redeem their seven-year old daughters failed, inappropriate talent routine (a strip tease) by joining her on stage.
I want to spend those two hours with good people who are flawed, like those in my life I love most.That's what Little Miss Sunshine has, and much more.
Spotlight the amazing Abigail Breslin as a believable little girl trying to break into the Child Glamour Business through pageants like "Little Miss Sunshine." It was when I contrasted her less than movie-star appearance with all the adult-glam of the other lacquered and made-up girls that I realized the subliminal message here.Olive's striptease is an honest (but disturbing) expose of what these pageants really are.
If I had read a description like this, I would have written off "Little Miss Sunshine" without a second thought--it looks and sounds like a standard-issue, deliberately 'quirky' road-trip comedy where the standard-issue dysfunctional family bonds and learns an Important Lesson at the denouement.
But any way you cut it, "Little Miss Sunshine" is one of the most inspired films of the year...under a conventional-looking surface lies a tremendously moving experience..
i should know better than to trust that everyone is right.as i spent my 2 hours watching another dry, pseudo-drama with a dysfunctional quirky family i wondered; why don't i like this movie?
It is just a boring tale of a dysfunctional family that tries to take their untalented daughter who thinks she is great to a little miss sunshine contest where in actual fact she is possibly the worst candidate.The all star cast made me excited at first but the film was just generally boring with no twist and a very expected ending.
This movie is as bad as Sideways.It is not so much either of these movies but the fact that their are actually human beings at organizations like Time who actually want us to believe that the worst that life has to offer is great comedy.The lines weren't funny, Alan Arkin and his character seemed to be trying to outdo themselves, and the whole plot is nothing but a poorly contrived series of the worst things that can happen to an already pathetically disjointed group of people chasing after an even more unbelievable plot..
Little Miss Sunshine is a funny and entertaining independent movie about a strange and ambitious family called the Hoovers who take a road-trip.
The 9 year old girl's family consists of her father who is a typical American boastful positive speaker, her mother who sees through the crap of her husbands' hollow optimism talk, her brother who is so fed up with the family that has taken a silence vow until he gets admission in the air-force, her maternal uncle who is a brilliant professor who is also gay and brought home after his failed attempt to commit suicide because his gay partner ditches him for his rival professor who receives the nation's best philosophy prize; and lastly the young girls paternal grandfather who is a jolly, loud mouth, drug addict even at this old age, who believes in the joy of living life fully and enjoying as much sex as possible.With these carefully drafted characters instantaneously one gets drawn into the movie's flow when with hesitation everyone of the family agrees to travel 18 hours journey in a home van - to take part in the beauty pageant for the sake of this 9 year old lovely fat chubby girl.This is a journey that breaks, joins, breaks and unites the family in the end.
This is reflected in a very lovely exchange between the professor and the young boy who says that "everyone's whole life is like this silly beauty pageant".At the end of the movie it is so pitiful to see the young girls of 5-10 years being tortured to act and behave like beauty queens and it tells the story of today's times.A very good movie!.
This compounded with the fact that the outcomes for three of the characters were so easily decipherable that I checked out half-way through the movie, makes Little Miss Sunshine only worthy of a Sunday afternoon HBO waste of time.
Following yet another road trip taken by a dysfunctional family, "Little Miss Sunshine" is at times painfully predictable and sadly unoriginal.
The acting is below the standard I would expect for any of the stars - especial Alan Arkin - who, as the only character in the movie that was remotely funny, probably could have single-handedly made this movie worth watching had he been given more screen time.If you want a cute take little girl pageants, watch Happy Texas.And there are dozens of "dysfunctional family" comedies from which to choose that are actually funny - The Royal Tenenbaums, Home For The Holidays, Pieces Of April, The Family Stone, etc...
'Little Miss Sunshine' tells a fascinating and hilarious story of a dysfunctional family that includes a cigarette-addicted mother Sheryl (Toni Collette), her suicidal brother Frank (Steve Carell), her voluntarily mute son Dwayne (Paul Dano), her obsessed-with-winning husband Richard(Greg Kinnear), his eccentric father Edwin (Alan Arkin) and her 7 year old daughter Olive (Abigail Breslin).
'Little Miss Sunshine' can also be watched as a fun road movie where we are presented with some beautiful landscapes and some of the dialogues during the characters' journey are of laugh out loud quality and yet it keeps the authenticity of the relationships and situations intact.The film consists of a delightful ensemble cast.
Also there is Richard's dad ( Alan Arkin ) who was kicked out of a retirement home for snorting heroin.When the family's at the dinner table, the news comes that Olivia is invited to the Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant in California- which involves a road trip across the country.However this movie really proves the saying that the journey is as important as the destination, and it is proved by a great cast.
But particular credit must go to Steve Carell as Frank and Paul Dano as Dwayne- their scenes together seem to just move so naturally.Little Miss Sunshine is a movie that will help you out of whatever doldrums your in.
Little Miss Sunshine (2006)What a wacky, funny, sweet, feel-good movie.
'Little miss Sunshine' is a classic dramatic comedy about a family struggling to get along as they should do, but despite what some people say it IS original.
Frank has just survived a suicide attempt after suffering a unrequited love affair, Dwayne is a depressed teenager only interested in achieving his dream of becoming a pilot, Olive a seven-year-old dreaming of becoming a beauty queen even though she is not one, Grandpa a heroin addict, Richard a failed business man with an obsession for winning, and Sheryl who only wants her family to be happy.
I think I liked the film because I can relate to each of the characters in their own little ways.
I have seen many movies about dysfunctional families, but rarely if ever have I seen one as good or as funny as "Little Miss Sunshine".
Little Miss sunshine is a really enjoyable Movie.
I mean, through the whole thing, you see this insanely dysfunctional, yet average, ordinary family getting into ludicrous situations and before you know it, you're saying to yourself,"Hey, that's just like my family!" No, not because of what they're doing in the film, but because of the kind of people they are overall.This movie also has, while pretty dark, lovable and "out there" humor that shows the pleasures and problems of everyday life. |
tt0016884 | Flesh and the Devil | "When the Devil cannot reach us through the spirit,
He creates a beautiful woman to reach us through the flesh."
- Hermann SudermannWhen they were young children in Germany, Leo von Harden [John Gilbert] and Ulrich von Eltz [Lars Hanson] rowed out to the Isle of Friendship where, in the presence of Ulrich's younger sister Hertha [Barbara Kent], they cut their wrists and vowed to be blood brothers forever. And so they have remained through school and military service, the one always looking out for the other. Even Pastor Voss [George Fawcett] admits that, although he christened them separately, he's never since seen them apart. All that is about to change.Leo and Ulrich are on military furlough and have returned home together where they are greeted at the train station by Leo's mother [ Eugenie Besserer] and Hertha, who is now almost 16 years old. As they are about to gather up their bags and depart from the station, Leo sees a beautiful woman debark from the train and walk to a waiting carriage. When she drops her bouquet of flowers, Leo hurries over to pick it up. Their eyes meet, and it is love at first sight.They meet again that very evening at the ball at Stoltenhof, which marks the opening of the social season. One look at her seated across the ballroom, and Leo leaves Hertha, who saved her first dance for him, standing alone on the dance floor. One dance later, and the lovers retire to the garden terrace. A shared cigarette later, and they are liplocked. Throughout Leo's furlough, they are inseparable. The day before Leo is to return to the military base to serve out his last five months of duty, his world collapses. While languishing in his lover's arms, her husband comes home. The love of Leo's life is Countess Felicitas von Rhaden [Greta Garbo], and Count Rhaden [ Marc McDermott] is not amused.Rhaden challenges Leo to a duel, first warning him that no scandal can come to the Rhaden name, so they stage the duel under the pretext of a dispute during a card game. Ulrich attempts to talk Leo out of the duel, but Leo is adamant. He and Rhaden begin their pacing, two shots are fired, and Rhaden is killed. Following Rhaden's death, the military court "advises" Leo to sign up for a five-year stint in Africa, which means being separated from Felicitas. Felicitas promises to wait but is worried about being alone for so long. Who better to console the grieving widow and see to her needs in Leo's absence than Leo's blood brother Ulrich. A last kiss stolen in a park where Leo thinks no one will see him and Felicitas together, and Leo is off for Africa. Unfortunately, someone does see them -- Pastor Voss.Three years pass. Leo gets a letter from Ulrich saying that he has been pardoned through the intervention of His Majesty and that Leo is free to return home. All the long way back from Africa to Germany, Leo can think only of seeing his beloved Felicitas again. He is met at the train station by Ulrich, Felicitas, and another surprise. Felicitas has become Ulrich's wife. Leo is devastated. Not even the happy reunion with his mother and with little Hertha, who is now 18 years old and living with Leo's mother since Ulrich's marriage, can take Felicitas off his mind.Although he refuses to promise Pastor Voss to never again see Felicitas, Leo stays away from her and avoids Ulrich, too, much to Ulrich's dismay. Eventually, after Felicitas and Leo have a heart-to-heart on the Isle of Friendship and Felicitas tells him how he is breaking Ulrich's heart, Leo resumes his friendship with Ulrich. Of course, this includes being around Felicitas, and Pastor Voss finds the three of them paling around together to be sinful. After Voss delivers a firey sermon, to the entire church but obviously directed at Leo and Felicitas, about David's seduction of Uriah's wife , Leo begins to avoid Ulrich and Felicitas again.One day, with Ulrich off in Munich, Felicitas pays Leo a visit at his home. She begs to talk with him, but he refuses to do so where his mother or Hertha might overhear, so they begin walking into town. It is winter, and the snow is freezing Felicitas' feet, which are clad only in high heels. Felicitas forces him to stop at a gardening cottage where a fire is blazing so that she can dry out her shoes. There is no one else in the cottage and, before long, they're in each others' arms, professing their love. Felicitas convinces Leo that the only thing left for them to do is to run away together, so they make plans to leave that very evening.Felicitas goes home to pack, but she is surprised when Ulrich comes home early from Munich. Not only that, but he brings her a present -- an elaborate diamond bracelet. She puts the bracelet on, takes the bracelet off, puts it on again, takes it off again, and finally puts it back on. She orders the maid to return her clothes to her closet and, when Leo arrives to pick her up, Felicitas tells him that she's not brave enough to leave everything that Ulrich has given her and that she's not going to run away with him after all. She intends to stay with Ulrich but wants to continue having Leo as her lover.Leo is both mortified and furious. In his anger, he grabs her by the throat and begins choking her. Suddenly, Ulrich enters the room. His eyes blazing, Ulrich asks what Leo is doing there. Felicitas throws herself at Ulrich's feet and tells him that Leo broke in and, when she refused to go away with him, tried to kill her. Leo upholds her story and tells Ulrich to shoot him where he stands. Although looking as though he'd love to do just that, Ulrich refuses and defers the duel until the next morning when they can meet on the Isle of Friendship.It being the dead of winter, it is not difficult the next morning for Leo and Ulrich to cross the frozen lake to the Isle. Warm and snug in her bed, Felicitas sit stone-faced as Hertha begs and pleads with her to stop the duel. When Hertha realizes that Felicitas has no intention of doing so, she falls on her knees and begins to pray for divine intervention. Felicitas goes ballistic, but Hertha keeps praying. Suddenly, Felicitas' face softens, she embraces Hertha, then throws on her coat and heads for the isle.On the Isle of Friendship, Leo and Ulrich have selected their guns. Pacing through the knee-deep snow, they turn on each other. Ulrich aims, but Leo refuses even to lift his gun arm until Ulrich reminds him that he intends to shoot to kill. Leo then raises his gun but points it haphazardly. Ulrich continues to aim but cannot shoot. Ulrich drops his gun and embraces his blood brother, telling him that all has become clear to him...the duel with Rhaden...Felicitas...and Leo. .Meanwhile, in parallel editing,unknown to either Leo or Ulrich, Felicitas has been hurrying across the ice to the isle when, suddenly, she steps in a patch of thin ice and falls into the frigid water; after their aborted duel their is a cut back to where she fell in and a few bubbles come up, and then nothing is left but her scarf floating on the surface.Alternate Ending: It is summer. Leo and Ulrich have remained friends since Felicitas' death and are in the garden helping Leo's mother wind yarn when Hertha prances by with her suitcases and boards a carriage. She announces that she is moving to Munich and never coming back. As the carriage starts down the road, Leo races after it, pulls Hertha from her seat, and begs her to stay. Hertha smiles demurely. [Original synopsis by bj_kuehl] | romantic, melodrama | train | imdb | null |
tt0042332 | Cinderella | The film opens in a tiny kingdom, and shows us a chateau, wherein lives a widowed gentleman, and his daughter, Cinderella. Feeling that his daughter needed "a mother's care," he remarried a woman with two daughters of her own, named Anastasia, and Drizella.However, upon the death of Cinderella's father, her Stepmother reveals a cruelty and jealous towards Cinderella's charms and beauty.The Stepmother chooses to focus all her attention to that of her own daughters, leading to a downfall of the family estate. The chateau soon falls into disrepair, and the family fortune is spent up on the two Stepdaughters.In the end, Cinderella is forced into becoming a servant in her own household, attending to her Stepfamily, and living in a high tower on the family property. Even though her life's conditions are deplorable, she still tries to keep herself going, by dreaming of a better life someday. She befriends a number of little birds and mice, of which she has made little clothing for several of them.One day, a little mouse named Jacque informs her that a new mouse has been caught in a trap. The rotund little mouse is at first scared, but upon Jacque and Cinderella welcoming him, they give him some clothes, and a new name: Octavius...but for short, they call him Gus.Jacque and some other mice show Gus around the house, and out into the yard behind the house to get corn that Cinderella is giving the other animals. However, in their attempts to return to the mice at the top of Cinderella's tower, they run into the Stepmother's cat, named Lucifer. Lucifer then attempts to get Gus, who hides in a teacup that is given to one of Cinderella's Stepsisters.Though it wasn't intentional, the Stepsisters blame Cinderella, and their mother demands she do extra chores for what has happened.Meanwhile, in the Kingdom's Castle, The King is having an argument with the Grand Duke. The King is tired of his son always being off and away from the Kingdom, and intends to find some way to get his son to marry, and provide Grandchildren for his father. The Grand Duke tries to tell the King he should not rush his son into such a thing, but the King proposes a rather devious scheme: with his son coming home that evening, he wishes a Grand Ball to be held that evening, inviting all the eligible maidens of the Kingdom, certain that his son is bound to show interesting in one of them.Later on that day, a royal messenger shows up at the chateau with an invitation. Cinderella delivers it to her Stepfamily, and upon hearing the proclamation, grows happy that she can also attend, given that it invites "every eligible maiden."However, her Stepmother says she can go, "if" she can complete all her chores, and "if" she can find something suitable to wear.Cinderella quickly returns to her room, and finds an old dress that was once her Mother's. As she looks in a sewing book on ways to improve it, she is called away by her Stepfamily. Jacques then tells the other mice that he's sure Cinderella's Stepfamily is going to work her so hard, she'll never be able to complete the alterations to her dress. It is then that one of the female mice claims that they will make the alterations for Cinderella as a surprise!Jacques and Gus rush off to get some extra trimming for the dress, and encounter the Stepsisters and Stepmother ordering Cinderella around with extra chores. As she leaves them, the sisters angrily claim that they do not have any good things to wear, and angrily throw down a pink sash, and some blue beads. Jacques and Gus quickly gather them up to use for Cinderella's dress, but are menaced by Lucifer. Luckily, they manage to get away.As the hour draws late, the carriage to the ball arrives. However, having completed her chores, but not having been able to work on her dress, she returns to her room, claiming she isn't going. However, upon arriving, she is surprised by the mice and birds, as they reveal the alterations to her dress!Quickly putting it on, she rushes downstairs, and happily prepares to go to the ball. The Stepsisters are at first incensed, but their mother quickly tells them that she did make a deal with Cinderella. However, she then takes note of the blue beads on her dress, which sets the sisters off, who chastise Cinderella for taking their things, and proceed to destroy the dress.After the Stepmother ushers her daughters out the door, Cinderella rushes out of the chateau and into the garden, crying on a bench, that no matter how hard she tries to believe, things will never get better for her. However, she suddenly hears a voice, and encounters an cheerful woman in a light-blue cloak. The woman claims she is her Fairy Godmother, and intends to help Cinderella go to the ball.Using her magic wand, the Godmother turns a pumpkin into a coach, 4 of the mice into horses, the farm's horse into a coachman, and the family dog into a footman. The final touch is fixing Cinderella's dress, which is turned into a beautiful white gown, complete with glass slippers.However, the Godmother cautions her that she all these things will only last until the final stroke of midnight, when everything will turn back to normal. Cinderella then quickly boards her coach, and is taken to the Castle.Meanwhile, the ball is in full-swing, with the Prince greeting every eligible, invited maiden in the Kingdom. Though the King and Grand Duke watch, the Prince himself is rather bored by the whole thing. However, as he officially greets the Stepsisters, he sees a girl having just entered, and goes over to her. This is immediately seen by the King, who demands a Waltz begin to play, sure that his son has found his bride. The King then retires for the evening, leaving the Grand Duke to supervise the two.The Prince then leads Cinderella out into the Palace Gardens, where they dance and wander. However, when the clock suddenly strikes midnight, Cinderella flees. The Grand Duke attempts to stop her, but she flees down the Palace's entry steps, leaving behind a glass slipper. A series of Palace Horsemen attempt to catch the coach, but eventually, the 12th chime of midnight strikes, Cinderella's entourage returns to normal, and rush off the main road, as the Horsemen's steeds trample what's left of the now-normal pumpkin.Cinderella apologizes to her friends for not leaving sooner, but claims she was so enchanted by her time with the Prince. Suddenly, she realizes that she still has one of her glass slippers left, and looking skyward, thanks her Fairy Godmother for allowing her these few hours of happiness.Back at the Palace, the Grand Duke awakens the King regarding what has happened. At first incensed that the maiden his son danced with has gotten away, the Duke claims that his son still wants to find and marry her. With the glass slipper the only clue, the King sets the Duke on a mission to have the slipper tried on every girl in the Kingdom, setting the Duke to task before the sun rises!The next morning, Cinderella's Stepmother quickly demands she help her daughters immediately. The two Stepsisters are slow to wake up, when the Stepmother tells of the proclamation, and how the girl that was seen dancing with the Prince is being searched for. The girls boredly wonder what this has to do with them, when their mother tells of the slipper, and how all one of them has to do is fit it, to become the Prince's bride!However, the thought of marrying the Prince sidetracks Cinderella, who drops the load of laundry the Stepsisters give her, and begins to 'dance' off back to her room to get dressed. However, the Stepmother follows her up the stairs, and locks the door, with Cinderella pleading to be let out of the room!Some time afterwards, the Grand Duke arrives, and the Stepmother and her daughters greet him. Jacques and Gus manage to get the key out of the Stepmother's pocket, and make the impossible task of climbing the stairs to Cinderella's room, only to be foiled by Lucifer, who traps Gus and the key under a bowl. The mice and birdsattempt to free Gus, but Lucifer has them at bay. Cinderella then suggests they get the family dog Bruno, and several of the birds alert the dog, who manages to scare Lucifer, sending him plummeting out of a nearby window.Meanwhile, the Duke has grown exasperated as the girls have angrily and vehemently tried to get the glass slipper to fit. With the claim by the Stepmother that there are no other maidens in the house, he is about to leave when Cinderella voice is heard, requesting to try on the slipper.The Stepmother and Stepsisters attempt to keep the Duke from Cinderella, but he claims that per his orders, he has to try the slipper on "Every Maiden."However, as the Duke's footman brings the slipper, the Stepmother causes him to trip on her cane, sending the slipper flying to the floor, where it shatters!The Duke is beside himself, over what will happen to him, but it is then that Cinderella claims that he shouldn't worry, as she has the other slipper! She then produces it (much to the surprise of her Stepmother), and the Duke places it on her foot, where it fits perfectly!The final images of the film are of Cinderella being married to the Prince, with her mice and bird friends watching her get into a carriage, and riding off to a Happily Ever After. | romantic, fantasy | train | imdb | William Phipps has little dialog as the prince (future talk show host Mike Douglas provided his singing voice) but film (and Disney) veteran, Verna Felton was born to play the fairy godmother, and she made the best number, (the Oscar-nominated "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo") her own show-stopper.
The leading mice, Gus and Jaq are delightful creations and the valiant band of mice are given amusing bits of business.Artistically, the animation art has a rather glossy modern look despite the fact that it's an old, old story from 1697, a classic children's fairy tale that has been done countless times as either a film, a play or a ballet.
Add to that 'So This Is Love', 'A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes' and 'Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo' and you have a charming version of the Charles Perrault story.For villainy, the stepmother and her black cat (Lucifer) are two of the most brilliantly animated creatures in the film.
Cinderella is one of the more endearing characters to come from a Disney feature, her stepmother and stepsisters some of the meanest, and her mice and bird friends, some of the most charming.
The sequence of the fairy godmother is one of the best of all Disney films (what a dream the transformation of the dress) and the ball episode is exciting and fascinating in both drawing (note the use of the shadows at a time when computer coloring was far away), dialogue and music (the Cinderella Waltz "So this is love" is enchanting)..
Mack David, Al Hoffman, and Jerry Livingston provide lovely songs like "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes" and "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo" that enhance both the scenario and the characters.Even though CINDERELLA's story is predictable, it provides such thrilling melodrama that one shares the concerns and anxieties of the titular heroine and her animal friends.
Any child or family members will enjoy this wonderful and magical story.We have Cinderella who is a beautiful girl enslaved by her wicked step mother and ugly step sisters.
Not the best of Walt Disney's feature length animated films, but any film that has Bibidi Bobbidi Boo and A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes has to rate as good in anyone's standards.I saw this for the first time as a small child on Walt Disney's Disneyland hour and it was as effective on the big screen as well as the small.
This is very easily one of my Disney animated films ever made because it is such a delightful adaptation of the classic fairy tale.
Not only does this lack of development make the romance less interesting, it makes Cinderella look like either a social climber or an idiot, weakening her already tenuous appeal.Perhaps realizing how dull the main characters were, the animators chose to give excessive screen time to the movie's comic relief, Cinderella's friends, the mice.
Walt Disney's 12th full-length animated feature "Cinderella" (1950) was one of the first movies I ever saw as a kid along with "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (1937) and "Mary Poppins" (1964).
One of the great classics of Disney Studios, this film adapts to the film one of the most famous tales of Charles Perrault: Cinderella, the girl who lives on the shadow of a cruel stepmother and her two sisters.
The film exudes charm, largely thanks to the way the animals become active characters, assuming very human attitudes and characteristics, something that wasn't usual in the movies that time.
After having adapted Snow White for the screen in 1937, I don't think there was a better way for Disney to return to the fairy tale genre than with the world's second most famous tale that takes place once upon a time.At the time of its' release, Cinderella was the company's first full-length feature film after a six-year hiatus due to all of the financial straits that were brought on by WWII.
The backgrounds which were designed by the renowned female artist Mary Blair are not only beautiful to look at but are drawn in a way that gives them a breathtaking air of grandeur.The musical numbers by Mack David, Al Hoffman and Jerry Livingston are endearing, catchy and will no doubt find their way into your head after you've watched the film.Cinderella (gorgeously voiced by Ilene Woods) is a strong-willed, optimistic and independent young woman who you'll be rooting for the whole time as she manages to get all of the work her evil stepmother mercilessly piles on her without a complaint.Her mouse friends (voiced by James MacDonald, who also voiced Mickey Mouse) unfortunately get a lot of hate as many say that they take up too much screen time.
Plus, with all the ways that they help Cinderella, I'd say that they are more likable and much better integrated into the plot than some of the comic-relief in today's Disney films (e.g. Olaf from Frozen, the Gargoyles from Hunchback.) The only thing that I would change about this film is the amount of screen time given to the Prince.
Instead of having another scene where the King/Duke argue following the Ball, there should've been a scene where the Prince discusses his feelings for the girl he met.Other than that, Disney's 1950 adaptation of Cinderella is one that delights me as much as it did movie-going audiences of the 20th- century and will continue to have a special place in my heart for years to come..
This is another Walt Disney Classic (I know every film from that Time Period is a classic but still!), we all know the story of Cinderella so no plot to spoil really.
But Disney's artists did a wonderful job in making this film truly look like an animated kids story book.
Among Disney's repertoire of classic animated films, their adaptation of the Cinderella fairy tale is one of their most renowned.
Even if you haven't seen it, you're probably already familiar with its whimsical magic, character archetypes, and symbolism.Disney's animation is a very short and brisk film, making it easily-digestible and accessible.
Music is catchy, but not the most memorable of Disney tunes.Cinderella is rather uneven and thin, but it's a good-looking animation with a few decent moments, and it tells a simple story that's worth seeing.
Based on the classic fairy-tale as told by Charles Perrault, the film follows the trials and tribulations of Cinderella, a good girl who is mistreated by her evil stepmother and equally awful stepsisters.
But there is a Fairy Godmother on hand, and if you don't know what happens next, then I would seriously want to know why.I think we can all admit that the story of "Cinderella" as it appears in Perrault's collection wouldn't be able to pad out a feature on its own, so whilst generally staying true to the story, the fairly incidental characters of the animals whom the Fairy Godmother uses to help get the title character to the ball become Cinderella's true sidekicks, much like how the roles of the fairies were later fleshed out in "Sleeping Beauty", or how Jiminy Cricket in "Pinocchio" went from a minor character into the role of mentor.
The film does slow down a bit between the main introduction of the characters and before the stepsisters depart for the ball, but after this slowdown, the film really gets going again and surprisingly (since "Cinderella" is the most worn down story of all time, probably) ends up as one of the most involving and engaging of Disney stories.
The staging feels theatrical and expressionistic, suiting the whimsical and romantic nature of the story adequately.Overall, "Cinderella" ranks as one of the best Disney fairy-tales and comes recommended to young and all.
It's not clear where the story takes place, but I suppose it's somewhere in France because this is based in a tale by Charles Perrault.There are plenty of likable characters, such as Cinderella, the Prince, Bruno (the dog), Jaques and Gus (the two main mice), the Fairy Godmother (for a fairy she sure is funny), the birds, the King and the Grand Duke.Jaques is very smart and amusing.
I know full-well that the story of Cinderella was, pretty much, just an empty-headed, little fairy tale about wishful thinking, and such - But, all the same, I found that there was definitely some really peculiar problems with this tale (as a whole) that prevented me, as an adult, from giving it more than an average rating of 5 stars.I mean, not only was Prince Charming just another pretty face with no personality to speak of at all, and his father, the king, a blustering idiot of the highest order - But I also seriously thought that the Cinderella character was clearly missing some of her marbles and even teetering on the edge of insanity by having real conversations with a bunch of mice and actually fashioning clothes for them.Another thing that caused me to doubt Cinderella as being a rational-thinking person was the fact that she allowed herself to be locked up in a tower and treated like pure garbage by her wicked stepmother and stepsisters.
Surely Cinderella could've found a reasonable out from having to endure the torment from these decidedly wretched people.I also found it rather odd that this animated film's most entertaining moments had little at all to do with Cinderella and more to do with the slapstick shenanigans that went on between the non-human characters, like Lucifer, the cat, and the colony of smartly dressed mice..
It is still one of Walt Disney's best classics, I think.I haven't seen many renditions of Cinderella on TV or film, but this one could easily be the ultimate and timeless adaptations of the fairytale.
Cinderella is portrayed as kind and gentle, but strong-willed character that overcomes her adversaries and befriends her animal friends, including the lovable mice Gus and Jaq. They add comic and charm to the movie and helps Cinderella go to the ball to find her Prince Charming.
And, the Fairy Godmother, as portrayed in this movie, makes you believe in miracles.This movie is beautiful from start to finish - memorable characters, sweet and catchy songs, fast-paced plot, and a story development that just flows naturally and "magically," making it one of the those films you would know that has the definite Disney-touch, as opposed to the more recent movies from Disney.This Disney classic is a definite for the movie collection for any family.Grade A.
The friendly, chattering mice who help Cinderella provide the comic relief, there are at least two excellent songs ("Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo" and "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes"), and many gorgeous moments of animated magic.
And during these commercial breaks, they had another advertisement in the guise of a "TV show" hosted by the oh-so-annoying Kelly Rippa that loudly proclaimed the magical wonders of "Cinderella 2: Dreams Come True".Again and again, break after break, Disney took time out of the real movie to tell us, the loyal viewers, that we needed to get a copy of the sequel.
Cinderella is a very lovely fairytale.This movie is based on Charles Perrault tale(that one is way less violent than Grimm Brothers one and that one has the fairy).Cinderella is an interesting,although passive,heroine.The plot drags a bit because of comedy(Snow White for example has less comedic moments),but it is nice.Overall,very pretty.9/10.
Let's be clear: a lot of Disney movies are rather oriented for girls: royal romance, love songs, dance and dresses, we boys are not really into that, whatever the feminist and gender extremists would like!
If you add the crazy king father, the ugly bad characters (why this link?), the sadistic cat and helpful dog (why this discrimination), the abusive stepmother and stupid henchman, you find finally a universe in which I don't feel happy, in which family love is nonexistent and that's a bit hard!At last, we have those chipmunks-like mice that bring fun and lightness!
The other thing i notice is that for that date, this animation was showing the future of the live movies: Colored, powerful visuals and horizon lines, stunning effects, only those things was first delivered then by Disney and it would take 10 years before the gap would be shorten by true movies!If Snow White can appeal to every one, this Cinderella is above all a dream for girls and a honest time for boys!.
But that doesn't stop Cinderella as her fairy godmother transforms Cinderella's rags into a beautiful gown and she goes off to the ball and a prince is enchanted by her beauty.You can probably figure the rest for yourselves but personally I may be 19 years old going on 20 but I am a sucker for fairy tales and animated movies(depending on what they are about).
Disney changes this from the original fairy tale in a surprisingly good way, injecting clever plot turns ,such as the mice making the clothes and the key part (usually I do not like Disney films very much if they are not that similar to the original story, but with this I am not overly bothered.
But leaving its historical significance aside, watching Cinderella today as an adult, I realize how this animation is problematic.To start, this movie has several scenes of secondary characters just for comic relief - the mice and the cat - what absolutely does not contribute almost nothing to the central story, feeling as a filler.
But discarding the scene in which the fairy godmother appears to sing the song "Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo" (undoubtedly the pinnacle of the film) and the scene where the clock rings and Cinderella flees the Prince (which, together, does not reach even ten minutes), there is absolutely no magic remnant throughout the rest of movie - ever stopped to think about it?
Unlike the beautiful painting that was Snow White (for its time), or stylish, graceful and unique backgrounds of Sleeping Beauty, the animation in Cinderella doesn't have anything extraordinary for a studio like Disney, and there are times really ugly looking.
Lack of development is something of a general issue with the film, we never really know the true motivations of any of the characters outside of our main character and it does mean you struggle to get engaged in the story at times.On the whole Cinderella is a charming and enjoyable fantasy, yet despite its acclaim and iconic status I certainly don't think it's amongst Disney's best.
It doesn't feature the greatest bunch of musical numbers in an animated Disney movie, and the film is off to a shaky start with Cinderella waking up and talking to her animal friends.
The story gets more entertaining as it goes along, and most of the characters stand out, including the lead.During my childhood, I remember seeing part of an animated film featuring a cat named Lucifer, but didn't know it was this movie.
Like Snow White, Disney has some permanent impact on the story in popular culture---in most versions of Cinderella, the stepsisters are attractive, just not as pretty as Cinderella, and their character takes away from their otherwise nice appearance.Favorite Disney additions: the mice!
Walt Disney takes the fairy tale "Cinderella" and makes it into a nice movie.The movie sees the young pretty girl Cinderella who is used as a slave by her evil Stepmother and two ugly step sisters.It's enjoyable, funny, even thrilling for young children with the touch of little mice being Cinderella's only friends, who help her survive her terrors.
There's just not much to keep "Cinderella" going in levels of interest as it is just an animated rehash of a story that has been filmed and written way too many times.
This film's only highlight and mild levels of amusement comes from Gus and Jaq, Cinderella's two pet mice (these Walt Disney Pictures fairy tale adaptations usually add a couple of new characters in an effort to be more interesting and original).
Here the quality is topnotch, though we still have a few films to go before Disney would once again start to push the medium forward with Sleeping Beauty.The story is of course a classic, and nowadays the version almost all think of when they hear the name Cinderella.
Bruno the dog, Lucifer the Cat and especially Gus the mouse certainly add an element to the already beloved story; and while the musical numbers are certainly not among the best to come out of the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the songs are nevertheless fitting for such a wonderful and flawless tale.**** (out of four).
What Disney does is merely elaborating on the story and adding some helpful animals (especially mice) so Cinderella is not that alone in her duty to face the evil stepmother and stepsisters.
Long had I waited to see this movie for the first time (over 12 years old), not because I disliked the Cinderella story (in fact I love it) but I could not think a fairy tale with so little action (most takes place in the house) could actually make a good movie.
One of the most enduring animated films of all time, the Disney-fide adaptation of the gory Brothers Grimm fairy tale became a classic in its own right, thanks to some memorable tunes (including "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes," "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo," and the title song) and some endearingly cute comic relief.
The famous slipper (click for larger image) We all know the story--the wicked stepmother and stepsisters simply won't have it, this uppity Cinderella thinking she's going to a ball designed to find the handsome prince an appropriate sweetheart, but perseverance, animal buddies, and a well-timed entrance by a fairy godmother make sure things turn out all right.
The story of Cinderella is one of my favorites from Charles Perrault, along with Sleeping Beauty which was also made into a Disney film in 1959.
You're going to Disney World!!!!!" Well, technically (I mean, look at the castle!!!!!)Anyways, Disney remains magical in his 1950 animated classic film "Cinderella," the movie that put fairy tale movies on the map.
"Cinderella" was one of the breakthrough films of its time, with some great animation work. |
tt1838618 | Paranormal Xperience 3D | It's 2011, in Madrid. Professor Fuentes (Miguel Ángel Jenner) is tying five Medicine students up to chairs. He explains methodically that he is going to make an experiment above the power of the mind, and subsequently he asks for a volunteer without specifying what for. José "Jose" Aguas (Maxi Iglesias) is so cocky that he becomes sort of nominated by the rest of the students. Professor Fuentes shows them an emergency cabinet and a penknife, and he cuts Jose in one of his arms, saying that Jose has the mental power of stopping himself from bleeding to death. If he doesn't succeed, he will die, because he had cut him through one of the main arteries of the body. The students start to scream, snobbish Belén (Úrsula Corberó) threatens Fuentes to tell her father, but nobody can prevent Jose from having a fit.The momentum is broken. Toni (Óscar Sinela), who has been drescribed as a friqui - which in Spanish means a mixture of freak and geek - starts laughing, saying that the rest should have seen their own panicky faces.Fuentes explains that the mind can send a symptom to oblivion, but it can also create it. There was a surgery bag with pig blood attached to the chair, and when Fuentes cut it, it started to release the blood little by little. Jose wasn't even scratched with the penknife. Jose tries to punch Toni, but the rest prevent so. Fuentes picks up his stuff and leaves, reminding them of next week's examinations and saying that the future surgeons have to learn to remain calm, cool and collected in the future.Ángela (Amaia Salamanca) runs after Fuentes: he had promised her that there will be no final examination for those who would be the Guinean pigs in the experiment. First, Fuentes congratulated her, because she was the only one who was not panicky, and then he tells her that he hopes that she has learned something, and that the experiment will help her in the future. He also reminds her that she is about to lose her grant because she is about to fail his subject. A folder of newspaper cuts fall to the floor, and Ángela sees that is about a ghost town called Susurro. Fuentes asks her whether she believes in the paranormal, and she says she doesn't. He tells him that the town lived from some salt mines which were reopened in the 1960's, but that miners ended up refusing to work on them, as they were stalked by Dr. Matarga (Manuel de Blas), a doctor who killed even after he was dead. The town died out at the same time that the mines. Ángela proposes Fuentes to make a scientific study of the town and to prove once and for all that everything is on the mind of the people. Fuentes immediately agrees, and he tells her that she has up to the day of the exam, and that, if she succeed, they can talk about her marks.Ángela leaves Fuentes' office and she is startled by the cleaning man. She is pulled aside by her boyfiend Carlos (Lucho Fernández), who has stolen a belt from the experiment office. She tells him that he's childish, and then proceeds to tell her friends about the idea. Belén is the most concerned, and Toni offers to bring the equipment they need for the research. Carlos wants to get rid of him, but Ángela realises that they will need his help.To transport themselves and all the equipment to Susurro, Ángela asks her little sister Diana (Alba Ribas) to lend her her van. Diana doesn't even want to give her a kiss in the café where she works. Ángela notices her father's watch on Diana's wrist, but she says it doesn't anger her, it's only that there is nothing good to remember about him. At first, Diana refuses to lend her her van, as she needs it, but Ángela tells her that she doesn't really need it, as she is always at work, and that she's not really critisizing her for it. Flashback of the two women when they were girls and they would play with their dollhouse. Their executive-looking dad (Eduard Farelo) arrives home and plays with them. Back to 2011, Diana is alone at the café after the conversation with her sister; she goes to the public restroom and cuts one of her wrists, applying some tissue right afterwards: that's why she was wearing her dad's watch.Back home, Carlos complains that Ángela never tells him anything. They make out and he uses the stolen belt to tie her hands. At that moment, Diana calls her up and agrees to take them there. When they resume lovemaking, it's Ángela who ties Carlos up. Jose tries to impress Diana with his motorbike, but she thinks she's an asshole. They all meet outside the nautic club. Belén complains because the blue van is quite... a heap of crap really, although it serves its purpose.They stop at an oil station, and Toni proves to be jealous of anybody meddling with the equipment apart from himself. Belén wants to go to the cemetery directly, but Ángela decides to go to the mines, because Matarga used to put there the corpses, as the salt would preserve the bodies. Toni mentions that Matarga used to torture first, and Diana admits that she sometimes feels a pressence, an energy around her. Toni says that the townspeople discovered mutilated bodies at Matarga's home, so they put him into the salt mines to die, and that when they reopened, his corpse couldn't be found anywhere.They go through a path and arrive to Susurro, with empty buildings all around. Jose keeps on playing with the camera, and the group is going to spend the night in the old church, as it is in the town center and it will protect them from the bad spirits - as Toni argues.They decide to go around the town in pairs. Belén would rather stay behind "taking care" of their things - in reality, playing games in her cell phone, but Toni drags her outside with him. Jose tries to chat with Diana about her relationship with Ángela - she says that when their dad committed suicide, they went from one home to another, and that they now lead separate lives. Belén and Toni enter the old meat-processing factory, and Ángela and Carlos go to the mines. There is a locked rail in the mine; they burst it open and enter. Diana gets in a trance-like state, and she hears some screams in the wind. Toni has recorded a kind of muted screams and laughter and says that people which had been through traumatizing childhoods are more receptive to certain stimuli. At this point, Belén wants to leave, but as Diana's vote counts double, they have to stay. The new objective is to prove that there is a ghost in the town.Diana volunteers to enter a hypnotic trance through the symbols, with Toni controlling her. The universe kinda spirals out of the laptop towards her, and amid the mist, there appears Dr. Matarga. He has got only one eye and asks her whether she is really sure that she wants to remember the reason for the scars. He opens them up and they start to bleed. He says that when the door is opened, there is no turning back. He appears behind the frozen students, and he caresses Ángela's hair, making a gesture of cutting her jugular.Diana wakes up hysterically, and tells Ángela that a man wants to hurt her. Toni shows a picture to her, and she recognises Magarta. Belén wants to leave again, but Jose tells a bad joke to make them laugh, about a boy who everybody picks on him because he's an orphan, and when he tells his parents, only the echo listens to him. The moment is broken and they all stay. Ángela talks to Diana, telling her that she's lucky she doesn't remember having seen her father kill himself, because she did. She offers to see her little sister oftener, and at that moment, Carlos calls them up.They visit the doctor's home; as soon as they enter, a rat startles Belén. Everybody goes up the stairs except for Diana, who goes to the left of a huge corridor. Diana enters a sitting room, and behind the curtains, she moves down a small corridor to the room where Dr Matarga used to torture people. Carlos appears to call her up, as they should be in only one group. Carlos tries to kiss her, but she steps back: Carlos says that he's turned on. Suddenly, Dr Matarga is behind him, and Carlos is put on the torture rack hastily, tied up with wire. Diana tries to interfere but Matarga pushes her against a shelf of things. Matarga makes cynical comments, telling Carlos that this is a situation from which he cannot escape. Diana starts remembering herself with Ángela as children, happily drawing and painting. Their dad would put the food in front of them in anger, and he would shout to them and push the table upside down when they didn't feel like eating, apparently out of sadness for the death of his wife.Ángela wakes Diana up. There is fresh blood on the torture table, but Carlos is not there. Diana says that Matarga took him, but Ángela tells her that only they six are on the place. The remains of blood lead Ángela to a secret corridor which links the room to the salt mines. Ángela insists on the need for everybody to stay together. They think they hear Carlos down a corridor and they go there. They find Carlos still alive, with a hook on his left eye and still tied with wire. Ángela tells Diana to go to the van and ask for help; finally, she reacts and leaves with Belén tagging behind. Ángela is the one who has to take the long spike out of Carlos' head.Belén and Diana reach the van, but there is a flat tyre, and the van won't start. Diana feels Matarga saying "Come with me" to her, and tells Diana to run, but she doesn't obey, saying that there's nobody there. Diana runs and sees Matarga walking towards her, so she runs inside a building. The rest are taking Carlos inside the church, and try to patch him up with bandages. Belén runs to the church, tells the rest what has happened and says that she doesn't know where Diana is. Jose offers to go searching for her. He records a goodbye message on the camera for his family, while Diana returns to the torture room. She cuts herself with some broken glass. Matarga approaches her almost tenderly and tells her that that's only the beginning. Jose appears at that moment, and Diana tells him that Matarga is in the room. Jose tries to calm Diana down, and hugs her, saying that if they have something together Ángela is going to kill him, and that that is precisely what scares him most.At that moment, Matarga puts a hook through his mouth saying "why don't you ever shut up?" He is so strong that he can tear his head in two. Diana remembers her big sister defending her from her father, and being beaten by her dad with a belt in turn while Diana as a child would see it from the stairs; she gets out of her trance-like mood and she screams. The rest hear it because the door in the church opens up on its own, letting the sound reach them. Ángela and Toni go to see what's happened. Belén is alone at the church with Carlos, but she tells him that she is going to change the tyre. Belén swiftly does so and leaves in the van.Ángela and Toni find Jose hanging from a hook with the face tied up with wire. Diana is not around. Belén is finding hard to concentrate while driving on the misty night. The radio turns itself on, and she sees somebody standing on the middle of the path (it looks like Diana). Belén turns right and bumpts onto a tree. Matarga appears and pulls her out of the van. He makes a comment "why are you in such a hurry?", and then he says that her face shows she used to be a beauty pageant winner, and pushes her head onto the broken glass, killing her. Then, he says that she had a beautiful ass. Matarga looks at Diana and she remembers how she hid behind some boxes, but that her dad found her and pulled her out; as things fell down, they hit on dad's head, leaving him a bit dizzy.Ángela and Toni return to the church. They look at the camera's recordings: it shows Jose consolling Diana, and then she attacks him, saying "why don't you ever shut up?". Ángela can still not believe it. She feels guilty because she was so busy moving on that she left her sister behind. Toni mentions that it may be a case of possession, but Ángela only believes in schizophrenia, blames Toni because of the hipnotic session gone awry and insists that ghosts don't exist. However, Toni says that he has been waiting all his life to see something like that, that he is going to search for Diana.Diana comes back to the first sitting room shouting "You wanted me, didn't you? Here I am!" Matarga is on the ceiling. There is a breeze from behind the curtain, and she goes down to the torture room. Diana talks to Matarga, who tells her to remember, and says that everybody tricked her about her dad's death. Toni arrives, trembling with fear. He sees Diana from behind, talking to no one. When she turns around, she attacks him: Diana and Matarga have become one, even doing the same movements. Diana slashes Toni's fingers and his neck and says with Matarga's voice "Careful with what you wish for. It may come true."Ángela appears, running. She hugs her, and then, Diana finally remembers how she put a bullet straight onto her father's head. Diana says that Ángela should have really told her how badly their father used to treat them, but Ángela said that she couldn't take away her happy reminiscences. Matarga appears and stabs Ángela, but Diana tries to put a stop to it. Matarga asks her "what are you going to do to stop me?", so that Diana cuts her own throat. As a result, Matarga also bleeds to death. Ángela hugs Diana as she dies.Ángela is walking, wounded. She has arrived to the oil station at the beginning, but there is nobody there. In the garden of a psychiatric institution, Ángela tells Fuentes that she has learned there are things she cannot explain. Fuentes replies back that the police are clearly thinking that Diana was the murderer, and expresses his wish that she would contunue her studies in the future. Fuentes also gives her a small envelope and leaves.Ángela sits next to a patient in a bench and opens the envelope: there is dad's watch inside. A doctor (Manuel de Blas) appears from behind her and, speaking with Matarga's voice, tells her that remembering what happened will be her burden all her life, and that he can't think of a better torment. Terrified Ángela watches the doctor in a white coat smile.---written by KrystelClaire | murder | train | imdb | Some medical students investigate an abandoned mining location in search of supernatural deeds.
This commercial terror Spanish deals with some students of the Faculty who are brutally murdered by a mysterious killer .
Filmmaker Sergi Vizcaino brings this scary and stylish story plagued with depraved gore murders .
This intriguing film packs chills , suspense , thrills , bloody murders and plot twists ; however it contains some gaps in the flick big enough to sink credibility .
In 2011 , Angela (Amaia Salamanca) is a psychiatry student who doesn't believe in the existence of paranormal world.
The harshest and eccentric professor (Miguel Angel Jenner) of the University , propose to Angela and other students show and refute the existence of the afterlife investigating a miner town with a secret story .
Angela, pressed by the eccentric Dr. Fuentes, will investigate a series of paranormal activities happening in a town called Whisper which has its own legend, a dead murderer, Dr. Amado .
As Angela join forces with four of her classmates , they will accompany her , as Maxi Iglesias as José , Lucho Fernández as Carlos , Úrsula Corberó as Belén and Óscar Sinela as Toni , an expert on supernatural issues who has been described as a friqui -which in Spanish means a mixture of freak and geek- .
All of them to 'Susurro' ('Whisper'), with Diana's company, Angela's small sister (Alba Ribas) , who let them her van.
Angela is a medical student who thinks she is capable of everything and Diana is extremely sensitive and responsive.
They are sisters and have something in common: They hate each other .
Their relationship has been cold since their childhood, when tragic events divide them inevitably.
Together cover the village and the old salt mines.
As five Medical students investigated an abandoned mining town in search of paranormal evidence and found it.
Ignoring warnings, they open a door to the afterlife, with unpredictable consequences , as they enter the darkness, and experience the fear.
Exploring an abandoned village , strange phenomena start occurring.
Spooked, the students struggle to free themselves and leave the place .
The group of Universitary young is stalked by a serial killer (Manuel De Blas) bent on harassing him while .This Spanish terror movie contains thrills , familiar drama, chills and lots of blood and gore .
In XP3D director Sergi Vizcaino takes a group of young people to horrific places, he will put them physically there and he won't let them escape.
We will follow the main characters into long and sinister basements where 3D will transport them to their worst nightmares .
This frightening picture follows the wake from Spanish horror of the 2000s such as ¨Tuno Negro¨ by Pedro Barbero , ¨Art of die¨ by Alvaro Fernandez Armero and ¨School killer¨ by Carlos Gil .
The film, directed by Sergi Vizcaino could have used a good writer to bring this horror story a bit more sense .
The script could have been a little more credible, especially in the end, in which the disproportion of the situations leads hilarity and brief surprises at the ability to overcome in the error and a clear predictability .
Murder scenes for example were very implausible, exaggerated and absurd, it spoilt the whole film for me .
In spite of it , XP3D is an acceptable and passable entertainment with surprising and intriguing situations , it does have some good and eerie moments .
The motion picture financed by Mar Targarona who produced various successful terror movies such as The orphanage , The Julia's eyes and the uninvited guest ; being middlingly directed by Sergi Vizcaino at his first film , having formerly realized TV episodes ..
Slow, boring with an annoying cast.
In the intro five medical students are involved in some experiment.
They are all tied to a chair and the researcher explains to them what he's going to do.
He actually cuts one of the guys challenging them and the guy in particular to stop his bleeding by will power alone.
They all freak out and protest till the guy passes out.
Then it's revealed it was all a set up.
The guy wasn't cut and pig blood was used instead.
All this was to show how people convince themselves of something that isn't real.One of the girls complains to the researcher who I think is their anatomy professor.
They were promised a pass on the final exam for their participation in the experiment.
Instead he gives her another challenge.
To go to some small town were a doctor was rumored to kill people even after his death.
She agrees.The five kids plus the sister of the leader girl go to the small abandoned town.
They set up camp in the church, visit the mines where the town folk chained the mad doctor and left him to die.
They go to his place which looks like a butcher shop.
And decide it would be a good idea to put the sister in a trance since she has a sixth sense and can hear screams and voices.During the trance she sees the mad doctor.
When she and another guy go back exploring the Dr. appears and binds the guy with barbed wire.
This is 45 minutes into the movie.
15 minutes later finally someone is actually killed.
But all along we have learned about the two sisters who lost their mother and lived with a crazy abusive father who supposedly committed suicide as a result of which the young sister is traumatized.
We learn how that dad really died and it is clear that something isn't right with this girl.
In the end we find out who the killer is and what happens to the surviving kids.Unlike most Spanish ghost/supernatural movies, this one is filmed in lively color during the day.
It's also a very Americanized movie as one can see from the movie poster.
The kids act like complete jerks giving each other a hard time throughout the whole movie- not very entertaining.
The beginning looks like something out of Saw or Nine Dead.
Locations are neat- the mines, the abandoned town.
The villain is alright, he wears some partial face mask and is missing an eye.But XP sure is light on suspense, action, horror, gore, anything menacing.
The whole story of the girls' childhood is OK for a while but we get too much of it and it takes forever to get to the point.
So does the movie as a whole.
All the other characters are irrelevant and as mentioned, their interaction painful to watch.
The main idea is alright I guess but why would you film a horror movie in such a dull boring way to begin with.
Not worthwhile..
Well made if predictable Spanish horror.
PARANORMAL XPERIENCE is a low budget Spanish horror flick with a storyline that'll be familiar from hundreds of similar films: a group of university students travel to a remote mining facility which is supposedly haunted by the ghost of a disturbed doctor.
Their job?
To prove one way or another the existence of the supernatural.
You can guess what happens next.Sure, the film doesn't have much money behind it, and the overall storyline is rather weak, but there's much to recommend it besides all that.
The opening sequence, a psychological experiment carried out by a dodgy professor, is particularly gripping and the best part of the film.
The script is more literate than you'd expect, adding a neat psychological angle to the more standard murder plot, and the use of flashbacks is well done and holds the viewer's attention.Horror fans are treated to some brief but grisly gore sequences and the film was also shot in 3D; I only watched the 2D version but with the amount of stuff popping out of the screen it looks to me like the 3D is pretty effective.
The cast initially appear to have been picked for their looks as both male and female actors are equally attractive, but it turns out they have talent too; Amaia Salamanca and Alba Ribas particularly stand out.
Watch out for genre icon Manuel de Blas (HUNCHBACK OF THE MORGUE) who bags a great role late on in his career..
More like a 90 minute XPeria advert..
Look, I'll be blunt; this was just bad on every single level.
Given it's cast of mainly ex Spanish teen drama rejects I went in with low expectations; I left with a bad taste in my mouth (though that may have been the salty popcorn they have in Spain).
The film is a cheap cash in, an insult to it's audience.
Nothing new or even well done was presented on screen, so if you've seen one bad horror film you know exactly what this has to offer you.
Even given it's cookie cutter nature, the "tension building" is ridiculously hammed and boring and when it finally does get to the gory stuff it's just 5 minutes of a poor man's Saw. The acting is, of course, atrocious and the characters are all as unlikeable and forgettable as each other.
One thing the film may have done well is making them the stupidest horror movie characters in horror movie history.
OK, get this, they all have functional mobile phones and at one point early in they are told to switch them off for some terrible reason.
At no point then after in the film do any of the characters mention their mobiles, even when their friends are being murdered around them, and most make almost no attempt to escape.
Later on one of the characters goes to "chat to" the murderer completely unarmed and is then surprised when he is brutally sliced to pieces.
A special shout out has to go to the Sony product placement, which was as about as subtle as the plot twist.
In one scene the camera inexplicably hangs on someone playing a game on a Xperia mobile for several seconds, in another one character tells another to mind his new Sony video camera because "it's a really good one."I give it 2 stars only because a couple of the deaths made me laugh..
Not Too Shabby If You Can Bear With Subtitles.
Some people have a hard time focusing when a movie has subtitles.
Especially, we Americans.
You get distracted and makes it hard to follow what's going on in the movie, while trying to read what they are saying.
If you think the movie is worthy of multitasking then go for it and watch it till the end.The movie is about a group of psychology major students who get a task from their professor to make a research and understand if paranormal is real or can be debunked with facts.
They go to a haunted village to investigate and soon, things start to get ugly.The movie starts promising but as always, the script is weak and the story is not sufficient enough to justify 90 minute length.
This movie could have easily been 30 minutes long and it would still serve its purpose.
The story gets dragged with unnecessarily long scenes, therefore the first 30 minutes are quite boring and the movie takes its time to get to the point.There are of course some logical mistakes but they are not very annoying on the contrary to the commenter above.
Clichés follow one after another here just like almost every horror movie; splitting up to make the killer's job easier, not having any communication tools to ask for help and the worst part is, you can see the twist coming from a mile away.
Very cliché and has been tried thousands of times so, nothing original here.Overall, it's still watchable.
The girls are still hot without running around naked, the acting is not horrible and although the killing scenes are not extraordinary, they are still gory enough to satisfy your gore hunger.
It's just one of those movies that you will completely forget about in 30 minutes or so, but it is still a reasonable option to kill 90 minutes without feeling sorry about it.Believe me, I have seen horrible movies and this one is far superior then those low quality horror movies with amateur cgi effects.
Goes well with your favorite beverage and snack for sure.I give 5/10.
Spoilers follow ....
Ooh dear.
Seemingly taking tips from Hollywood slasher movies, this features a group of exactly the kind swaggering, perfect teens that clog up those films.
Posturing boys playfully pester catwalk girls for sex; they in turn roll their eyes, but go along with it anyway, often accompanied by prom-prog college rock music.
Ah well.Reaching an early conclusion I wasn't going to be given an opportunity to care about these twits any time soon, I was relieved to find the locations used were overpoweringly isolated and often distractingly beautiful.
As the group slowly wander into locations more sinister, these too are very nicely shot.
This has the added bonus of moving Director Sergi Vizcaino's camera away from the barely covered rear ends of various female cast members (especially Úrsula Corberó's character Belén), where it tends to linger at close proximity.
Subtle this is not.Only the trauma induced sensitivity of Diana (Alba Ribas) invites any empathy.
When we meet the villainous and mysterious Dr. Matarga (Manuel de Blas) the slasher style dovetails rather well with the paranormal investigation at hand.
Diana's fear of Matarga mingles with the fear she had as a child of her abusive father.
Through this turmoil, we also get closer to her older sister Angela (Amaia Salamanca).
In this way, the earlier shallowness of the main cast is salvaged a little.Matarga fits very well the standard description of enigmatic slasher (a la Jason, Freddy etc) but again, we don't really get to know much about him.Ultimately, I enjoyed this more as it went on.
The locations and occasional gore aided this.
A slight but immersive experience..
Finally!
A Decent Paranormal Film!.
Found out about this film when flicking through a Horror Magazine in Hmv. It looked like a great film with an awesome front cover!
But I wasn't holding my breath with this one, as on previous occasions when I've bought DVDs, the covers were a lot better than the actual content themselves!
This one was surprisingly great!
I like how the combination of a supernatural & slasher genre comes together!
Not much of them come by unfortunately or are even half as good!The film basically is about this group of student who investigate an abandoned slat mine village & stumble across an abandoned asylum!
It is them the spirit of the evil doctors comes to life & starts to off the students one by one!The deaths in this film were decent!
The part when Carlos get strapped to the torture bed with bard wire wrapped around him like a rack!
Then the Lobotomy pick!
Awesome!
Though he doesn't die, it was still an awesome scene!
Can't help but think they should've shown the pick going into his eye to increase the intensity!
The other deaths were pretty good too!
Bloody & very vicious!
The look of the Evil Doctor was done well!The twist at the end was Jaw Dropping!
I won't spoil it for you, but it was shocking when it was revealed by the end of the film!
The points & suggestions during the film connecting together!
Revealing a Dark Revelation!
Overall the film was great!
Unique & distinguishes itself from other crappy made paranormal films out there! |
tt0120428 | Vampire Journals | Zachary [David Gunn] sees his beloved fall prey to a vampire. Zachary stakes and
beheads him, but it is too late for Rebecca. In his grief, Zachary becomes
a vampire hunter, vowing to destroy his Master's entire bloodline, which
includes the music loving Ash and Ash's Master, Radu (reference is to Radu from Subspecies). Zachary is currently on Ash's trail. His quest takes him to Bucharest where
Ash [Jonathon Morris] is smitten with American concert pianist Sofia Christopher [Kirsten Cerre]. After
attending one of Sofia's performances, Ash invites her to his Club Muse, a
casino/brothel where vampires mingle with human donors, and then he
follows her home, intending her to be his prey. Zachary intervenes in the
nick of time and walks Sofia home safely.Ash returns to Club Muse. The next day, he sends his human business
partner Iris [Starr Andreeff] to request of Sofia a private recital that night at the Club
in exchange for $1,000. Zachary warns her not to go, but she does anyway.
At the end of her performance, Ash acclaims her a "goddess of music" and
offers to make her immortal. She refuses, and Ash makes it clear he will
not accept her refusal. "Embrace me willingly and your passage will be
painless. Resist me, and you will agonize till the end of time," he warns.Zachary, armed with the vampire slaying blade of Laertes, pays a
visit to Club Muse. He offers the blade to Ash in exchange for the life of
Sofia, but Ash claims the blade as well as both Sofia and Zachary's lives.
Ash tempts Zachary with a willing donor and, when Zachary succumbs to the
temptation, Ash takes Sofia to Zachary. Horrified at the discovery that
Zachary is also a vampire, Sofia chooses unlife over death when Ash drinks
of her blood to the brink of mortality. Sofia finally gives in and drinks
Ash's blood, sealing her fate as a vampire.Meanwhile, Zachary and Iris are plotting a way to get Sofia away from
Ash (Iris is jealous). Zachary invades Ash's lair, wounds him with the
sword, and snatches Sofia off their bed. Ash and his chylde Cassandra [Ilinca Goia]
pursue. As dawn approaches, Cassandra fights with Zachary and winds up
being staked. Zachary turns on Ash, who runs away. As the chamber fills
with dawn's early light, Zachary pushes Ash over a balcony, Ash falls into
the direct sunlight and is turned to dust, leaving Zachary and Sofia to
find resting places for themselves. [Original Synopsis by BJ Kuehl.] | violence, gothic | train | imdb | If you like gothic vampire movies, then Full Moon Entertainment's Vampire Journals (1997) is for you.
Like my previous reviews i don't want to lose time writing about the movie plot line 'cause i think that if you are reading this it's because you have already seen it right?
Here we have really beautiful movie, great stages, finest acting and a sublime haunting soundtrack, one of the best i've ever heard i just can't get that piano out of my head.
In Vampire Journal happens something interesting and it lies in the acting work, the characters are well portrayed by this unknown actors and that its the veil that all low budget movies must have.
the Ash character really have that vampire feel that all we are expecting in a kind of films like this and Jhonaton Morris set his trademark by doing this role, David Gunn in the Zachary role as a vampire slayer did a fine work but he cannot simple match Mister Morris acting, but in Vampire Journal there's one character that really stole the show, I perhaps have never seen a female vampire portrayed so damn well like the one we can find here, everything in she seems completely right, her movements, the way she talk and even her blood drinking, i am referring to Ilinca Goia as Cassandra, she did a amazing outstanding job and without a hell of doubt her character is one of the most beautiful I have ever seen, every scene where she appear its a rewind must, all her movements are so memorable, she is (and this is my very personal opinion) the ultimate female vampire set on screen, i can say the same thing of Claudia's role played by Kirsten Dunst in Interview with a Vampire but thats another history.Another highlight in this film is in charge of Kirsten Cerre as the gorgeous human pianist, she looks so lovely, so tender we all love her from the first scene she appears on screen and its very clear why Ash an Zachary fall in love with her she is simple beautiful.
For those who like dark movies and Gothic creepy stages then this movie is for you you won't be disappointed, though I recognize that to get this movie its a little bit difficult but i can assure you that the searching its well worthy, all vampire lover most appreciate this movie and enjoy it and a personal thanks to Ted Nicolaou for giving us all this hours in vampire entertainment trough all this years.
You've got to give credit to Ted Nicolau for creating a somewhat separate vampire world from the Subspecies world he had previously mastered, and still manage to be original and engaging.Here we have a movie that was actually filmed in Romania (as Subspecies were) and has that gothic renaissance quality about it.
A beautiful low-budget film that puts to shame such mainstream atrocities as Interview With A Shampooer.Jonathon Morris who plays Ash is such a great actor beyond description.
Underrated Director Ted Nicolau, a Full Moon entertainment veteran, made a step forward in his vampire universe with this movie that sadly has been overlooked as time goes by.
"Vampire Journals" is probably the best movie produced by Full Moon, and easily ranks among the best vampire movies ever.The movie tells the story of Zachary (played by David Gunn), a vampire who has vowed to exterminate as many of his specie as he can since his life as one of the undead has given him nothing but tragedies.
In his hunting, he finds Ash (Jonathon Morris), a vampire master who controls a club and loves the music.
Things get complicated when both of them fall in love with a beautiful pianist named Sofia (Kirsten Cerre).The most remarkable feature of the movie, is the perfect combination of camera-work, edition and music to create a Gothic feeling that remains through the movie, making it look as a beautiful canvas despite its low budget.
Every visual aspect of the movie is of a supernatural beauty, as if the locations were a character too.Ted Nicolau creates a superb movie that improves in all aspects what he had already accomplished with his other vampire movies, the "Subspecies" series.
The SFX are great for the budget and never seem out of place, the movie retains that Gothic surreal feeling without sacrificing anything.The acting is really good, although nothing special.
David Gunn carries the film with grace but is Jonathon Morris who steals the show as the vampire Ash. Worth to mention is the performance of the beautiful Ilinca Goia, who in her limited screen time captures the attention of the viewer not only with her looks, but her performance as well.Of course, nothing is perfect, the movie keeps that "low-budget" feeling that most of the 90s Full Moon movies carried, but is admirable the effort of Nicolau to make the most of what he got.
The love triangle story line is very familiar, but the atmosphere of the movie is so wonderfully Gothic(and somewhat erotic)that you don't care!
Vampire Journals tells the story of Zachary a vampire who has vowed to destroy the bloodline of blood suckers who made him the way he is.Along his travels Zachary meets Sofia a beautiful piano player.
Vampire Journals is a surprisingly beautiful looking movie.
The movie is visually fantastic and is one of the most impressive looking vampire films.However I felt some parts of it were a little too close to Anne Rice for comfort,and there was some unnecessary gore,but all in all I would highly recommend it.It's a huge treat for vampire fans and is really one of the better Dracula/Vampire films..
For those who are into vampire films this is your movie, but if you are just passing by the horror section of your local video store and you think you would like to see this film I suggest watching Dracula first then come back to this movie, only then you would understand this film..
Beginning with the haunting sound of a single piano, as scene after scene of a dark, foreboding, snow swept cemetary fill the screen, this movie sets standards for the dark, gothic Eastern European vampire genre.
Though the dialogue is a bit thin in some parts, Ash & Zachary team up to create some of the most memorable, and haunting lines of their time, a must see for any vampire lovers!.
Vampire Journals takes a slight detour from the excellent Full Moon "Subspecies" series which features the master vampire Radu, and his stubborn and defiant disciple, Michelle.
This film has better production values and a far larger cast than any of the 4 subspecies movies, and rivals them in quality.
All of these films are highly under-rated, and are far superior to most of the vampire movies that have been made in the states in the past 20 years.
This is a good vampire film, and a little bit like Hammer in some respects, though much better than anything Christopher Lee did after Horror of Dracula.
A very slow movie in some respects, but the shadow work, that I so loved in his Subspecies series, were even heavier in this movie!:) The scenes and buildings were very gothic,complete with fog-enshrouded nights and cemetaries.
This is a somewhat artsy-fartsy vampire movie, kind of continuing the line of the subspecies films.
The atmosphere great, and the whole movie flowed pretty well.This would make a nice addition to any vampire fan's movie collection.Also, if you like it and want to get more depth into the story, get the rest of the Subspecies movies.
They're more cult-classic, like the rest of the Full Moon horror movies, but worth a watch.Believe me.
Passionate and convincing performances by Jonathon Morris as evil master-vampire Ash and David Gunn as tormented vampire-hunter Zachary, a strong-willed female lead in Kristen Cerre as Sophia, fine support in small but well-crafted supporting roles.
After seeing too many bad vampire films in the past few months ("Bordello of Blood", "Embrace of the Vampire", "Blade") this was a welcome relief, a movie with real style and grace.(Read more of my comments under my original name "angelynx").
the movie vampire journals is an awesome look into the dark life of a vampire, I thought it was great my favorite vampire was of course zachary I fell in love with him the very first time I saw the movie.
You will watch a movie with lots of vampire mystery and magic with a good cast and a well chosen soundtrack which will take you on a brilliant 90 minute surreal ride to Prague.Impressions:--------------------Overall: surreal, mysterios, erotic, fascinating, romanticGore/Splatter: no splatter, nice amount of "violence" and blood.Nudity: someFangs: Jep, look nice (I write this because I hate those vampire movies which show no fangs), some nice blood sucking tooCast: good actors, all unknown for what I knowSoundtrack: nice one, more the classic music type!DVD: fullscreen, good picture, good sound, uncutWho should not watch?
If you hate pianos and get the creeps by the words "classic music", "erotic horror" or "dialogue".To judge better if you are not sure watching the film, I'll give you my favourite vampire flicks:Action & gory vampire movies:----------BladeJohn Carpenter's VampiresModern Vampires (tip!)The more romantic movies:----------Bram Stoker's DraculaVampire JournalsEmbrace of the vampire
The trash movies (I dig them a lot):----------From dusk til dawn2From dusk til dawn1From dusk til dawn3Blood for Dracula (Andy Warhol movie with a young Udo Kier, very bloody and sarcastic, lots of gore and nudity)Vampire Happening (my 60ies trash tip)Don't forget the Hammer films!!!!Please write me a line if you found my comment useful.
David Gunn (the man who played Zachary in "The Vampire Journals") has more charisma than that pretentious Tom Cruise ever will..
This film (along with the "Subspecies" series), was shot on location in Romania, and I'm happy to report that this film isn't a disgrace to the vampire horror film genre like ones such as the "Bram Stoker's Dracula" (by Francis Ford Coppola).
American vampire films don't need to have that stereotypical 'let's make this like an MTV music video and have lots of sexy American stars in it like Tom Cruise' in order to make it stylish.
Sure, "The Vampire Journals" was shot by an American film company, but at least they had the decency to make it stylish on a low budget with unknown (yet extremely talented) actors.
Hell, David Gunn (the man who played Zachary in "The Vampire Journals") has more charisma than that pretentious Tom Cruise will ever have.
If you want to make an ORIGINAL vampire movie, I don't care; go right ahead, but don't butcher a Romanian myth and retell it and claim it's "the real thing", because it's NOT..
well when i decided to watch this movie i was not sure i am gonna enjoy it but,,, once the movie started i felt something like magic pull me in deeper and deeper into the story i give this movie story 8/10 it was going to be 10/10 if it was a bit longer than this i feel like they strip some events from the movie but anyway the actors r amazing except for Sophia she not a good one in my option Zachary and Ash on the hand r Amazing and The Gothic Artistic Style of The Vampires Characters in The movie r Stunning and the Environment also was very beautiful and it seems to be like a piece of Art even the nude scenes in the movie r not meant for fun or showing as it was to a part of this Artistic Drama i loved this movie and i enjoyed it so much i watch it 2 times.
The Romanian locations are beautiful, and perfectly lit - the film's "look," as director Ted Nicolau puts it in the making-of special, is like that of an old painting.
On a first viewing, I thought David Gunn's Zachery a bit weak, but now I don't mind him; he's almost laughably sincere, but that's pretty much what the part demands.The film hits a lull in the second act, when the action is confined to Ash's lair.
That's apparently where the budget ended.The master vampire, Ash is the only real actor in the film.
The feeling of this movie is either your will like it or not...no in the middle here.The settings, the score is all so sombre and gothic.
A real and truly gothic and romantic movie is that "VAMPIRE JOURNALS".
First the good news: Vampire journals is a surprisingly beautiful and elegant-looking movie.
Vampire Journals opens with the poetic shot of a wintery graveyard, with the Gothic letters and lovely music.
Griffith had his mixer console regulating hands in.'Vampire Journals' very much is a story of vampires in which mortals mostly play the role of servants and nuisances, humans are a state of being that has to be overcome, what they certainly are not is a threat nor are they of big relevance in this film.The visuals are better shown than talked about.
But this tells you that 'Vampire Journals' is a film without great faults, even the acting is surprisingly good for this type of production.Naturally there is a lot of mist in this film, it's even used indoors but it's used delicately to enhance the light.
Like I said, the visuals don't aim to impress but the relatively simple special effect of over-sized, seemingly bodiless shadows traveling alongside house facades certainly make for some striking moments in the film.The man in the lead role is an obvious choice to play an elegant Gothic type of vampire but why not if he fits it so very well.
I don't know which character I disliked the most: Zachary is so whiny he makes "Interview With The Vampire"'s Louis look like a happy-go-lucky guy and Ash must be the cheesiest movie vampire ever.I'm a big fan of vampire movies and this is the only one I truly disliked from beginning to end.
Sadly however, the credits come to an end and the movie begins.Whiny, self-pitying vampire Zachary is determined to rid the world of his own kind, especially powerful vampire Ash, who has set his sights on Zachary's would be girlfriend, Sofia.
If you thought Brad Pitt as Louis in "Interview With the Vampire" was bad, he's got nothing on Zachary, let me tell you.
This movie was cool but it seemed to take on a little bit from Interview with the Vampire.
The crucial differences here are that "Interview with the Vampire" is a very respectable film whilst "Journals" looks like something a bunch of high schoolers binded together for a school play.Zachary (Gunn) is a self-pitying guiltaholic who is travelling the world on a quest of revenge.
Zachary finds Ash, but a woman gets in the way, the woman both of the vampires want, a repetition of their last dilemma except this time Zachary is determined not to lose.You can't take this movie seriously at all, but it's almost one of those "so bad it's almost good" movies that you can only bear to watch once.
The acting is very cliché, the dialogue is corny, the plot isn't that interesting, and the characters you like are the schemers that have it in for the ones who are supposed to be the heroes of the movie.
I love vampire movies, so I have to watch them all.
Jonathan Morris plays Ash again to maximum effect and one can only wish that all three leads were in either every film made or at least hundreds more vampire legacies.
Do you like vampire movies???
The whole Subspecies series is absolutely great,with the most flawless Vampire I have ever seen (Radu Vladislas),but the subspecies effect with its little creatures seems to me like a stain on what is otherwise a work of art...
Ted Nicolaou was the force behind the series who you could tell had a real eye for the vampires and their Gothic nature.
After witnessing the love of his life get turned into a vampire, Zachary destroys both her, and his master, and former protégé of Ash, Serena.
I think that's in the "harm zone".Despite the flaws, I give Ted credit on the Gothic look of the film and the story isn't by any means terrible.
Also the look of the film is terrific and very Gothic, given the old spooky feeling from the old horror movies.
Vampire Journals is set in some unnamed Eastern European country where a Vampire named Zachary (David Gunn) decides to take in some culture & spend a night at a classical concert, there he notices master Vampire Ash (Jonathon Morris) who seems to be taking an unhealthy shine to pianist Sofia Christopher (Kristen Cerre).
Ash wants to turn Sofia into his Vampire bride while bitter Vampire hunter Zachary wants to kill him & all of his kind...This American Romanian co-production was written & directed by Ted Nicolaou was produced by Charles Band & his Full Moon companies responsible for all manner of low budgeted horror film crap over the years.
If your a die hard Vampire flick fan then you'll probably lap this up as, well it's got Vampires in it but anyone looking for an effective horror flick will surely be disappointed at the dull bland nature of this film & a lack of a decent engaging story.I'll give Vampire Journals credit where it deserves it because it looks fabulous, the lighting, the Gothic sets, costumes & production design are very impressive & atmospheric.
There's some female nudity as well if that sort of thing interests you.Technically the film looks very nice with good visuals & it's well shot.
The rest of the cast are alright but nothing outstanding.Vampire Journals is much better than the usual Full Moon horror flick & looks surprisingly good but the story isn't great & there's not a lot going on.
Every vampire in this movie looks like steve tyler! |
tt0099637 | Un gatto nel cervello | Dr. Lucio Fulci (more or less playing himself) is a former medical doctor-turned director of gory horror films. He wraps up shooting for the day on his latest film 'Touch of Death' with Brett Halsey playing the human monster/cannibal of women. Fulci leaves the Cincettia Studios for a local restaurant down the street. The young friendly waiter recognizes him and suggests his typical meal: a fillet of steak, or steak tarter. Fulci cannot look at the sample plates of meat without having flashbacks to the cannibalistic scene hed been filming earlier. Shaken, he leaves the restaurant without ordering a meal. The following day, while checking an effects shot from another movie, Fulci irritably snaps at a technician to get a plate of animal eyeballs out of his sight.Returning home to his fancy row house in an old suburb of Rome, the troubled director tries to sleep, but the noise of a handyman's chainsaw outside keeps him awake with recollections of his own recently shot chainsaw mayhem. In a rage, Fulci storms outside and smashes a hachet into cans of paint belonging to the handyman. The spilled red paint reminds Fulci of the acid/blood scene in 'The Beyond'. Fulci walks a few yards from his home and discovers that one of his neighbors in a psychiatricst. Meanwhile, Professor Egon Swharz (David L. Thompson) is arguing with his wife Katya (Melissa Lang). Their bitter routine row is interrupted by the intercom buzzing where his secretary Nurse Lilly (Judy Morrow) informing him of this latest walk-in. Professor Swharz walks in and accepts Fulci into his books for a session. After walking out of the reception area, Nurse Lilly immediately phones a friend saying "guess who just walked in as a patient!" Swhartz discusses Fulcis recent problems and suggests that he's "breaking down the barrier, the boundary between what you film and whats real."The next day at Cinecitta, Fulci's producer Filippo (Shilett Angel) tells him that the pace has to be stepped up on filming. Fulci is revealed to making two films at the same time: 'The Touch of Death', and 'Ghosts of Sodom'. Robert Egon, the young actor playing the Nazi seducer in the later film, approaches Fulci in a corridor to discuss his role. "Your presence should make a deadly impression", says Fulci. "You are after all a symbol of death. And you've also the whole horror of the Nazis. Get me?" Fulci talks the actors through the seduction scene in 'Ghost of Sodom'. When the filming is done, Fulci staggers out into a corridor muttering, "Sadism, Nazism; is there any point any more?"No sooner has Fulci left the set when his producer steers him into a studio suite for an interview with a Munich news crew. The sight of the tall, blond, German lady reporter's long legs triggers a vision of sexual abandon in Nazi Germany (from the film 'Ghosts of Sodom') When Fulci recovers from his vision, he finds himself outside again with his producer saying, "Lucio, you must stop! Stop, in the name of God!" Filippo informs the confused director that he has just run amuck, smashed the TV crews camera and tried to rip the interviewer's clothes off.Professor Swharz calls Fulci for another consultation after he had watched all of his films. He suggests using hypnosis. Once Fulci is under, the Professor's true colors are revealed to us. He switches on a buzzer device and describes a mad scheme: "You'll do everything I tell you when you hear this sound. Your mind will make you live scenes you think are real. You will slowly be possessed by madness. You'll think youve committed terrible crimes." Swharz also intends to transmit his thoughts to Fulci, although how is never quite explained. After the session is over, Fulci leaves unable to remember anything. Swharz then embarks on a killing spree, starting with the murder of a local prostitute that evening. Fulci arrives on the scene after the police show up and thinks he committed the murder. Rushing away, his car breaks down en route to a film location shoot. When he arrives at a cemetery where a nighttime Gothic scene is to be filmed, he finds that his assistant director, and Filippo his producer, have started filming without him.Back home the following morning, Fulci tries to relax, but with each simple action, he is plagued by memories and visions of screen violence from his movies. Fleeing his house, he goes for a drive. But Swharz follows him and commits three more murders, first a couple in a remote boathouse, and the groundskeeper who witnesses him. Fulci arrives on the scene forcing Swharz to hide, and again Fulci thinks he committed the murders. Getting back into his car for a drive down a long country road, Fulci hallucinates about running over a tramp (from the movie 'Touch of Death'). After returning home, the exhausted auteur phones the police station to speak to his friend Inspector Gabrielli (Jeoffrey Kennedy) intending to make a "confession." But he learns that Gabrielli is on vacation.After another visit to the nasty Professor Swharz is of little help to cure him of his waking nightmares, Fulci decides to drive over to Inspector Gabrielli's house in the hope of speaking to him. Swharz follows him there with the buzzer device. Fulci lets himself into his friend's house, and immediately suffers from visions of Gabrielle's family being stabbed, chainsawed, and decapitated. Fulci staggers outside to be greeted by the returning policeman, who reassures the flaky director that his family are safely on holiday in Sardinia. When Fulci expresses his visions to Gabrielli and that he may have killed some people, the cheerful police detective responds, "If you're trying to create a sensation like you do in your films, this time you've goofed."Meanwhile, Professor Swharz can stand no more of his wife's bland contempt for him and his practice. So, the insane psychiatrist strangles her to death by ripping out a wire from his wife's piano and nearly decapitates her with it. Swharz then heads out again to tail Fulci, who under the influence of hynosis again, suffers through one more blast of violent imagery and faints in the middle of a field. He comes round the next morning to discover a cat digging up the loosely buried remains of another Swharz victim. As Fulci scrapes soil from the dead features, Inspector Gabrielli appears behind him. Before Fulci can protest his innocence, Gabrielli informs him that Swharz has been shot dead by his men who were tailing Fulci which he ordered after their conversation the previous day, who caught the mad psychiatrist in the act.Several months later. Fulci and the beautiful Nurse Lilly sail on his sailboat, 'Preversion' (named from his first thriller movie). Fulci looks furtively around and follows the young woman into the cabin-quarters. Suddenly, the sound of a chainsaw revs up, followed by her terrified screams. Fulci emerges from the cabin a minute later with a basket of her body parts and attaches the severed fingers onto fishing hooks which he casually casts into the water. Is Fulci really a mad killer after all? No, of course not. It's the last shot of his newest film, 'Nightmare Concert', captured by a film crew sailing alongside. Bidding goodbye to his colleagues, Fulci happily sails out of the harbor with his very-much alive leading lady. | violence | train | imdb | In a stroke of daring even Fellini and Michael Powell never tried in their self-reflexive classics, Fulci plays himself--or rather, a particularly tormented and increasingly unhinged version of himself, driven mad by the combination of guilt and bloodlust triggered by making hyperviolent horror movies.
"Cat In The Brain" is a series of extremely violent sequences knitted together by a plot that feels more like an overview, describing director Lucio Fulci's most notorious years of film-making.
Such sequences shortly after climax are rejected by the reality in the film, as they are revealed to be actually scenes inside a movie that Fulci's character is directing.
I don't know what it is exactly, but the film is happily sitting on my shelf, with no thought of ever leaving me...Fulci has crafted one of the most ridiculous, bizzare, cheez-infested and well unique movies I've ever seen.
"Cat in the Brain" is a must for bad movie lovers everywhere...Yes I'll definitely say it's not a "good" film, but I guarantee certain scenes will stick in your mind forever!
Fulci spends most of his time looking puzzled and shocked, just as i am sure you, the viewer, will be.It has plenty of gore in it as you would expect and will be most peoples reason for acquiring this movie.
Lucio Fulci has the lead in this film where he plays a director of horror flicks who suffers from depression and neurosis as an effect of his own movies.
He decides to see a psychiatrist who only makes matters worse when he convinces Fulci that he is killing people.Fulci used gore scenes from several pictures around the same time.
Certainly, the idea of a horror movie director haunted by the nightmares he has created was still interesting and novel at that time, but I really cannot figure out what kind of movie Fulci wanted to make: A comedy or a serious horror movie/thriller?
Moreover, Fulci has problems in patching everything together: The Mercedes model he drives in "Nightmare concert" is different from the one Halsey drove in "When Alice ...", so that the scenes do not fit exactly.When he says "what am I doing" while watching a Nazi orgy he has filmed, this refers probably to the extremely low budget efforts which Fulci has delivered in his last period of activity.Well, the movie has only few interesting scenes.
Beware, this ending has been altered by the producers, so that the wrong ending might appear in some versions.After all, I still had enough fun watching the movie, largely because Fulci played the lead, so that I voted it 6/10 for this, the idea, and some of the more interesting scenes..
Fulci has become known to horror fans everywhere as 'the godfather of gore', and for good reason, as he has provided us with some of the nastiest and most gruesome films ever to grace the silver screen; from the eyeball violence in films like 'Zombi 2', to a man been hacked to death with chains in 'The Beyond', all the way to the full on gore fest known as 'The New York Ripper'; if you want gore (and let's face it, who doesn't), Fulci is your man.
The amount of gore is massively over the top a lot of the time, which gives the film something of a 'spoof' feel, but Cat in the Brain is obviously a tongue in cheek film anyway.It would be hard to make a film about yourself and not come across as being a bit of a big head, and Fulci does indeed come across as a bit of a big head in this movie.
He is a master, without a big budget, he was able to make awesome horror movies, with good gore effects.In A cat in the brain, Fulci plays himself, Fulci is "tormented" by visions of his own horror creations.
He tries to get help from a psychiatrist, but the psychiatrist is making the things worse....he "hypnotizes" Fulci, in order to make him do brutal murders in real life !There is a lot of stock footage, especially for the gore scenes, but it's well edited into the movie.I have to say that Fulci made a good work, with a low budget, even if it uses stock footage it's still a good film.Fulci Lives !.
And while "Cat in the Brain" falls in with the era of Fulci's decline as a filmmaker, it is a shocking, darkly hilarious headtrip that, while a clearly inferior work (the framing, effects, and acting are below par), proves an interesting, open-ended meditation on pop psychology and film's ability to desensitize.
In a deliciously tongue-in-cheek touch, Fulci plays himself: a director in the midst of filming yet another violent horror flick who comes down with perverse/murderous hallucinations; after visiting a shrink who puts him under hypnosis, his dreams and reality begin to intersect, to the point where the viewer cannot discern the two.
Literally stuffed with gore footage (both new and some lifted from his previous films), it's undoubtedly Fulci's most insane movie.
Fulci plays himself, shooting a new horror movie (its Quando Alice Ruppe lo specchio according to the footage we see) and going mad, losing his head with all the violence and blood.
Movies from these lost years became very sought after and talked about among horror fans.Of these films, Cat In The Brain is probably one of the most hyped of all due to the legions of Lucio Fulci fans and the fact that it was not only directed by but also starred their idol, Fulci himself.Though not quite Fulci's best, it's still better than most of his later efforts.
Okay, so it's not a totally original conceit, but the notion of a horror film director feeling constrained by audience expectation such that he can no longer make movies in any other genre is one worth exploring.
Whether or not Fulci really felt the way his character - a film director by the name of, you've guessed it, Lucio Fulci - feels is debatable; after all, horror made him famous, and, presumably, rich.
And coming from the director of New York Ripper, any protest he might be making does seem rather disingenuous.I also like the notion of a film within a film within a film; playing around with the audience's viewpoint, and emphasising the voyeuristic nature of the whole filmmaking process.Whatever else, Cat in the Brain is worth seeing just for the scene in which Fulci molests a woman during one of his funny turns.
I don't think that this is a serious horror film.Instead it is a parody of every other film Fulci has made.The main character is no dramatic at all,he is amusing!!The gore elements are completely out of sense,making them hillarious.To fully understand that this is a comedy just watch the ending.Don't compare this to the "serious" Fulci films.On a serious note Fulci looks like a really nice guy,and it is sad that he died after a few months.We'll always remember him!!.
"Un Gatto nel Cervello"/"Cat in the Brain" is one of the goriest horror movies ever made.There is a lot of blood and gore,including chainsaw butchery,bloody stabbings and numerous decapitations.The film is also interesting as "self parody" of Fulci,but the gore and violence is the key element in it.Some of the gore FX were taken from own Fulci's movies "Quando Alice Ruppe lo Specchio" and "I Fantasmi di Sodoma"(both 1988),plus gore FX taken from Fulci-supervised "The Snake House" aka "Bloody Psycho" by Leandro Lucchetti,"Massacre" by Andrea Bianchi,"Non Avere Paura Della Zia Marta" by Mario Bianchi,"Non Si Sevizia i Bambini" by Giovanni Simonelli and "Luna di Sangue" aka "Fuga dalla Morte" by Enzo Milioni(all 1989).The scene where Brett Halsey beats the woman's face to pulp is from "Quando Alice Ruppe lo Specchio",a film Fulci had made for Italian TV in 1988.The chainsawing of the female corpse at the beginning is taken from the same film,as is the head in the microwave and the guy that gets driven over and over again.Highly recommended,especially if you like extreme cinema!.
Hell, there's a shower stabbing scene to boot!Sure, it's still crude like a lot of Fulci's movies, but there's a kind of demented artistry at work as well.
The acting and script are totally dire, and many of the gore scenes that have been transplanted from other films (bizarrely, some not even made by Fulci) often make no sense within themselves, let alone within the context of the whole movie.
This idea prefigured Wes Craven's New Nightmare by years, but sadly the growing health problems Fulci was suffering from are clearly evident in the resulting movie.The movie is pieced together with footage from some of his previous works and the new material looks like it was shot in and around the area where Fulci lived, so he did not have to travel far.It is sad to see such a legendary talent slowly eroded, but Cat in the Brain, along with the awful Voices from Beyond show the inexorable decline in Fulci's work.Remember him for Zombi 2, Don't Torture A Duckling and The Beyond, rather than this sorry affair..
Dr. Lucio Fulci (Lucio Fulci) is a director of gory horror movies who is starting to feel the effect of having filmed too many bloody scenes.
If you've seen Fulci's Touch of Death and Ghost's of Sodom, or Mario Bianchi's the Murder Secret, then you've already seen the best bits of Cat In The Brain before.After much bloodletting, the film wraps itself up rather quickly, leaving the viewer feeling bewildered and somewhat cheated.
A Cat in the Brain (1990) ** (out of 4)After years of filming ultra-violent scenes for horror films, director Lucio Fulci begins to think that it's impacting his mental state.
He begins to see a shrink who decides to act out his own violent fantasies by mutilating women and trying to make the director think that he's the one committing the crimes.A CAT IN THE BRAIN came at the very end of the Italian horror craze and people are either going to see it as a cult masterpiece or an incredibly awful hack job.
However, at the same time, there's no question that they were working with very little to no money and you can't help but see it as a hack job since the majority of the footage here comes from other movies.Footage from Fulci's TOUCH OF DEATH gets the most scenes here but we also get clips from his THE GHOSTS OF SODOM.
Either way, it's really not as creative as it could have been and just gives the film a very cheap look and feel.Some have argued that this here was Fulci's 8 1/2 but that's a bit of a stretch as I'd argue that the main reason for this film is that the movies this borrowed from didn't get that good of a release so they took the best moments, threw them in this film and sold the fact that Fulci was playing himself.
It obviously worked as those films have been forgotten while A CAT IN THE BRAIN continues to gain a cult audience.The story is pretty much a mess and not all of the new scenes fit well with the stock footage.
There's a lot of gore in the picture and that there will be the main draw but again, why give this film the credit for that when the best gore shots are from other movies?This latest viewing of A CAT IN THE BRAIN was the first time I had watched it while also having watched all of the films that footage was lifted from.
A splatter film director (Lucio Fulci) is having difficulty distinguishing between real life and the violent movies he makes.
Oddly, Harper says Fulci himself considered it "one of his better films and a personal triumph." While I agree that it is not Fulci's best work, I have a hard time being as harsh as Harper is -- the gore alone makes this film interesting for Fulci fans, in my opinion.Indeed, Fulci has called it "extraordinary", though even an apologist like Luca Palmerini calls the movie "confusing" and "mediocre" (hardly an improvement from Harper's denouncement).
On one hand it has a really interesting premise in that Fulci is essentially playing himself, on set while directing his gory movies, so it's a movie-in-a-movie type plot like WES CRAVEN'S NEW NIGHTMARE (only this came first) that has the opportunity to explore the link between the violence in horror films and the violence in real life (and if movies have any effect), and what prolonged exposure to gory violence might do to a man!
As well as this, it's a study of Fulci's supposed psychological state so gets a bit confusing as you can well imagine.On the other hand, the movie is simply an excuse to string together a series of incredibly gory set-pieces from previous Fulci films and others, and then to "insert" Fulci's character into these scenes as if he is witnessing the murders first hand.
The effect is an interesting, if muddled one, marred by some extreme technical faults (skies and backgrounds are different colours in film segments) which are par for the course for no-budget productions like this.Fulci himself takes the leading role of the confused director, making this a must-see movie for his die-hard fans.
The hilarious highlight in my mind is when Fulci repeatedly runs some poor fool who got in the path of his car - classic stuff, and for some reason extremely funny.Gore hounds certainly get their money's worth with this movie, even if the majority (but not all...) of the effects and sequences are taken from previous films (thus Brett Halsey is billed in the cast as "the Monster" even though he never actually acted in this film - hmm, wonder how he feels about that?).
Throw in a crazy subplot about a real killer in Rome trying to frame Fulci and you should end up like me - confused and disoriented, yet entertained.Sure, this isn't up there with Fulci's best, but I get the impression he was trying to have a little fun with his image and career and although it's a bit of cheap ploy to insert gore scenes from other movies, at least they're quality gore scenes and fun to watch.
cat in the brain, suffers from what many of fulci's films do, you don't always know whats going on, the editing can be frantic, but like most of fulci's horror work, the good out weighs the bad.
the movie is great for fulci fan's as the director plays a exaggerated version of him self, who sees only violence and murder in front of him, and starts to lose his grip on whats real and whats fantasy, the movie has some of the most outlandish scenes I've ever seen in a horror movie, but they work to the movies advantage and create a atmosphere of unease that remains all the way to the end, and the gore is just epic, there is so much blood and guts here, from chainsaw murders to decapitations, and yes we all know they are mostly from older movies that fulci worked on, it doesn't matter and it all adds to this piece of extreme yet, hauntingly brilliant cinema.
it's not one of fulci's more widely loved films, but i think its one of his best, and is a classic horror movie.
Some funny moments and lines happens from time to time, like one where Fulci says "making gore movies is kind of a sickness" Ending is very good considering that Fulci (and most of the Italian horror masters) is know for making ending with no sense or many plot holes.
Lucio Fulci plays himself, a famous director of horror flicks who is haunted by nightmarish visions, partly because the brutal violence of his films is starting to get to him, and partly because his mad psychiatrist hypnotizes him into believing that he committed a series of bloody murders (for which the doctor is actually responsible).
I'm bored." If we're to believe this meta-biographical film, my impression is not far off.Fulci plays himself, a man haunted by the ever-worsening gore that his movies use.
He has, quite literally, a cat in the brain, eating away at the soft tissue, that we see while he's trying to finish writing a script.Finishing his latest film, Touch of Death,Fulci tries to eat a meal, but even the fillets and steak tartare he's offered remind him of the gore he's just directed.
Lilly instantly knows who the director is and Swhartz is interested to break down the barriers between film and reality.Back at work, Fulci is struggling to complete both Touch of Death and Ghosts of Sodom (Sodoma's Ghost) at the same time.
"I think I'm going mad, as if my brains being eaten by a cat." Very gory splatter film, I liked it..
Un Gatto nel Cervello, or Nightmare Concert as it's more commonly know amongst English speaking audiences, starts as horror film director Lucio Fulci (played by the man himself Lucio Fulci) goes to lunch after filming a very gory & violent scene, however he orders steak & has a horrible vision relating to cannibalism.
The acting in this is terrible including Fulci.Un Gatto nel Cervello is a top film if your a gore-hound like me, however if your looking for something with a little bit more substance or indeed any substance then this ones not for you.
"A Cat in the Brain" is an incredibly enjoyable gore and sleaze-filled romp.**SPOILERS**Working on his newest movie, director Lucio Fulci, (Lucio Fulci) begins to feel like his career as a horror-only film-maker has caught up with him, as he begins to witness horrible hallucinations that remind him of what he has shot throughout his career.
Lucio Fulci is an infamous Italian Horror director, well known for staging extremely violent gore scenes. |
tt1659337 | The Perks of Being a Wallflower | The movie opens with Charlie (Logan Lerman) writing a letter to an anonymous pen pal, discussing his upcoming first day in high school. On his first day, he is harassed by classmates but befriends his English teacher, Mr. Anderson (Paul Rudd).Charlie attends a school football game alone and notices the flamboyant Patrick (Ezra Miller), who is the only senior in his freshman shop class. Patrick asks Charlie to sit with him. They are joined by Patrick's stepsister Sam (Emma Watson), and Charlie immediately notices her beauty. Upon arriving home, he witnesses Candace's boyfriend hitting her, something Charlie is especially sensitive about as his Aunt Helen (Melanie Lynskey) was also abused. Candace persuades him not to tell their parents. Charlie dances with Sam and Patrick at homecoming and goes to a party with them afterwards. There, he meets their other friends, Bob, Mary Elizabeth, and Alice. He also sees Sam with her boyfriend Craig, which makes him jealous. He eats a pot brownie, and the group is amused by his observations. While in the kitchen, Charlie tells Sam that his best friend Michael shot himself last May. He then goes upstairs to the bathroom, leaving Sam shocked.Upstairs, Charlie sees Patrick and Brad (Johnny Simmons), the school's star football player, kissing. Patrick tells Charlie that Brad doesn't want anyone to know about their relationship (as his father would disapprove) and asks him to keep it a secret. Still high, Charlie agrees. Later, Sam whispers to Patrick about what Charlie has gone through and they welcome him in their group of friends.While driving him home, Sam hears a song from the radio and demands that Patrick drive through a tunnel. She stands up in the back of the pickup truck and sways like she's dancing. Again, Charlie is stunned by her beauty.As Christmas draws closer, Charlie helps Sam to study for her SATs and their friends participate in a Secret Santa gift exchange. On the last night of the exchange, Sam takes Charlie into her room and shows him her gift for him, a typewriter. The two start talking about first kisses. Charlie says that he has never kissed a girl, and Sam reveals that her first kiss was from her father's boss, who was molesting her. She tells Charlie that she wants his first kiss to be with somebody who loves him, and the two kiss.Charlie's Birthday(which is on Christmas Eve) arrives, and he remembers his Aunt Helen, who died on the same night in a car accident after getting him a present. Later, at a New Year's Eve party, he takes LSD and has more flashbacks to the night his aunt died. He is eventually found passed out in the snow by the police.Charlie attends the Sadie Hawkins dance with Mary Elizabeth. Afterwards, they go to her house and make out. She then declares that he is her boyfriend. He has no interest in her but continues the relationship because he doesn't know how to break up with her.While playing truth or dare at a party, Patrick dares Charlie to kiss the prettiest girl in the room, and he kisses Sam rather than Mary Elizabeth. Both girls are enraged, and Patrick tells Charlie to stay away until things cool down.Weeks pass and his friends are still ignoring him. In addition, his flashbacks to the night his aunt died are getting worse. Bob tells Charlie that Brad's father caught him and Patrick kissing. Brad comes to school with a bruise on his face but claims he was jumped in a parking lot. Patrick and Brad fight in the cafeteria after Brad calls him a "faggot." Brad's friends then begin to beat up Patrick, until Charlie intervenes. Afterwards, he reconciles with his friends.Patrick is upset after breaking up with Brad and he and Charlie become closer. One night, Patrick kisses Charlie to no reaction, then breaks down because of his unhappiness. Sam breaks up with Craig after finding out he has been cheating on her.Graduation nears and Sam is accepted to Penn State. After her going away party, Charlie helps her pack. Sam then asks Charlie why he never asked her out. After several heartfelt confessions, they begin to kiss, but Charlie pulls away when Sam touches his inner thigh. She asks him what's wrong, but he tells her that nothing's wrong and continues to kiss her.The next day, Charlie is unnerved as he watches Sam leave for school. When he arrives at his empty home, he begins to have a breakdown, flashing back to the memory of his Aunt Helen touching his thigh. He calls Candace and tells her it's his fault their aunt died, and that maybe he wanted her to die. Candace tells her friends to dispatch police on their house. Before Charlie can hurt himself, the police arrives and he blacks out.He wakes up in the hospital. His physician, Dr. Burton (Joan Cusack) explains to Charlie's parents (Dylan McDermott and Kate Walsh) that his Aunt Helen was sexually abusing him, and that Charlie repressed the memory because he blamed himself for her death. After Charlie is discharged from the hospital a few weeks later, Sam and Patrick visit him and take him to their favorite restaurant.They once again drive into the tunnel, and Sam tells Charlie that she finally found the song that was playing the last time they were there. Charlie climbs into the back of the truck and reminisces about life as whole. He kisses Sam, stands up and screams as they exit the tunnel. | gothic, sentimental, dramatic, atmospheric, flashback, plot twist, romantic, prank | train | imdb | Freshman Charlie (Logan Lerman) almost by accident becomes friends with Patrick (Ezra Miller) and his stepsister Sam (Emma Watson).
The key characters spring to life thanks to the efforts of four strong performances from young actors: Logan Lerman (Percy Jackson, The Three Muskateers) plays Charlie, Emma Watson (Harry Potter films) is Sam, Ezra Miller (We Need to Talk About Kevin, City Island) is Patrick, and Mae Whitman (Arrested Development) is Mary Elizabeth.If you have read the book, you know the story ...
Admittedly, the film is substantially autobiographical, so when Mr. Chbosky says it's a personal story, we begin to understand the foundation of his remarkable writing style."Welcome to the island of misfit toys." When this line is spoken, we realize that most every high school kid has thought the same thing at some point.
I could visualize a totally different version of this tale of misfit toys being played out where all is right with the world and Charlie (Logan Lerman) is the most popular freshman in school for the simple fact that all his friends are seniors.
Logan Lerman is miscast as a moody high school freshman (who looks like he' at least 16) who befriends a group of seniors (Ezra Miller, Emma Watson and Mae Whitman chief amongst them) who help him come out of his shell.
You may like Perks of being a wallflower if you enjoy a story with a lot of drama, with a big and important message behind, which makes you cry for good reasons and more, with greeeat young actors and actresses.
This film is much more than a simple high school movie, is real, is about how the people can be amazing with each other, the opposite also, unfortunately, and how to deal with this!!
The one who really surprised me, though, was Emma Watson as Sam. It was going to be hard for her to come out of the shadows as Hermione Grainger, but she does it so effortlessly that I think that, although it will be her most famous role, she doesn't seem to have any problems branching out and trying new things.What really got to me more than anything was the characters themselves.
that moment when Sam (Emma Watson) touches Charlie's lap (Logan Lerman) with that look in his eyes i knew something was wrong & i cried.Some of the songs are a good pick, some are just Duh!Asleep by The Smiths (Oh Lovely track)Love always JC.
Ezriel Miller was the standout in my opinion and adds more depth to the film with his character contributing so the overall story line and message of the film.Definitely a must watch film for anyone looking to see a good storyline and take a break from all the big budget movies..
This film is about a shy high school misfit who becomes a cool guy after two seniors taking him under their wings."The Perks of Being a Wallflower" tells a story of a shy guy who blossoms socially as he develops friendships with two step-siblings.
Fortunately, The Perks of Being a Wallflower takes a decent stab at falling into the same category as these films; and while it doesn't scale to their heights, it's a surprisingly likable coming-of-age drama.Based on Stephen Chbosky's 1999 bestseller on the same name (he also writes and directs here), the film concerns freshman Charlie (Logan Lerman) as he experiences difficulty at home and school.
He encounters depression, suicide, drugs, alcohol, homophobia, love, heartbreak, David Bowie and The Rocky Horror Picture Show.I was sincerely taken aback by the fact that Charlie did not annoy me; too many high-school films and TV shows nowadays centre of smart- mouthed, wiser-than-their years teens, so it was refreshing to have one relatable and natural.
With every look, awkward touch and utterance from his mouth, he is like Michael Cena stripped of sarcasm and overloaded with brilliance and emotion.And while their screen time ranges from actively supporting to mere minutes, even the secondary roles, played by Paul Rudd as "that teacher" that some of us will remember and cherish forever , Kate Walsh ("Private Practice") and Dylan McDermott ("American Horror Story") as Charlie's parents, and Mae Whitman ("Parenthood") as one of the wallflowers, add to the incredible emotional complexity, lending this film such an unobtrusive air of honesty and genuine feeling that to not be deeply moved by the story as it unfolds before you is practically inconceivable.If you have always been the pretty one with the perfect grades or the perfect job, the popularity, and attention focused on you, maybe you won't quite get it.
Nicholas Braun and Reece Thompson are standouts in support and much-needed comic relief.As Charlie's would-be best friend Patrick, Ezra Miller is shockingly brilliant as a gay-go-lucky teen who lives life as if every day is his last.
However "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" is remembered, wherever it stands in the pantheon of coming-of-age pictures, Lerman's authentic characterization of Chbosky's semi-autobiographical protagonist should stand as one of the most iconic adolescent portrayals of our time.Some films are intensely personal, and that's as it should be.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012) *** 1/2 (out of 4) High school freshman Charlie (Logan Lerman) is having problems making friends but that all changes when he meets Sam (Emma Watson), Patrick (Ezra Miller) and their group.
I thought the three leading characters were some of the best written and most memorable to come out of a teen film in a very long time and thankfully the screenplay pays just as much attention to the supporting characters like their friends to even Charlie's parents.
I guess that's how I felt this way about trying to survive high school and to find our hopes and dreams about who we'll be when we grow up, much like Charlie in "The Perks of Being a Wallflower".
I recently read the book and I can definitely relate to most of the situations that Charlie went through as well as anyone who has read it and seeing that the film has come to life thanks to Stephen Chbosky (the author of the book, as well the screenwriter and director), he discovers the human heart, the first chances you have in life and a chance to break away from all the pain, whether if you're an outcast or a popular kid.
Set in Pittsburgh in the early 90's, both the movie and the book does follow Charlie (Logan Lerman), a 15-year-old kid starting high school for the first time.
Feeling lonely, depressed and ostracized by his peers in high school, he makes friends with Patrick (We Need to Talk About Kevin's Ezra Miller), the gay wild child and his stepsister Sam (Emma Watson, in her first major role outside the Harry Potter series) who welcomes Charlie into "The Island of Misfit Toys" and tells him that it's okay to be himself.
As the movie goes on as well as the book, Charlie happens to write to his unnamed friend about his first experiences while hanging with his new friends, having a crush on a certain someone, getting some help from his English teacher, Bill (Paul Rudd) and gaining some perspective from his family, including his sister Candace (Nina Dobrev).
"The Perks of Being a Wallflower" will be a relevant book for a long time, and consequently there's nothing dated about Stephen Chbosky's unique coming-of-age story now that it has finally hit the big screen so many years later.
Regardless of when you went through this phase of your life, there's something so identifiable in the way this film presents it.Charlie (Logan Lerman) is one of those protagonists that we all identify with too, and that's ultimately what makes this story powerful.
Drama and serious issues crop up too, but with them comes the implicit understanding that these were the problems we faced in high school and even if we would do things differently now, that's what we probably would've done then.Not enough praise can be given to the trio of Lerman, Miller and Watson for bringing those feelings to life.
The movie is written and directed by Stephen Chbosky, the very same person who wrote the amazing book of which the film is an adaptation of.
Not that there's anything to complain about between the two; the movie surprised me in just how heartfelt and genuine it came across and while it (of course) wasn't as powerful as the book, it still ended up being the most earnest and emotional coming of age film I have ever seen.The beauty of it all is in just how well it captures the human state of becoming 'someone', no matter what we think we should be or what we're afraid of.
In this case, our characters come from very dark, abused and broken places and somehow it manages to inspire and give hope to the audience.While this is not a movie for the faint of heart, nor is it for the general 'popcorn crowd', it is absolutely a quintessential film experience that should be shared by those who want to grow, learn, and most importantly, understand others.
well, I've been hearing about this movie since it was out and i saw the trailer and thought it was OK, nice cast(Logan lerman and Emma Watson)but i wasn't that fascinated and one day i was checking the best 20 movies of 2012 and it was in there so i said what the hick am going to see it so i did and thank god in heavens for that because this indie weird flick is one of my favorite 10 movies of all times and right close to the top, it's deep, honest, sweetly romantic, surprising( the story and performances) crazy, fun, hopeful, mind opening , and the list will never end.
maybe you'll say am being too emotional and you'r right because it touched me on a personal level because i know how it feels to be trapped in a dark past and how we try to break free by looking for some place or someone to belong to i cried at the end because i remembered how i got here, but for anyone else this movie is going to mesmerize you for many reasons: 1) Logan and Emma's chemistry is breath-taking, Ezra miller is such a complicated funny honest deep character, and Logan lerman is so matured and darn sexy, if you hated Emma in harry potter like i did you'l completely forget that she's even British or that you'v seen her before she's mind blowing, also the colors of the movie are very warm and they just make you feel comfortable.
After sifting through all the major blockbusters that come out every year there is always a movie like "Perks of Being a Wallflower", written and directed by Pittsburgh's own Stephen Chbosky, that surpasses everyone's expectations and ends up being one of the best films of the year, despite being an independent film.
Went with a group of about 8 and the only good thing we could say about it between us was that it would make other films appear better.The story jumps from unexplained and unexpanded disaster to disaster, not dwelling or addressing any of the issues but simply providing lip service to everything that could possibly go awry in a life, in the process creating characters that you can't begin to feel any empathy for as they are simply not believable.The script writing was abysmal, I'll admit we laughed, but the tears were of pain and the laughs were awkward and well and truly AT and in pity of everyone associated with this train crash..
He was absolutely perfect, as were the scene stealing Ezra Miller as Patrick, and the absolutely beautiful Emma Watson as Sam.I've seen it twice over the weekend, and plan on seeing it many times more, especially to continually re-watch the absolutely epic and nostalgic dance scene between Watson and Miller, (You'll know what I mean when you see it.) So I recommend this to anyone who has or has not read the book, and hope that it consumes your soul like it did mine..
I also love how throughout the whole movie most of the story is told by Charlie (Logan Lerman) who writes letters anonymously to "A Friend" who doesn't exist.
After only a few minutes I was drawn in and immersed in a rich cast and story.The movie not only follows the main character through his social life, but also through his thoughts as he struggles with a problematic childhood memory which, for me, made the film.
Do you really think you could rebound from that?Charlie (played by Logan Lerman), is a quiet, introspective teenager who has recently suffered a setback, the full nature of which we're not informed of, and is about to start his freshman year of high school.
Specifically, I think the perks of being a wallflower is worth the time and money to see is because of my own personal connection to Charlie (played by Logan Lerman).
Based on the coming-of-age novel, which I haven't read, the movie follows Charlie, played by the guy from Percy Jackson, and his trials and tribulations of being a freshman in high school.
Logan Lerman, from "Percy Jackson" fame, delivers one of this year's most fantastic performances as Charlie, a shy and nervous young teen, with dreams of being a writer, while not having the greatest childhood, who's about to start his first day of high school.
The gorgeous Emma Watson is great playing the down-to-earth character of Sam, while Ezra Miller delivers stand-out comic relief as Patrick, the incredibly neurotic and charismatic step-brother to Sam. But, it's Logan Lerman who deserves a Best Actor nomination, for his performance as Charlie.
I won't be saying much about this film I just want to recommend it, I'm a film student and I'm recently writing a screenplay about people that we think they don't exist but have much to tell.the character development is pretty well made, directing, and acting are OK, even though i wasn't pleased with Emma Watson's accent, Ezra Miller proves he can be a great actor cause his character is very different from "We need to talk about Kevin", the Photography was too glossy for my taste, not a perfect choice, soundtrack is amazing.in general if you are looking for a film about characters and emotion development this is your type of movie, a comedy drama that develops quite nice, a very good effort for a second time director..
"The Perks of Being a Wallflower" brings us back to the early 1990s, telling us the story of a smart but problematic high school freshman, Charlie (Logan Lerman).
His spends his days simply avoiding everyone else, until he was accepted by seniors/half-siblings, Patrick (Ezra Miller) and Sam (Emma Watson) into their circle of oddball friends.With them, Charlie is drawn into the teen experience and actually gets to do things which up to then he had only been a viewer from the sidelines.
With Sam, Charlie experiences his first love, but of course, as films like this go, it will not be as simple as that.Logan Lerman does a redux of his role as Percy Jackson, a troubled teenager.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a movie adapted from the epistolary novel written by Stephen Chbosky about Charlie played by Logan Lerman, a teenager who lives his freshman year of high school.
At school he meets Patrick and Sam, played by Ezra Miller and Emma Watson respectively, two seniors who introduce Charlie to the 'real world'.First of all, let's start with the performances.
In reality, it is a very bleak film that teaches bad lessons about your teen life and paints a very pessimistic picture.As well as that, if I am being honest, I found Lerman very uneffective in the lead role, Charlie was a very bland character that he did not bring much to make him more intriguing, this suffered especially when Sam and Patrick are far more interesting, but we do not get to see them half as much.Has its moments, but was not for me.
I am aware many love this film, but The Perks of Being a Wallflower never made me feel too hard or laugh too much, and for that I could not recommend it.An outsider in his first year of high school finds friendship with two older students.
Charlie is a great character and acted superbly by Logan.Watch this movie.
So here was The Perks of Being a Wallflower, on PayTv. A tale of three people in High School, with the main character, Charlie battling through a long hard back story.There I was at the end of this absorbing, beautiful film in gratitude for the combined talents that brought this to the screen.Where Stephen Chbosky and his team succeed is the refreshing presumption that not everything has to be explained.
Since I was also a "coming of age" at guy at one point in my life, I could relate to "The Perks of Being A Wallflower"'s story, and even if you are older or younger, you will still feel that you are part of this movie.
Though it's the last teen movie for 2012 to be a clever one, it's impossible to look for a film like this for another year or two.Logan Lerman plays as Charlie, a young man who's pressured for his first day in high school.
On an acting standpoint, everyone played their parts perfectly, but the standouts for me were the three main characters Charlie, Sam, and Patrick, played by Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, and Ezra Miller, respectively.
The young people picked to play the main parts are all good at what they did here, but Emma Watson-previously best known as Hermione in the Harry Potter series-is really a standout as the troubled-but-determined Senior named Sam whose friendship with the lead Freshman character named Charlie (Logan Lerman) is perhaps the most touching of the relationships depicted here. |
tt0077394 | Damien: Omen II | A week after the burial of Robert and Katherine Thorn, archaeologist Carl Bugenhagen (Leo McKern) learns of the survival of their adopted son Damien. Confiding to his friend Michael Morgan (Ian Hendry) that Damien is the Antichrist, Bugenhagen attempts to convince him to give Damien's guardian a box containing the means to kill Damien. As Morgan is unconvinced, Bugenhagen takes him to some local ruins to see the mural of Yigael's Wall, which was said to have been drawn by one who saw the Devil and had visions of the Antichrist as he would appear from birth to death. Though Morgan believes him upon seeing an ancient depiction of the Antichrist with Damien's face, both he and Bugenhagen are buried alive as the tunnel collapses on them.
Seven years later, the 12-year old Damien (Jonathan Scott-Taylor) is living with his uncle, industrialist Richard Thorn (William Holden) and his wife, Ann (Lee Grant). Damien gets along well with his cousin Mark (Lucas Donat), Richard's son from his first marriage, with whom he is enrolled in a military academy. However, Damien is despised by Richard's aunt, Marion (Sylvia Sidney), who sees him as a bad influence on Mark. Though Marion threatens to cut Richard out of her will if he does not separate the two boys, she dies of a heart attack while visited by a raven in the dead of night. Soon after, through his friend and curator of the Thorn Museum, Dr. Charles Warren (Nicholas Pryor), Richard is introduced to journalist Joan Hart (Elizabeth Shephard). Hart was a colleague of Keith Jennings, the journalist decapitated seven years previously after befriending Robert Thorn to investigate the circumstances surrounding Damien's birth and adoption by the Thorns. Hart has pieced together the circumstances of Jennings' death after seeing Yigael's Wall. Though no one believes her, Joan believes she may have been mistaken about Damien until she sees his face at his school and drives off in a panic. On the road, after her car's engine mysteriously dies, Joan is attacked by the raven as it pecks out her eyes and then watches her get run over by a passing truck.
At Thorn Industries, manager Paul Buher (Robert Foxworth) suggests expanding the company's operations into agriculture; however, the project is shelved by senior manager Bill Atherton (Lew Ayres), who calls Buher's intention of buying up land in the process immoral. At Mark's birthday, Buher introduces himself to Damien, invites him to see the plant, and also speaks of his approaching initiation. Buher seemingly makes up with Atherton, who drowns after falling through the ice at a hockey game on a frozen lake the following day. A shocked Richard leaves on vacation, leaving Buher to oversee the agriculture project in principle and returning to find that he initiated land purchases on his own.
Meanwhile, at the academy, Damien's new commander, Sgt. Neff (Lance Henriksen), is revealed to be a secret Satanist like Buher as he takes the boy under his wing while advising him not to draw any attention to himself until the right moment. He also points him to the Biblical Revelation, chapter 13, telling Damien that, for him, the book is precisely that; a revelation. Damien reads the passage, discovering the 666 Mark of the Beast on his scalp. Learning his true nature he flees the Academy grounds in a terrified panic. Later, alerting Buher that he intends to tell Richard that some of the land they obtained was taken from people who were murdered after having refused to sell their land, Dr. David Pasarian (Allan Arbus) is killed when he and his assistant suffocate from toxic fumes during an industrial 'accident'. The incident injures Damien's class, who were visiting the plant at the time. When Damien alone is found to be unharmed by the fumes, a doctor (Meshach Taylor) suggests keeping him in the hospital as a precaution. The doctor discovers that Damien's marrow cells resemble that of a jackal; before he can investigate any further or report his findings, however, he is bifurcated by a falling elevator cable.
Meanwhile, Bugenhagen's box has been found during an excavation of the ruins and delivered to the Thorn Museum. Dr. Warren opens it and finds the Seven Daggers of Megiddo, the only weapons able to kill Damien, along with a letter by Bugenhagen explaining that Damien is the Antichrist. Warren rushes to inform Richard, who angrily refuses to believe it as Warren leaves to see Yigael's Wall for himself. The next day, Richard confronts Ann with the letter, but she convinces him that it is preposterous. But matters worsen when Mark, who overheard Richard's altercation with Warren, confronts Damien. Reluctantly, and then proudly, admitting to being the Devil's son, Damien pleads with Mark to join him on his rise to power. But Mark's steadfast refusal forces Damien to kill Mark by causing an aneurysm in his cousin's brain. Shaken by his son's death, Richard goes to New York City to see a half-crazed Warren before being taken to the train station where Yigael's Wall is being stored in a cargo carrier. As a horrified Richard sees Damien's image, a switching locomotive impales Charles and crushes him against the carriage, destroying the wall and convincing Richard beyond doubt that Damien is the Antichrist. Upon his return, Richard has Damien picked up from his graduation at the academy while taking Ann to the museum. When they find the daggers in Warren's office in the Thorn Museum, Ann uses them to kill Richard, revealing herself to be a Satanist who "always belonged to him". Having heard the altercation from an outside corridor, Damien wills a nearby boiler room to explode, setting fire to the building, with Ann consumed in the flames. Damien then exits the burning museum and is picked up by the family driver, Murray, as the fire department arrives. | good versus evil, violence, gothic, murder | train | wikipedia | Although not as creepy as the first film, DAMIEN: OMEN II has its moments, and is worth seeing for anyone who likes to have a fun time with all this biblical stuff..
It doesn't make him any more mysterious, it just feels incomplete.A good portion of the movie is spent with nothing much going on except for a few people dying around Damien while he just keeps on living a completely normal life unaware of who he his.
I am curious and frankly, a bit creeped out that the new Omen is being released on 06-06-2006, "666", get it?The story itself is pretty good actually, now that Damien has been under the care of his aunt and uncle, strange things are happening again.
This film was released in 1978 2 years after the first and it tells the story of Damien the Anti-Christ who is now age 12 he is starting to understand his duty in the line of Satan whilst a strange crow eliminates any people who know his real identity and are seen enemies in the eyes of Satan.
On the contrary, "Damien: The Omen II" is a rather solid companion piece to the Richard Donner original, with death scenes that are every bit as ground-breaking for their time and still shocking today (all about the crow pecking out the eyeballs) and a great cast that includes William Holden, Lee Grant and Elizabeth Shepard.
The original Omen left itself wide open for a sequel, and even though I personally don't think it particularly needed one; I have to say that this second part, to my surprise, is actually very good!
Don Taylor's sequel, of course, has nothing on Richard Donner's original; and even though the film often gets too convoluted and is more than a little bit silly, The Omen II follows on from the original nicely and is an overall worthy sequel.
Logically, the film picks up the story of Damien seven years after his father, Robert Thawn, tried to kill him under mysterious circumstances.
The film starts off with the revelation that Damien Thawn is the antichrist, and from there we follow him as he joins military school, comes under the guidance of one of Satan's disciples and violently disposes of anyone who stands a chance of discovering his real identity!
The film ends with a nice little twist, before once again leaving the series open for a sequel - which, of course, it got three years later.
The movie is a worthy sequel to "The Omen" and I warmly recommend it, but while "The Omen", after just one viewing, remains stuck in the soul and mind forever, "Damien" will entertain you well, but I doubt that it will leave a deeper impression on anyone.8/10.
This sequel to huge successful Richard Donner film centres on the rebirth of the anti-Christ personified in Damien(Jonathan Scott Taylor).
Chicago, seven years later, now the grown-up demon-child with the mark 666 and adopted by fostered parents, the magnate Thorn(William Holden, Lee Grant).He finds along with his brother in a military academy with a tutor-officer(Lance Henriksen).
Damien seem to dispatch new weird killing every few minutes of film.Sensationalistic terror pieces when happen murders, like the crow, ice lagoon(the best), train and elevator with gore and decapitations included.For those who like that kind of things to be amused.
Cool cinematography by Bill Butler(Jaws) and again impressive musical score by Jerry Goldsmith(Planet of apes) with soundtrack-alike the first part , winner a deserved Academy Award.Although redundant to original movie is a fitting rendition by director Don Taylor(previously a famed actor) who took over the film-making when Michael Hodges (screenplay's author, alongside Stanley Mann) left.
Years later, Seltzer commented that had he written the story for the second Omen, he would have set it the day after the first movie, with Damien a child living in The White House.
Years later, Seltzer commented that had he written the story for the second Omen, he would have set it the day after the first movie, with Damien a child living in The White House.
In recent interviews, Hodges has commented sanguinely on his experiences working on Omen II.Academy Award-winning veteran actor William Holden was the original choice to star as Robert Thorn in the first Omen, but turned it down as he did not want to star in a picture about the devil.
Lee Grant, another Oscar-winner, was a fan of the first Omen and accepted enthusiastically the role of female protagonist-later-turncoat Ann Thorn.Ray Berwick (1914–1990) trained and handled the crows used for several scenes in the film.
Blockbuster sequel to the 1976 smash horror hit has the anti-Christ now 13 and living with wealthy relatives beginning to understand his ungodly mission while plotting to take control of his uncles billion dollar business empire with the help of satanic minions, meanwhile anyone attempting to unravel the secrets of his sinister past meets with a chilling freak accidental death.
Has a first rate cast headed by Oscar winners William Holden and Lee Grant and they are perfect , but newcomer Jonathan Scott Taylor gives a superb performance as Damien that you think he was born to play this role.The real stars however are the spectacular death sequences which hold up to this day.Production values are solid and Jerry Goldsmith who won an Oscar for the original delivers an even more powerful and spine tingling score.
"Ave Santini" I didn't realize until recently, is translated: "Hail Satan." This is very disturbing to me as a Christian but still consider it one of the best soundtracks of all time.The production for Omen II was so well done and actually scary compared to the cheap budget movies you see today.
Damien: Omen II, perhaps unsurprisingly, doesn't have the originality of that first film but it maintains the story very well in my opinion.
Because the film is neither a beginning, nor an end to the story it allows this instalment to simply focus its attention on the macabre material in between and it's really not a bad thing.There are other interesting changes though, such as the use of the raven as the creature of the devil, I thought it was a better choice than the Rottweiler from the first movie and it was very well integrated into the story.
The acting too is more than decent with the likes of William Holden basically taking on the role Gregory Peck filled in the first movie, while Jonathan Scott-Taylor looks right as Damien, his thin features can look cold and ominous but he is never cartoonishly evil, which was a good thing.
The Omen II is the story of Damien Thorn 7 years after his father died trying to kill him..
And we cannot overlook the glorious music of Jerry Goldsmith.This was supposed to be developed with producer Harvey Bernhard's best friend Richard Donner, but he ended up getting "Superman" around this time Some of the beauty of the film is that the beginning was shot in an actual castle from the Crusades with an actual escape tunnel.
As much as I enjoyed the original Omen I saw Damien when I was basically the same age as the main character and loved the film.
While not as unrelentingly frightening as its blockbuster predecessor, this more-than-competent sequel to The Omen raises some interesting questions about the nature of free will (can the Antichrist deny his birthright?) before falling into a gory series of increasingly outlandish deaths, the best of which is a terrifyingly protracted scene beneath the ice of a frozen lake.
Was very talked-about at the time of release and the movie has stood the test of time among all the people I know.The low score could be attributed to viewers not watching as many are still freaked out by how convincing the actor that plays Damien is and the ingenuity of the deaths of the Antichrist's enemies.
Jerry Goldsmith does another fine soundtrack, albeit not with the two Oscar nominations and one win this time around, while William Holden and Lee Grant do a credible job of replacing stars Gregory Peck and Lee Remick, whom Damien had no qualms dispensing with in the first film.
It's a race against time to find if he could succeed where his brother failed.With a lot of great scenery, brightness, good acting, I actually like their voices for the era they're filming in (late 1970s) and the story as well as the music which was a strong feature of the first.
Some disregard it entirely and move straight on to 'The Final Conflict'; others adore it, sometimes even more so than Richard Donner's original film.I love it on a par with Donner's film, but I admit that, whilst he was away trying to make audiences believe that a man could fly, his presence was sorely missed.Overall, the film is a great horror sequel and an entertaining one at that.It takes the view that Damien Thorn is the Antichrist and charts his rise to power as he establishes himself further within the Thorn family, hoping to inherit a global conglomerate controlled by his adoptive uncle, Richard (William Holden).
Not all the Thorns could have been that insane or deluded!!There's a great cast here, with Holden embarking on his only horror film and leaving behind a memorable performance for posterity, whilst he is joined by the incredible Lee Grant as his wife, Ann. I saw Grant for the first time in this movie and only later discovered her performances in 'Columbo: Ransom for a Dead Man' (1971) and 'Airport '77' (1977).
It's just a shame that the planned 1979 second sequel to 'The Omen' starring Scott-Taylor didn't go ahead, as there is too much empty time in Damien's life between this and the next film!Although it was implied in the first film that he was possibly aware of his demonic lineage and that he may be adopted by the President of the United States, these are not really big things that leave you wondering "what happened here, then?" Even though William Holden/Richard Thorn wasn't in the original, who cares?
It's like Marmite -- you either love it or you don't!Naturally, to compete with 'The Omen' and David Warner's classic end in that film, there is a whole spate of memorable death sequences here that are fun and, sometimes, quite chilling as well...
Damien (Jonathan Scott-Taylor) is 12 years old is now living with his uncle Richard Thorn (William Holden), his wife (Lee Grant) and their son (Lucas Donat).
He using his demonic powers, which he kills those people who anger him or in his way.Directed by Don Taylor (Escape from the Planet of the Apes, The Final Countdown, The Island of Dr. Moreau "1977") made an entertaining sequel to the original but less effective.
to me The Omen was one of the best movies I ever saw and although I never knew it was a remake I still thought it was a pretty frightening movie and when I found out that Damien Thorn's life is still continued I was really anxious to see what will happen to him.
Although not as great as the original, this would still be refereed to me as a classic in the genre.This sequel concerns the life of a now teenage Damien Thorn (Jonathan Scott-Taylor)seven years after the events in the first film.
Instead of being high on atmosphere and creepy-ness like the first film , Omen 2 mostly relies on being suspenseful and tries to built up a bit of tension and pulls it off nicely in some areas with a good body count and some gruesome kills .
Top that off with a little bit of a twist towards the last closing seconds of the film and an ending which speaks for it-self and you have a good film that any horror movie fan would want to check out .
Damien is now a teenager living with his aunt and uncle (Lee Grant & William Holden) however after the sudden death of close family members and other various people they begin to suspect what he truly is.
Two years after "The Omen" hit big with audiences and critics alike, little Damien Thorn returned to the big screen again, this time older and more aware of his true identity.
Jonathan Scott-Taylor plays the young Damien Thorn (yet another example of an English actor required to fill evil boots), a cheeky performance that at times asks for sympathy with the devil.
*** out of *****.This has to be one of the best Omen sequels ever.A now 13-year-old(and MAJORILY hot)Damien Thorn is living with his billionaire uncle in Chicago along with his aunt and cousin,though they do send both of the boys to a military academy.
Now,it was a good movie and all and a sequel is rarely ever good,but when Damien finds the ominous birthmark he sure accepted the truth quickly,while in reality,some people might have a hard time trying to cope.
In fact I thought it was so good that there was no way the original needed a sequel and this movie proves it .
It fails for three obvious reasons 1 ) The audience know that Damien Thorn is the anti Christ hence we're one step ahead of all the characters in the movie unlike in the original where we were shocked by the plot revelations 2) This possibly ties in with the first point .
Good actors like William Holden, Lee Grant, Sylvia Sidney, Robert Foxworth and Lance Henriksen struggle through this, but most of the movie rests on Jonathan Scott-Taylor's lead performance: he's well-cast as Damien but decidedly one-note, with a monotone voice that seems mired in indifference.
It seems that young Damien (the only son of Satan played by Jonathan Scott-Taylor) is now living with his aunt and uncle (William Holden and Lee Grant) and attending military school with Holden's son of the same age.
Damien: Omen II is good by the standards of slasher films, but it could have and should have been much more..
I think this sequel was built around William Holden, explaining Thorn Industries since he is known for playing tough gentlemen( via Network.)Despite some of its faults, this film does deliver some good chills..
Damien: Omen II is set seven years after the first film, and the second film has more death scenes than the first film.
In fact, Bernhard didn't like many of the ideas for the picture, but did hire William Holden, an actor who had passed on the role of Robert Thorn from the first film (eventually played by Gregory Peck) and his "Stalag 13" co-star Don Taylor to direct (who ended up replacing first choice, Mike Hodges, the movie's screenwriter).
"Omen II" features Damien (a campy, not scary Johnathan Taylor) living with his rich uncle and aunt (William Holden and Lee Grant, both good) at their lush home in Chicago, IL.
The character of Damien as the Antichrist was much more scarier at the age of 5 than he is at 14
Still, as mentioned earlier, there are a couple of great death-scenes like who's getting sliced up in an elevator and a chilling bird-attack.
The truth is, "Damien: Omen II" should be on the Bottom 100, somewhere adjacent to "From Justin to Kelly." While Richard Donner's original film was superb and harrowing, this mindlessly bloody follow-up has a pre-teen Damien Thorn coming to terms with his demonic heritage (who died and made this movie "American Graffiti"?) and, bizarrely, absent for most of the movie, away at a military academy while a few people back home struggle to unravel the mystery of his identity.
But Taylor is so concerned with finishing the movie on schedule that he doesn't take time to wring good performances out of the actors, even the legends like William Holden (here an emotionally impotent hack) and Lew Ayres (whose role does not suit him in the slightest).
In simple terms, Damien: Omen II just isn't anywhere near as good as the 1976 Richard Donner original.
After a popular The Omen featured a spooky child and some memorable death scenes, including the possibly best decapitation ever filmed, a captivated audience wanted to know what kind of a teenager Damien, now an orphan, would become.
Passable sequel has the brother of the Gregory Peck character from the first instalment (played here by William Holden) taking custody of the young demon spawn (Scott-Taylor), his wife (Grant), son (Donat) and associates (Ayres, Sidney) all beginning to suspect there's more to Damien than just a reclusive, aloof teenager.
Oscar winners William Holden and Lee Grant bring class to their roles just like Peck and Remick did to the original but Jerry Golsmith delivers and even more chilling score that will make the hair on the back of your neck stand up and the death scenes couldn't have been better and more realistic and remember this is before cgi which if done today would probably look fake.
I thought that Damien:Omen 11 was a good sequel to the first film.
Rent all the Omen movies and get a clue...Damien is coming !.
Seven years pass, and Damien (Jonathan Scott-Taylor), currently living with his uncle, Richard Thorn (William Holden), is sent to a military school with cousin Mark.
It's 7 years later, and 12 year old Damien (Jonathan Scott-Taylor) is living with his wealthy uncle Richard Thorn (William Holden) and his wife Ann (Lee Grant).
Lacking the impact or the pure ability to frighten of the original, Damien: Omen 2 is nevertheless a good depiction of the boy's teenage years as he enters a Westpoint-like military academy.Differing from the first one in that the death toll dramatically rises -- not unusual in sequels of horror films really -- this features a magnificent cameo performance from Leo McKern in the kind of role that only he and Brian Blessed can pull off.This performance easily outweighs some bad over acting, particularly that of the second wife of Damien's uncle..
The problem with Damien is it tries too much to be like the great Omen movie. |
tt1426329 | Lovelace | In 1970, 20-year-old Linda Lovelace (Amanda Seyfried) is living with her overbearing parents in Davie, Florida. While out dancing one night with her best friend, Patsy (Juno Temple), she attracts the attention of Chuck Traynor (Peter Sarsgaard), and the two soon develop a serious relationship. He is much older than her and begins teaching her how to perform sexual acts, which she is initially thrilled about. After breaking a curfew one night, Linda is slapped by her mother (Sharon Stone), so she decides to move out and live with Chuck, later marrying him. During a party, Linda watches one of Chuck's homemade porno films for the first time and tells him that good girls like her do not do stuff like that.
Six months later, Linda bails Chuck out of jail for soliciting prostitution, which he refuses to talk about with her. Desperate for money, he later persuades Linda to become a pornographic film actress and she soon begins working on the film Deep Throat, where she first uses her stage name, Linda Lovelace. The movie becomes a huge hit, raking in over $30,000 at the box office in its first week. After it becomes a worldwide phenomenon, Linda is interviewed by a variety of print and radio reporters and becomes the subject of late night television humor, much to the disgrace of her estranged parents. Her life is seen as exciting and glamorous: she poses nude for photoshoots and attends swanky parties weekly. During a private screening in Los Angeles, Hugh Hefner (James Franco) convinces Linda that she has the potential to be more than a porn actress.
In the second version of events, Chuck's violent nature is gradually exposed and Linda's life is revealed not to be as perfect as it seems. He chokes Linda during sex and refuses to stop when she asks, claiming it to be "passion", and forces her into prostitution at gunpoint. Linda visits her parents to ask if she can move back for a while after she reveals that Chuck has been hitting her, but her mom says no, tells her to go home and be a good wife, since she must have done something to deserve his abuse. It appears that Linda no longer loves him like earlier but has no other choice. After Chuck learns that Linda has been discussing a new salary with the movie's director, Gerard Damiano (Hank Azaria) without telling him, he punishes her by making her shower in freezing water.
When Deep Throat becomes a hit, Chuck tries to persuade Linda to do another porn film but she refuses. He then takes her to a party and forces Linda to participate in a gang bang at a hotel, again at gunpoint, for the money instead. She attempts to escape from him that night but he catches her and ends up sleeping on top of her so she cannot try again during the night. The following day, she secretly meets up with Anthony Romano (Chris Noth) and tells him she wants out of the porno business, revealing the facial bruises and cuts inflicted by Chuck. Disgusted, Romano has her checked into a private hotel while he and his bodyguards whip Traynor for abusing Linda and for the $25,000 he owes.
Six years later, following her divorce to Chuck, Linda marries Larry Marchiano, moves to Long Island and has a son by him. She later takes a polygraph test before publishing her autobiography Ordeal, which details years of Chuck physically and sexually abusing her, as well as taking all of her earnings. Linda appears on Donahue, with her distraught parents breaking down in tears while watching her on TV. A few days later, the Marchianos travel to Florida for Linda to reconcile with her parents.
Closing captions reveal that while Deep Throat made over $600 million worldwide, Linda only earned $1,250 because Chuck controlled the money like he controlled everything. Ordeal went on to sell out three printings and, for 20 years, Linda spoke out against pornography and domestic violence. Chuck later went on to marry Marilyn Chambers, another porn actress. Linda died at age 53 from injuries sustained in a car accident in 2002 and Traynor suffered a fatal heart attack three months later. | flashback, violence, pornographic, home movie | train | wikipedia | However, the primary faults of "Lovelace" lie not in what they left out, but in a questionable storytelling structure where the filmmakers obviously tried to be too clever in their narrative.Basically, the first half of the film chronicles a 21-year-old, naive Linda Boreman (Amanda Seyfried) who lives with her strict, Catholic parents (Robert Patrick and a shockingly deglamorized, unrecognizable Sharon Stone) in Florida.
Eventually, Traynor coerces her into performing sexual acts on complete strangers for money before taking her to audition for pornographic movies.From here, the film chronicles the making of the notorious "Deep Throat", the rise of Linda Lovelace, and does more than hint at the unexpected cultural impact the film creates.Halfway through, the film makes the mistake of jumping ahead six years later (I guess circa 1980), and showing a visibly disheveled Linda taking a lie detector test administered by a publisher (Eric Roberts) in order to assess the validity of her marital abuse claims in her new autobiography, "Ordeal".
Seyfried, whom we know better as ingénues in musical films like "Mamma Mia" and "Les Miserables," how could she pull this daring stunt off?"Lovelace" tells of how young and pretty Linda Boreman, from a strict Catholic family, unlikely met and married a sleazy guy named Chuck Traynor.
First, she goes along with Chuck's wild idea to make a her a porn actress, exploiting a certain extraordinary talent of hers which would be the central theme of a little porn flick entitled "Deep Throat." She actually enjoyed the heady success of this stardom as Linda Lovelace, for a while at least.In a sudden change of pace, the second half of the movie showed how Linda was abused by her husband, physically, mentally, sexually, financially.
But he looked like a creep even in that scene where he first met with Linda's parents (portrayed by Robert Patrick and a completely unrecognizable Sharon Stone.)I think the main problem of the film was in its story telling.
An impressive cast lending their talents to a fascinating story, Lovelace brings Amanda Seyfried, Peter Sarsgaard, Sharon Stone, Robert Patrick, Chris Noth, Adam Brody, James Franco and Eric Roberts together to portray characters in the life of Linda Lovelace, a one-shot porn actress that made headlines back in 1972 as star of the blue movie, Deep Throat.Amanda Seyfried plays Linda, a shy and fairly innocent young girl who falls for Chuck (Peter Sarsgaard) , a mostly manipulative manager/pimp that eventually becomes Linda's husband.
Chuck woos the younger Linda using his charm and the alluring freedom of his adult lifestyle to eventually bring Linda to a point where she moves out of her home.The inexperienced Linda is comfortable enough to have Chuck film her giving him oral pleasure and Chuck takes his Super 8 home movie to Butchie Peraino and Gerry Damiano (Bobby Cannavale and Hank Azaria) who are so enthralled with Linda's oral sex talents that they immediately get producer Anthony Romano to provide the funds to make a film that will eventually become Deep Throat.We get a few topless scenes of Seyfried emulating the famous porn star of the era and enjoying her fame until everything falls like a house of cards due to Chucks violent manner and his insistence that Linda have sex with multiple partners for the purposes of his own financial gain and notoriety.The film takes us beyond the filming of Deep Throat and we watch as Linda copes with how the film put a strain on the relationship with her parents and through her book deal and talk show circuit appearances where she vehemently denounced pornography.Laden with a talented cast, Lovelace fails to either have audiences find fault or fall in love with our title character.
The first film is a rather light 70s set piece about the porn business very reminiscent of the film Boogie Nights, with great performances by Mama Mia's Amanda Seyfried (holding her own even though she is much too pretty to play Linda Lovelace) as well as Peter Sarsgaard as her creepy husband who has no qualms about prostituting his wife out for a buck.
Expecting to see something that resembled more of a Linda Lovelace biopic, I must admit that I was a bit disappointed to find out that "Lovelace" only examines a small portion of her life and the abusive relationship with her husband during the making of 1972's "Deep Throat" (arguably the most popular adult film of all time).
But as I started watching this, my disappointment only grew as I witnessed what directors Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman had done with this material (material which had such dark dramatic potential) utterly mangling the construction of the story and, to add insult to injury, transforming this film into nothing more than a by-the-numbers, woman empowerment, Lifetime channel movie of the week
with nudity.Not saying that Amanda Seyfried (who plays Linda Lovelace) and Peter Sarsgaard (who plays her husband, Chuck) don't do their best with the material given.
And with the help of some excellent supporting work from the likes of Sharon Stone, who is almost unrecognizable as Linda's mother and Bobby Cannavale who plays a producer, the acting is the best part of this movie.OK, so yes, James Franco is laughable as young Hugh Hefner, but the real black eye on the face of "Lovelace" has to be Epstein and Friedman's direction.The following is a rundown of how Epstein and Friedman nearly single handedly ruined this movie; act by act: Act One: Cramming an insane amount of old television footage down our throats with the sole purpose of making sure we (the audience) realize that this movie is set in the 70's, the first 40 minutes of "Lovelace" tells the story of how Linda and Chuck meet, fall in love and how Chuck introduces Linda into the world of porn.
Andy Bellin wrote the screenplay for this biopic-type film directed by both Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman which relates the life of Linda Lovelace, known as the queen of adult porn for her controversial role in the 1972 film DEEP THROAT and the writer of the confessional book ORDEAL which gave the public the 'real story' behind the girl who was Lovelace before she died in 2002 - the girl who is used and abused by the porn industry at the behest of her coercive husband, before taking control of her life.
The film is basically divided into two parts - the fantastical story of a freckled face 'innocent' girl of strict upbringing who rises to fame by being the first porn star to perform fellatio on the screen and gained fame and stardom, and the second part of how this naïve girl was the victim of the abusive husband and porn industry until she gained the courage to marry and have a family and step out of the spotlight of her fame in Deep Throat.And the manner in which the two views on the same girl are interconnected in the film is the strong point of the movie: the technique of show 'reality' while simultaneously depicting 'fiction' works well.
The cast is strong: Amanda Seyfried does a star turn as Linda Lovelace (aka Linda Susan Boreman aka Mrs. Larry Marchiano) though much of Lovelace's life is omitted (her liver transplant, her messy divorces, her other films, etc); Peter Sarsgaard is excellent as the smarmy drug-addled Chuck Traynor, the man who convinced Lovelace to enter porn; Sharon Stone and Robert Patrick as her rigid parents; Juno Temple in the thankless role as Lovelace's only friend Patsy; and the porn guys - Chris Noth, Bobby Cannavale, Hank Azaria, Adam Brody as the well-endowed Harry Reems (though that of course is never filmed), Chloë Sevigny as a Feminist Journalist, James Franco as Hugh Hefner, fellow porn star Dolly as portrayed well by Debi Mazar, Wes Bentley, Eric Roberts, and Ron Pritchard as Sammy Davis Jr.!
The makers of this film may have gone a bit too far in portraying Linda Boreman/Lovelace as a completely innocent girl-next-door who just happened to fall in with the wrong guy and his crowd, but I can see how that was hard to avoid.Considering the subject matter, there is very little graphic sex/nudity, and it was obviously wise to avoid making an admonitory bio-drama about a porn star into a porno film in its own right..
I wanted to watch the original 2005 documentary Inside Deep Throat which delved behind the porn sensation but unfortunately I couldn't find it anywhere.I was glad when I heard about a biopic on Linda Lovelace played by one of my fav, Amanda Seyfried.
An ensemble cast of James Franco, Sharon Stone, Robert Patrick, Juno Temple, Chloe Sevigny, Wes Bentley upped the ante intriguing me.More than a biopic, Lovelace felt more like a commercial movie made to cash in on less drama and more on the concept of Deep Throat with some nudity thrown in.
Lovelace does handle marital abuse issues well, you do get to see how Linda was abused, verbally, beaten and f**cked to do her husbands bidding ending in porn and even prostitution and how Sasgard's initially charming Chuck turned into monster in the second act.Amanda Seyfried seemed to me like the wrong choice and was less like her real life counterpart but nonetheless gorgeous.
The film also depicts Linda's personal life and the abuse by Traynor that she went through and her courage to speak out against spousal abuse and the porn industry.I admit I have never seen Deep Throat and not very familiar with Lovelace's story.
"Inspired by" the lurid true story of Linda Lovelace (Marchiano-Traynor-Boreman), this is a rather sanitized portrait of the "Deep Throat" actress, whose appearance in the 1972 pornographic blockbuster made her a household name and movie-industry punchline.
Her endless self-victimizing tales, such as her porn shoots being filmed with a gun LITERALLY pressed to her head(!), and her becoming the most famous porn star in the world only out of fear that her family might be murdered(?), run contrary to the reports of almost everyone else she worked with, who considered this woman - who'd previously had sex with a dog on camera (oh yes, THAT wasn't mentioned in the film, was it?)- to be an inveterate liar and a 'sexual super-freak'.In her private life too, every time any of her apparently happy marriages ended, she played the victim all over again and alleged abuse from pretty much every man she was ever involved with right up until the end of her life - including Larry Marchiano, her 'happy ending' at the end of this film.Lovelace was a very sad character wanting more than anything approval, sympathy and attention and apparently just said whatever she thought a 'good girl' should say in whatever circles she moved.
As her fellow adult actress Gloria Leonard said, "This was a woman who never took responsibility for her own choices made, but instead blamed everything that happened to her in her life on porn." The story of her need to present herself in such a way, why she did it and the fall-out such behaviour caused to everyone else around her would have made a far better film.I liked the 70s period detail, and there are some funny lines from Boardwalk Empire's Bobby Cannavale and Hank Azaria, but they're way out of place in such an oppressive, lurid nightmare fantasy depicting all the Boogie Nights-style shenanigans as simply abuse.
Sharon Stone gives an Oscar worthy role as Lovelace's mother, Amanda Seyfried delivers a strong central performance as the most famous porn star in history and Peter Sarsgaard plays the abusive maniac husband/pimp Chuck Traynor.
The story of Linda Lovelace, who is used and abused by the porn industry at the behest of her coercive husband, before taking control of her life.The movie is simply awful and why it was made is beyond me.Lovelace was an unattractive trailer park chick who happened to be at the right place and right time with a trick of the throat that today every porn star does.And why the trick is a claim to fame since it hurts guys when its down, is fantasy and not reality.
That's where we meet Chuck, who seems like an okay guy at first, but Linda's relationship with him only brings on more problems for her as he thrusts her into the porn industry, starring in a movie called Deep Throat.
It feels like a documentary, a bad one sometimes, not being able to send enough emotion towards the female protagonist, even when she was in deep pain.It's good if you want a graphic representation of Linda Lovelace's life and career, but as a movie, it's a bit of a letdown, for me at least, although I enjoyed Amanda's performance..
Before watching this movie I'd never seen "Deep Throat" (still haven't) and yet even though I didn't really know what the real Linda actually looked like, when I recognized Amanda Seyfried as the lead/title actress, I went huh?As so many other reviewers have stated, Amanda is way too pretty and innocent looking for the role.
For this reason, possibly the story focuses more on the emotional aspects of the trauma Linda Lovelace faced through her relationship with Chuck Traynor and dealing with the realities of becoming so famous for something as dubious as appearing in "Deep Throat." Had they used a different actress with harder edges, like Lindsay Lohan, the movie may have veered toward the grittier aspects of the 70s porn industry, but with Amanda Seyfried in the role the producers managed to make even a scene showing the filming of one of the "Deep Throat" scenes seem sanitized, in other words, "Lifetimed- up." Sharon Stone appears, unrecognize-ably as a brunette in the role of Linda's mother.
Chuck would beat Linda all the time they'd have sex, because he was a sadist and this was the only way he could do it, they sugarcoated their relationship so much in this movie it was really better if it didn't exist.I think the real Linda Lovelace doesn't deserve to have her story twisted that much just so the public gets sad about what happened to her because they don't know even half of the things she went through.
Becoming a celebrity for her Deep Throat porn films where she starred as Linda Lovelace, she became known for that alone, even if she actually spent only 17 days in the pornographic industry.So, if you wanted to see Amanda Seyfried naked and doing the nasty, you're out of luck.
'Lovelace' is about the 'first' scripted pornography film, aka 'Deep Throat,' which was made in 1972 and follows the story of the star Linda 'Lovelace.' It's actually more based on her book, 'Ordeal,' the title of which tells you more what this movie is about.If you watched 'Boogie Nights' and enjoyed the light-hearted look at the 'adult entertainment' industry and are hoping for something similar, then you may be in for a shock.Linda falls for a charming guy who, at first, is her knight in shining armour.
To understand better this movie is proper to see the original Deep Throat from 1972 and the documentary from 2005 Inside Deep Throat.This is a modern adaptation of the '72 picture and shows the hard life of Linda Lovelace from the moment when she meets her husband Chuck who will became her manager and proves to be very mean and authoritative with her in the moment when he discovers that she might be a good actress in the adult industry and she can bring him a lot of cash and fame.
The parent of Linda played by Sharon Stone and Robert Patrick gave some extraordinary acting, sadly the rest of the cast feel flat in there performance.The Story is simple as well as the shooting something that really fit to the move, But I think that if directors Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman have taken another approach to the story focusing more on Linda Lovelace and less on the before and after deep throat the movie would have been much more than what it really is..
That is enough to make this film worth watching.They went all out on the stars for the film: Amanda Seyfried as Linda, Peter Sarsgaard as Chuck, the husband who used her, Sharon Stone, Robert Patrick, Chris Noth, Hank Azaria, Chloë Sevigny, James Franco, and a lot of cameos that make it seem like a documentary.One is amazed at her naiveté.
Lovelace Before pornography was peddled to women as shoddily written Twilight fan-fiction, it was shown to men on 16mm film.Either way, as this biography proves, both were profitable.Straight-laced Linda Boreman (Amanda Seyfried) and her girlfriend (Juno Temple) take a go-go dancing gig at a roller rink.On stage, Linda attracts the attention of Chuck Traynor (Peter Sarsgaard) who goads her into introducing him to her parents (Sharon Stone, Robert Patrick), confident they will approve of him.Chuck's charm does its work, and soon enough they're married.Impressed with her oral skills, Chuck lands Linda the lead in a porno titled Deep Throat.A mainstream success, Linda's life is commandeered by Chuck and navigated into a world of forced prostitution and physical abuse.Erupting with cameos, this stylistic take on Linda's sad sex-life is well acted, cleverly directed and brutally detailed.Furthermore, who wants to watch a porno about Watergate?
The documentary "Inside Deep Throat" actually was more in-depth and meaningful in it's story telling than "Lovelace" is, and that's pretty sad.In the end, I did learn more about Linda Lovelace than I had known before this film but I had to endure too many gratuitous sex scenes to make it worth the while.Amanda Seyfried did turn in a wonderful performance while Peter Sarsgaard came across far too cheesy to be taken seriously but then again that can be said for every role he's ever played.
Amazing biopic with Amanda Seyfried as Linda Lovelace the world's first porn star with a great cast, noticeable performances from Peter Sarsgaard and Sharon Stone but a really well made extraordinary film really gives an insight into her relationships and abuse she had to suffer the whole film deals with the taboo of porn. |
tt1986953 | Storage 24 | A military aircraft crashes into central London, releasing its highly classified contents. Following the crash, a malfunction at the Storage 24 facility causes the security shutters to lock, trapping several people inside: Charlie, his best friend Mark, Charlie's ex-girlfriend Shelley, her best friend Nikki, Nikki's boyfriend Chris, the building receptionist, Jake and a maintenance engineer, Bob. Charlie arrives at the facility with Mark shortly after the incident. However, since the facility’s power is intermittently failing and everyone else is forced back together when they realise they cannot leave the building.
Meanwhile, Bob (the electrician) and Jake (the receptionist) are attempting to unlock the shutters by checking the electrical distribution boards in the basement. Bob is attacked and mysteriously killed. Jake flees and hides in an open storage room. Chris chances on him and witnesses him being killed by an alien creature.
Looking around, Charlie, Mark, Shelley and Nikki come across Chris huddled in the room, in shock, with blood dripping onto his face from above. From this, they locate Jake’s shredded remains above the ceiling panels. As Nikki runs from the room, a middle-aged man grabs her, threatening her with an electric toothbrush. They stun him and tie him up, believing he is the murderer. When he comes to, they learn he is merely an eccentric resident of a nearby storage unit, hiding from his wife. When Chris recovers they learn that a deadly creature of some kind is on the loose, and they are not safe.
Together, they hide themselves in one of the storage rooms as the creature lurks outside. However, Chris runs; the creature catches him and rips out his heart. Then the group decides to stay in the unit rented by the man, David, because it is lockable from the inside. David helps them to piece together what must have happened, by showing them the news channels on a collection of televisions he has acquired. Their only hope is to escape from the facility, and to do that they will need the engineer’s equipment in the basement. Before they venture there, they decide to use the ventilation ducts in order to search other units for weapons.
Mark and Charlie search several units, but find only a knife, a crowbar, and some fireworks. As they return, the creature breaks through the duct inches from Charlie and Mark abandons him. Mark returns to the group and distributes the weapons, telling them that Charlie is dead.
Charlie has somehow escaped the creature, and stumbles into the group; there is a slightly awkward reunion. Heading for the basement, they are confronted by the creature, and David sacrifices himself to give the others time to escape. They split into pairs to search the basement. Charlie and Nikki find the electronic keypad controlling the shutters near Bob's mutilated body. When they return, Mark is alone. He tells them Shelley has been taken by the creature and they must leave immediately. Charlie insists on a rescue attempt and doubles back with Nikki.
In a corridor nearby, Shelley is held captive by the creature. As it prepares to kill her, she stabs it with the knife and runs, but is cornered in a lift. Charlie and Nikki send a walking toy dog rigged with lit fireworks down the hallway. The fireworks explode, allowing Shelley to escape to Charlie.
Believing the creature dead, they run to Reception only to find Mark has barred its door with the crowbar. They plead with him; he stares distractedly, leaving them trapped. Charlie kicks the door open, and tries to open the shutters with the keypad. Just then the creature breaks through the wall behind Mark, and kills him. With Nikki’s aid, Charlie kills the creature by thrusting the crowbar through its abdomen.
Charlie finally releases the security shutters, and the trio emerge into the street. Shelley apologises and Charlie accepts the break-up. They go their separate ways. London is ablaze, under heavy attack from alien spaceships. The film ends abruptly. | violence | train | wikipedia | But that said, you have to have some standards and a point when you stand up and say it's just not good enough to blame costs and accept poorness because of a willingness to be indie cool.Storage 24 is a bad film, yes there is a good portion of gore for those inclined, the creature design is decent and the inner conflict in the group (boy/girl romantic triangle trouble wouldn't you know) at least keeps character interest from sinking to the depths of us not caring right away.
Acting is poor, except maybe Ned Dennehy, who is playing a bonkers hermit smelly bloke and enjoys himself, and Noel Clarke as the hero in waiting dude scurrying around trying to save the day.Clarke also produces, while Johannes Roberts directs, Clarke (Adulthood/Kidulthood) is much better than this, as is Roberts (F), but the pair are just saying we have watched Super 8 and Alien and feel like turning one out ourselves.
It's the inconsistencies that coupled with the standard formula make Storage 24 a weak film that's difficult to recommend to anyone but the type of horror fan that keeps watching all those Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday 13th sequels...and loving them.
what are you REALLY expecting here people...?This is clearly a very low budget, Retro Horror film that for what they had to work with and the simple setting, I truly felt that they did a great job with it!
Sure, none of these guys are gonna win any awards (well, except the two women, who are likely gonna tie for 1st place for the Most GAWDawful, BUTT Ugliest Mouth Oscar) Seriously though, no big deal, but considering the PAINFULLY bloody Horrible (in the wrong way) acting we usually see in low budget Horror movies like this one with TRULY awful, clichéd characters who we cannot wait to see die, these guys did just fine.The story is really only limited by the simplicity of the narrow setup, but I really feel that the director still got a HELL of a lot out of it.So, if you like simple but effective Monster Horror, you should enjoy this one just fine.
After a plane crash in central London, a group in a storage containment facility find themselves trapped inside with the vicious alien creature released during the crash and must try to fight if off in order to get out alive.This turned out to be a rather decent enough creature feature.
One of the more enduring elements to this one is the fact that there's a refreshing simplicity to how it plays out, as the film's basically a one-note plot that really goes on through the notes quite efficiently and effectively to where it becomes routine more than anything about what goes on It consistently turns into confrontation, escape, confrontation, escape which is plenty of fun due to the tight, cramped location to work with the rather convoluted layout of the area and the continuous encounters where the creature chases them through heating ducts, storage units and throughout the building itself that the scenes make for a rather creepy and exciting set of action.
The fact that the alien creature here is quite imposing is where it really helps score a little extra as well because the otherworldly appearance, as the spiked mouth, tentacled fingers and humanoid body create a powerful enough figure without seeing too much of it to lessen it's visual appeal as the creature really helps generate a lot of good marks during the film as the repetitive, action-packed nature of the film results in a creepy monster stalking and attacking people trapped in a creepy location, only to escape and run into it later on so there's a sense of familiarity to this as it goes on which can lower this somewhat.
As well, the film's blatant disregard for information-revealing is a bit of a problem as it tends to keep so many ideas and plot-points completely unknown to the viewer about the alien creature, what happened to it and the fates of several characters, and about the only plot-point to this that doesn't work is the long build-up here that results in some painful amount of time not going anywhere due to the aggravation of the animosity towards each other.
Storage 24 tries so hard to be Alien for this generation, but sadly fails on pretty much every level except this film does have a pretty cool monster.This may fail in trying to be alien, but i would not say this is a terrible movie.
There are a couple good things along the way including an interesting looking monster but sadly the film is just way too boring to make it worth sitting through.
People are coming to see a monster movie so I'm really not sure why they spent so much time on a boring subplot and especially since you have a great looking monster.
I'm a great fan of sci fi movies, most of the ones released recently are either budget movies with horrible scripts, or actors or animation/cgi or a combination of any of the three.For Storage 24 the acting was great ( what did you expect when it had Noel Clark?
the plot was good but not as nicely executed as I wish it would have been.Jeremy Clarke from The Guardian said "Johannes Roberts' warehouse-set monster flick is unexpectedly entertaining" and Kim Newman from Empire called it "a superior British horror sci-fi." I suppose that means I missed something.
The plot: A few people get trapped in a warehouse after a military plane goes down.Storage 24 is a low budget, generic Alien clone.
I have to wonder if they realized they were making a bad movie, then decided to just add a bunch of silly scenes, like actors feeling up mannequins and playing with toys.
STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday MorningAn alien spaceship crash lands in London, during which best mates Charlie (Noel Clarke) and Mark (Colin O' Donoghue) find themselves trapped in the titular holding bay.
Meanwhile, the group find themselves being stalked by something that was on the crash landed plane, a military experiment gone terribly wrong.It would have been nice for the British Film Industry to have a decent sci-fi/horror flick of it's own on it's hands, especially with a hot, still relatively new talent like Clarke in the lead, so in that respect Storage 24 is certainly ambitious in it's scope.
I watched this a couple years ago, and I was fairly disappointed then.I thought the reason I didn't like it could've been a bit because the story was so simple "a group of people trapped in a storage room with a blood-thirsty alien/monster" and that was really all it was.So I decided to give it another chance expecting to like it a little more now since I knew what I was going in for this time around, but no, it was even worse the second-time around, borderline unwatchable and I really struggled not to hit the fast-forward button but somehow I managed not to.And it's definitely not an experience I want to have for a third going so this shall be 'fingers crossed' the second and last time I watch it.The only semi-saving grace about the movie is Noel Clarke, but not even he can kick life in a dead horse so to speak.The monster is not particularly scary-looking either...
Noel Clark wrote and stars in this movie about a group of people stuck in a storage facility with an alien type creature.
There's nothing to set up the premise except that Storage 224 is somewhere on the outskirts, and a plane has crashed in the city cutting off power.Cue the ominous music.Once we get all the characters introduced and the dialogue out of the way, what action there is starts and it consists mostly of crawling through ducts into various units.
It's well acted after the required introduction of the characters is done, and there are some familiar faces...Noel Clarke, who stars and produced, was in some Dr. Who seasons, Colin O'Donoghue has played "Captain Hook" on Once Upon a Time for several seasons.This is an enjoyable film which won't give you nightmares but might evoke a few discussions about some of the characters and scenes.
The plot here is lame and unoriginal, the monster/alien is largely an actual practical effect, not a badly formed CGI creature, but it's on screen far too little, as way too much of the focus is on the dull characters and their TV soap likened side-plot.
The storage unit gives it a claustrophobic atmosphere and reminiscent of films like Alien where you know that the group are being watched, stalked and will slowly die one by one.
A low budget British monster movie written by and starring Noel Clarke, STORAGE 24 suffers from a distinct lack of originality in the screenplay.
The opening of the film is a mere riff on SUPER 8 (except with the cargo being transported by plane rather than train) while the rest of it copies both ALIEN and ALIENS to various effect, as a group are stalked and murdered by a hideous creature within a storage facility.This B-movie was shot by Johannes Roberts, who previously made the marginally more entertaining ROADKILL.
He brings that film's Ned Dennehy with him, with the actor once again playing a weirdo who happens to be the movie's most interesting character.
Noel Clarke brings a certain charisma to his part here, but his script is definitely sub-standard and seems to have been scribbled out in a hurry.STORAGE 24 does have stuff going for it here and there; the design of the creature seems to have been inspired by Cronenberg's THE FLY and looks pretty cool, and the gore effects are adequate.
Nothing about any of the characters make you feel like you are rooting for them at all and some of the movie you hope something happens or that film is about to end.
i have seen lot of crap movies, like one of the other reviews, its crappier version of skyfall, from beginning to end its just boooooring, stupid and crap.its one of the worst movie I've ever watched acting is poor digital effect, what effect, just a little special effect: uglies and cheapest alien I've ever seen in a film location is boring the film goes with unnecessary conversations, as it feels like directer just trying to fill the film, could have been better if it was short film the ending is even more stupid, its a disaster i prefer watching my laptops wallpaper than watching this film when you watch this film you'll think sky fall was a great film, what can i say more its the worst of the worst of the worst.
The story goes like this, these people go into Storage 24 to check on their stuff, but then all of sudden a plane crash happens, and they're wondering what's going on, when all of sudden some kind of alien creature starts attacking these people in Storage 24, and by the way in this movie, there is a building called "Storage 24," well that sounds stupid, but overall this movie is a little cliché, and most of it is really entertaining to watch, so if you want to watch a fun creature film, this is the film for you..
It is Mildly Entertaining but Lacks Anything New. The Monster is a Respectable Reptilian Alien Clone with Razor Claws for the Obligatory Slasher/Gore Scenes and a Face/Jaw that Defies Description, Suffice to Say it is a Mish Mash of Polywash.The Acting is Acceptable and the Writing Less So. The Film Seems Tired, or Worn Out, or Maybe it Knows that it is Retreading Retreads and its going to Fall Apart at Any Minute.
Though no real government agent or military personnel are ever really anywhere -- it is clear that precious (dangerous) cargo was on the plane, and is now loose in London; at a storage facility, Storage 24 to be exact.Aside from an alien creature that begins to crush and eat people immediately, there is one other story line.
While the actual effects used to create the creature escaped from the crashed plane are pretty good -- the rest of the movie -- when all of the "action" starts .
One-man British film industry Noel Clarke comes up with the idea, produces and stars in a low budget horror suspense offering which ends up looking as if it cost more than it actually did.
Take the escaped ALF (Alien Life Form) from military custody ploy, a la Super 8, toss in a Saw-esque maze of a storage facility, add the usual trapped victims, the hero, the coward, etc., and add a creature that looks like a cross between the xenomorphs from the Alien movies, and the insectoid aliens from District 9, and there you have it.
I realize that there isn't a whole lot of wiggle room left in this genre, as pretty much every scenario that one might come up with has been used a few dozen times over, albeit in different ways, but Storage 24 doesn't even try to add any new elements or takes on any of those themes or plot devices.
A plane crashes in London, and the cargo ends up in a storage warehouse, and it just happens that Noel Clarke has just split up from his girlfriend, who is sorting out her stuff from his stuff, and then there is the confrontation between them at the titular place.While all the while there is an alien stalking the corridors, killing all the Brit bit part actors you recognise from other films.
Basically he's not playing the same character like he usually does, ala Kidulthood.It's clear from the upstart who will survive and who will die, and when the little twist arrives at the beginning of the third act, some characters should just sign a death warrant.You have the best friend who stabs you I the back, and then thinks about saving his own bacon, the obnoxious friend who is just rude, the random nutter who lives in the warehouse, and of course, the nobody who works there.All fodder for the alien, but the character arcs really take the tension away from the film.But like I've said, its a fun little low budget British movie, that never outstays its welcome, and looks good..
The story of the movie is rather simple and had some plot holes, the end was really refreshing and the CGI/Monster Make-up people did a good job.
I think keeping in mind the budget and that it is a B Grade movie is important.I actually really enjoyed most of the characters, they were acted well, and written well enough, although the direction could have had a little more involvement in making them more like- able/hate-able, and interesting dialog was VERY limited.
I know thats totally cliché, but I felt like it would have given some brute force to the movie; someone who would have had the balls to face it and attempt to fight.The special effects, both practical and CGI, were done very well, and the creature itself was great, at no point did they have to flash it past or hide it in the dark to mask crappy effects.They needed more scenes like when the creature puts its finger through the air circulation vents, it reminded me more of Alien, i know I shouldn't compare the two, but that scene had a little more suspense than the rest of the movie, it's scenes like that that make you think about what you would do in that situation.I suppose people who work on films like these have great imaginations, but unfortunately the end result is quite often terrible because they cannot execute their good intentions.
The guy that played the old dude living there to escape his wife had some great presence and was probably my favourite character, so I wish he had been given a chance to put up a bit more of a fight, he deserved to kick some alien butt.Overall, not a terrible movie at all, and the ending wrapped things up well enough.RATED: 7/10 - this is rated against the genre and the pool of similar style and budget films, not against higher class films like Alien or The Godfather :) What it did for me was worth the 7Cheers!.
This movie is basically about an Alien that landed on their planet and this group of people get trapped in this big building and they can't find a way out and for most of the film they are just wandering around the building talking and we find out the Alien is in the building with them and he starts to kill of each of the characters one by one.
and that's probably what made the movie seem so dull and boring,the fact that they are in one location.the people get trapped in the storage unit and the creature looks for them and the characters are hiding in all these rooms for most of the film and the creature is trying to knock all the doors down to get inside to them.
The film stars Noel Clark, Colin O'Donoghue, Antonia Campbell-Hughes, Laura Haddock and Jamie Thomas King who play young Londoners who deal with relationship complications while meeting at a local storage yard as one couple deals with a break-up as their best friends give support.
The cast is as good as you can for a film of this genre, Clarke does well cast against type, you can tell this is a bit low budget, only the special effects to make the alien add the needed moments of tension, most of the film relies on reactions and slow footsteps to outrun the creature, and there are the small gory moments to make scary movie fans happy, it does feel a good old fashioned B-movie of sorts, a worthwhile science fiction horror. |
tt0082766 | Mommie Dearest | Joan Crawford (Faye Dunaway) is a driven actress and compulsively clean housekeeper who tries to control the lives of those around her as tightly as she controls herself. To prepare for a work day at MGM Studios, she rises at 4:00 a.m. and engages in a strict morning ritual: scrubbing her face and arms with soap and boiling hot water, then plunging her face into a bowl of rubbing alcohol and ice to close the pores. When Helga (Alice Nunn), a new maid, thinks she has Joan's living room in spotless condition, Joan finds one minor detail that she overlooked and loses her temper.
Joan is in a relationship with Hollywood lawyer Gregg Savitt (Steve Forrest), but her career is in a bit of a downswing. Despite desperately wanting a baby, she is unable to get pregnant: seven pregnancies when she was married to actor Franchot Tone have all ended in miscarriages. When she is denied an application for adoption, she enlists Gregg's help to secure a baby. Joan adopts a girl whom she names Christina (Mara Hobel), and later a boy, Christopher (Jeremy Scott Reinholt). Joan sometimes lavishes Christina with attention and luxuries such as an extravagant birthday party, but also enforces a very stern code of denial and discipline. When Christina is showered with gifts, Joan allows her to choose only one she likes best that she can keep, then donates the rest to charity.
As Christina rebels against her mother, confrontations ensue. Joan overtakes Christina in a swimming-pool race and laughs at the child. Joan becomes enraged when Christina reacts with anger and locks her in the pool house. Later, Joan discovers Christina wearing her makeup and imitating her. Even though Christina openly denies it and despite her protests, Joan - thinking that Christina is making fun of her, always rummaging through her drawers, trying to find a way to make people look at her, and always looking at herself in the mirror - hysterically cuts off chunks of Christina's hair to humiliate her.
Joan resents Gregg's allegiance to studio boss Louis B. Mayer (Howard Da Silva) and argues with Gregg after a dinner at Perino's restaurant. Joan guzzles down glasses of vodka and throws a drink in Gregg's face after he tells her she is getting old. A physical altercation ensues and Gregg breaks up with Joan. The next day, Joan cuts Gregg out of the family photos. Joan's tantrums grow more bizarre and violent; when Mayer forces Joan to leave MGM after theater owners brand her "box office poison", she hacks down her prize rose garden with a pair of large gardening shears and an axe.
On another occasion, Joan, her face slathered in cold cream, goes into Christina's bedroom in the middle of the night, meaning to return a dress to her closet, but discovers one of Christina's dresses hanging on a wire hanger. Enraged, she screams at the girl, waking her up in horror, then yanks dresses from Christina's closet, throwing them all over the girl's room and beating her with the hanger. Afterwards, Joan wrecks the bathroom as well. Believing the perfectly clean floor is still dirty, Joan throws cleaning powder all over the bathroom before striking Christina across the back with the can of cleanser and then screams at her to clean it up. Christopher offers to help but Christina tells him to return to his own bed as she fears Joan will kill her if she finds out.
Later, Joan sends Christina to the Chadwick School. Years later, when a teenage Christina (Diana Scarwid) is caught in a compromising position with a boy, Joan brings her home. Barbara Bennett (Jocelyn Brando), a reporter from Redbook magazine, is writing a puff piece on Joan's home life. After Joan lies about Christina being expelled from Chadwick, Christina confronts her in front of the reporter. In the ensuing argument, Joan slaps Christina twice across the face. Christina questions her mother as to why she was adopted, and Joan confesses that it was partially a publicity stunt, but then says that she did not really mean it. After the outraged Christina yells, "I am not one of your fans!" Joan throws her to the floor, then throttles Christina, who pleads with her to stop. Joan's live-in assistant and the reporter pull her away.
Joan sends Christina to Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy; under the academy's strict rules, Christina can have no contact with the outside world. Joan then marries Alfred Steele (Harry Goz), CEO of Pepsi Cola, moves to New York City and pressures him to shoulder a great deal of debt to fund their lavish lifestyle. After his death, the all-male board tries to force her to resign, but Joan coerces them into letting her retain her seat by threatening to publicly condemn Pepsi.
After graduating from Flintridge, Christina rents an apartment in Manhattan, where she acts in a soap opera. When Christina is hospitalized for an ovarian tumor, she is temporarily replaced on the show by her visibly drunken mother. Joan dies of cancer in 1977, whereupon Christina and Christopher (Xander Berkeley) learn their mother has disinherited them in her will. When Christopher says their mother has managed to have the last word, Christina questions that. | cult, melodrama | train | wikipedia | It made me see What Ever Happened To Baby Jane - it was like watching it for the first time, after "Feud" - and now "Mommie Dearest" - Oh dear, Oh dear - It's not that Faye Dunaway is not very entertaining, she is, but her Joan is a one note, maybe one note and a half, a caricature trying to be taken seriously.
It is true that critics generally considered the film a failure, but many of them admired certain elements of it; it is also true that box office fell below expectations, but it was not a box office disaster in the same sense as the 1980 HEAVEN'S GATE or the 1981 INCHON.It is also true, however, that audiences howled with laughter at the film when it debuted, and although leading lady Faye Dunaway received a number of critical accolades for her performance as Joan Crawford, she also received an equal number of devastating reviews--and it was these that caught the spotlight.
Even so, Water does make several telling points: many of the things that Crawford does which seem so odd (bathing the face in ice, for example) are actually commonplace cosmetic necessities for movie stars; many of the things the film treats as abuse were, although carried to wild extremes in the story, typical of child-rearing practices of the 1940s and 1950s.There are also three short documentaries featuring a number of cast members, most notably Diana Scarwid; these are actually entertaining for the fact that those who appear still seem to regard the film as "a good movie." The only really significant interview is with Lypsinka, an artist who has driven Crawford impersonations to the level of wicked satire and high art, and who offers a number of interesting personal insights into the iconography involved.Like the film itself, the bonus package has two great failures.
A number of people, including actresses Betty Hutton and June Allyson, supported Christina Crawford's accounts, but an equal number, including actress Myrna Loy and Christina's younger siblings, flatly stated that Christina's accusations were largely fictitious.When all is said and done, and in spite of performances and moments that are actually extremely good in isolation, MOMMIE DEAREST is a film that falls under the "so bad it's good" category of cult films.
However, I'm inclined to believe that those who dismiss Joan today as a psychotic harpy and nothing more never even saw the film version of "Mommie Dearest," and only heard secondhand reports of the most infamous scene ("No...wire...hangers!").Most tellingly, Christina Crawford reportedly hated the film version of her book, and wailed upon seeing it, "They turned it into a Joan Crawford movie!" She's right.
With the exception of the two most graphic scenes ("No wire hangers" and the choking scene), Joan's "abuse" of Christina is not all that much different from what passed as "discipline" in those days--just ask your parents or grandparents--and despite Faye Dunaway's full-throttle acting, Joan always somehow comes off in a strangely sympathetic light.What we see is an insecure woman fighting for survival in an age-obsessed, male-dominated industry.
Its lasting legacy, however, is Faye Dunaway's career-ending performance, which, depending on your point of view, is either jaw-droppingly awful or unbelievably brilliant.Dunaway's acting "choices" are nothing if not idiosyncratic: clutching her bosom frantically as she cries, "You...deliberately...embarass me in front of a REPORTER!"; copying the real-life Crawford's facial expressions from the horror flick "Strait-Jacket" in the axe-wielding scene; and, most famously, her odd, cross-eyed pose that she strikes not once, or twice, but three times: holding baby Christina on the staircase, rubbing moisturizer on her elbows after hiding Christina's dolls, and following her wire hanger/cleansing powder attack.It is Dunaway's nostril-flaring, hair-pulling, bosom-clutching style that really sends this film into the camp stratosphere.
Actually, Christina Crawford should thank Faye Dunaway; if not for her crazed, unforgettable portrayal, "Mommie Dearest" would have been just another trashy Hollywood memoir that eventually would've been forgotten (does anyone really care about B.D. Hyman's book about Bette Davis anymore?).
Okay, I did think the young Christina Crawford was a little over the top, but I can completely believe that any daughter of a glamorous and pampered movie star would behave in much the same way.
I would ask the critics who poke fun at the film to go back and watch "Sunset Boulevard" again, a brilliant movie I've never heard a bad word about, go and revisit Norma Desmond and all of her vanity and psychosis, so haunting and unforgettable, and tell me again if Faye Dunaway's performance is over-acted..
There's no in-between.Character behavior that is weird to begin with, combined with poor film direction, and an exaggerated, over-the-top performance by Faye Dunaway results in plot sequences that are campy and outlandish, thus robbing the story of subtle truths that may be buried under all that bombast.Excise the rose garden sequence, the wire-hangers/bathroom cleaning sequence, and several other embarrassing parts, and we "might" have a film that could be taken seriously.
I don't recall inappropriate laughter (well, maybe a muted laugh or two when little Christina said "Jesus Christ" at the end of the wire hanger scene), and I remember hearing favorable comments from people around me, although many were horrified by the depictions of child abuse.Unfortunately, the movie did not live up to the high expectations at the box office.
The movie doesn't do justice to the riveting book by Joan's adopted daughter Christina, committing to film the book's highlights, the talked-about bits where Crawford freaked out, but skimping on the details.
I mean that some - most - of the dialog is written not how people...actually...TALK (the highlight for me is when Joan tells the Pepsi husband that he is the soda-king or something like that - as if we didn't KNOW!) In that first hour we see those years in childhood for Christina (how the girl doesn't seem to age or change is one of the great mysteries of life I guess, not unlike Joan up until near the very end of the film).
My favorite decade has always been the eighties and it always will be, thanks to mommy dearest.Joan Crawford (Faye Dunaway) is a driven actress and compulsively clean housekeeper who tries to control the lives of those around her as tightly as the self-control she exhibits.
In Mommie Dearest, we watch Faye Dunaway portray Joan Crawford as portrayed in Crawford's adopted and later disinherited daughter Christina's (necessarily?) one-sided and tendentious memoir.
All she wants to round out her life is a baby (or two); Steve Forrest plays an attorney and current paramour who helps her to acquire them, like a pair of occasional tables.The rest of the movie depicts the ambivalent - almost bipolar - relationship between Joan and Christina (the actual Crawford adopted four children, whom the script cuts to two - just one, really, for son Christopher is seen only a few times tethered to his bed and once again, at the fateful reading of the will).
No little pitcher with big ears was nearby when Joan, in gingham apron and high-heeled white work shoes, scrubs the floor and bellows to the maid `I'm not mad at you, I'm mad at the dirt' or when, in one of Dunaway's rip-the-envelope-open scenes, emasculates the entire board of directors of Pepsico.Dunaway's impersonation of Crawford is in many ways unforgettably overripe (and her performance been received as both extraordinary and execrable; she herself is on record as regretting that she did the movie at all).
Mommie Dearest is a fun movie leaving me (?strangely?) unsympathetic for Christina and understanding and appreciating Joan Crawford even more.
If you've never seen this 1981 adaptation of Christina Crawford's hatchet job on her late adoptive mother, Hollywood legend Joan, chances are you've heard about Faye Dunaway's unhinged lead performance.
After an hour or so of watching Faye chop the hair off, beat and insult poor little Mara Hobel (few movies are simultaneously so ridiculous and so disturbing), Scarwid shows up as teenage Christina, dressed like the Statue of Liberty and reciting lines from Jean Anouihl's "Antigone" (cute, guys) and somehow manages to get less believable from that point onward.
Even though she was the first runner-up for the New York Film Critics Award, Faye Dunaway disavows her performance as screen icon Joan Crawford because the camp following this 1981 potboiler has developed over the years has probably been overwhelming.
Dunaway's snub in participating (as well as director Frank Perry's death) means having flamboyant director John Waters pinch-hit on the commentary track, and he manages to be both funny and insightful as he shares lots of apocryphal gossip and zingy one-liners to bring a whole new flavor to the execrable film.Among his many errors in judgment, Perry decided to film the story of Crawford's mid-to-late years (or more appropriately, her adopted daughter Christina's version of it) as if the movie was one of Crawford's own overripe films.
The 14-minute "The Revival of Joan Crawford" shows the genesis of the movie from Christina's red-hot best seller with contributions from Scarwid, Alda and producer Frank Yablans, who speaks candidly about Dunaway's tempestuous perfectionism.
The thing that makes the movie float above the rest of camp classics is the fact that it is based on an informative book by Joan's daughter, Christina.
Scarwid broke the movie by vice of her apathy to the role she played (I would have thought in all accounts that if a child was abused, they would come out of it with a newfound understanding of their own inner strength and fight like hell to survive, which is what the real Christina did, according to the book.
However, if you have read the book, the film version of MOMMIE DEAREST stands alone as one of the worst (and most enjoyable) movies that scream out, "What was anybody thinking???" This is basically the plot: Joan feels that her movie career is in a donward spiral.
I will admit his movie has little to no happy moments, but life is not always happy and doesn't always end happy.Mommie Dearest is realistic in way that you would not expect coming from the home of a Hollywood legend.It features Faye Dunaway in, what I consider, one of her best roles.
This culminates in an appropriately loosely edited, one-dimensional view of a mother who just happens to be an actress and film star.The film star status of women actors during Hollywood's golden-era was a result of a hard fought and won career pitted against a then chauvinistic Hollywood film industry where the likes of Ms. Crawford were in fact second-class citizens.As such they were treat accordingly of Victorian male values ingrained in business film moguls such as Louis.B. Mayer who would not take the financial risk of challenging largely,culturally conservative audiences' perspectives of women.For a career woman in a chauvinistic industry this has the potential to bring out the negative side of frustration of any film actor, the traits of which are then portrayed and interpreted as that of abusive behaviour from Joan Crawford in Mommie Dearest.
Kudos also go to the brilliant performance of Faye Dunaway whose acting abilities in the role of 'Mommie dearest' would be the pride of the legendary Joan Crawford as a tribute to her acting skills..
When "Mommie Dearest" was made into a movie, I was invited to a press screening but skipped it when a friend of mine at Paramount told me it was utter garbage (I was never a Faye Dunaway fan anyway, finding her as cold and off-putting as the middle-aged Joan Crawford).
The reviews of the film were terrible, but within weeks, journalist friends informed me that a phenomenon had taken place--the movie had become an instant camp classic, with audience-participation unrivalled since "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." Moviergoers flocked to the theaters showing "Mommie Dearest," armed with wire hangers and cans of Ajax.
Mommie Dearest is a film based on the book of the same title written by Joan Crawford's daughter, Christina Crawford.
This film and the book it is based off of tells the story of how Joan Crawford behaved behind closed doors with her children, how she abused them, had crazy/wild outbursts, which sometimes turned violent.
In my honest opinion, mommie dearest is very well acted, Faye Dunaway blew me away in her brutally honest portrayal of Hollywood legend Joan Crawford.
I think mommie dearest is a well made and well acted film telling the very sad true story of actress Joan Crawford and her private life and strained relationships with her children with with whom she woefully mistreated.
The movie doesn't stray far from the book but what Christina Crawford wrote is acted by Oscar winner Dunaway like she was never going to act again.
Mommie Dearest is a movie adaptation of a book written by Christina Crawford the adopted daughter of Joan Crawford.
I will admit later in the film we see an older Christina Crawford and yeah that acting is slightly odd but if you were beaten with coat hangers, yelled at then sent off to a boarding school cause you were the one being "bad" you would be slightly off too.I don't really like drama movies, hell I'm a comic book nerd.
For those who have actually seen Joan Crawford movies will agree that Faye Dunaway's performance was the closest thing to the real Joan, you can see this in her later performances in movies like "What ever happened to baby Jane?", "I saw what you did", and "Straight jacket", if people think Joan Crawford portrayal in Mommie dearest was exaggerated and overacted should do a little bit more research, some old articles mention her obsession with cleaning and her overwhelming fear of germs, if you think that today's divas are unbearable remember they didn't name it the Hollywood golden era for nothing, those days were when true glamor began.
If you think you know everything there is to know about Joan Crawford just because you saw "Mommie dearest" then you been missing out on many, many great performances by one of Hollywood's best actresses that ever lived..
Both Faye Dunaway (as Crawford) and Mara Hobel (as Christina) unarguably deserved Oscars for their stunning portrayals of a mother who was constantly teetering on the edge of insanity and a daughter forced to bear the brunt of her mothers violent and often disturbing outbursts.Despite the film losing momentum in the years of Christiana's adulthood (Diana Scarwid gives a lacklusture performance) it is in the early years that we see the full, horrifying power of this disturbing mother/daughter relationship.
It's interesting to note that the performance of Faye Dunaway as Joan Crawford -Cristina's titular "Mommie Dearest"- earned her the 41st place in the American Film Institute's Top 50 list of movie villains.
In a certain way, the opposite treatment can be used for movies that were so good they became boring, the very reason why "Mommie Dearest" might be more popular than an objectively superior film like say, "Reds", Beatty's epic from the same year or "The English Patient".
"Mommie Dearest" is the adaptation of Christina Crawford's controversial yet best-selling confession of the abuse she was victim of, as the adoptive daughter of Joan Crawford, during the years where the legendary icon faced sentimental troubles, struggles with major studios and alcoholism.
The only problem is that the director, whatever his name is, didn't intend to make a B-movie and I suspect he probably imagined his film consecrated in the Oscar's ceremony.The main handicap of "Mommie Dearest" is not Faye Dunaway's performance, she does a good job and so does the actress who plays the little daughter (inexplicable Razzie nomination), the problem relies on the script and the narrative structure.
It has scenes of raging tempers and even disturbing scenes of Faye Dunaway's Joan Crawford abusing her daughter in despicably psychotic ways, but the film is completely devoid of any recognizable pace, and if a pace is not recognizable, then what good is it?
But it certainly trashes the movie star with incidents that seem exaggerated to hold the attention.FAYE DUNAWAY's Joan Crawford is the sort of caricature that would be more appropriate on the Carol Burnett Show, where famous screen heroines were often ribbed in their award-winning roles.
There have been many movie biographys of film stars, but this one leaves a lasting impression.Faye Dunaway gives a completely over-the-top performance as Joan Crawford.
Faye Dunaway was superb as Joan Crawford, portraying her as a domineering, abusive and neglectful mother of her two adopted children (at one point admitting to Christine that she adopted them mainly for the publicity.) Apparently not one to let her parental responsibilities get in the way of her movie career, Crawford is shown as obsessed with trying to remain on top, demanding perfection and total obedience from all around her.
I got halfway through the famous "no more wire hangers!" scene, and turned it off at the point when Joan Crawford, played by Faye Dunaway, starts beating her daughter with a can of scouring powder; the most over-the-top portrayal of child abuse I've ever seen.
Faye Dunaway stars as movie queen Joan Crawford in this head-scratching film that leaves the viewer bewildered.
This movie is based on the book by Christina Crawford, Joan's adopted daughter.
MD is currently spending its half-life on HBO and several other cable stations that, for all this film's camp and unintentionally generated laughs, continue to intrigue and fascinate new generations of fans.On the upside: "Mommie Dearest" sports excellent production designs, makeup, costumes (worn mostly by actress Faye Dunaway as "Joan Crawford"), sets, a supporting cast and a sincere effort to capture the years between WW2 and 1977 (the year the Queen of Hollywood died).
Watch this movie for only one reason - Faye Dunaway's over-the-top performance as the legendary actress Joan Crawford.
When people ask me what scares me, I always tell them Faye Dunaway as Joan Crawford in "Mommie Dearest." I mean, just look at the way the swings that ax when she's p*****! |
tt0457419 | Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium | from PluggedinOnline.com:Mr. Magorium never outgrew his toys--pretty remarkable, considering the guy is 243 years old.Magorium, a lively fellow with wild hair, who has a pet zebra named Mortimer and a fondness for shoes, has been running Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium for the last century or so. It's a place that makes Toys 'R' Us look like the DMVwhere Legos build themselves, fish-mobiles are made with real, wriggling fish, and balsa-wood dinosaurs play with Frisbees.But big changes are ahead. See, Mr. Magorium has worn out his last pair of favorite shoes, and since he bought enough to last a lifetime, he knows he's about to die, er, depart, as he puts it. So Magorium hires a stuffy accountant (whom he immediately dubs Mutant) to determine what his store is worth and prepares to hand the whole thing over to his day-to-day manager, Molly Mahoney.POSITIVE ELEMENTS:
The doubt-filled Mahoney has her own problems. And this candy-colored film creatively uses them to teach us all a thing or two about life. When she was a child, everyone told her she was a musical prodigy, and she still has aspirations of fulfilling her promise. But now, as an adult, she's still working at, well, a toy store. Sure, it's magical and all, but it's not the sort of job one boasts about at class reunions.She is horrified when she learns of Magorium's plans and tells him flat-out that he's got to keep living and dealing with the store himself. After all, she points out, the place is called Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. "It rhymes!" she exclaims, and she takes it upon herself to show her eccentric boss all the small wonders of the world he'd miss out on if he decided to, um, depart. What kind of things? Things like dancing on Bubble Wrap, jumping on furniture-store beds and, inexplicably, making calls from pay phones.The Emporium isn't so keen on Magorium leaving, either: The bright red walls begin turning a charred gray in anticipation and, on Magorium's apparent last day, it throws a temper tantrum. In so doing it reveals to attentively watching children just how childish such outbursts are."Maybe it needs a time-out," says Eric, a hat-loving store regular.Eric, a boy of about 9, is the film's voice of rationality. But he's struggling, too. His hat-wearing ways and penchant for elaborate Lincoln Log sculptures make kids his own age steer well clear. But his mom and Mr. Magorium are urging him to try to make friends. So he does. He reaches out to the Mutant. He begins to write notes to the guy, holding them up to the window of the store's office, where the Mutant is poring over centuries-old receipts."Would you like to play checkers?" Eric scribbles. Sorry, Mutant writes back. I'm working."How about when you're done working?" Eric returns."I never stop working."But he does eventually stop working. And before film's end, Mutant and Eric are playing pretend and having loads of fun with the best of 'em.Thus, Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium is crammed with winsome, childlike wisdom, coaxing nursery-rhyme-like precepts from its characters and their relationships. They're archetypes, really: The accountant who can't see the magic around him; the shunned, shy little boy; and the uncertain store manager who feels she was made to do great(er) things.When Mahoney first asks the Mutant whether he sees a sparkle in her"something reflective of something bigger trying to get out," he's befuddled. But not for long. Indeed, all the characters here carry with them a hidden "sparkle." And each one journeys toward getting it to show.Through it all Magorium serves as ringmaster, part silly man-child and part wise sage. Confronting his own mortality, he tells the store the only thing they can do is face the coming day with "determination, joy and bravery." When Mahoney takes Magorium to a clock store so they can listen to all the clocks strike 12, she breathlessly whispers they only have 37 secondsall they have to do is wait.Magorium corrects her, saying that it's 37 seconds to breathe, reflect, enjoy, regenerate, dream."Thirty-seven seconds well used is a lifetime," he says.In the end, this is largely a tale about the wonder of life, the inevitability of death and the struggle to bring those two conflicting ideas together. That's oddly heavy stuff for a G-rated flick about a magical toy store, but it's handled quite deftly and in ways that even its youngest viewers will understand. Stories, even the ones we love the most, must eventually come to an end, we're told. "I'm only asking that you turn the page," Magorium tells a weeping Mahoney. "Continue reading. And let the next story begin."SPIRITUAL EMELMENTS:
Spirituality enters at right angles. The Mutant scolds Magorium at one point for keeping fictional characters on his payroll. As an example, he points to an entry for the "King of Planet Yahweh." "Oh, he's not fictional," Magorium said, though he admits the planet is hokum. "He's definitely not fictional."When Magorium tries to make it clear he's departing, it's Eric who understands first. "I think it means he's going to heaven," he says. Magorium agrees, then adds other places he might wind up in, including the Happy Hunting Grounds and Shangri La. He concludes with, "I may return as a bumblebee."VIOLENT CONENT:
When a 2-year-old throws a tantrum, it's bad enough. When a huge toy store throws one, things get downright crazy. One girl gets covered in goo. A boy runs around with a lemur attached to his head. Another shopper, reading a book about the sea, gets attacked by a squid. (She makes a formal, and wet, complaint to Magorium with the squid still clutching her cranium.) Objects fly off shelves. Glass breaks. Pandemonium ensues.A kid rudely stomps on Mutant's toe. A towering red gym ball squishes (harmlessly) a young shopper against a door. Magorium opens the door and says, "Pretty impressive ball, isn't it? Impossible to dodge."CONCLUSION;
I remember my first pinwheelhow, when I took it outside, the wind would catch it, and sunshine would glint off its metallic plastic sleeves. For a 5-year-old, it was ... magic.There's lots of magic like this in Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. Stuffed animals cozy up to would-be owners, a gigantic magic book poofs toys into instantaneous existence, and bouncy balls try to sneak out of the store via shoppers' bags. This isn't the kind of magic you find in Macbeth or Harry Potter or even The Chronicles of Narnia. This is the special magic with which most children engage during their first precious years, when the world is filled with wonder and newness and outrageous possibilities. The Emporium is a place where imagination sparks reality; where paper planes can paint a cosmos. | whimsical, dramatic, psychedelic, fantasy | train | imdb | null |
tt0838247 | After.Life | After a horrific car accident, Anna Taylor (Christina Ricci) wakes up to find the local funeral director Eliot Deacon (Liam Neeson) preparing her body for her funeral. Confused, terrified, and feeling still very much alive, Anna doesn't believe she's dead, despite the funeral director's reassurances that she is merely in transition to the afterlife. Eliot convinces her he has the ability to communicate with the dead and is the only one who can help her. Trapped inside the funeral home, with nobody to turn to except Eliot, Anna is forced to face her deepest fears and accept her own death. But Anna's grief-stricken boyfriend Paul Coleman (Justin Long) still can't shake the nagging suspicion that Eliot isn't what he appears to be. As the funeral nears, Paul gets closer to unlocking the disturbing truth, but it could be too late; Anna may have already begun to cross over to the other side.However, her boyfriend Paul, who was about to propose to her in a restaurant date which went terribly wrong, as she thought he was leaving her for a promotion in Chicago, starts to have strange feelings that she is trying to communicate with him. He sits and the car wreck which now sits at the police impound. His friend who works at the police station. Anna's mother, Beatrice Taylor (Celia Weston), is a wheelchair-bound lady who, instead of feeling sorry for her daughter, just moans to her dead body about who is going to take care of her (the mother) now.Paul looks out of control. He tries to see Anna's corpse twice, and it's him who goes to pick up Anna's stuff from the school. There, Jack (Chandler Canterbury), a little boy who was bullied at school but was defended by Anna once against two boys (Jack Rovello & Sam Kressner) older than him, says that he saw Anna standing up wearing a red outfit. At the beginning, Paul punches him and is restrained by school staff, like a security guard and a teacher (Doan Ly). Jack arrives home and the only adult is an old lady (Rosemary Murphy) with white hair always in front of TV who may be also a dead person who Jack can see before having transitioned.Finally, two days pass by and Anna is prepared to be buried. She has been convinced by Eliot that she is dead and transitioning into the other world. She asks to look at herself for one last time, and he fetches a hand mirror. She breathes, and there is steam. That makes her realise that she is probably alive and is going to be buried alive. She tries to fight him off, but he injects onto her neck something which paralizes her. At the funeral, Paul and Jack feel that Anna has moved a little bit. Paul can't be sure until Eliot tells him that she is probably not alive anymore.Jack becomes Eliot's apprentice. Paul drives like crazy to save Anna. It's night, and he is driving on the other line at full speed. He has an accident but he is able to unbury Anna and save her. However, there is a blackout and he wakes up naked at the body, and Eliot and Jack are working in his body, preparing him for the funeral, all pretension of him being dead put aside. | plot twist, mystery | train | imdb | After Life explores the beliefs about the soul and what happens to it after we die.The film is about Anna Taylor (Christina Ricci), a school teacher who supposedly dies in a traffic accident.
It seems that the inability to love is the motive in After-Life whereas the inability to live life is Jigsaw's motive.While the acting from Justin Long & Christina Ricci is on par with their other performances in recent history, Liam Neeson offer a performance that will rival his performance in Taken.
Neeson is the reason this film is so suspenseful because he is able to create a character that can be viewed as delusional, insane, psychotic, or "gifted" without forcing the audience to believe only one of these characteristics.Entertainment wise this film is not a blockbuster but connects many good directorial and cinemagraphical elements.
The director and writer Agnieszka Wojtowicz-Vosloo (writing in tandem with Paul Vosloo and Jakub Korolczuk) asks us to suspend belief and muse about the idea that there is a time between 'death' and the actual burial (or other means of final interment/disposal) when the spirit may struggle with the idea of life ending.
In a rage she leaves the frustrated Coleman, subsequently is killed in a car accident, and is taken to a mortuary where mortician Elliot Deacon (Liam Neeson) begins preparing her body for the funeral.
Michos and the musical score by Paul Haslinger, and the presence of Liam Neeson who plays his role very straight and Christina Ricci who plays her role almost entirely in the nude, give the story the requisite creepy effect.
While most of film centres around the character of Anna Taylor it is a wise casting choice by Matthew Lessall as beautiful Christina Ricci gives an emotional performance as a girl who's is not sure if she is dead or alive.
After a horrific car accident, Anna (Christina Ricci) wakes up to find the local funeral director Eliot Deacon (Liam Neeson) preparing her body for her funeral.
As the funeral nears, Paul gets closer to unlocking the disturbing truth, but it could be too late; Anna may have already begun to cross over the other side.After Life is a clever psychological thriller with a very creepy and mysterious atmosphere.
The film also poses some interesting questions regarding the nature of life forcing the viewer to reflect on his own existence.Liam Neeson did a good job and Christina Ricci was exceptional in her role.
Liam Neeson and Christina Ricci totally or partially naked most of the time have top-notch performances, supported by an intelligent and original screenplay, tight direction and awesome music score.
For the most part Anna's life seems, well, rather lifeless - until she wakes up on mortician Liam Neeson's slab only to learn that she is in fact dead.
The plot is Anna Taylor (played by Christina Ricci) is in a car accident and wakes up on a mortuary slab, where she is attended to by Eliot Deacon (played by Liam Neeson).
And it is good to see that Justin Long is finally shedding that teenage role of his and stepping up into the bigger league of acting.If you like thrillers, then "After.Life" is definitely worth checking out.
Which leads her body to be in a process of being prepared for her funeral and the person that takes care of her body to look presentable during the funeral is played by Liam Neeson who does a great job with the roles he is given most of the time.
Sure there are aspect of the film that doesn't make any sense, but it didn't get to the point it got irritating to watch for the most part.***Spoilers below*** The title to this movie is misleading in a way.
This film is about a young woman who wakes up lying in the morgue, with a mortician insisting that she is already dead."After.Life" is such a good thriller!
Both interpretations were equally plausible (we never know the "truth" until the very end of the film (and even then my boyfriend was convinced she was dead all the time while I think she was alive!).An intelligent, scary, creepy, stunning, visual movie!!!
This is a very strange movie but nevertheless extremely watchable.SPOILER BEGINS This is the tale of a beautiful woman, Anna Taylor (Christina Ricci) who walked out on her boyfriend, Paul Coleman (Justin Long) at a restaurant just before he was going to propose to her.She drives off crying and eventually is involved in a car accident and finds herself on an undertakers slab ready to be prepared for burial by Eliot Deacon (Liam Neeson), the Funeral Director.Anna can move and speak and Eliot can see and hear her and of course Anna wants to know why she is where she is and Eliot tells her that the accident left her dead and he was going to prepare her for her funeral and burial.
He even shows her a copy of her Death Certificate.He tells her that he has a gift of being able to see and speak to the dead.From then on it was a cat and mouse game between Anna and Eliot, she trying to convince him that she is still alive and Eliot trying to get Anna to accept she was dead.Before she ended up in the Funeral Parlour Anna was a schoolteacher and one of her students Jack (Chandler Canterbury) insisted that he saw her peering out of the window in the Funeral Home.SPOILER ENDS The wonderful thing about this movie is that you simply did not know whether Anna was still alive or indeed dead until the very last minute of the movie and the ending was for most people totally unexpected although I thought I had figured it out about a minute before all was revealed and I am glad to say I was right.However I am not going to reveal the outcome I thoroughly recommend that you watch this movie.
At the time, I wondered why not, since it starred Christina Ricci, Liam Neeson, and Justin Long, not exactly the biggest of names but certainly serious actors who don't normally take schlock work just for a paycheck.Having now seen the movie, I can understand the difficulty.
"You're still in denial", he rebukes her.Meanwhile, Anna's boyfriend Paul Coleman (Long), whose proposal attempt the previous evening went badly awry, causing Anna to flee in tears, is also having trouble accepting that she's dead, especially after he gets what he thinks (and we see) is a phone call from her, tho in a ghastly inaudible whisper.The only other character of any significance is a young boy from Anna's class, Jack (Chandler Canterbury), who's fascinated with death and keeps dropping by the mortuary to chat about it.
In a distant echo of The 6th Sense, he comes close to being able to see dead people himself, and Deacon sees in him an incipient kindred spirit.The movie keeps us guessing all the way thru as to whether Anna is truly dead or whether Eliot has just drugged her and is playing some kind of really sick game.This interesting premise is one of the upsides.
The type of film you have to see twice so you know what to watch for and enjoy piecing together the puzzle long after the movie has ended.
You will never live again."In After.Life (cool title, right?) Christina Ricci plays Anna, a young school teacher who's drifting through life with a bottle of pills, unable to even connect to her boyfriend (Justin Long, who seems to play the main character's boyfriend in nearly every movie he's in) in the bedroom or in a simple conversation.
While the film did have a few editing errors (early evening to pitch black night, in the time it takes to find a key on a keyring?), the dialgoue was occasionally clunky, and some people may be put off by some of the questionable decisions that Anna makes, I thought this was a solid movie.
READ!This movie poses a simple question, and for me, I thought they should have named it, "After Life?", it would have drawn a much more intriguing audience.I'm not going to bore you with the story like all the other reviewers do, I'm going to tell you MY reaction to the movie, in the simplest terms I can.I 'Enjoyed' this movie, I really did, however, I cannot get my mind off Christina Ricci, I found myself on a 'viewer See-Saw' with her.
"After.Life" is Agnieszka Wojtowicz-Vooslo's feature-film debut, starring Christina Ricci, Justin Long and Liam Neeson in a deliberation on what happens to us after we die.
Anna (played by Christina Ricci) is a schoolteacher who finds herself with an open head wound on a dissecting table where Elliot (Liam Neeson), a mortician, informs her in a formal tone that she died during a car accident.
sure it was somewhat entertaining...through stupidity.....had there been more action and a different ending...actually i think someone should redo this movie...so many things made no sense to me....i would elaborate but i think I'm traumatized from this movie...not for the story line...but just the fact that allowed my eyes ears and brains to take in such crap....good actors though....I'm actually surprised these actors didn't turn down the offer....unless....it was desperate times and needed to make some money....I'm not yet sure if this would be a movie to ever mention starring in...but i have to say i have seen worse movies.....
I also have to say that Justin Long really didn't strike home with me as Anna's boyfriend Paul, and the character of Jack - one of Anna's students (played by a young actor named Chandler Canterbury) who is supposed to share Deacon's gift of communicating with the dead - was a bit superfluous.
He added little to the story and was also kind of creepy in his own way.There's enough to this movie to make it worth watching, but it certainly isn't a classic by any means..
until finally the fellow reviewer correctly concludes the answer is 'surprisingly evasive.' I will say surprisingly nonsensical.Another reviewer correctly hones in on the fact that the film's sub-plots of boyfriend and little boy 'lead no where.' At this point cinematic frustration was gathering speed.After.life does not hold a smidgen of a candle to the similar genre likes of The Sixth Sense with its ultra intelligent, audience grabbing script.
Rather, here the director and screenplay take the audience for lack luster Alice-in-Wonderland after-life ride where clues are not clues, what you see is not what you see and what you get is not what you paid for unless, that is, you paid to see the awesome looking Christina Ricci baring it all in many or possibly most of her scenes.Finally, when the film should be heading toward 'resolution' a police officer arrives at Liam Neeson's funeral home to 'visit' with his deceased brother.
I was expecting that Paul Coleman (Justin Long) would eventually move on with his life.Well i didn't quite understand the horror part of this movie, i haven't figured it out yet, if their deaths has something to do with Eliot Deacon (Liam Neeson) or not..
The funeral director played by Neeson holds so much power and control over the 'dead', the question we all keep asking after watching this movie is - was she really dead or alive?
But the title of the film is 'Afterlife', so we should read into that I think.Gonna watch the movie a couple more times, puzzled by the beginning and the funeral for the old man - why should Anna attend that funeral and why was she seemingly already familiar with the funeral director?
Jack the boy in Anna Taylors class is also an interesting character and there are lots of questions about him in this movie.Yes, there are lots of inconsistencies in a medical sense as to how the funeral director could keep the woman (and others) alive and for what benefit but it didn't seem to matter overall because the suspense balanced on a boyfriend who was paranoiac in not accepting his girlfriends death and a girlfriend who didn't want to live but had everything to live for (oddly, a theme of Coelhos 'Veronica Decides to Die).There is some female nudity of Anna Taylor while she is 'detained' but nothing sexual and throughout only a few occasional swear words in passing, nothing that should offend a conservative audience.Definitely a film to watch more than once because the director has injected lots of little intricate details which are easy to miss (like the 'chicken burial bit') but never mind, in a month when films in circulation are poor, this is up there as one of the best around at the moment.
This movie is good for only one thing - Mr. Skin - because you see Christina Ricci's breasts several times.Other than that, there is no reason to watch this piece of garbage.
The film suggests that the people who are sent to Liam Neeson's funeral home might not be dead...either:(A) they are dead and he can communicate with the dead, or(B) they are not dead and he's burying people who are aliveBut you very quickly realize that you don't care, because it's almost too boring to describe in words; the best I can do is to say that it would be like watching NASCAR, if each car raced by itself, and if there was a speed limit..
Luckily for Christina in this movie, she spends the majority of the time playing a role that I now realize (after still being a fan for so many years) she seems best suited for; a corpse.The character's initial lack of emotion and apparent detachment is later elaborated on through the course of the picture.
While trying to convince Anna and the audience if she's indeed dead or alive, the director creates a deliberate ambiguity so audiences never really know what is truly happening.Jack, who felt a strong connection to his teacher, gets curious and wanders outside the funeral home catching a glimpse of Ms. Taylor, or did he?
Marshall, James Swisher (Executive Producers); Anastas Michos (Cinematographer); Ford Wheeler (Production Designer); Niven Howie (Editor); Paul Haslinger (Composer)Cast includes: Christina Ricci (Anna Taylor), Liam Neeson (Eliot Deacon), Justin Long (Paul Coleman), Chandler Canterbury (Jack), Celia Weston (Beatrice Taylor), Josh Charles (Tom Peterson), Shuler Hensley (Vincent Miller)"How can you save yourself if you're already dead?"A discontented schoolteacher (Ricci) wakes up immobile following a serious car accident, to be told by the solemn undertaker who is preparing her body (Neeson) that she is dead and is being helped to cross over to the afterlife, but her grieving boyfriend (Long) will not accept her death and confronts the mortician.Beautifully shot supernatural horror, with a striking prominence of the colour red (Ricci spends much of the movie in just a red slip, or naked), with Neeson bringing an ethereal gravitas to his role of the respectable and (apparently) kindly funeral director - or is he a serial killer?Subtle clues and an ambiguous ending enhance the mystery.Blu-ray Extras: Commentary, Featurette, Trailer.
Anna, played by Christina Ricci, wakes up in the mortuary of the local funeral director, Liam Neeson.
After a woman is killed in a car crash she is sent to the morgue, then to the Funeral Director,, played by Liam Neeson,, he is very creepy in this picture , apparently he has the ability to talk to the dead, we are not sure if she's dead or alive, or as they say "crossing over", her boyfriend doesn't want to believe it so he starts to investigate.
Christina Ricci gives on heck of a performance as our "dead" girl,, at points in the movie you the viewer even start to wonder, as if like hey maybe she ain't quite dead yet,, the evil Funeral Director wastes no time in preparing her for her final moments before burial, the boyfriend has to figure out what is going on and if she is still alive before she is due to be buried,, interesting movie..
If you want to watch or ogle at Ricci's young body, partially or fully nude, laying down or running helplessly around in either a minimal red slip or nothing at all, this is your movie.If you want to appreciate Liam Neeson's manly reserve, or Justin Long's nice guy schtick, you'll get a little of each.
There's a lot of mood stuff, a lot of atmosphere setting, and plenty of plot points which end up going nowhere, but as a film, AFTER.LIFE is a disappointment.The acceptable Christina Ricci stars as a young woman involved in a car accident who wakes up on a mortuary table, being attended to by the sinister Liam Neeson.
AFTER.LIFE is more of an insipid mystery than a real horror film, and as such it's not really worth your time; the lack of explanation makes it an all-too-frustrating watch..
Good performances all round, particularly from Christina Ricci as Anna Taylor and Liam Neeson as Eliot Deacon.
Anna gets into a car accident and wakes up on the preparation table of funeral director Eliot Deacon (Liam Neeson).
Both Christina Ricci and Liam Neeson put on great performances: her Anna sinks into confusion about her life (or death?), while his Eliot comes across as the typical guy whose nice demeanor might be hiding something.
What a pity for such a good actor like Liam Neeson to have lost time in shooting a movie without any sense for the viewer.
What a pity for such a good actor like Liam Neeson to have lost time in shooting a movie without any sense for the viewer.
The rest of the movie covers Liam Neeson (the undertaker)and his attempts to convince her that she is in fact dead and help prepare her for her funeral.
This movie is about people not really living their lives, wandering through life like they're dead already. |
tt2967224 | Hot Pursuit | Practically since she was a baby, Rose Cooper (Reese Witherspoon) has always tagged along with her father, a respected police officer in San Antonio, Texas, in his police cruiser. As she got older, he let her ride along for some of his arrests. This inspired Cooper to pursue a career in law enforcement. However, as an adult, her drive for her work has made her too intense in her personal life. While out on a date, she scares the guy away after she defensively pulls a gun on him. She chases him down just to give him back his wallet.At the station, Cooper is brought in to meet Detective Jackson (Richard T. Jones). Captain Emmett (John Carroll Lynch) informs Cooper that he will escort Jackson to protect a cartel informant named Felipe Riva (Vincent Laresca) and his wife Daniella (Sofia Vergara) after Felipe decides to testify against notorious cartel leader Vicente Cortez (Joaquin Cosio) up in Dallas. This is Cooper's first job back in the field after her last incident where a few months earlier she saw the mayor's son yell "Shotgun!" while out with his friends, leading Cooper to tase him in a spot where he spilled alcohol and causing him to catch fire. Cooper's name has become a verb synonymous with screw-ups, and she's found a chance to redeem himself.Cooper and Jackson arrive at the Riva home, where Daniella is pissed at her husband for making them targets. Cooper finds her packing a bunch of materials with her. Downstairs, gunshots start to ring out. Two masked men shoot at Jackson and Felipe. The two of them are shot and killed. Cooper runs to the garage to find Daniella hiding in the backseat of a car. Cooper turns the car on and drives away from the scene. She breaks the news of Felipe's death to Daniella, making her wail hysterically. She tries to call for help, but Cooper makes her drop the phone on the road. Cooper pulls the car over, and Daniella grabs her bag to walk away on her own. Cooper handcuffs herself to Daniella to make sure she's close to her. Then a truck plows into the car, spraying a ton of hidden cocaine everywhere. Cooper gets jacked up on coke and gets the truck driver to drive them to a nearby store to get new clothes.The ladies learn that Cooper is now considered a fugitive that has taken Daniella with her. Cooper phones someone at the station to identify the shooters. She notes that one had a longhorn tattoo. The ladies are found by Cooper's fellow officers Dixon (Michael Mosley) and Hauser (Matthew Del Negro). Unfortunately, they're recognized as the shooters since Hauser has the longhorn tattoo. The ladies pretend that Daniella is having her period so they can go to the bathroom and make their escape. They try to sneak out a window, but Dixon is standing watch. Cooper fires her gun to alert them, and giving them a chance to get away. They stow away in the back of a wagon hooked to a truck. There, Cooper inquires about what's in Daniella's luggage. It's a bunch of pairs of shoes that have diamonds on them. Daniella claims they were given to her by her brother before his passing, and it's the only thing she has to remember him by.Cooper tries to get into the truck, until the owner, Red (Jim Gaffigan), comes out with a gun. Daniella tries to make her escape, but comes back for Cooper and defends her by pretending to be her lesbian lover. She starts to uncomfortably grope and make out with Cooper, briefly seducing Red until he accidentally shoots off his finger. Cooper and Daniella then grab another truck and drive away.On the road, the ladies bond a little more, with Cooper admitting that her by-the-books nature has made it difficult for her to find a man. There already happens to be a man sleeping in the back of the truck. The ladies pull over again and find out that the man, Randy (Robert Kazinsky), is a felon with an ankle bracelet put on after he beat the crap out of his sisters' abusive boyfriends. They reach an agreement for Randy to help the ladies if they take off the bracelet. Cooper gets it off, and Randy appears to flirt with her, to Daniella's joy.The three stop at a hotel room for the night. Cooper cuffs Daniella to the bedpost while she goes to Randy's room to get food. She walks in on him naked and eventually succumbs to his charms and kisses him. He goes to get her some food. Cooper goes back to her room to find Daniella aiming Cooper's gun at her. She found Cooper's little notebook which suggests that Daniella wouldn't be smart enough to properly testify. Cooper then learns that the shoes in Daniella's luggage are worth $4 million and that this is how Felipe laundered money. Dixon and Hauser then show up at the door and try to shoot at the ladies as they make their escape. Randy finds Hauser pointing his gun at the ladies, and he starts beating the crap out of him, allowing them to run.The ladies make their escape on a tour bus. The crooked cops chase after them while two of Cortez's thugs follow closely. One of the thugs shoots out the tires of the villains' car, and the ladies manage to bump them off the road. The bus stops, and Daniella punches Cooper's lights out.When she comes to, Cooper sees Daniella walking away with the thugs. She learns that Daniella is working with them as part of her plan to murder Cortez as payback for him killing Daniella's brother. Knowing that he will be free and attending his granddaughter's quinceañera, she plans to get him there. Daniella also arranged for the thugs to kidnap her but did not plan for her husband to die. She cuffs Cooper to a pole and leaves.Back at the police station in San Antonio, Cooper is commended by Emmett for bringing in Dixon and Hauser despite failing the rest of the mission. He tells her to go home, but she knows her mission isn't over.Cooper travels to Dallas and sneaks into the quinceañera as a man to get close to Daniella. She tries to get her to wear a wire so that they can get Cortez to confess to her brother's murder, but a woman walking into the bathroom mistakes Cooper for a pervert and throws her out. She gets back in dressed as a server of the place, running into Emmett and learning he is a bad guy. He tries to make her walk through the kitchen with his gun on her, but Cooper turns the tables by pouring alcohol on him and tasing him so he catches fire. She puts out the flames and knocks him out with a fire extinguisher.Daniella gets Cortez alone in a room and reveals her intentions to kill him. He came prepared with his own gun. Cooper arrives and stops anything from happening. She ties Cortez's hands together and convinces Daniella not to kill him. She sees Cortez drawing his gun, and Cooper shoots him dead. Daniella is pissed at Cooper for denying her the satisfaction of killing Cortez herself until she sees that Cooper took a bullet for her in the arm.Three months later, Cooper goes to pick Daniella up from prison after she serves her time for obstruction of justice. Cooper is no longer a laughingstock and is praised for taking down Cortez. Outside, she presents Daniella with her shoes. They leave together, and Daniella sees that Cooper brought Randy along with her.During the end credits, several bloopers and outtakes from the film are shown. | violence, murder, adult comedy, romantic | train | imdb | null |
tt0185125 | Todo sobre mi madre | The film centers on Manuela, an Argentine nurse who oversees donor organ transplants in Ramón y Cajal Hospital in Madrid and single mother to Esteban, a teenager who wants to be a writer.
On his seventeenth birthday, Esteban is hit by a car and killed while chasing after actress Huma Rojo for her autograph following a performance of A Streetcar Named Desire, in which she portrays Blanche DuBois. Manuela has to agree with her colleagues at work that her son's heart be transplanted to a man in A Coruña. After travelling after her son's heart, Manuela quits her job and journeys to Barcelona, where she hopes to find her son's father, Lola, a transvestite she kept secret from her son, just as she never told Lola they had a son.
In Barcelona, Manuela reunites with her old friend Agrado, a warm and witty transsexual prostitute. She also meets and becomes deeply involved with several characters: Rosa, a young nun who works in a shelter for battered prostitutes, but is pregnant by Lola and is HIV positive; Huma Rojo, the actress her son had admired; and the drug-addicted Nina Cruz, Huma's co-star and lover. Her life becomes entwined with theirs as she cares for Rosa during her pregnancy and works for Huma as her personal assistant and even acts in the play as an understudy for Nina during one of her drug abuse crises.
On her way to the hospital, Rosa asks the taxi to stop at a park where she spots her father's dog, Sapic, and then her own father, who suffers from Alzheimer's; he does not recognize Rosa and asks for her age and height, but Sapic is cleverer and knows Rosa. Rosa dies giving birth to her son, and Lola and Manuela finally reunite at Rosa's funeral. Lola (whose name used to be Esteban), who is dying from AIDS, talks about how she always wanted a son, and Manuela tells her about her own Esteban and how he died in an accident. Manuela then adopts Esteban, Rosa's child, and stays with him at Rosa's parents' house. The father does not understand who Manuela is, and Rosa's mother says it's the new cook, who is living there with her son. Rosa's father then asks Manuela her age and height.
Manuela introduces Esteban (Rosa's son) to Lola and gives her a picture of their own Esteban. Rosa's mother spots them from the street and then confronts Manuela about letting strangers see the baby. Manuela tells her that Lola is Esteban's father; Rosa's mother is appalled and says: "That is the monster that killed my daughter?!"
Manuela flees back to Madrid with Esteban; she cannot take living at Rosa's house any longer, since the grandmother is afraid that she will contract AIDS from the baby. She writes a letter to Huma and Agrado saying that she is leaving and once again is sorry for not saying goodbye, like she did years before. Two years later, Manuela returns with Esteban to an AIDS convention, telling Huma and Agrado, who now run a stage show together, that Esteban had been a miracle by not inheriting the virus. She then says she is returning to stay with Esteban's grandparents. When Manuela asks Huma about Nina, Huma becomes melancholic and leaves. Agrado tells Manuela that Nina went back to her town, got married, and had a fat, ugly baby boy. Huma then rejoins the conversation briefly before exiting the dressing room to go perform. | melodrama, romantic, queer, flashback | train | wikipedia | null |
tt0083844 | Don't Go to Sleep | A family is moving to grandmother's home for a while. The father, Phillip (Dennis Weaver) is not good fun. He likes kitchen electric appliances and is the one who is driving. The mother, Laura (Valerie Harper) is worried about living with her own mother, but she hopes that this will be the opportunity to forget Jennifer's death. There are also two children, the sensitive Mary (Robin Ignico), who as soon as she arrives to the house feels it calling her name, and stupid naughty boy Kevin (Oliver Robins), who enjoys scaring his sister, e.g. while they are travelling towards the house, he ties a huge spider to a stick with some sewing thread, scaring the hell out of Mary.Grandmother Bernice (Ruth Gordon) talks defiantly to Kevin when he tells her off because she was going to smoke inside the home. Bernice likes doing whatever she pleases and won't listen to her daughter. Laura says good night to Mary, and then she takes some lab tubes from Kevin, who angrily wants them back. After sending the children to sleep, Laura tells Bernice off in person, as soon as she catches her smoking - which is bad for her health.That night, Mary is woken up by the noises outside her bedroom window. There are stange noises and shadows, and her dolls begin to move or be moved a little bit. Mary screams, and when her parents rescue her, her bedroom is on fire. Mary cannot breath because of her panic. Nobody believes Mary when she says that she heard something under her bed. Bernice appears upstairs, smoking again.Kevin doesn't want his sister to sleep with him for the night, and in spite of his slamming of his bedroom door, that's is said and done. Kev is nice to Mary, letting her play with his toys to calm her down. The parents are worried, because they thought that Mary had got over her monster-under-the-bed phase some time ago. Laura is worried, but Phillip think that it's natural for children to have a strong imagination. Some time later, Mary was screaming in her sleep, and even hits Kevin while he's trying to wake her up. When Kevin wakes his parents up, Mary is deeply sleeping, quiet and relaxed. The parents tell Kevin to sleep as well, as nothing is the matter.Later in the night, Kevin plays a trick on Mary. He turns on a recording tape machine and puts in under their bulk beds. Mary cries out for help. Both parents tend to her, but Phil starts saying that he is fed-up, and he doesn't want Mary running into their bedroom every two minutes.The next day, Bernice and Laura have a conversation. Bernice looks at a photograph of Jennifer (Kristin Cumming) and repeats to herself that her death was nobody's fault. Bernice accuses Laura of behaving as if Jennifer was not there, and Laura says that Jennifer is now dead, so that the rest of the family have to go on living their lives.Next time that Mary screams for help - the room is calling at her again - Kevin refrains from waking up his parents. Bernice asks him what happens, and he says that Mary is acting weird again. Meanwhile, Mary is alone in her bedroom. She can't take the situation anymore so she goes under her bed saying "kill me, kill me". Turning around, she faces smiling Jennifer - exactly as in Bernice's photograph.When Laura does tend to Mary, she finds her staring at nothing on the wall under her bed. Laura picks her up. Laura tells Mary that Jennifer is in heaven, so she can't have seen her, but Mary insists.Next day, while her parents are painting the walls, Mary is making some flower garlands. Mary falls sleep. She wakes up to see Jennifer. Mary runs away but stumbles down, giving the opportunity to Jennifer of putting on her head the garland. Jennifer tells Mary that she always loved her little sister best, and that her parents didn't use to love her so much. Mary promises not to forget about her again.Philip insists on Mary not seeing a psychiatrist. Jennifer tells Mary to keep everything a secret, and that Kevin will tell on her at first opportunity. Jennifer will take care of Kevin. So, that night, while Mary is at the bathroom, a toy falls down and hurts Kevin on his head. Kevin won't tell what happened to his parents.Later, Bernice tells Philip to ckeck on the children, but he tells her to do it herself. However, Bernice can't walk very well. On TV, Sarah (Marilyn Coleman) is giving out the news of some boys being lost. Philip has drunk a martini too many, and Bernice says so, which causes him to behave like a snorting children. Philip blames Bernice for pushing the martinis. Bernice goes up the stairs and looks at Jennifer's photo, and mutters: "It was not my fault" with tears in her eyes.Jennifer and Mary want to be together forever. They will use Kevin to get to grandma, they decide merrily. That night, somebody puts Kev's lizard onto a bed. It comes alive and the police and ambulance have to be called. It's Bernice, who can't breath and suffers a heart attack. Kevin and Mary argue about the lizard and grandma's death. Laura grounds Kev, even when he says it was Mary who started the argument.Mary is worried about the psychiatrist she's going to see, but Jennifer will help her, and she will also take care of Kevin. The shrink, Dr Cole (Robert Webber) shows Mary some figures, but Mary gets impacient. Mary says that Kev can be a jerk when he wants. Mary says that she doesn't believe that Jennifer is alive: it was only a dream.Later, Kev and Mary are playing with a frisbee. Mary thrust it onto the roof. Kevin goes to pick it up and he succeeds. When he's coming back, the window opens, pushing Kevin out of the slated roof onto the floor. He is buried. Laura cries at the funeral; Mary and Philip don't. Mary keeps on talking with Cole. She is rude to him, and says that she has gone over her brother's death. Laura tells Philip not to drink too much. They argue about the grief they're going through: it's too much for them. They feed the lizard together.Meanwhile, Mary and Jennifer are reading together. Jennifer scares Mary into thinking that she's going to a nuthouse because Dr Cole doesn't believe her, and her parents are going to move to a smaller house. Laura asks Mary who she was talking to. She suspects it was to Jennifer. Laura cries in front of Jennifer.Dr Cole wants to talk with the three family members at the same time. But, as usual, Philip refuses the idea. He is not worried about Mary, as she is the one who has taken it the best. Laura looks at him as though he doesn't know what he's saying.Later, dad is having a bath while listening to the radio and drinking some martinis. He talks with Mary while she is drying her hair. Mary leaves and it somebody - probably Jennifer - pulls the cable. The radio falls onto the bath. Philip dies instantly.Mary goes to the kitchen happy as ever. Laura has just brought some pizza. She is going upstairs to tell Phil that the pizza is ready while Mary is left in the kitchen cutting the pizza with a pizza cutter. When Laura realises what has happened, she runs away, terrified by Mary, who follows her with the pizza cutter on her hand, calling her "Mommy?, Mommy?" On her way out, Mary falls down the stairs. She manages to get to her feet, get into her car and drive away.At the Community hospital, Mary is on a wheelchair talking to Dr Cole, who says that Dr Robin Smaul (Claudette Nevins), one of the best specialists in the country, is going to take care of Mary.Back home, a nurse is going to sleep in the nearest room to Laura. She takes a sleeping pill to be able to sleep.Meanwhile, Dr Smaul is talking to Mary, the child on a restraining tight jacket. They talks about the night of Jennifer's death. The three children to to Bernice's home. Jennifer picks on Mary and hugs Kevin. They had just left grandma's home. Mary is pissed of at Jennifer, so when Kevin and Jennifer are sleeping on the back seat, Mary ties Jennifer's shoelaces so that she can's get out of the car. Phil is driving too fast, and suddenly the car has no brakes. They crash. Phil rescues Laura, and the two other children leave the car by themselves. When Phil goes to rescue Jennifer, the car explodes onto a million pieces.Mary seems to pass out after confessing everything. Dr Smaul keeps talking to her, and the child says that she is Jennifer, that it was Mary who died in the car accident. Dr Smaul says that she was told that it was otherwise. Suddenly, Jennifer leaves. Mary says that she doesn't want Jennifer to leave as she loves her.Back at the home, the nurse talks to Laura for a second to check that she's all right. The nurse leaves. Before she can doze off onto sleep, Laura sees a figure: it's Jennifer's cruel face who says "hello, mommy".Laura screams.Fade to black.---Written by KrystelClaire | revenge, murder | train | imdb | Given the lack of real menace in the movie, the direction was surprisingly effective in making things creepy.I only wish that made-for-TV productions kept this sort of sensibility.Entirely worth tracking down for aficionados of early 80s horror..
I could only remember bits and pieces: a family of five gets into a car accident, the oldest sister does not survive, and a creepy scene with a pizza cutter running along the banister.
That was about it but it was enough.Finally, I found the title of this movie (Oddly enough by searching for "death by pizza cutter" as a joke on google.com) and couldn't believe after all this time I had found it!Although this movie is obviously early 80's, the story, acting, and general creepiness has been able to withstand the test of time.
Sure, there are moments of cheesiness, but that's a given for most horror/thriller movies and really only adds to the fun in watching one.
I recently heard about this movie and found a 'collector's copy' (read: bootleg) on e-bay(it's a made-for-tv film that was never released on video).
Dennis Weaver and Valerie Harper are amazing as the parents of a little girl who keeps seeing the ghost of her dead sister, killed a year earlier in a mysterious accident (I guarantee you M.
A dead girl, Jennifer, comes back to haunt her younger sister, Mary, and the two wreak havoc (in the form of accidents) on the rest of their family.
The big shocker occurs as a flashback scene towards the end of the movie where we see who is really responsible for Jennifer's death.
It was unexpected at the time, I was looking for a family movie, and it turned out to be a spooky shocker.
It took place in December of 1982 where a girl named Mary survived an auto accident along with her family...her sister Jennifer did not make it.
I last saw this film in 1998 on the late night movie and appreciated it even better for the slick direction and execution of the actors.
Wrapped around this is a ghostly tale of madness and revenge.A top-notch cast, including Ruth Gordon, Dennis Weaver and Valerie Harper, seemingly inspired by the strong story give heartfelt and sometimes painfully real performances, but it is the acting of young Robin Ignico as Mary, who really carries the film with a bravura performance, especially in the closing act.
Perhaps the scariest ghost ever on television The story follows the horrifying breakdown of a family through the apparent ghostly manipulations of a recently deceased daughter, who's tragic death demands revenge.The story pulls no punches with suspense and shocks, with the ghostly Jennifer's startling first appearance and the final scene being highlights.
At the time, I was in my teens, able to remember much of the movie, for this is one of those that stays with you over the years, even if you cannot remember the title of it.A young girl dies in a car accident and seeks revenge on her family by using her sister as a medium for the ghostly activity.
One by one, the family members get knocked off through mysterious circumstances.Dennis Weaver (Duel) and Valerie Harper star as the parents who are having marital troubles, as well as troubled relationships with their surviving children, Mary (Robin Ignico) and Kevin (Oliver Robins).
One would never believe that a made-for-TV horror movie could be any good, but this one is a nice surprise.
I'm so happy I found the title and just like so many of you, I saw it as a kid, my eyes bugged out at the under the bed scene and when she wielded the pizza cutter AT HER MOTHER (OMG!) haha!
It cracks me up on how many of us were kids when we saw it and how most of us probably didn't sleep right for a few nights- too funny!I would LOVE to see a remake in today's special effects!!
I liked this movie cause it was scary at the time and car exploding with the girl in it made me sad.
this movie has stayed in my head all these years, i am 31 and remember little parts of the movie, like the shoelace scene and also how each person in the family was killed, i remember something about a lizard too and a bathtub scene, but the under the bed stuff was the scariest!!
Judging by the unspectacular synopsis and unremarkable VHS cover art, "Don't go to Sleep" looks like one of those random and unremarkable made-for-TV thriller/horror films of the early eighties, but it actually becomes a pleasantly surprising and rewarding experience when you finally decide to give it a viewing chance.
If you're a real thriller/horror buff, don't sleep before you track down a copy of this marvelous film!.
Phillip and Laura (Dennis Weaver and Valerie Harper) and the kids, Kevin and Mary (Oliver Robins and Robin Ignico) are moving in to their new house.
I first saw this movie when I was 7 or 8 years old and all I remembered was bits and pieces.
I too have never forgotten this movie even though it has been YEARS since I've seen it...and nothing scared me more than the final scene...one of the spookiest moments I've ever seen on film.I wasn't thrilled with the performances of the other actors, but I think the two little girls do a good job.
After feeling haunted by this movie since I was six years old, not knowing the title or really any details short of images implanted in my mind, I was able, through the IMDb, to put a title to it.
Dennis Weaver and Valerie Harper are well-cast as bickering marrieds with two kids who move into a new house apparently haunted by the ghost of Jennifer, their deceased eldest child--whom only the younger daughter can see or hear.
Remember sneaking out of bed as a kid to watch scary movies and this was the first (and only) one I remember.
I don't remember much about the film other than a girl played a prank on her sister (tied her shoes together)on a family car trip and then after a wreck the sister died because she couldn't get out of the car when it caught on fire.
I was Teenager who watch on television ABC Station aired on show called "Don't Go to Sleep" is very good scare because the dead sister ghost crazy around in the haunted house.
This is the best horror movie that I ever have seen in all of my life.
There was some pretty good stuff made for the box during the 1970's, and it would seem that tradition was carried on, at least until the early part of the eighties, as Don't Go to Sleep is one of the best made for television horror films that I've seen.
However, the remaining daughter soon begins hearing things at the new house, and it's not long before she's 'in league' with her dead sister and carrying out her revenge - by picking off members of her own family one by one!
It starts out kinda creepy but cutesy and ends up on the frightful side.My question is: If the older daughter can come back as a ghost for revenge then why not the other dead family members?
They had very good reasons to come back for revenge too on _______ (I can't give it away can I?!) I'll confess that parts of the beginning of the film had me scrolling through it (fast-forwarding at times) because it was the "family stuff" going on the screen that was a bit boring to watch for me.
After viewing this film for the first time in about 13 years I found myself not at all disappointed by it and was happy to find that even after all these years this movie still had the effects of creepyness to it to me as it did when i was a kid.*Warning spoilers ahead* After the death of thier oldest daughter Jennifer(the scene most remember, little bratty brother from the poltergeist movies tieing her shoes laces and then the car crashing, everyone getting out accept the oldest daughter whom met her fate in an exploding car)The family has moved to a new house hoping to start over thier lives, Gramma also moves in with them.
Somehow I missed this movie when it was seen on TV back in 1982 (I had a small toddler then, was working full time and didn't have a lot of time for TV watching then).
This little gem was right up there with the best of them.Dennis Weaver and Valerie Harper play parents who lost their eldest daughter in a car accident.
Mary, their surviving daughter begins to see her dead older sister, Jennifer, who encourages Mary to start killing off the surviving family.
I saw this creepy movie when it made its debut on television some 19 years ago.It was extremely chilling,and in fact frightened me quite a bit as a youngster.Even the picture in the TV Guide was pretty spooky.It's one of those late night treats that might only appear on TV once every 8 years or so.In fact,I'd say its one of the top 5 made-for-TV movies in the "creepy department."It was just exceptionally well done all the way around.The acting,the characters,the plot,and especially the ending were all outstanding.Dennis Weaver plays the father of a family that lost their oldest daughter in a car accident endured by the family,which consisted of a mother and two younger children,a boy and a girl.
The third and oldest was daughter Jennifer,(Kristen Cumming),who unlike the rest of the family,was unable to escape from the car due to a prank played upon her by her two younger siblings that consisted of having both her shoes tied together by the laces.
The film avoided any gore,and yet kept up its stunningly effective chilling pitch throughout.From start to finish,this movie is a must see for anyone who enjoys spooky movies.For added creepiness,watch this one late at night with all the lights off,-you'll be in for a treat!!!.
Like all of you here,I've only seen this movie a couple of times,and not at all in the past 3-6 years,I think it was 1998,or 1999,when I last saw this.I had taped it,but lost the tape,and I haven't seen this movie since to tape it again.I thought that this was a pretty good chiller for it's time (1982),as this was just before movies like Friday the 13th,and Nightmare on Elm Street came out,and was around the time of the first Poltergeist movie (which the brother from that one,Oliver Robins,plays the brother of this one,as well).Some scenes you guys didn't comment on,that I'd like to comment on were the scene where Kevin (Oliver Robins),plays a prank on Mary,where he makes scary sounds into a recorder,and then plays it back later that night,to scare Mary.That was a funny scene.Also,at the end of the movie,when Mary's all locked away in an insane-asylum,she's talking with the doctor,while tied up in a strait-jacket,and it's revealed that Mary was jealous of Jennifer because Jennifer was,in Mary's eyes,much more beloved by the family,including their grandmother (Ruth Gordon),than Mary was,making Mary very jealous of Jennifer,which lead to Mary willingly participating in the prank with Kevin that lead to Jennifer's death.We see the grandmother,as she sees the family off that night,praising Jennifer for how smart,and beautiful she is,etc........,and that makes Mary very jealous.Some of the deaths are easily avoidable,like Dennis Weaver's when he's in the bathroom,with the radio in the tub,and Kevin's,when he goes up on the roof to get the Frisbee Mary throws up there.I mean, especially Dennis Weaver,how stupid,any 5 year old knows not to put anything electrical,like a radio,that close to a tub,where the thing could fall in,and electrocute you,and all Kevin had to do was go upstairs,and go out the window to grab the Frisbee,he wouldn't have been killed if he had done that,rather than climb up on the roof from the outside.The filmmakers did a good job keeping us in suspense as to whether Jennifer,the ghost,was doing all the killing,or if it was Mary doing them,keeping us guessing which of the 2 sisters were actually doing all the killing,though at the end,where Jennifer greets her mother (Valerie Harper),at the end of the bed,reveals that it might've been Jennifer,the ghost,that was the killer,after-all.I really liked this movie,and wish I could tape it again,but maybe I'll look for it on Ebay, or other similar web-sites,but I'd recommend anyone that if you catch this on TV one day,or get a-hold of a copy,to watch it,and/or buy it, you won't be disappointed.
but, I still enjoyed watching this movie.It isn't always possible to forget who someone is and be able delve into the character like she accomplished here.
The oldest daughter, Jennifer (Kristen Cumming), was killed in a car accident while the rest of the family survived.
And that alone is enough to recommend this movie.Young actors Robin Ignico, Kristen Cumming and Oliver Robins (of "Poltergiest" fame, who here plays brother Kevin) are all very natural in their roles - Cumming is both childlike and eerie, Ignico is amazing as Mary (I only remembered her as Duffy from "Annie"), and Robins is totally believable as the annoying younger brother.
Director Richard Lang and writer Ned Wynn need more recognition for their work on this film, as do the actors.I can see why the title is "Don't Go To Sleep" because I sure had a hard time nodding off after watching it!
All I could remember was the scene where Jennifer's shoe laces were tied together in the car and the car blowing up as well as the creepy ending.
It's a well made TV movie about an all-American family that has lost a daughter in a car accident.
It was a very creepy movie but must have been very good to stick in my head all this time.
I never saw the name of the film, I only knew that I was going to watch a horror movie.
It was actually made for TV and that shocked me because it was so good.*SPOILERS* All I remembered of the film was a family with three children, two young (a boy and girl) and one older (girl).
The girl comes back to haunt them through the younger daughter, and does a very convincing job (from what I can remember).This movie is highly recommended, and I give it a 10/10..
What Don't Go to Sleep is, is a quintessential made-for-TV horror movie from the eighties, that is surprisingly creepy and genuinely terrifying that possesses a thick atmosphere that you could almost drown in.
Don't Go to Sleep is an astonishingly creepy made-for-television film, and one of the best made for television horror films that I've ever seen.The plot centres on an all-American family who a year previously were in a car accident as the father, Phillip (played by Dennis Weaver), was driving under the influence.
Try watching that before you go to bed!Although restrained in terms of budget - which most TV movies are), the plot is the main theme which really makes this film very creepy and scary.
I love the brilliant climactic scene that sees Mary looking like hell in a straight-jacket in a padded room being interrogated by a doctor, where it finally reveals what really happened on the night of Jennifer's fiery death, and it's a doozie!
Tiny nitpick, as much as I like how there turned out to really be a Jennifer, just think how much more disturbing a film it would be if Mary had been schizophrenic and had a split-personality the whole time, and the approach to the horror would have been revealed as psychological rather than supernatural.
This film is much better than alot of so-called 'scary' movies out there.
I LOVE the 'Planet of the Apes' movies...but I don't think they're at all 'good.' I'll watch them time and again, and subject friends and family to them, but I'd never suggest they're decent films!
It is not even a good horror movie.
'Don't Go to Sleep' follows a family into a new home and life after the elder sister has died in (we find out later) a fiery car accident (a la 'Simpsons').
Now, the younger sister is haunted by the 'ghost' of her dead sibling, and this leads her to pick off every member of the family in a series of deftly orchestrated accidents until only her mother (Valerie Harper) remains.
My wife, like so many writers here, saw this movie when she was young and it stayed with her (mainly, I suspect, because of the bad little girls), so I bought a copy of it for her.
I remember watching this film, with my best friend at the time Dwight, and found it interesting for a 13 year old.
A prank goes bad, as always in these revenge horror film, but this time the, twisted, sister gets here misdirected revenge from beyond the grave.
(I'm glad I did) I don't usually find many movies that "scare" me, but there are exceptions "In Possession", "The Grudge" (Japanese version), "Ghostwatch" and finally "Don't go to sleep".The story centres on a family who a year before has a car accident as the father has had one too many drinks and their eldest daughter gets killed due to a prank done on her by her younger siblings.
(Played by Ruth Gordon)She then later comes back as a ghost and haunts the younger sister who after a while becomes friends when Jennifer the older sister reveals herself to her, but this friendship becomes sinister when the sisters (mostly Jennifer who is out for revenge) decides to kill off other members of their family.
Later on while her mother is sleeping, (played by Valerie Harper) Jennifer appears in front with a very evil grin on her face.
When her mother screams, the movie ends.Although this was a very low budget TV movie, the storyline is the main theme which makes this film creepy and very scary. |
tt0075648 | Airport '77 | A privately owned luxury Boeing 747-100, Stevens' Flight 23, flies invited guests to an estate in Palm Beach, Florida, owned by wealthy philanthropist Philip Stevens, who also owns the jetliner. Valuable artwork from Stevens's private collection is also on board the jetliner, to be eventually displayed in his new museum. Such a collection motivates a group of thieves led by co-pilot Bob Chambers to hijack the aircraft.
Once Captain Don Gallagher leaves the cockpit and is knocked unconscious, the hijackers' plans go into action. A sleeping gas, which one of the hijackers secretly installed before the flight, is released into the cabin and the passengers lose consciousness. Knocking out the flight engineer, Chambers moves forward with the hijacking, and Stevens' Flight 23 "disappears" into the Bermuda Triangle. Descending to virtual wave-top altitude, Flight 23 heads into a fog bank, reducing visibility to less than a mile. Minutes later, a large offshore drilling platform emerges from the haze, Flight 23 heading straight for it at nearly 600 knots.
Chambers pulls back on the yoke in a banking left turn, but an engine clips the derrick and catches fire. Chambers immediately hits the fire extinguishing button, and the flames are momentarily extinguished. Because the aircraft is at such a low altitude, the sudden loss of airspeed threatens to stall the airplane. As the engine reignites, Chambers is forced to use another fire suppression bottle. But by this time, the aircraft stall alarm is activated and the aircraft's tail hits the water. All the passengers wake up, and realizing what is happening, most panic. Chambers is able to pull up, but the plane's right wing hits the water again. The plane lifts into the air for a moment, then hits the water. Because of the hard impact, the plane becomes grounded in the ocean and begins to sink.
The ocean floor is above the crush depth of the fuselage. Many of the passengers are injured, some seriously. Two of the would-be thieves die in the initial crash. Banker is in the hold securing the art for the transfer when a cargo container causes a breach of the outer skin, crushing and drowning him. Wilson dies when he slams into the flight panel on impact. Since the aircraft was off course, search and rescue efforts are focused in the wrong area. Involved in these efforts are Phillip Stevens and Joe Patroni. The only way to signal rescue efforts to the proper region is to get a signal buoy to the surface in a small dinghy. Captain Gallagher and diver Martin Wallace enter the main cargo, but Wallace is crushed by the hatch. Gallagher, out of oxygen, swims to the surface and activates the beacon after he climbs into the dinghy. Getting a fix on the new signal, an S-3 Viking overflies the crash site, confirming the location of Flight 23.
The Navy dispatches a sub-recovery ship, the USS Cayuga (LST-1186), the destroyer USS Agerholm (DD-826), and a flotilla of other vessels. The aircraft is ringed with balloons, and once inflated, the aircraft rises from the bottom of the seafloor. Just before the plane breaks surface, one of the balloons breaks loose, prompting the Navy captain to reduce the air pressure of the remaining balloons, thus keeping the plane just beneath the waves. One of the doors in the cargo hold bursts open, causing the plane to flood. The cascade of sea water sweeps through the passengers; First Officer Chambers dies when he is pinned under a sofa. Wallace's widow drowns as the Navy captain orders more air pressure into the balloons, finally raising the plane successfully. Once on the surface, the remaining passengers are evacuated. With the survivors on their way to waiting ships, Captain Gallagher and Stevens' assistant, Eve, are evacuated from the aircraft after escaping through the 747's upper deck. The 747 then slips under the waves for the last time. | suspenseful, murder | train | wikipedia | Featuring Oscar-winning and nominated stars like Lemmon, Grant, de Havilland, Quinlan, Kennedy and Stewart, it also offers one of the best caliber casts of the '70's disaster cycle.
Of course all good plans go awry and they go down in the Bermuda Triangle into some relatively shallow area of the Atlantic.Hey they could have gone down and been lost for decades like the Titanic was.That's essentially the plot here and in true Seventies disaster film tradition you load the screen with big names, dress them fashionably and put them in harm's way.
Almost twenty years before he supported James Stewart in Bell, Book,and Candle and now the billing is most definitely reversed.My favorites in the film are Joseph Cotten and Olivia DeHavilland, a classy and elegant pair of passengers who so typify the glamor of old Hollywood.Christopher Lee also performs against type, he's not the villain here in fact he turns out quite the hero among the passengers.
In typical "Airport" fashion, a routine plane ride, this time carrying various celebrities and other high-profile people, gets into some trouble when it crashes into the ocean in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle....Though the decor of the flash plane filled with VIP's is dreary compared to the fabulous colours of the chairs in "Airport 1975", the characters are a major improvement, along with the actual danger that the passengers and crew are placed in.In typical Disaster Movie style, the cast is large, and many of them are forgettable, however, stand-out performances in "Airport '77" include Jack Lemmon in a serious role as the likable Captain Gallagher, Lee Grant is Karen Wallace a VIP guest of the nasty variety, the underrated Pamela Bellwood as a young mother, the lovely Kathleen Quinlann is as usual outstanding, but unfortunately under-used here, but the stand-out star of the film is of course Brenda Vaccaro as Captain Gallagher's girlfriend Even Clayton.
Nevertheless, she is fantastic, it is a shame she is not more recognized for her work.Overall, "Airport '77" is a terrific, and often overlooked addition to the genre, with a super cast, great direction, and a very interesting scene in which the plane is raised from the ocean, according to the credits, this is the actual method used by the Navy, which is a nice addition to the film..
would make fun of Edith Head being credited for '77 like that, by crediting their own costumer, but 27 years later, the wardrobe makes the cast of '77 appear tremendously dashing, giving the tragedy that greater a feel as well.Jack Lemmon was an incredible standout as the hero of the piece, in comparison to Paul Newman's sexism in Towering Inferno (he never speaks to Jennifer Jones as a human during their entire ordeal with the children) or Heston's stiffness or McQueen's inexpressiveness.
Airport '77 is the second sequel in the Airport franchise.Boeing 747 is carrying some valuable art of wealthy philanthropist Philip Stevens.A group of art thieves hijack the plane and soon they crash it to the Bermuda triangle.The passengers survive but for how long?
Jerry Jameson's disaster movie from 1977 is a mighty entertaining movie.It's packed with the brightest stars.James Stewart is Philip Stevens.Jack Lemmon is Captain Don Gallagher.That's two of my favorite actors.The real lady Olivia de Havilland plays Emily Livingston.Joseph Cotten plays Nicholas St. Downs III.George Kennedy is Joe Patroni.Christopher Lee is Martin Wallace.Lee Grant is Karen Wallace.M.Emmett Walsh plays Dr.Williams.So there are many great stars in a great jam.Airport '77 offers many intense moments under the water.Everybody not suffering from claustrophobia should see this..
Filmed at the height of the disaster genre from the 7os , this entry in the spectacular series profits of an enjoyable acting by Jack Lemmon , bringing life to character , in fact , to prepare for his role, Jack attended both diving school and flight training school , as he wanted to know what all the knobs and dials were for .
This sagas belongs the following films : the first was ¨Airport¨ (1970) , unanimously deemed the best , it paved the way for many lesser flicks including its many sequels , being directed by George Seaton with Burt Lancaster , Jean Seberg , Dean Martin , Van Heflin ; ¨Airport 75¨ (1974) by Jack Smight with Charlton Heston , Karen Black and Gloria Swanson , ¨Airport 77¨ (1977) considered one of the best of the series , leading to the last of the tired ones , ¨Airport 79¨ , (1979) by David Lowell Rich with Alain Delon , Robert Wagner , Silvia Kristel .
It has perhaps the best cast of names of any disaster film, including Jack Lemmon (curiously cast as a pilot), Lee Grant and Robert Foxworth (who would both appear a year later in 'Damien: Omen II' (1978)), Christopher Lee, Brenda Vaccaro, George Kennedy, Olivia de Havilland, Joseph Cotten AND James Stewart, to mention just some of the biggest names.Also, as the poster suggests, most of the action takes place underwater.
Don't worry about it being a plane - just buy into the possibility that James Stewart's character was so stinking rich and so concerned about his passengers and his art treasures that he bothered to make it the equivalent of a flying submarine (but a fragile one)!This is an outrageous film - there are no two ways about it - but it certainly beats the cartoon-ish sequel featuring the Concorde, which stinks to high heaven in comparison!It also possibly provided some vital training work for director Jerry Jameson before he went on to helm the doomed 'Raise The Titanic' (1980).
And, perhaps, Brenda Vaccaro was comforted for suffering pneumonia after filming this flick by the thought that all those innocent theme park tourists were suffering a similar fate!Anyway, aside from the Concorde sequel, this is the most outrageous of the 'Airport' films - if any of them could actually be considered realistic viewing, then that's one on me!Watching Lee Grant acting her co-stars in circles is a great pleasure to be gained from this entry into the franchise and the special effects, although dated now, of course, are still a lot of fun to watch!
James Stewart, plays an Ageing Millionaire who owns a priceless artwork collection ,which is due to be flown to his museum, on his state of the art 747, Among the artwork their are several VIP's and Stewart's estranged daughter,who are all traveling in style to Stewart's museum, A group of thieves hijack the 747 mid flight Which in dense fog, collide's with an off shore oil rig, and Spectacuarly plunges the craft off radar and in to mysterious depths in the waters of the Bermuda triangle, Jack Lemmon, takes over From Charlton Heston,as the heroic pilot, Falcon Crest's Robert Foxworth is Lemmon's co-pilot who aids the hijackers,Brenda Vaccaro,plays Lemmon's love interest who is a stewardess, Also on board is Christopher Lee,a businessman who has a shrewd alcoholic wife to contend with played by Lee Grant, Joseph Cotten, and Olivia De Havilland,play autumn year lover's, And George Kennedy in a probable contractually obliged role returns as 'Joe Patrioni.
And this time around, there is a slight element of the supernatural, as most of the goings-on in the second half of the film take place in that part of the Atlantic bounded by Miami, Puerto Rico, and Bermuda—the infamous Bermuda Triangle, where it is said ships and planes have been known to vanish without a trace.The plane in question is the new Stevens Corporation jumbo jet, whose owner (James Stewart) has invited many dignitaries onboard to take a flight from Washington to his place in Palm Beach, Florida for the opening of his new art museum and library grounds.
Since physical underwater rescue of the passengers is impossible, the Navy is forced to use pontoons to somehow raise the plane up to the surface long enough to get the passengers out.Lemmon's performance as the pilot is one of many reasons why AIRPORT '77 works as well as it does; his Everyman quality is the kind audiences appreciate (much like pilot Chesley Sullenberger in the real-life 2009 Miracle On The Hudson).
And the climactic rescue operation sequence, though it requires a suspension of disbelief not uncommon for the disaster genre, is also quite good too.John Cacavas' score, which goes from brooding avant-garde to typical grandiose orchestral gestures, is the icing on the cake for AIRPORT '77, a film that manages to be suspenseful and entertaining, while dialing down some of the worst excesses of the disaster genre that so alienated critics, and doing so with solid performances from almost all of the cast involved..
Airport '77 is a movie that fits the standard disaster genre formula: an all-star cast in peril who try to save themselves and each other.As it has been noted in other posts, it is virtually and physically impossible for a 747 to crash in the ocean and submerged underwater almost intact.
Old Hollywood stars like James Stewart, Olivia de Havilland, Christopher Lee and Jack Lemmon are in this film, and Lemmon is absolutely the best one here in his acting.
The third in the series of Airport films sees another stellar cast against the clock with an interesting setting for another disaster, probably the third of three that can possibly happen without retreading old plots.
First, it has a really good cast, with Jack Lemmon as an appealing hero/pilot, Brenda Vaccaro as a sympathetic and vulnerable flight attendant, Christopher Lee as a virtuous passenger, and James Stewart lending a bit of class as the worried jet owner.
Jack Lemmon and Jimmy Stewart act like it's 1954, Christopher Lee delivers his lines with a distinct look of someone with a poker up their bum, and Brenda Vaccaro takes over head stewardess duties from Karen Black.
Hey, if Jack Lemmon could play a character in an Airport movie with such conviction and without looking like an idiot, he obviously could do anything !
There's no question the idea of turning a plane into a submarine was absolutely preposterous and the special effects are ridiculously dated but the script is fun and the cast and characters not bad at all (a big improvement from AIRPORT 75).
It appears that the CO pilot did not know how to fly this plane because the plane's wing hits a tower and crashes in the Bermuda Triangle.This film gets a boost from Jack Lemon as well as Christopher Lee. He is the dedicated caption.
The biggest revelation upon seeing the theatrical cut was how all of George Kennedy's scenes before the crash weren't there any more.Even at it's best, Airport 77 is only par for the course as far as disaster movies go.
All of the passengers on the plane and the chief pilot are faced with how to rescue themselves before they run out of air to breathe while believing no one knows where they have crashed.Watch for the small cameo role of Chris Lemmon (Jack's son) as a fighter pilot looking for the sunken 747..
But as soon as the plane crashes and lands below the surface, the plot becomes waterlogged with too many unrealistic soapopera sub-plots involving an extremely uninteresting cast of characters.Jack Lemmon was a last minute replacement for a Charlton Heston-like hero role and he and Brenda Vaccaro actually do a good job of emoting.
Not much else can be said for the rest of the cast--Christopher Lee, Lee Grant (strident and over-the-top as a sarcastic, slightly tipsy wife), Olivia de Havilland and Joseph Cotten as reunited lovers, Darren McGavin, Kathleen Quinlan and others, left to the mercy of a witless script.The rescue operation is by far the most exciting and credible part of the whole story, making the implausible seem almost plausible.
Another all-star cast(including Jack Lemmon, Jimmy Stewart, Darren McGavin, Olivia De Havilland, Christopher Lee, Lee Grant, and returning actor George Kennedy as Joe Patroni) enliven this film about a 747 loaded with valuable art and passengers is threatened by thieves who knock out the crew with gas, in order to steal the art, only the plan goes wrong and they crash into shallow(100 feet) of ocean water.
The survivors desperately try to escape the plane, before it's flooded.Despite a plot that seems like a cross between "Airport" & "The Poseidon Adventure", this entry is surprisingly entertaining, with good direction by Jerry Jameson, and good acting by the stars, especially Jack Lemmon, who invests his character with more humanity and character than was likely in the script.Highly satisfying yarn with a plot later memorably used in an early episode of "The Incredible Hulk" TV series(called '747'!).
I think there are good performances turned in by Jack Lemmon, Jimmy Stewart, Brenda Vaccaro, Olivia De Havilland, Joseph Cotten, Darren McGavin, and George Kennedy as part of the all-star cast that's featured here.
A passenger plane does a crash dive into the sea.Jack Lemmon, Pamela Bellwood before Dynasty, Joseph Cotten, James Stewart, Darren McGavin not being The Night Stalker, Christopher Lee long before Star Wars, Gil Gerard not being Buck Rogers...so many interesting faces here!I was first introduced to this film in the late 1970s or early 1980s with the "extended TV version" which basically sucked.Years and years later I saw the much better (and shorter) "theatrical version"...now I love Airport '77.However, the first Airport film of 1970 had such a powerful and uplifting musical score at the start of the flick...it is too bad the following Airport movies, like this one, are missing that great music..
The best of the "Airport" franchise (which continues the fad of naming the film after its vintage) has Jack Lemmon as the unlikely hero when the plane he captains is hijacked in a inside job, then crashes into the ocean, coming to rest on the sea floor.
A daring escape plan ensues for the survivors, while George Kennedy returns as airline disaster Mr Fix-it Joe Petroni, to co-ordinate a rescue attempt from above the waves.77's best asset is its eclectic cast combining some true Hollywood heavyweights (de Havilland, Stewart, Cotten and Lemmon in particular) and a stable of reliable B-movie actors (Quinlan, Markham, Pataki and Walsh to name a few) under the expert tutelage of cult movie director Jameson.
It's not as good as the first movie, but it has a better cast and better production values than its immediate predecessor AIRPORT 1975.Proving once again that's perfectly watchable in any role he lands in, James Stewart plays billionaire Philip Stevens, who has turned one of his old estates into a million dollar-worth art museum.
But when they plane gets lost in the Bermuda triangle, the plane crashes and submerges in the middle of the ocean, leaving the passengers in a claustrophobic fight for survival in the vein of THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE.The cast is much better this time around, instead of a "who's who" of Hollywood has-been's and TV stars as the previous AIRPORT 1975, including Brenda Vaccaro as a flight stewardess and Gallagher's girlfriend, Christopher Lee as a selfless marine biologist married to bitchy alcoholic wife Lee Grant and Olivia De Havilland and Joesph Cotten landing in some great supporting performances.
The film starred a number of veteran actors, including Jack Lemmon, James Stewart, Joseph Cotten, Christopher Lee and Olivia de Havilland.
Jack Lemmon as the captain, Jimmy Stewart as the millionaire who owned the plane, George Kennedy who played in all 4 of the AIRPORT movies, made up some of the key characters.The great Chris Lee who has played in some of the most god awful movies ever and has also played in the greatest films ever made in my opinion THE LORD OF THE RINGS series, also played maybe the most memorable role in this movie.I feel silly because I wondered why this film had the "'77" in the title and just today I found out that this is the third in a series of 4 AIRPORT movies.
I was moved to see this film because of its wonderful cast with actors as Joseph Cotten, Christopher "Dracula" Lee, James Stewart, Jack Lemmon, and the excellent actress Olivia De Havilland.
An early popcorn flick - like all the disaster films were.In this sequel, Jack Lemmon plays the ever-present Heroic Captain who must save the day as his ship gets a) hijacked, b) crashed into the ocean and c) lost by the search planes.
In fact, compared to the other "Airport" sequels, it qualifies as high art, simply because director Jerry Jameson and his all-star cast (Jack Lemmon, Brenda Vaccaro, Lee Grant, Darren McGavin, Christopher Lee, Olivia DeHavilland, Joseph Cotten, etc.) actually take the whole thing seriously and seem to be trying to do good work, instead of phoning in inept cameos and working harder at cashing paychecks than giving decent performances.The plot is definitely the film's weakest component: luxury jumbojet full of jetsetters (and two children for sympathy's sake) and priceless artwork is hijacked by a gang of art thieves (and a crooked copilot) and driven into the Bermuda Triangle after the pilot and passengers are knocked out with nerve gas.
The acting isn't great, two time Oscar winner Jack Lemmon has said since it was a mistake to star in this, one time Oscar winner James Stewart looks old & frail, also one time Oscar winner Lee Grant looks drunk while Sir Christopher Lee is given little to do & there are plenty of other familiar faces to look out for too.Airport '77 is the most disaster orientated of the three Airport films so far & I liked the ideas behind it even if they were a bit silly, the production & bland direction doesn't help though & a film about a sunken plane just shouldn't be this boring or lethargic.
I also liked John Cacavas' music.The cast includes George Kennedy, James Stewart, Jack Lemmon, Christopher Lee, Olivia De Haviland, M.
Once again it has a grand old cast, people like James Stewart, Jack Lemon, Joseph Cotten,Olivia De Havilland, Christopher Lee and Darren McGavin. |
tt0443274 | Vantage Point | U.S. President Henry Ashton (Hurt) attends a political summit in Salamanca, Spain, to promote an international treaty. Displayed with eight differing viewpoints, an assassination attempt on the president occurs, relayed in a time span of 23 minutes. Each time the events unfold from the beginning, a new vantage point is shown revealing additional details, which ultimately completes the story of what actually took place during the incident.
From the first vantage point, GNN producer Rex Brooks (Weaver), directs various media personnel from a mobile television studio as the president arrives at the gathering. Mayor De Soto (Rodriguez) delivers a short speech and then introduces the president, who is shot twice as he greets the crowd from the podium. An explosion outside the plaza soon follows. Moments later, the podium itself is destroyed by a secondary explosion, killing and injuring numerous people. As the smoke clears, GNN reporter Angie Jones (Saldana) is seen lying dead in the rubble.
The second vantage point follows Secret Service agents Thomas Barnes (Quaid) and Kent Taylor (Fox). Barnes notices a curtain fluttering in the window of a nearby building that was allegedly vacated. He also observes American tourist Howard Lewis (Whitaker) filming the audience. After the president is shot, Barnes tackles a man rushing to the podium named Enrique (Noriega). Taylor pursues a lead to a potential assassin. Following the second explosion, Barnes barges into the GNN production studio and asks to view their footage. He calls Taylor, who reports the direction of the suspected assassin's escape route. Barnes then views an image on one of the camera's live feeds that startles him and prompts him to run out.
In the third vantage point, Enrique, a Spanish police officer assigned to protecting the mayor of Salamanca, sees his girlfriend Veronica (Zurer), being embraced by a stranger and overhears them speaking about meeting under an overpass. When he confronts her, Veronica assures Enrique of her love for him as he hands her a bag. When the president is shot, Enrique rushes onto the stage to protect the mayor, but is tackled by Barnes. While being detained, he witnesses Veronica toss the bag he gave her under the podium, causing the second explosion. Enrique escapes as the agents who previously had him in custody mount a chase while firing shots in his direction, failing to subdue him. Enrique confronts an unseen individual at the overpass and asks if he is surprised to see him still alive.
The fourth vantage point revolves around Howard Lewis who is chatting with a man called Sam (Taghmaoui), while a little girl named Anna (Zapien), bumps into him and drops her ice cream. Later, Lewis notices Barnes looking at the curtain fluttering in the window of a nearby building, and captures the footage with his camcorder. Following the second explosion at the podium, Lewis chases Enrique and the pursuing Secret Service agents. At the overpass, Lewis views the pair of agents from afar shooting in the direction of Enrique as he greets an individual in a police uniform under the overpass. Seriously wounded, Enrique falls to the ground. Lewis sees Anna who had earlier become separated from her mother, trying to cross a busy intersection. An ambulance races down the road about to hit Anna, as Lewis runs out to save her.
The fifth vantage point begins as President Ashton, having been informed of a credible assassination threat, has returned to his hotel room with his aides while his body double proceeds to the gathering in the plaza. The President talks with his personnel about the reason for the terrorists' plot, the retaliation by the U.S. to the plot, the return of Barnes to active duty, and giving the order for the retaliation to proceed. The first explosion occurs just outside the hotel. Seconds later, a masked assailant bursts into the president's room, shoots his advisers and then proceeds to abduct Ashton.
By the sixth vantage point, terrorist Suarez, previously seen as Sam, shoots Ashton's body double using a remote-controlled automatic rifle placed in an adjacent window next to the one with the fluttering curtain that had drawn Barnes' attention earlier. The rifle is retrieved by Taylor, who Barnes sees leaving the scene wearing a Spanish policeman's uniform on one of the GNN live feeds, even though he tells Barnes that he's in pursuit of the assassin over the phone. Barnes realizes Taylor is actually part of the terror plot. The man Enrique saw embracing Veronica is revealed to be sharpshooter Javier (Ramirez), whose brother is being held hostage to ensure Javier's cooperation with the terrorists. The first explosion, at the hotel, is revealed to be a device detonated by a suicide bomber disguised as a bellhop who had previously handed Javier a hotel room key. Javier kills the guards and aides within the hotel, and kidnaps the president. Ashton is later placed in an ambulance with Suarez and Veronica disguised as medics. Javier joins Taylor in a police car to a planned rendezvous at the overpass. Barnes commandeers a car and chases Taylor and Javier. Barnes gets into a collision with a truck, allowing the duo to escape. At the overpass, Enrique, who did not die in the blast at the podium as intended, confronts Javier and Taylor. Enraged, Javier shoots Enrique, mistakenly believing he had knowledge of his kidnapped brother's whereabouts. Javier is then shot and killed by Taylor when he demands to be brought to his brother, who had been killed earlier by Suarez. Enrique dies of his wounds as Barnes reaches the scene on foot firing several rounds at Taylor, who attempts to flee. After crashing his car, a critically injured Taylor is dragged out by Barnes. He orders Taylor to reveal where the president has been taken, but Taylor dies. Meanwhile, Ashton regains consciousness in the ambulance and attacks Veronica, distracting her and Suarez just as Anna runs into their path. Suarez swerves causing the ambulance to flip over just as Lewis pulls Anna out of its way. Barnes runs to the ambulance where he sees Veronica lying dead. He shoots Suarez dead and rescues the president. | romantic, mystery, murder, flashback | train | wikipedia | As the Bourne series raises the bar for action films, and audiences balk at two-plus hour runtimes, the filmmakers of Vantage Point seem like they are trying to bring a fresh, new, unconventional take on the action/thriller genre.
Though it may annoy some people, I felt the new take turns Vantage Point into a taut terrorist thriller.The new take or approach is jumping right into the moment (everything is already planned out, people and weapons in place, etc.) of the action and then telling it from eight different points of view.
This is where some people may be mildly irritated because after you see one point of view everything is suddenly rewound and shown from the next person's point of view (this is done six times) before they all converge into a thrilling finale filled with one massive adrenaline-fuelled car/chase sequence.Because of the complex twists and turns of the plot and characters I will be brief, very brief actually, on the plot.
The editing must be commended in this film as it blends all the points of views so sophisticatedly you cannot help being engrossed, and the star-studded cast includes Dennis Quaid, Mathew Fox, Forest Whitaker, William Hurt, and Sigourney Weaver simply adds to everything.In the theater I was watching some people called out their annoyance of "again?!" on the fifth rewind, which I find amusing as the filmmakers are simply trying to come up with something new in these sequel-ridden times.
And probably as those same people say Hollywood is "out of ideas" they get angry when it tries something "different" and would rather go spend their money on Spider-man 8.I felt Vantage Point was an intelligent thriller, and yes it had its' share of implausible plot points, but these were minor as the new technique makes you feel like you have an all-seeing surveillance system.
Slowly, I got drawn into things, and by the time the we were at the fourth vantage point, I was fascinated by how all the stories interrelated with each other, and wondering the story would end up.The acting is uniformly excellent, especially that of Dennis Quaid, who I had previously considered a mostly comic actor, but is very convincing here as a Secret Service agent.The direction and script are also excellent, especially when you consider both are first-timers in the world of feature films.
Seeing all the plot threads converge in such a convincing matter was nice, as was the final action scene, which seems like it was plucked right out of one of the Bourne films.
It gets a little annoying because each time it stops, the audience is left on a cliffhanger which carries the film's tension into the next character.As for what the film promises, it promises a good puzzle, suspense and intense action.
The film is told from multiple viewpoints and the events that transpire within a 23-minute time frame, thus a Groundhog Day-like experience.Vantage Point is really just an action film .
The result is a cool action flick with some clever storytelling that sort of fizzles in the end.In "Vantage Point," the President of the United States (William Hurt) arrives in Salamanca, Spain to give a speech on global terrorism efforts and ties with Spain to improve them.
The terrorists are entirely new faces, which is no real surprise.As the film first presents the vantage point concept, the first thirty or forty-five minutes develop a redundancy.
I really enjoyed this movie, because of it's editing, wonderful actors and full packed action.The movie tells the same story from 8 different persepectives, most of them from a character view, makes the puzzle clear till the end.
They all culminate at about the same point and once we've seen all of them the action continues from there into a perfect ending.This film really gets going right away and there is no time for a potty break.
At the end new vantage point is shown revealing additional details, which definitively completes the flick of what really took place during the incident and who was involved in the conspiracy.Stirring as well as exciting film packs noisy action , thrills , suspense , explosions , violence , twits and turns .
The cast includes: that includes Sigourney Weaver (the only one who does not annoy), Forest Whitaker (dude, you just won an Oscar and this is what you come up with next?), Matthew Fox (if you're gonna be picky about movies at least pick something worthwhile), Dennis Quaid (how many times do we have to see a way-passed-middle-aged man play the action hero who saves the world?), Said Taghmaoui (just look how impartial the filmmakers are that they cast an Arab to play a terrorist leader!), Eduardo Noriega (as the Spanish police who had no clue before it was too late), Ayelet Zurer (a hot she-terrorist who's obviously there for eye-candy), Zoe Saldana (the annoying reporter for whom we're supposed to feel sorry because of her untimely death)Edgar Ramirez (the typical innocent-guy-who's-forced-by-circumstances or else terrorists will kill his brother) and William Hurt (the American president who can do no wrong).
While you do not need and in depth character study for all films, usually there is someone you emphasize with.As I watch the film, the fourth time the story rewound, the scoffs in the theater had become out-loud laughs, and not the good kind, the kind that tells you the rest of the audience agrees with your own thought of how stupid the film really is.In the end, there is no real story and surprisingly mediocre performances from actors who usually perform rather well.
Inside Plaza Mayor in Salamanca, Spain the president (William Hurt) is preparing himself to make a speech on the anti-terrorism international summit
For months, President Ashton has been working with leaders from five continents to take a stand against global terror
Security services were on high alert
But suddenly agent Thomas Barnes (Dennis Quaid) saw something like a flash of light and two shots were heard
The president appears to have been hit
It also appears there was a mysterious woman with the name of Veronica (Ayelet Zurer) throwing 'something' underneath the podium
But soon Barnes discovers that something has gone rogue and there's something else going on
It's like somebody has been set up
It's like this war will never end
Viewed through different points of view and multiple perspectives, "Vantage Point" is an extremely energetic motion picture featuring the best I've seen of car chases used to maximum effect by director Pete Travis.
The real problem is that the eight perspectives of the 'event' are all from people that were at the same place & time and the audience must suffer through eight dull recounts of the same story with the added bonus of a little piece of the puzzle thrown in at the very end of the eight separate segments.
Vantage Point" attempts to show a violent day in Spain from several view points: an American tourist with a video camera, a Spanish police officer, A CNN-like news network, an American president, the a secret service agent who took a bullet for him, and the terrorist plot to attack him.
I think the ending was satisfying because the "good" people survived, and the "bad" were exposed, and the secret service agent played by Dennis Quaid was victorious.
Dennis Quaid and William Hurt star in this action thriller with a twist (or better yet, gimmick): the events leading up to the attempted assassination of an American president who is visiting Spain are told from several individuals' points of view.
The movie follows the events of the president getting shot and goes through several different characters or different points and shows the event as they see it and what happens to them.
The cast includes Denis Quad, Mathew Fox, William Hurt, Forrest Whitaker and Sigourney Weaver.This movie was well under the radar for me as I didn't hear of it until seeing the trailer on a DVD for some over movie; I think it was "The Assignation of Jesse James by The Coward Robert Ford." So once seeing the trailer I automatically thought this looked like a ripper of a movie and I wasn't let down.The story is greatly written and intertwined, i couldn't help but wonder how awkward and mind bending it would be to have read it on script.Great acting by all in the cast, except for Mathew Fox, for me he just seemed like a less talkative Jack.
I also though the two less Hollywood actors Edgar Ramirez and Said Taghmaoui did great job in portraying their characters and were stern on screen.The movie was put together and shot great, when you just think you're about to find out something from the plot the rewind happens the camera angles are lined up great to keep you guessing.I quite enjoyed this movie and found nothing at all bad about it.
After the disappointment I have been through after many movies, this movie give me a good feeling about this year, I hope that this year will be much better than the last one, hoping to see new thrillers that will make anyone shock about it stories and conclusion, Vantage Point is really a good start for the year, I know this movie is not awesome or even great ,but I found it a worth movie to watch.Vantage Point: Good story, good visuals, amazing acting, high class of entertaining, I think this movie deserve a chance especially it is in the beginning of the year.
The plot on this one wouldn't even hold water as a first-person shooter video game.And the ridiculous multiple "vantage points" just makes it all the more obvious how ludicrous the story is.Dennis Quaid spends the entire movie looking like he's constipated - or at least completely confused about what the movie is about (along with the rest of us).There are no characters, so there can't be any character development.Who would be stupid enough to greenlight something like this?Everyone associated with this film should be blackballed from Hollywood..
In this case, it is NOWHERE near as good ...A compelling premise with the star power of this effort (William Hurt, Forrest Whittiker - both Best Actor award winners - as well as Sigourney Weaver, Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox and Bruce McGill, among others) should have brought forth a fascinating motion picture.It didn't.Director Pete Travis (in his feature film debut) chooses to bog the movie down by actually rewinding each scene after it takes place, forcing us to view a presidential assassination from the viewpoint of seven different people.Actually, it's not a viewpoint, but rather a separate sequence for each person involved, and, by the third rehash, the group I attended the screening with was openly disdainful.The plot of "Vantage Point" has President Ashton (Hurt) attending an anti-terrorist summit in Spain, only to be shot.
When the sequence centered on a little girl that Howard bumped into at the summit, all hope of recovery was lost.We later find out that Javier's brother has been kidnapped, the president isn't who he is supposed to be, dozens of Secret Service agents are really easy for one man to kill, news director Sigourney Weaver is one of the few characters not to get her own plot line, there's a traitor in the Secret Service, it's relatively simple to execute a wild car chase down the crowded, narrow streets of a Spanish city and terrorists - no matter how evil - have a soft spot in their hearts for little girls who wander onto busy highways.Yes, that last little item put this movie over the top and into the dumpster for me.
A violent, heartless terror cell willing and able to kill hundreds, if not thousands, is brought to its knees by a small moppet who never learned how to cross the street properly.So, after all of the slayings (most EVERYONE dies in this misadventure), beatings, explosions and rehashed sequences, there's really no vantage and no point to this film at all.In fact, it's the paying audience who will be at a real disadvantage here, having to sit through seven bad short films which add up to one big turkey shoot..
I thought the movie had a good plot the only problem i had was them going back and showing the event from a different point of view about 5 times.
But any film that is this pisspoor in terms of production value and also features crap performances by the likes of Forest Whitaker, Dennis Quaid, and Sigourney Weaver can only be blamed on one person: the director.Not even a studio could f up a flick this bad..
My advice is if you haven't seen this yet don't bother you wont of missed anything worth watching ,And if do go see it don't be surprised if you come away from the cinema wishing you had spent your hard earned cash on something more worth while.I would by no means recommend this movie to anyone the whole movie is a complete disaster from start to finish, what was the director thinking continually repeating the same scene,s again and again, it did nothing to help the storyline at all, & the shame of it is that with such fine actors to work with they didn't achieve much well not unless you want a movie to bore you to sleep!!..
While I could have seen him used a bit better, he was a hero in his own right and played the part to a "T".Quaid may be showing his age but he played his part without a flaw and I loved his "Cape Walk".A very good use of multiple plots, multiple views - very effective and built the suspense to the boiling point!
I never have seen Rashomon, but from seeing this movie, I can say it is well made, not just because of its intense action sequences but also from its unique story.Vantage Point is about the president's assassination attempt told through the eyes of eight strangers.
From the first scene itself, it makes use of its premise and introduces the plot, and from there on, the movies starts going into a loop, revealing other characters, and with each loop, revealing important new secrets, which change how you look at the plot.You might think, or must have read that it is grating to see the same thing happening all over so many times, but believe me, each time, the story focuses on a different character, and doesn't just show the same thing all over again, but instead, adds new angles and details to the plot.As for performances, almost everyone involved did a good job in the movie, and deserve credit.
The movie tells the same story from 8 different perspectives, most of them from a character view and finally adds up to make a great ending.
A great Concept turned out Well (NOT THE BEST BUT GOOD ENOUGH )............overall its a film for action movie lovers.
While it's an innovative premise, the film doesn't really offer any variety; each character sees essentially the same thing, so a great deal of the movie is just you being forced to watch something you've already seen from a slightly different perspective.My second biggest issue with the movie: Dennis Quaid.
Vantage Point is not a film it's merely a series of repetitive action sequences cleverly edited together with little in the way of plot or story to glue everything together.
It got me literally on the edge of my seat, sweating, and my heart was actually beating hard in anticipation, which sadly I rarely feel while watching other action movies.Some people might think that the scenes where they show different point of views are repetitive, but for me, someone who is perfectionist and tend to over-analyze, I actually love it because just like reality, life doesn't have one exact linear storyline.
There's a few faces like Dennis Quaid and Forest Whitaker (and to a lesser extent Sigourney Weaver, but only because she doesn't get much screen time) that you know to expect a decent performance from, but the less known folks mostly put up a decent showing as well.Overall, the film puts together some conventional and less conventional elements in a convincing manner, backed up with nice overall acting, directing and story-telling.
The way Forest Whittaker, Sigourney Weaver and other play is excellent, but the only weak point in the movie is the final moment when the main terrorist sees a child, Ana, and doesn't run her over in his car
This sudden act of mercy does totally contradict his character and makes a final a bit too syrupy.
I have been looking forward to seeing this movie for months now,, and finally got around to watching it,, Dennis Quaid was just great in this one,, i wish that Sigourney Weaver had more to chew on in this one,, but she was also very good, for the limited time that she was on,, Forest Whitaker's character,strange indeed, i don't think it's like anything i've ever see him play before,, the rest of the cast is pretty much unknown to me,, all of the Spanish actors / actresses and all,, i like the plot,, about the Presidential Assassaination,, but then again i'm a conspiracy theorist, about Kennedy as well,, the grassy knoll, the lone assassain,, dream on, magic bullet,, anyways,, in this one,, someone is gunning for the president of the united states,,we don't know why in the beginninng,, now this one keeps rewinding itself,, to show you the different points of view, from the 8 major players in here,, i thought that that was very unique of the director to do that for a big budget film,, i felt like it was unique,, and a big risk,, all the action was plausible,, but only reason not giving it a perfect score is the ending,, nuff said.. |
tt0041546 | Kind Hearts and Coronets | In Edwardian England, Louis D'Ascoyne Mazzini, 10th Duke of Chalfont, is in prison, awaiting his hanging for murder the following morning. As he writes his memoirs, the events of his life are shown in flashback.
His mother, the youngest daughter of the 7th Duke of Chalfont, eloped with an Italian opera singer named Mazzini and was disowned by her family for marrying beneath her station. The Mazzinis were poor but happy until Mazzini died shortly after Louis, his son, had been born. In the aftermath, Louis's widowed mother raises him on the history of her family and tells him how, unlike other aristocratic titles, the dukedom of Chalfont can descend through female heirs. Louis's only childhood friends are Sibella and her brother, the children of a local doctor.
When Louis leaves school, his mother writes to her kinsman Lord Ascoyne D'Ascoyne, a private banker, for assistance in launching her son's career, but is rebuffed. Louis is forced to work as an assistant in a draper's shop. When his mother dies, her last request, to be interred in the family vault at Chalfont Castle, is denied. Then Sibella ridicules Louis's marriage proposal. Instead, she marries Lionel Holland, a former schoolmate with a rich father. Soon after, Louis quarrels with customer Ascoyne D'Ascoyne, the banker's only child, who has him dismissed from his job.
Louis resolves to kill Ascoyne D'Ascoyne and the other seven people ahead of him in succession to the dukedom. After arranging a fatal boating accident for Ascoyne D'Ascoyne and his mistress, Louis writes a letter of condolence to his victim's father, Lord Ascoyne D'Ascoyne, who employs him as a clerk. Upon his later promotion, Louis takes a bachelor flat in St James's, London, for assignations with Sibella.
Louis then targets Henry D'Ascoyne, a keen amateur photographer. He meets Henry and is charmed by his wife, Edith. He substitutes petrol for paraffin in the lamp of Henry's darkroom, with fatal results. Louis decides the widow is fit to be his duchess. The Reverend Lord Henry D'Ascoyne is the next victim. Posing as the Anglican Bishop of Matabeleland, Louis poisons his port. From the window of his flat, Louis then uses a bow to shoot down the balloon from which the suffragette Lady Agatha D'Ascoyne is dropping leaflets over London. Louis next sends General Lord Rufus D'Ascoyne a jar of caviar which contains a bomb. Admiral Lord Horatio D'Ascoyne presents a challenge, as he rarely sets foot on land. However, he insists on going down with his ship after causing a collision at sea.
When Edith agrees to marry Louis, they notify Ethelred, the childless, widowed 8th Duke. He invites them to spend a few days at Chalfont Castle. When Ethelred casually informs Louis that he intends to remarry in order to produce an heir, Louis arranges a hunting "accident". Before murdering the Duke, he reveals his motive. Lord Ascoyne D'Ascoyne dies from the shock of learning that he has become the ninth duke, sparing Louis from murdering his kindly employer. Louis inherits the title, but his triumph proves short-lived. A Scotland Yard detective arrests him for murder.
Lionel was found dead following Louis's rejection of his drunken plea for help to avoid bankruptcy. Louis elects to be tried by his peers in the House of Lords. During the trial, Louis and Edith are married. Sibella falsely testifies that Lionel was about to seek a divorce and name Louis as co-respondent. Ironically, Louis is convicted for a murder he had never even contemplated.
Louis is visited by Sibella, who observes that the discovery of Lionel's suicide note and Edith's death would free Louis and enable them to marry, a proposal to which he agrees. Moments before his hanging, the discovery of the suicide note saves him. Louis finds both Edith and Sibella waiting for him outside the prison. When a reporter tells him that Tit-Bits magazine wishes to publish his memoirs, Louis suddenly remembers that he left his detailed confession in his cell. | comedy, murder, revenge, flashback, humor, satire, plot twist, storytelling | train | wikipedia | null |
tt0095174 | Frantic | Dr. Richard Walker (Harrison Ford) is a (rather arrogant) surgeon visiting Paris with his wife Sondra (Betty Buckley) for a medical conference. At their hotel, she is unable to unlock her suitcase, and Walker determines that she picked up the wrong suitcase at the airport. While Walker is taking a shower, his wife mysteriously disappears from their hotel room.
Still jet-lagged, he searches for her in the hotel with the help of a polite but mostly indifferent staff and then wanders outside to search himself. A vagrant overhears him in a café and says he saw Walker's wife being forced into a car. Walker is skeptical until he finds his wife's ID bracelet on the cobblestones. He contacts the Paris police and the U.S. Embassy, but their responses are bureaucratic, and there is little hope anyone will look for her.
As Walker carries on the search himself (with input from a very sympathetic but wary desk clerk at the hotel), he stumbles onto a murder scene and then encounters the streetwise young Michelle, who had mistakenly picked up his wife's suitcase at the airport. It transpires that Michelle is a career smuggler but does not know for whom she is working. She reluctantly helps Walker in his increasingly frantic attempt to learn what was in the switched suitcase and to trade whatever it is for the return of his wife.
It turns out that hidden within a small replica of the Statue of Liberty is a krytron, a small electronic switch used in the detonators of nuclear devices that had been stolen and smuggled by Arab agents. The American embassy, working with Israeli agents, want it back and are willing to let Sondra die in the process of reacquiring it. Thus, the doctor is forced to try to save his wife with Michelle, who wants her money for her work. The film ends with a confrontation beside the River Seine where Walker's wife is released. However, a firefight ensues between the Arab and Israeli agents who followed them. During the crossfire, the Arab agents are killed but Michelle is also shot and dies with Walker and Sondra at her side.
Angry and upset, Walker throws the krytron into the river while the helpless Israeli agents look at him. He then carries Michelle's body away from there. Soon after, the Walkers, traumatized because of what happened, leave Paris. | suspenseful, neo noir, murder, violence | train | wikipedia | A mix-up with luggage and a smuggled substance lead him into the life of the mysterious Michelle who is more mixed up with his wife's disappearance than she lets on.I have seen this film several times and I think the fact that it isn't a spectacularly gimmicky film is a big part of the reason why it doesn't really stick in my mind over the years.
In their hotel the woman disappears without explanations and Harrison Ford begins a nightmarish research throughout the city
The film reminds us of the Alfred Hitchcock thriller "North by Northwest" (1959) in that movie a misunderstanding is the motor of the story, here it's something similar but more enigmatic, because we don't know who kidnapped doctor's wife.This is the first cinematic collaboration between the Polish-French director and his future wife, actress Emmanuelle Seigner she's the girl who helps Harrison Ford in this adventure.Intriguing and exciting: these are the words for "Frantic".
Perhaps the European atmosphere doesn't appeal as much to Americans as it does to Europeans.....just like most french top-films never made it to the US.Nevertheless, Roman Polanski is terribly underrated as a master of suspence.
In fact, looking back at Hitchcock's movies (which is unfair, since they've been made in a completely different era) I don't think he ever made movies written this well.For some reason most of the time film making starts with putting the director together with some of the best or most popular actors of that period.
It shows that Polanski wrote this himself, with his close friend and film-writing-partner, because he really knows what this story is about - he knows where to be funny, where to make it tense, where to make things kind of 'sensual'.The weird thing is, that looking at all the things that happen in this movie, it's still so relatively shot, and doesn't feel at all too paced, or rushed.
Anyway, those who have ever lost track of someone (for a short moment) in a strange, big city or those who have ever tried to find out something in France, will know and recognize exactly what Harrison Ford's character is going through - people not taking you seriously, people who don't care, people who refuse (or aren't able) to help you in your own language.
Having problems with luggage when you're flying, isn't unrealistic too...nor is the story of this movie, the reason why what happened, happened.Although I've never understood why our friend wanted his own wife back, instead of staying with the beautifull french girl ;) Again, that's what most people would do in real life....
I think Frantic is one of the movies more successful through the films with the plot located in Paris.
Polanski tells us the story with great suspense involving the city of Paris like a character of the film.
The plot is somewhat simple, but the acting of Harrison Ford (Walker) and Emmanuelle Seigner (Michelle) throughout make it an unmissable movie.
The terror group is dealing with the smuggling of top-secret US government nuclear trigger mechanisms that, if in the wrong hands, can vaporise entire cities.American Doctor Richard Walker, Harrison Ford, and his wife Sondra, Betty Buckley, arrive from San Francisco at the Grand Hotel in Paris for a doctors convention where Dr. Walker is to be the featured speaker.
With her husband taking a shower Sondra is seen answering the door and then disappears out of sight and out of the movie.It takes a while for Walker, who thought that his wife went out shopping, to realize that something is terribly wrong when Sandra doesn't show up and goes to the hotel lobby to find out what happened to her.
there's also the fact that if the suitcase is ever gotten into the wrong hands it can lead to a nuclear holocaust.It takes a while for "Frantic" to unravel it's storyline, like most good thrillers do, but it's actor Harrison Ford who makes it come alive with his frantic and almost hysterical search for his missing and kidnapped wife Sondra.
The story deals with the assistance to a conference in Paris of doctor "Richard Walken" (Harrison Ford) and his wife (Betty Buckley), and reliving their honeymoon.
Harrison Ford makes one of his best roles and believable in his character as doctor drawn into espionage and who launches to rescue his lovely wife , though never really cuts loose .
The film has a large number of memorable scenes that are the Polanski's stamp : as the start of the movie, the thrilling scenes on the roof , and the unforgettable dancing that Ford dances Emmanuelle Seigner , among others .
Harrison Ford, Emmanuelle Seigner, and Betty Buckley star in Frantic, a 1988 film directed by Roman Polanski and filmed in Paris.Ford is Dr. Richard Walker, who travels to Paris with his wife Sondra (Buckley) -- they originally spent their honeymoon there, and he's due to deliver a paper at a medical convention.
Ford answers, "SINCE JUNE 15, 1968??" Emmanuelle Seigner, who married Polanski after this film, is gorgeous and creates an interesting, quirky character.
The answer is all of those and more besides: Frantic turns out to be a Hitchcockian thriller, with Harrison Ford giving his career-best turn as the wronged man, out of his depth and on his own, fighting back against a hostile world.With Hitchcock, there always had to be a blonde, and Polanski doesn't disappoint in this respect: he casts Emmanuelle Seigner as Michelle, the streetwise young girl who finds herself caught up in the search for the missing spouse.
This film shows one of Harrison Ford's best, if not his best performance ever, and the introduction of Emmanuelle Seigner, whose character plays the most important role in the movie.
He is credited for pictures such as Chinatown and The Pianist, but certainly his best action-adventure flick is this one.The film stars Harrison Ford, who plays a idiotic doctor who cannot figure out his way through Paris, where he has lost his wife to a conspiracy.
Dr. Richard Walker (Harrison Ford) is in Paris with his wife Sondra (Betty Buckley) for a medical conference.
He starts investigating on his own and encounters Michelle (Emmanuelle Seigner).This is a great Roman Polanski film.
This is my second favorite Polanski film behind 'The Pianist', but it's a tight race between two superlative films.Frantic stars Harrison Ford as a Doctor who just arrived in Paris for a Medical conference.
He and his wife check into a hotel hoping to balance the time between work and play.I'm not going to go into plot any further, and really there isn't much of a plot to 'Frantic'.This movie is about style, music, and some seriously amazing cinematography.
Ennio Morricone's music makes this great movie even better.Harrison Ford is the ultimate normal guy hero.
If you want a realistic, well-directed, atmospheric thriller that maintains its momentum the whole way, look no further than this film.The plot is threadbare initially, with Harrison Ford playing a doctor whose wife disappears from their hotel room.
As I am not an avid movie nut,although I'd like to be,my views are of a complete rookie.I have just watched Frantic for the first time,never heard of it.Of course Harrison Ford was top notch as always and the other character actors were impressive and realistic.But I have never heard of,let alone seen Emmanuel Steigner before.Wow!!
But if one can Go With the Flow of this Taut Tale of Hitchcockian Misdirection and Wrong Place and Wrong Time Conceit, the Film Engages.Harrison Ford is the Driven Husband out to find His Wife who Wandered Off, or so it Seems, after Their Arrival in Paris.
This is a thrilling film that delivers plentiful amounts of fun and excitement all the way through.Roman Polanski really shows that he knows how to tell a compelling story through Frantic.
There's something very intriguing about the dialouge and acting here that makes you want to know more, and keeps you enthralled in the mystery that Harrison Ford is trying so desperately to solve.All the acting in Frantic is excellent and is one of the most entertaining elements of the film.
Roman Polanski's usually excellent, artistic directing is great at creating the tension, the atmosphere, and the frenzy of Ford's "frantic" character.
The pace of the movie is very slow but worth the wait as Dr.Richard Walker (Harrison Ford) is caught up in a web of Parisian nightclubs, drugs, seedy characters and terrorist games in order to find his kidnapped wife.
The characters are believable and you get caught up in Richard Walker's (an ordinary man in an unordinary situation) journey to find his wife.Ford and Emmanuelle Seigner's performances are top-notch, the chemistry between the unlikely pairing is the making of the more interesting, tense and memorable scenes.
Polanski's direction is excellent and the movie is worth a watch just for a nostalgic look at 80's back street Paris.
As Harrison Ford's character, Dr. Walker, says in the movie, in responding to just this sort of mentality: "I'm talking about my wife here.
Polansky has lost none of his touch in bringing everyday life to frightening reality.Whenever I am in Paris I think of this film and feel much as Ford would have done looking for his wife.
Consquently, the ending is going to come as a bit of a disappointment, but the fun of this type of film is the trip and it's a very engaging and entertaining journey.Dr. Richard Walker and his wife Sondra (Harrison Ford and Betty Buckley, the latter of whom is actually five years younger than Ford but look ten years older) are on a trip in Paris for a medical conference.
Thus is the terrific premise behind Frantic, a movie which consistently builds on its momentum through some smart direction from Roman Polanski and another winning and sympathetic "everyman" performance from Ford (awful hair cut, however)(with his grey hair these days, I actually prefer the crewcut style), who's perfect for these kind of roles.
But Polanski, taking some cues here and there from Hitchcock and other film-noir pictures, does make this situation tense enough as its lead works his way through the dark underbelly of Paris.
Director Roman Polanski (Chinatown,Rosemary's baby)roars back to life with this highly enjoyable thriller in which Harrison Ford plays a doctor who goes to France and while he's in the shower his wife is taken hostage, the rest obviously is not to mention because it's not worth for those who haven't seen this entertaining thriller that never takes a break,it's a TOUR DE FORCE movie with a believable performance from Harrison ford.It rivals any Hitchcock and De Palma thriller movies and it's one of the best Ford movies he ever starred in.This is purely one of the most underrated movies from the IMDb users,why?Because it contains one of the most important elements in movies FUN and Entertainment..
This could possibly be the greatest film ever made!!!It was criminally, barbarically received coolly by both critics and audiences when released - for no apparent reason!!Many reviews have said up to the half-way point, it is as good as any hitchcock thriller; but from there it goes downhill.Speaking on behalf of the male population, this is where it picks up from the greatest film hitchcock never made to a surreal masterpiece!The reason for this, of course is the introduction of Roman Polanski's real life wife - Emmanuelle Seigner.
She is surely one of the most hypnotic, mysterious actresses ever to grace the screen.She has a raw, down to earth beauty, which fits in perfectly with the film's setting - The Paris underground: airport hangers, parking lots, alleys and seedy nightclubs.Never has Paris been shown in this light.The film perfectly shows the disillusionment of a stranger in a foreign place.The film also has a few nice touches which might be missed by a casual viewer, such as Harrison Ford's characters increasingly pathetic returns to his hotel as he grows increasingly "frantic".
This ironically low-key thriller's action is periodically interrupted by unnecessary scenes with no subtext, for example a dance sequence between the internally agitated Ford and Emmanuelle Seigner.It is a true paradox that pace is an issue for a film called Frantic.
Frantic is a formula suspense film easily pigeonholed with the rest of the 1980s Hollywood thrillers.The hero's essential obstacle being that he's a fish out of water, an American businessman in Paris who speaks no French and thus can hardly navigate his way through the city, much less a trail to his wife in which time is of the essence.
I think Mr. Ford was brilliant (he and polansky made this movie almost a documentary) and Melle Seigner a true paris-chick-stewardesse guiding poor good 'ol Fordy through this extraordinaire Hithc-hiking suspense en rose.
What was truly amazing about Frantic was Polanski's ability to turn ordinary situations (finding and opening a briefcase, climbing on the stairs, grabbing the timing device, even driving from the airport) into extended and memorable scenes where the level of dramatic tension was extended to the point beyond slight interest.Take the scene in the bedroom when Harrison Ford is originally searching for the briefcase and trying to open it up.
He's a great actor.You really should see this film a) if you like Polanski's films b) if you like Harrison Ford c) if you like realistic thrillers ****/*****.
Before "Breakdown" and "The Game" there was Roman Polanski's paranoia thriller "Frantic." Harrison Ford plays a doctor who, along with his wife, Sondra, takes a trip to Paris to go to a medical convention.
That made no sense to me, other than as a plot device to frustrate Richard.Things picked up for a while -- Richard's fight with the bureaucrats, both in the Parisian police station and the American consulate, were believable and frustrating (although Harrison Ford chose to play the part -- or Polanski and Gerard Brach chose to write the part -- more sarcastically than I thought would be helpful in such a situation).
Oh, come on!), the plot lost all believability for us.I did like the resolution of the mystery and the way the McGuffin was ultimately treated, but I wish the journey had been a little more engaging.The credits for this film announce "Introducing Emmanuelle Seigner", although she actually appeared in three minor roles before this.
Like I said Mr. Polanski is only director who can create same atmosphere like Hitchcock.Harrison Ford makes another good performance.
Actually his role is 100 percent Harrison Ford.Frantic isn't Roman Polanski's best work but still worth watching..
It starts with an American couple in Paris and a disappearance that comes out of a scene that seems to be shot from the point of view of De Palma, from behind the glass panel door of a shower, then Harrison Ford is approaching hotel personnel to ask about his missing wife, the otherworldly facade of the exotic backdrop is peeled to reveal from behind the mystique of Old Europe.
I recommend this to fans of Harrison Ford, Roman Polanski, kidnapper flicks and mystery-thrillers.
Put Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart in the lead and you would swear it was a Hitchcock film.While not quite up to Grant and Stewart, I think this is one of Harrison Ford's top five movies: Put "Blade Runner," Mosquito Coast," "Working Girl," "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," ahead of it, but it beats out "Witness," "Presumed Innocent," "Sabrina," and everything else he has done in the last 20 years.Emmanuelle Seigner, Polansky's wife keeps the movie ontrack with an excellent performance as a near femme fatale.The only misstep is the casting of Betty Buckley as Ford's wife.
Here Harrison Ford plays a doctor who goes to Paris with his wife for a conference meeting.
Its start very good, with Ford (our times Jimmy Stewart) searching for his wife and i think the film failed a little, when Polanski introduce his muse (later wife) Emmauelle Seigner (which is not a sophisticated Hitchcock heroine).
From the very beginning, this movie keeps you also 'Frantic', as Harrison Ford (Dr. Richard Walker) looks for his wife in the beautiful and romantic city of, 'Paris', where she was believed to have been kidnapped.Other than the great plot, the film delivers great music that suits the film, which include a song from the one and only 'Grace Jones', called 'Stange', which when sung, gives you a wonderful French atmosphere in the movie.
Roman Polanski is one of my favorite directors, yet "Frantic" feels like a strange stunt on his part--it creates a sense of unease early on, has a strong performance from Harrison Ford at his most popular, and finds an appealing femme fatale in Emmanuelle Seigner.
In a hotel room in Paris, a doctor (Harrison Ford) comes out of the shower and finds that his wife has disappeared.
This movie is about a woman who disappears from a hotel in Paris and how the husband (Harrison Ford) desperately tries to find her back.
In Frantic, Harrison Ford plays a doctor who travels to Paris for a medical convention, but his plans change when, upon stepping out of his hotel shower, he finds his wife (Betty Buckley) gone.
Harrison Ford plays a Doctor who has traveled to Paris with his wife for a work convention and to take in the sights, however, when the couple arrive at the hotel they realize they have mistakenly picked up the wrong bag at the airport.
I noticed that Harrison Ford doesnt become "Frantic" until the last half hour of the film, and that was the part that made the movie seem so good the last time.
(Remember that it was directed by Roman Polanski.) Of course, Ford's character never does have sex with the young woman, so that's just another red herring.There are also no good shots of Paris here.
Frantic (1988) *** (out of 4) An American doctor (Harrison Ford) and his wife travel to Paris for business but when the husband comes out of the shower he notices that his wife is gone.
The good direction and performances make FRANTIC worth watching but both the star and Polanski have much better out there.. |
tt0257360 | About Schmidt | The movie opens with shots of a large building in Omaha, NE, called the Woodmen Building. Actuary Warren Schmidt (Jack Nicholson) is sitting in his dull, gray office watching the clock until it hits five. There are packed boxes all around him, implying that this is his last day at work.The clock hits five and Warren solemnly grabs his coat, turns out the lights and leaves.In the next scene, Warren is driving at night in the rain with his wife Helen to a steakhouse where his retirement party is being held. The affair is rather quiet and solemn, with the new guy replacing Warren offering a tribute and telling Warren to feel free to come down to the office any time, mentioning that he may need some help with Warren's old accounts. Warren's best friend and co-worker Ray, who is obviously inebriated, delivers an impassioned speech for his friend. Warren appears touched at the sentiment and excuses himself. He retreats to the other side of the restaurant where the bar is and orders a drink. It's obvious he is not happy to retire.When Warren and Helen return home, their daughter Jeannie calls to wish Warren well. They discuss her upcoming wedding. Before bed, Helen remarks to Warren that she wishes he would try to be more friendly to Jeannie's fiancé.In the days following Warren's retirement, he is not sure what to do with himself. Helen surprises him with breakfast in their newly purchased Winnebago, saying how much fun they are going to have traveling the country. Warren doesn't appear enthused, but puts on a smile for his wife. A visit back to the office to visit his replacement doesn't go well; the new guy brushes him off, and Warren is taken aback by it. As he leaves the building, he passes a dumpster and discovers all of his old files have been thrown away. When he gets home, however, he tells Helen that the visit went well and that the new guy needed his help.Days pass and Warren spends his time sitting in front of the TV feeling sorry for himself. As he's flipping channels he comes across a commercial for a Third World relief fund where people can "adopt" a young African child (trivia: that's Angela Lansbury's voice in the commercial). Warren makes the call.After some more days of loafing and moping around, Warren receives his packet in the mail. He has "adopted" a young Tanzanian boy named Ndugu. He is advised in the letter to write to the young boy, so he does. In the letter (done in voiceover, which is very funny), he tells Ndugu about his life, how he's been married for 42 years... and soon the letter spirals into a rant about how he was cast aside by Woodmen, how his wife is starting to annoy him, and how his daughter is about to marry a loser waterbed salesman named Randall. He goes off to mail the letter, and his wife tells him not to dilly-dally.Next we see Warren heading into a Dairy Queen, where he gets some ice cream. He comes home to find Helen unconscious on the floor. She has died.Jeannie and Randall fly in for the funeral; Warren is very happy to see her but is rather stiff toward Randall, who is just emotional over the death. After the funeral Warren's friend Ray is sobbing violently (somewhat important later).Jeannie and Randall stay for a while at Warren's house. Warren asks Jeannie to stay longer, implying that he'd like for her to take care of him, but Jeannie is adamant about getting back to Denver to plan the wedding. Warren is upset that Jeannie still wants to go through with it; he thinks she should postpone because of Helen's death, but Jeannie insists her mother would want her to get married. Jeannie then rails on Warren for buying a cheap casket, saying that Helen deserved more. Eventually Jeannie and Randall leave for Denver, telling Warren they'll see him in a few weeks.Warren writes another letter to Ndugu about Helen's death, taking back all the bad things he said about her previously. This is done in a voiceover as Warren goes through her makeup, putting on her cold cream, and going through her closets. He then opens a shoebox and finds several to letters to "My darling Helen" which were not written by him. He looks closely at the signature and realizes who his wife had an affair with. In a rage, he sweeps all of Helen's belongings into boxes and throws them into a local recycling bin. Then he drives to a barber shop. Seconds later, Ray comes out and Warren confronts him with the letters. Ray tries to explain that the affair happened 25-30 years ago, but Warren clumsily punches him anyway and drives off in a rage.Warren decides since there's nothing left at home for him, he will go to Denver early. He loads up the Winnebago and takes off. Within a few hours he calls Jeannie at a gas station pay phone to say he's coming. Jeannie freaks out, and insists he go home until it's time to come for the wedding. Warren is very upset as he hangs up, feeling unneeded. He decides to take a leisurely pace, and in another letter to Ndugu, he tells of his pathetic adventures visiting the site of his childhood home-- which is now a tire store-- and his old fraternity at the University of Kansas, where the current frat brothers do not connect with him. He goes on to visit an arrowhead museum and ruminate about Native Americans, then buys some Hummel figurines like his wife collected.He's finishing the letter to Ndugu in an RV campground just as there's a knock on his door. John Rusk, another Winnebago enthusiast, greets him and invites him over to dinner with him and his wife Vicki. John and Vicki turn out to be two unbearably perky people from Wisconsin; Warren is perplexed by them at first, but later he warms up to them. After dinner, John leaves to get some more beer, while Vicki shows Warren pictures of their family. When they are alone, Vicki makes an observation that Warren is a sad person. Warren admits this and breaks down a little bit. When he tries to kiss Vicki, she shrieks and kicks him out of her camper. Warren goes back to his Winnebago and takes off into the night, passing a confused John on the road.In an deserted spot, Warren sits on top of his Winnebago with lighted candles and the Hummels, talking to Helen and wondering what he did to drive her into an affair. He asks her forgiveness for not being a good enough husband, and sees a shooting star. The next morning he takes off, leaving the candles and figurines on the roof. One by one they slide off the roof as he drives.Warren eventually arrives in Denver at the house of Randall's mother, Roberta (the wonderful Kathy Bates). Roberta's house is full of odd decorations which match her dotty personality. She is very outgoing and Warren seems somewhat frightened of her. Jeannie and Randall arrive, and Warren tries to get Jeannie alone to tell her to call off the wedding, but she is too busy.Dinner is a tense event. Roberta and Randall's father (her ex) Larry (an almost unrecognizable Howard Hesseman) snipe at each other. Randall's brother Duncan acts like a zombie, and Warren is watching everything and wondering why he is there. After dinner he finally gets Jeannie alone and begs her not to marry Randall, saying she deserves better. Jeannie tears into him, saying he was never there for her in the past but now wants to run her life. She says she will marry Randall, and Warren will come to the wedding and deal with it. Warren is very hurt at her behavior.Warren is given Randall's old room, equipped with a waterbed. He looks around to see Randall's honorable mention trophies and participant certificates (to enhance just how average the guy is). Warren wakes up the next morning with his back out of whack from sleeping on the bed. Jeannie thinks he's faking it and is furious. Roberta becomes Warren's nursemaid. Very funny scene follows as Roberta feeds him soup for lunch and goes into detail about Jeannie and Randall's sex life. Warren is very uncomfortable, and Roberta gives him some Percodan to get him through the rehearsal.At the rehearsal, Warren is completely stoned but gets through it and the dinner. Roberta takes him home and puts him in the hot tub. Here Warren is finally relaxed, until Roberta comes out. She disrobes and goes down into the tub with him (she's completely naked, he's wearing swim trunks). Roberta slowly hits on Warren, making him so distraught that he soon leaves to retreat to his Winnebago, where he spends the night.The next day is the wedding, which goes off without a hitch. Warren is restrained throughout the whole ceremony and reception. After Randall's best man gives the speech, he hands the mic over to Warren. Jeannie appears nervous, but Warren goes into a speech, then pauses. He mentions Helen dying and delivers an impassioned speech about how Helen wanted to see Jeannie happy. He then offers a nice tribute to Roberta and Larry, as well as Larry's wife, and even finds something nice to say about Duncan. The crowd applauds and Warren retreats immediately to the men's room to control himself. The reception goes on gaily.Another letter to Ndugu in voiceover as Warren drives home. He writes about the wedding and how Jeannie and Randall are in Orlando on his nickel, and that there's nothing he can do about her life anymore. On his trip home east, Warren stops at a museum and marvels at the courageous journeys pioneers had made going west, prompting him to ponder what he has accomplished in the direction of his life. He is depressed that he hasn't made one bit of difference to anybody, that he hasn't done anything important.He returns home; the house is a mess and there's a huge pile of mail behind the door. Warren quietly collects everything and goes to his den to sift through it. He finds a letter from a nun who works at Ndugu's orphanage, and she explains that Ndugu cannot yet read or write, but he enjoys Warren's letters, and he likes to paint. A picture by Ndugu for Warren in enclosed in the letter, and Warren unfolds it to see two smiling stick figures holding hands (one child and one adult, apparently Warren and Ndugu). Warren breaks down and cries, realizing that he indeed has made a difference in somebody's life. | dramatic, comedy, satire, depressing, flashback | train | imdb | It's a realistic, brutally true example of a failed life, and it's so tragic.Nicholson plays Warren Schmidt, an insurance salesman, whose life crashes down on him when he retires.
Everyone, simply everyone, does a great job portraying the various characters, from the hotshot newly educated young man who takes Schmidt's job, to the embarrassing buddy of Schmidt's daughter's fiancé.This is a must-see movie.
The child's material emptiness was contrasted with Schmidt's emotional emptiness in a way America does not recognize much less watch on the screen.The last part of the movie dealing with the marriage of Schmidt's daughter to a man who came from a diametrically opposite "new age" family was an unstated acknowledgment by his daughter that she wanted nothing of her father's values-she wanted a complete break and she was going to marry the break.A fascinating, complex movie and I'm sorry I didn't see it much earlier..
This success can be attributed to the strength of the script and most importantly to the uniformly superb acting.This film provides a showcase for Nicholson to display his talent, and he doesn't disappoint, delivering a superb and multi-layered turn, which is a world away from the smirking characters he often plays.
This is a funny movie but looking back its probably not quite the kind of jokes you appreciate laughing at.In the lead role as Warren Schmidt is none other then Jack Nicholson, with an already astute résumé, only further strengthens his long career with his subtle and charming performance.
The film's success is deeply in debt to Jack Nicholson, subordinating his personality to the character of Warren Schmidt.
Like one time during the film, when Warren Schmidt decides to adopt a six-year old African foster child by mail.
At his dying bed, all he has left is his reminiscences - and something called "Rosebud." In 'About Schmidt' the director Alexander Payne uses voiceover to convey Jack's thoughts and memories throughout the movie.
To be specific it is when Jack is writing a letter to the boy he sponsors - (Ndugu), at the same time Payne is informing the audience about Jack's regrets and pain concerning his wife and daughter while the movie is still rolling on.
I likened it to previous movies like "Death of a Salesman", "The Apartment", "The Swimmer" (Burt Lancaster), or a short filmed called "The Bridge".As a cautionary tale (or social comment) on the "American Way" of life, the messages it conveys are slightly exaggerated, but nevertheless there to be debated.
We are talking about identity, achievement, interpersonal relationships, and the "average IQ".In the end, I believe this film will become one that is studied in future classrooms, and it was brave of Nicholson to participate in such a character study and a work intended primarily for writers, actors, and directors.
The use of time, space, cognitive dissonance, and Irony abound in this work and challenge us to look, think, and feel.Notes: we would have cut or altered the "Percodan scene" at the rehearsal (as overdone), also note- the cattle at the funeral who later appear on the freeway, inside jokes about Des Moines and Denver, Randall's "Certificate of Attendance", the look on Jeannie's face at the end of Warren's speech at the Wedding Reception, the use of "overstatement", details of wall decorations, and Warren's obvious attraction to the trite, idealistic, delusional, and superficial.If you are a thinking, feeling, serious movie-lover, you should SEE this film once, and then STUDY it the 2nd time!.
We experience a downfall as poignant as the smell of bacon cooking in Denny's at eight a.m.Like Forrest Gump, the film depends on extensive voice over narration, V.O'd by Nicholsen as letters to Schmidt's newly adopted six year old Tanzanian foster child.
But in the role of Warren Schmidt he did not use this specific talent just to entertain us but to open our mind for the possibly deep emptiness of people who call somewhere in their life and recognize that they aren't as rich as they are supposed to be.
About Schmidt provides neither.Almost everything that could go wrong for a guy (Schmidt) after he retires is depicted in detail through long (very long) scenes of no action: boring.We all know that Jack and Kathy are going to give good performances- that is a given.
Jack Nicholson gives a superb performance, but this alone does not a good movie make, and neither does a nude Kathy Bates.
I saw a man who was unhappy retiring, his wife dies he's not sure if he's sad about that or not and generally bumbles about on the build up to his daughters marriage and then the film stops.
But then he finds out that twenty-five to thirty years ago she had an affair with an old friend of his, and in one of the most subtley funny moments in the film, dumps off her old belongings at a donation center.Warren, still missing his wife but truly bitter at what she did, eventually decides to go visit his daughter in the south, and packs up the 35-foot-long Winnebago with everything he needs.
If people want a Jack Nicholson movie played just for laughs, with your average characters, I recommend "Anger Management." But if you want a classic example of fine storytelling, see "About Schmidt."The characters are funny, but not outrageous.
It is one character I think most people can feel close to.The movie has a great and emotional ending.
I registered with imdb to write it because I am sick and tired of seeing people gush over About Schmidt, which is easily one of the 8 or 10 worst things I have ever seen in nearly 50 years of going to the movies.What do I know about Warren Schmidt?He considers his wife of many years a stranger.
An excellent title for this film would have been The Man Who Wasn't There, if someone else had not already used it.It is a hallmark of good fiction that the author makes the reader or viewer care about the characters and hope things turn out well or badly for them, according to what they deserve.
In the movie, Schmidt is a man who just retired to realize his whole life has meant nothing.
About Schmidt is a very boring film.Even though it has a good cast who deliver great performances and a touching storyline about an old man who has lost his wife, the fact of the matter is it feels as if you, the viewer, are waiting for something to happen.
Jack Nicholson is part of these unique actors who are not afraid of playing demeaning parts.While most of his peers in their sixties/seventies are still playing heroes ,see what he does.He has almost never played the brilliant-lawyer-with-good-prospects.Two examples :"one flew over the cuckoo's nest" and the overlooked "Ironweed" which almost nobody knows and which paired him with an equally extraordinary Meryl Streep."About Schmidt" is a very good film,cause it succeeds in blending comedy and drama.And this drama involves US ,cause like Schmidt we are all potentially retired people .We are afraid of losing our job for good (the scene when Nicholson returns to his office is revealing),we are afraid to live with a partner getting old (who's THAT old woman living in my house?) ,we try to enlighten our children for fear they might go astray (and the daughter's family-in-law has nothing to recommend them)...
and most of all,we are afraid of this: when you reach 65,you take stock of your life and you realize it's an unfulfilled one.Then you live in the past conditional.That's why the little African boy is so important;although we never see him ,he's a character in the story: a confident ,and finally,when Nicholson begins to cry,the one thing he can be proud of.The letters he writes to his foster child provides the movie with an unusually inventive use of the voice over.There are numerous memorable scenes:my favorite is Nicholson's speech during the wedding meal:his attitude is in direct contrast to the praises he says to everyone ,particularly to his daughter's mother-in-law ( Kathy Bates is sensational).Recommended..
But the frailty and 'want-of-love' in Warren Schmidt cannot do anything but open up the heart of the strictest and most cynical viewer, portraying a myriad of emotions with one single glance or old-age crease.Overall not to be missed, the comical moments are not lacking and in my eye, a new, better understanding Nicholson emerging.'Dear Ndougu', you will certainly love this..
Her daughter resents him, her husband to be is a jerk, he is excellently portrayed by Dermot Mulroney.The film is a character study, a man who failed to be interesting, worked to provide for his wife and family and realising that he will soon be forgotten.Schmidt is empty, sad and even resentful inside when he realises his wife never understood him and he never really understood her.His daughter cannot see that the husband although very nice is a bit of a jerk with get rich quick schemes.The film starts slowly, gets absorbing but despite the emotional pay off at the end, I did find it less than enthralling.I do find Payne's films rather heavy going and although well acted, the pacing makes it off kilter..
Jack Nicholson, I realize now, is a great deadpan comedian, owing largely to his slightly sinister presence even when he's playing a harmless old man.His role as retiree Warren Schmidt is definitely one of his tamer performances.
I highly recommend this film to people of all ages, particularly those who often ask themselves, as the character Warren Schmidt does: "What in the world is better because of me?" Watch the movie, and it may help you answer that cosmic question for yourself..
But after his wife dies in the blink of an eye, he becomes a more uncaring soul, one with little motivation to do anything; including shop for food.He eventually decides to take his new Winnebago on a road trip to try and stop his daughter from marrying an underachieving waterbed salesman, who is played by the unfortunately unrecognized Dermot Mulroney, in his umpteenth film role.
He manages to connect with some townfolk along the way, and attempts to find some real value in life and pursues something many of us are afraid to do.Jack Nicholson leaps into the role of Warren Schmidt, reminding us why he is one of the greatest screen actors of all time.
It's safe to say that this is a film that means a god-damn thing.Starring: Jack Nicholson, June Squibb, Hope Davis, Dermot Mulroney, and Kathy Bates.
Alexander Payne has quietly and steadily assembled one of the most impressive oeuvres of any movie director working today."About Schmidt" stars Jack Nicholson as a successful businessman who discovers how little his "success" means when he finds himself a retired widower.
There's also great deal of intelligent humor and wonderful Jack Nicholson with his outstanding performance as Schmidt.This movie is so wonderfully balanced between drama (and this parts are really dramatic) and comedy (and this time are bitter but funny) that it's true rarity.
I would have given this movie a 10, but Kathy Bates' performance seemed a tad exaggerated; a forced Earth Mother archetype of sorts.After "About Schmidt" and "Sideways," I can only wonder what the next Alexander Payne mid-to-late life crisis havin'-American male on a road trip-to enlightenment gem will be next.
While at the same time laughing at the irony, madness, and subtle humour of many real life situations.Although I prefer my comedy, a little more manic and in your face than this, I can still appreciate the sheer brilliance in the writing and performances, and I still found it to be a very entertaining movie.7/10.
Alas no, Winnebago meandering, more unbearable Nicholson playing "small".From the very first moments of the movie, Payne lets us know we're in "fantasyland" some strange fake netherworld where a man on the last day of work would actually sit in his office, alone, and watch the clock tick down the last moments.
But her "character" (I use the term loosely), like all the others in this movie, wasn't given any dignity and eventually she was shown to be a loud, vulgar rube who showed up at the wedding if her son in some ridiculous Minnie Pearl outfit instead of something more realistic.The real trouble with the film lies with Nicholson who just isn't very good.
I realize he coiuldn't put in any of his usual energy because that would not be part of Schmidts personality - but the only thing he conveys with his performance is a feeling of utter boredom with the role and the lines he has to say.summary: the film is money wasted - mine and the producers.
Just fantastic.Excellent writing, direction and acting by the entire cast without exception (especially Nicholson and Bates).The score is brilliant and without it the movie would have been something completely different."About Schmidt" and "Sideways" are Payne's masterpieces.What especially amazing in this movie is how effectively, brilliantly and quickly it switches between heavy drama and comedy.Yes, yes, I cried at the last scene - like always..
Great acting for Jack Nicholson, who plays the role of a recently retired and widower who wants to reconnect with his estranged daughter before she gets married.
New Line Cinema is alive and well.This film, by director Alexander Payne writing with Jim Taylor is a mostly successful comedy-drama, but the satire gets a little lost.The "Best Actor" Oscar-nominated performance by Jack Nicholson carries the drama, with the hilarious-in-a-hot-tub "Best Supporting Actress" turn by Kathy Bates (as Roberta Hertzel) stealing away with the comedy.
Warren Schmidt (Jack Nicholson) is a man who's always wanted to accomplish more in life, but now he finds himself retiring from a dead end job having made no difference in the world around him.
Overshadowed by a notorious nude scene by Kathy Bates in the late second act of the movie, it's often forgotten that Jack Nicholson and Kathy Bates were both nominated for Oscars and Jack Nicholson won a Golden Globe for best performance by an actor in a drama (to which Nicholson said during his acceptance speech, "I'm a little surprised, I thought we had made a comedy").
The movie does a great job, as well as Nicholson playing the role to a tee, of showing a man that even at his happiest carries around the weight of never having accomplished anything in his life to be proud of as he also confronts his own mortality.
Jack Nicholson's Schmidt comes to realize that he has quite a bit of time left after a forced retirement, and that his worth is minimal.
In fact, the the main character (Schmidt) spent the entire movie trying to get people to change, without success.
This movie wants to say that Schmidt is a hopeless dolt who cannot handle his retirement and his life and whose emotions are so bottled up that it looks like he's ready to explode at any minute.
Well, the one positive thing I can say about the film is that Jack Nicholson finds every shred of humanity in Warren Schmidt that he can.
Jack Nicholson here plays "Walter Schmidt" an unhappy, ageing man who has just retired from his job.
While everyone played their roles spectacularly well, Nicholson does indeed steal the show here.The movie is very down to earth, and very moving, Warren Schmidt (portrayed by Nicholson) is a very real man, and while there is the occasionally goofy bit here and there, and a nude scene which was both very shocking and felt out of place, the narrative stays relatively grounded in reality.
It's my favorite Jack Nicholson movie after A Few Good Men. It also has an insightful look at what it means to have a meaningful life.
This film works thanks to some great directing and some powerful performances especially by lead actor Jack Nicholson.
After a tragic moment in his life, he decides to take a road trip to see his daughter marry a man that he has negative feelings for.This film is very well-acted.
Nicholson was a great character in the movie, and I thought the part about his sponsoring a child was a nice touch.
Some hilarious moments during the funeral showed how Warren was reluctant to the idea of Jeannie marrying Randall, a water-bed salesman from Denver, the kind who tries to recycle his pyramid scheme learning, an authentic schmuck played by Dermot Mulroney, and his family doesn't improve the picture, although it's highlighted by a wonderful breakthrough performance by Kathy Bates, as Randall's free-spirited, sexual and sensual mother.Warren Schmidt's arc is an evolution from a lethargic/passive to a hilarious/active character, the film avoids those clichés, because as active as he was, he finally had to compromise with the idea of the wedding, give a warm speech to people he personally despised and get back home at the end, after all, he's not a pioneer.
Still Jack Nicholson(in my opinion the best actor ever)pulls off the role of Warren Schmidt in top form(Oscar nominated).
In this quirky movie Jack plays a recently retired man named Warren Schmidt.
Through the simplest of things Schmidt begins to see his life for what it really is, and this is where the movie excels.The part is played to simple perfection by Mr. Nicholson; I defy you not to be moved by his journey.
"About Schmidt" is excellent and warm movie about life of one ordinary man.
Warren Schmidt (Jack Nicholson) is 60 year old man who lost his wife and actually tries to find meaning in his life.
So Warren also must meet Randall's family, on top with Randall's mother Roberta Hertzel (Kathy Bates)."About Schmidt" is excellent movie from director Alexander Payne ("Sideways").
Jack Nicholson plays Warren Schmidt, a Vice President of an insurance company who retires at the start of the story.
From Nicholson's first scene in the movie until the very last, the moments in which the audience realises they are watching one of the most iconic actors in film history are remarkably near non-existent, so deeply does he inhabit the character of Warren Schmidt. |
tt0065854 | The House That Dripped Blood | In The Cloak episode, temperamental horror film star Paul Henderson [Jon Pertwee] has rented the house for the duration of the filming of his latest vampire movie. Paul longs for the days when movie castles and wardrobes weren't made out of cheap materials, so he decides to go shopping for a real cloak. In the costume shop of Theo von Hartmann [Geoffrey Bayldon], Paul finds the perfect cloak, and Hartmann is only happy to give it to him for the paltry sum of 13 shillings. The problem is that the cloak does strange things when Paul puts it on. For example, he can't see himself in a mirror. And a strange compulsion makes him bite co-star Carla Lynde [Ingrid Pitt]in the neck. And then there's the problem of the fangs and keeping his feet on the ground. It appears that, come midnight, wearing the cloak turns him into a vampire. When he tries to explain about the cloak to Carla, she taunts him into wearing it in front of her in order to prove that there's nothing wrong with it. When the clock strikes midnight, just as Carla predicted, nothing happens. Then Paul notices that he's wearing the studio cape. Carla pulls out the real cape, drapes it around her shoulders, bares her fangs, and goes after Paul, saying that the other vampires were so impressed with his work that they wanted him to be one of them. [Synopsis by bj_kuehl] | murder | train | imdb | The box says "Rated PG - For Scary Images," and I must say, the sight of a vampiric Ingrid Pitt floating magically through the air towards one of her victims is a very scary image.One of the things I like most about this movie is the way the humor and horror COEXIST in the film.
Another anthology from horror studio Amicus, The House That Dripped Blood features four macabre tales written by Psycho author Robert Bloch, with a wraparound story in which Detective Inspector Holloway (John Bennett) investigates the mysterious disappearance of a famous horror movie-star and learns of several other cases all linked to a creepy old house.The first case is that of Charles Hillyer (Denholm Elliott), a horror novelist who moves into the house to write his next novel, Dominick the Strangler.
It's a solid way to kick off the film, with Elliot putting in a fine performance, and director Peter Duffell delivering plenty of suspense and chills, helped no end by Tom Adams as grinning loon Dominick, who looks convincingly deranged as he lurks in the shadows.Tale number two, Waxworks, is my least favourite, which I find surprising since it stars Peter Cushing, one of my all-time favourite horror actors.
Lee plays the frightened father of a young girl with a secret; Nyree Dawn Porter is the teacher who cannot understand what he is so scared of.For my money, the final story offers the most entertainment value, and here's why: a) the story is fun and delivers quite a few genuinely amusing moments (with a couple of neat in-jokes for horror fans), b) Ingrid Pitt's cleavage is fantastic, and c) it stars both Worzel Gummidge and The Crowman (Jon Pertwee and Geoffrey Bayldon AKA Catweazle).
Pertwee is wonderful as pompous horror actor Paul Henderson, who buys a cape from Bayldon for his latest role as a vampire; the only problem is that whenever he wears the cape, he becomes a vampire for real.Pertwee and Pitt pop up again as vampires in the last part of the wraparound tale to attack Holloway, who has payed a visit to the house against the advice of estate agent A.J. Stoker (John Bryans).
Peter Duffel directed this anthology film that stars John Bennett as a Scotland Yard Investigator looking into the disappearance of two films stars(played by "Doctor Who" star Jon Pertwee, and Ingrid Pitt) who were last seen in an old house they had let while filming a new movie.
When the Scotland Yard Detective Inspector Holloway (John Bennett) comes to a precinct to assume the investigation of the disappearance of the horror film actor Paul Henderson (Jon Pertwee), the local officer tells stories about dwellers of the old house rented by Henderson.
The skeptical Holloway decides to go to the house during the night and leans the fate of Henderson in a tragic way"The House That Dripped Blood" is an anthology from horror studio Amicus with the lead story and four segments, all of them engaging and entertaining.
Joss Ackland plays Cushing's rival but his performance is massively overshadowed by the late great Peter Cushing.The third story and easily the best sees Christopher Lee - my favourite horror actor of all time - move into the house with his daughter.
The House That Dripped Blood is a horror omnibus, featuring four stories that surround a creepy old house in the country and are being told to a Scotland Yard officer by an estate agent.This film is headlined by three well known stars of horror cinema; Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee and Ingrid Pitt, whom horror fans will recognise as one of Lee's co-stars in the greatest British horror film of all time; The Wicker Man.The first segment of the film, titled "Method For Murder" tells the story of a horror storywriter, whose creation; a strangler named "Dominic" is brought to life by his own imagination.
In a rare feature of early Seventies horror the technicalities of the movie are virtually flawless, from the faultless performances of the star-studded cast (featuring the legendary Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee and Ingrid Pitt) all the way to the superb direction and story telling courtesy of Peter Duffell and master of the macabre writer Robert Bloch (the author of the novel Psycho').
The only real complaints that one may have with The House That Dripped Blood' are the somewhat asinine plot-twists at the end of the first two segments and the predictable ending of the picture, but even these minor details fail to detract from the overall viewing enjoyment.The first segment, entitled Method for Murder', tells the story of Charles Hillyer (Denholm Elliott), a horror author who rents the creepy house while he works on his latest novel.
This slightly comical and light-hearted approach to the final segment is in essence an adequate and almost natural way of ending the picture even if it lets down the film when compared to the earlier examples of suspense-driven horror.To sum up, The House That Dripped Blood' is one of the greatest horror anthologies that features an incredible cast, great stories and above par direction.
Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee (Cushing and Lee are two of my favorite actors ever), as well as Denholm Elliott and the ravishing Ingrid Pitt star in this film - so which true Horror fan could possibly afford to miss it?
The story is creepy and macabre throughout and the performances are entirelly very good.In the second story, "Waxworks", retired businessman Phillip Grayson (Peter Cushing) moves into the house, and suddenly feels drawn to a mysterious Wax Museum in the nearby town...
This ingenious segment alone makes the film a must-see for every true Horror-fan.In the fourth segment, Horror-actor Paul Henderson (Jon Pertwee) moves into the house with his sexy mistress/co-star Carla (Ingrid Pitt).
The inhabitants were: author Charles Hillyer (Denholm Elliott (with hair!)), who gets haunted by one of his own creations; Philip Grayson (Peter Cushing), who gets a little too close to a wax statue; John Reid (Christopher Lee), whose daughter's cuteness is apparently a facade; and actor Paul Henderson (Jon Pertwee), on the verge of getting a little too much into character."The House That Dripped Blood" is actually worth seeing (well duh; it stars Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee).
In "Sweets to the Sweet," Christopher Lee (Mr. Tall, Dark and Gruesome, who sadly shares no screen time in this film with Cushing) is the house's next occupant; a widower who lives in mortal fear of his pretty young daughter (the remarkable child actress Chloe Franks)...and, as it turns out, for good reason!
A Scotland Yard investigator looks into four mysterious cases involving an unoccupied house: 1) A writer encounters a strangler of his own creation, 2) Two men are obsessed with a wax figure of a woman from their past, 3) A little girl displays an interest in witchcraft, and 4) A film actor discovers a cloak which gives him a vampire's powers.Amicus made numerous anthologies in the 1970s, and this is one of them.
A Gruesome strangler looking disarmingly like Boris Karloff's creation of Frankenstein Butter-wouldn't- melt- in- mouth child witches (no of the Harry Potter school of witchcraft!) A visit to the waxworks which always manages to end in tears and B grade horror actors whose egos far outweigh any actual talent as portrayed by one of my all time favourites Jon Pertwee all this in one movie, four very different stories based around one house!
Peter Cushing features in the second story, 'Waxworks' as a man trying to escape his past by moving to the quiet country house he is tormented by his strange fascination with a mysterious woman a memory he almost conquers until a visit to the local waxworks museum (as all small towns have!) and the arrival of an old friend and rival from the past!
This was arguably the most complete of Amicus's horror anthologies, mainly because it boasts an exceptional cast and a linking mechanism which effectively compliments a largely enjoyable set of associated stories.The whole film centres on a mysterious country house which has a habit of killing off it's inhabitants and the premise of a missing horror film (Jon Pertwee)forms the basis for the whole film, including the well-done climax.Story 1 is effectively eerie and involves an author's fictionally created maniacal killer coming to life; Story 2 harbours the weakest script about a wax museum, though Peter Cushing handles the contrived material well; Story 3 is a superbly performed and well-built-up story of a mysterious girl (Chloe Franks)who enacts harm to her overly-protective father (Christopher Lee); and Story 4 takes up the tale of the missing horror film actor who gets a cloak that turns him into a very authentic vampire.
This is surprisingly effective given the jokey, over-the-top premise, and Jon Pertwee (in a role originally intended for Christopher Lee) and Ingrid Pitt show a good on-screen chemistry.This was one of Peter Duffell's first projects as a director and he keeps the film going at a decent pace and stylishly enhances the horrific elements of the script.
"The House That Dripped Blood" may be similar to a lot of anthologies in that it is somewhat uneven (this viewer liked "Waxworks" (thanks to Cushing) and "Cloak" the most), but it's well-made overall, and pacing is fairly good up until the coda where Bennett comes face to face with terror.If you dig other Amicus portmanteau pictures, you will likely find this to your satisfaction as well.Seven out of 10..
There are Four Stories in this Amicus Anthology, a Horror Sub-Genre that was Popular in its Era.A Very Good Cast including Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Denholm Elliott, Jon Pertwee, and Ingrid Pitt are Interspersed Throughout the Stories.
The latter infuses the film with a great deal of style which is not so common with this type of film and, frankly, it makes one regret the fact that he wished to distance himself from the genre (though more so as not to be typecast rather than because he felt it was beneath him).Now to the individual stories themselves: "Method For Murder": the opening segment does not offer any real surprises but, to make up for this, it's quietly suspenseful and appropriately creepy at times (Tom Adams' 'fictitious' villain looking like the long-lost brother of Boris Karloff from THE OLD DARK HOUSE [1932]); also, it ends with a satisfactory DIABOLIQUE-type twist, and features a fairly intense role for Denholm Elliott in the lead.
That's all we need out of it, really."Waxworks": for the second story we are introduced to a curiously romantic mood which is quite unusual for this type of film; Peter Cushing and Joss Ackland are both excellent (as well as impeccably dressed) in their roles of two jilted lovers of a woman who continues to obsess them even after such a long time, and whose friendly rivalry can only lead them blindly and inexorably to a fate that is literally worse than death; an ominous hallucination scene with Peter Cushing is quite well done in view of the limited resources at hand, and Ackland's inexplicable inability - or unwillingness - to leave town somewhat recalls the house-trapped aristocrats of Bunuel's THE EXTERMINATING ANGEL (1962)."Sweets To The Sweet": this is perhaps the finest episode of all - with his ambiguous role here, Christopher Lee continues to demonstrate his versatility and he is matched by an understanding Nyree Dawn Porter and the deceptive innocence of Chloe Franks (who appears as Lee's daughter).
"The Cloak": a wacky but oddly reverent vampire tale (that still manages to debunk many of the myths attached to the subgenre, while inventing some new ones!) which takes in some wonderful digs at exploitation cinema and, at one point, Christopher Lee himself!; Jon Pertwee is marvelous as the campy horror star who gets more than he bargained for when he attempts to bring a measure of authenticity to his work; Ingrid Pitt sends up her image nicely though her role is somewhat subsidiary to the proceedings; Geoffrey Bayldon (made up to look like Ernest Thesiger) also has a memorably quirky bit; the 'silent-cinema' style of the ending was a pretty audacious one to pull on an audience, I suppose - and, while some of the humor comes off as heavy-handed a' la THE FEARLESS VAMPIRE KILLERS (1967) or THEATRE OF BLOOD (1973), it's also rather infectious and certainly ends the film on a high (and highly unusual) note!
Peter Cushing,"Black Jack",'80 gives a great performance as one of the person's living in the home and even Christopher Lee,"Curse of the Crimson Altar",68 and his little daughter, Chloe Franks,(Jane Reid) make a wonderful exciting story together, his daughter for some reason loves to read WITCHCRAFT BOOKS!
The best episodes of this are the first with Denholm Elliot playing a horror writer stalked by a character from his novel in the works ( a perfect example of the acting pulling this out of the merely pedestrian); the third, with Christopher Lee as a man terrified of his own daughter and the final episode with the late great Jon Pertwee as a pompous horror film star who gets more than just a new role on his latest project.
Of course as an adult the Amicus anthology films don`t have much of an impact but they were good at the time and I guess this is one of the better efforts Story 1 ) Rather corny but it is somewhat amusing watching Tom Adams camp it up and it does contain the classic quote " My name is Dominick "Story 2 ) Despite the presence of Peter Cushing and Joss Ackland the actors do little with their roles because their characters are so sketchilly written .
"Not exactly." Denholm Elliott plays a mystery writer whose latest creation, a mad strangler, haunts him at night; Peter Cushing, mourning the demise of his one great love, finds her replica in a waxworks museum in town; Christopher Lee is afraid of his own daughter, an angelic-seeming child with an interest in witchcraft; and Jon Pertwee is a ham actor of vampire films who becomes a real bloodsucker whenever he wears a vintage cloak.
Inquiring at the local police station, the inspector learns the house's history of multiple odd occurrences.*Special Stars- Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Denholm Elliott, Jon Pertwee *Theme- Old houses in England have a long history, possibly ghosts, and influences beyond the grave.*Trivia/location/goofs- British, Many short stories anthology revolving around this house's various occupants.
Price gained USA notoriety playing in the 3-D film, "The House of Wax' with an early film role for Charlse Bronson.*Emotion- An enjoyable series of stories putting England's best horror actors through their paces, but my most enjoyable one was a comedic tale with Jon Pertwee in it as a cowardly reluctant vampire.
The other thing that really stands out is the cast, which is comprised of a slew of Brit Horror all-stars, including Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee and the luscious Ingrid Pitt, along with Indiana Jones' best buddy and a former Dr. Who.The drawback of the movie, in my opinion, is that it is often very "stage bound".
Amicus would provide better framework stories in some of their later anthologies."Method for Murder" is the first segment with Denholm Elliot as a horror writer with a case of writer's block, who rents the house for inspiration and gets more than he bargained for.
Good use of the point-of-view twist: is the writer getting mentally ill...or (as the ending shows) his trophy wife wants her lover to play along with the husband's phobias to drive him mad & secure his estates...yet will the scheming bimbo survive to enjoy the fruit of her ingenious plan?In the second segment two long time lost friends get together in the same secluded old house but cannot seem to help visiting a bizarre horror museum featuring the wax statue of the long lost love of their youth, which had once separated them.
Probably the least successful of the Amicus product up to and possibly including 1973's The Vault of Horror.A very languid production sees three segments unfold without any real sense of urgency, stars like Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee not doing their best work in a film that's less than their worth.
Only the third tale has any real, and a great cast (Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Ingrid Pitt and Denholm Elliott to name but a few) are sadly wasted.The first tale has an interesting premise, albeit one that has been dealt with many times before and since, in which a writer is haunted by his own character, but the tale is let down by a disappointing twist and a final few seconds which seem to make no sense whatsoever.The second tale introduces Peter Cushing (looking like an aged Jason King) who, shortly after moving into the titular house, comes across a waxwork museum containing an effigy of his dead lover.
Add to that the acting talents of Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Denholm Elliott, Joss Ackland, Ingrid Pitt and Jon Pertwee and you've got a movie that can be enjoyed again and again.
Now, a Scotland Yard inspect is here to get to the bottom of things.In Method for Murder, a horror writer (Denholm Elliott, Marcus Brody from the Indiana Jones films) and his wife are haunted by the villain of the novel he's currently writing.Then, in Waxworks, Peter Cushing and Joss Acklund (the bad guy from Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey) all in love with a mannequin.Sweets to the Sweet is all about a widower (Christopher Lee!) battling a governess over how to best raise his daughter, who may or may not have evil powers.Finally, in The Cloak, we learn that Paul Henderson (Jon Pertwee, the third Doctor Who) found an evil cloak that transformed him into a vampire.
This story works on many levels but mainly because it made me wanna know more about what happened before with the mother and what happened going forward with Jane.The last segment surrounds a flamboyant and arrogant actor (Jon Pertwee) who moves into the old house whilst filming his latest horror movie. |
tt0808276 | Fritt vilt | The film opens in the 1970s. A young boy with a birthmark across his eye is running frantically through the snow. As he tries to escape what's chasing him, he falls into a ditch. His pursuer isn't seen as the boy is bombarded with snow, helpless to escape being buried alive.During the opening credits, the police question the boy's concerned parents as to where he had gone and if he may have run away. They tell him he wouldn't have run away and has never gone missing before.In present day, couple Janncike and Eirik have invited their friends Mikal, Ingunn, and Morten Tobias to go snowboarding with them. While listening to the radio announcer warn skiiers and snowboarders to be prepared for crowds, Janncike tells them that they won't be dealing with that because Eirik always finds the best remote spots. Mikal and Ingunn make out in the backseat much to the discomfort of Morten who is obviously the fifth wheel. When he asks Jannicke and Eirik if they plan on moving in together Eirik replies "yes" while Jannicke replies "no". The mood becomes awkward.The friends arrive at the mountain and begin climbing up. Jannike asks Ingunn if she's in love with Mikael and she embarrassingly confesses that she does.Everyone reaches the peak and begins to snowboard down. They all seem to be enjoying themselves until Morten takes a bad fall and breaks his leg. Jannicke is able to set it but realizes they can't walk him back to the car as it's getting dark. No one has cell service and they begin to search around for shelter. Jannicke comes across a ski lodge and the group agrees to carry Morten there.They quickly realize it's abandoned and break in. They put Morten on a couch in the lounge as they search for something to mend his leg. Jannicke finds a box under the front desk that holds a tube of super glue and a single shotgun shell. She tosses the shell aside and uses the super glue to fix Morten's wound. After things settle down, Eirik, Ingunn and Mikal begin to search for the generator and Jannicke stays behind with Morten and reads the guest book.Eirik finds the generator in the basement and gets it working. Meanwhile, Mikal and Ingunn find a guest room that has been burnt to cinders and a spot on the wall where an axe is missing.Back in the lounge, Jannicke reads entries from the guest book that suggest that the lodge shut down in the 70s and owners of the lodge had lost their son. Jannicke finds and passes around a picture of the parents with their son, obviously the boy with the birthmark from the beginning of the film.The group makes the best of their situation by playing records and drinking what's left of the booze. Eirik apologizes to Jannicke for assuming she wanted to move in together and says they'd probably get sick of each other anyway. They cuddle up to go to sleep as Morten watches, forlornly. Mikal and Ingunn head into a empty guest room and get into bed. As Mikal begins to get aggressive about having sex, Ingunn pushes him off. He calls her a tease and storms out.Morten wakes up and has Jannicke and Eirik take him outside to pee. Mikal storms into the lounge to get a drink and turns the music back on. Meanwhile, Ingunn hears a strange noise and peeks into the hall. When she sees nothing she decides to grab her clothes and go find Mikal. On her way out of the room, she drops her locket. As she bends to pick it up a figure appears behind her and trips her with a pick axe. Ingunn screams and is stabbed in the arm but manages to roll out of the way as the figure tries to impale her again. She runs down the hall screaming, but is drowned out by the music. She makes it to the stairs leading up to the lounge as the figure catches up to her. She calls out as she sees Mikal but is finally stabbed to death and dragged away by the pick axe as the music fades.Jannicke returns to the lounge to find Mikal sadly sitting at the bar. She asks him to tell her what's wrong and he complains that Ingunn is cold. She tells him that Ingunn is a virgin and she's just nervous. Mikal feels ashamed for how he acted.The next morning, Mikal heads back to the guest room with a breakfast tray to apologize to Ingunn. When he gets there the door is shut and she doesn't respond, so he walks back to the lounge. Meanwhile, Eirik prepares to head back to the car to go get help. Jannicke puts her house keys into his pocket, indicating she wants him to move in. She kisses him goodbye and he walks out of the cabin. As he rounds the corner, he sees blood on the ground. He ventures forward and finds Ingunn's body lying in the snow. He rushes over to her as the blunt end of a pick axe strikes him in the head.Jannicke and Mikal decide to explore the lodge and return to the basement. They find a door by the generator and open it, revealing a hidden back room. Inside are shelves filled with modern gadgets and clothing as well as empty cans of food. Jannicke freaks out because the lodge closed in the 70s and most of the things in the room were invented well after that. They rush back to the lounge where she tells Mikal she'll go talk to Ingunn. Mikal sees that Morten is missing and goes upstairs to the kitchen to look for him.Jannicke tries to coax Ingunn out of the room. When she doesn't answer, Jannicke opens the door to find the room covered in blood. She rushes out and heads back to the lounge.Mikal reaches the kitchen door to find a dark, red substance running out from underneath it. He enters to find Morten lying on the floor, having tripped while trying to open a can of beets, hence the red substance. They laugh as Jannicke bursts into the room. She takes them to the guest room. Mikal finds Ingunn's locket in a puddle of blood. When Morten exclaims that they are the only people there, Jannicke and Mikal look at each other, realizing that there must be someone living in the basement. As they turn to run out the front door is heard opening and a cold rush of air flows through the hall. Jannicke pushes them back into the guest room and barricades the door. They hold their breath as someone crashes against it. The barricade holds and the person on the other side leaves.Mikal panics and tells Jannicke they should climb out the window and run. Jannicke points out that Morten can't run on his leg. Mikel tells her they should leave him behind and Morten begins to cry. Jannicke refuses to leave and Mikal climbs out by himself. Jannicke runs to the window and watches as he hides in a tool shed. The figure suddenly reappears outside. He's a looming Mountain Man with a large beard wearing goggles and covered in animal hides. He makes his way to the shed where Mikal is hiding. Inside the shed, Mikal tries to hide behind a pile of skiis. When he makes a run for it he steps into a bear trap and crawls out of the shed. Jannicke watches from the window as the Mountain Man breaks Mikals neck.Jannicke grabs Morten and stashes him in the pantry. He panics so she gives him a can and tells him to memorize the label. She's going to the shed to finds a sled to get them out. She begins to leave when Morten begins to confess his love for her and she interrupts him to tell him that she knows.Jannicke makes it to the front door when she sees the Mountain Man coming. She hits the floor just as the door opens and she watches as Mikal's body is dragged into the lounge. She sneaks out to the shed where she finds skis and a sled, but it's too big to be moved. In her frustration she collapses on top of it only to gaze up at a shotgun on a shelf. She grabs it and heads back to the lounge to find the shell she had tossed aside earlier. Once she retrieves it, she heads back to the pantry where she tells Morten she has a plan.She and Morten head to the basement where they turn the generator off to alert the Mountain Man of their whereabouts. She gives Morten a flashlight and tells him to flick it on and off when the Mountain Man is coming. Then she'll shoot him. Morten finds a box cutter in a pile of junk and puts it in his pocket. As Jannicke goes to hide she sees her house keys lying on the floor. Venturing further into the back room she finds Eirik tied up and alive.Morten sees the Mountain Man coming and flicks the flashlight on and off. Jannicke can't move Eirik in time so she tells him to be quiet and runs back to her hiding place. The Mountain Man walks into the back room holding a flashlight and Jannicke bursts out and points the gun at him. Just as she's about to shoot he turns his light off, engulfing them in darkness. Morten turns his flashlight on and Jannicke slams the back room's door shut and barricades it with a piece of wood. The Mountain Man bashes against the door but it holds. Morten tries to get Jannicke to run but she tells him they can't go because Eirik is in the back room too. Morten asks what they should do and she tells him to open the door so she can shoot the Mountain Man. Morten lifts the piece of wood and the door bursts open. Jannicke fires but Morten realizes the Mountain Man is using Eirik as a human shield and knocks her gun out of her hands, sending the bullet astray. The Mountain Man impales Eirik with his pick axe as Jannicke screams. Morten tells her to run and picks up the gun. Jannicke runs out as Morten tosses the useless gun and tries to defend himself with a saw. He cuts the Mountain Man's leg but it's no help and he's impale by the pick axe.Jannicke runs to the shed and straps on a pair of skis. She runs blindly through the darkness with her flashlight. It briefly falls on the figure of the Mountain Man just before he knocks her out.Jannicke awakes to find herself lying on the sled and buried under the bodies of her friends. She sees the box cutter in Morten's pocket and pulls it out. As the Mountain Man reaches his destination, a deep ravine, he begins tossing the bodies over the edge. When he grabs Jannicke's foot she stabs him in the neck with the box cutter. She then grabs the pick axe and begins swinging it at him but misses. He grabs it by the other end and they struggle. He eventually pushes her to the edge of the ravine and raises his axe to stab her. As the same moment she rips the goggles from his face revealing a birthmark across his eye. Startled, the Mountain Man misses and the axe hits the ice. Jannicke pulls herself up and retrieves the axe. She swings it at him over and over, pushing him further towards the edge of the ravine. When he's finally reached the edge she gives a final swing stabs him in the stomach with the pick axe. As he falls over the edge, the Mountain Man flashes back to himself as the boy at the beginning of the film. As he looks up at his pursuers we see the image of his parents, intentionally burying him alive in the snow as he screams at them to stop.The Mountain Man hits the bottom of the ravine with a crash, surrounded by the bodies of Eirik, Mikal, Ingunn and Morten. Jannicke collapses by the edge of the ravine, exhausted.End. | dark, murder, violence, cult, flashback, romantic | train | imdb | While snowboarding in the ice mountains with Jannicke (Ingrid Bolse Berdal), her boyfriend Eirik (Tomas Alf Larsen), Mikail (Enfre Martin Midtistigen) and his girlfriend Ingunn (Viktoria Winge), Morten Tobias (Rolf Kristian Larsen) has an accident and breaks his leg.
However on the next morning they find that they are trapped in the hotel with a psychopath killer, and they have to protect themselves trying to survive."Fritt Vilt" is an engaging thriller that has a predictable story but entertains.
I have visited the theater for basically every new Norwegian film, with high hopes and a wanting to like what they show, and every time I walk out disappointed and with less hope for our present generation of filmmakers.
I went to the premiere of Fritt Vilt expecting a nice slasher film, and I walked out 95 minutes later, with hope restored and a nice smile on my face.
The look and feel of the hotel and the isolation is all there, and the evil that is lurking sure is creepy.Roar Uthaug does a few neat tricks early in the movie, which makes you sit at the edge of your seat through out the film, and his direction is good.
After reading the other user comments about how good this movie was I have to give it to you people straight, the movie is okay but we serious horror fans have seen it all before.The story starts with a couple of guys and girls heading for Jotunheimen(a big ass mountain)to snowboard.
And of course as in any other horror movie we ever seen there is always a bright guy saying: "Hey wanna check out the rest of the hotel?" Whats very fascinating though is that one of the couple end up in room 237,guess these guys haven't seen "The Shining" yet?
or something like that AND (pause) the killing spree begins.."Fritt Vilt" has borrowed a lot from movies like "The Shining","I know what you did last summer" and a kind of "Hills Have Eyes" beginning, mostly cheap scares but some good ones to.
Like I said, the movie is good but we have already seen a lot of this stuff before, as a Norwegian movie its a step in the right direction but if you wanna see a horror flick beyond this see: Villmark.
with "Fritt Vilt" ("Cold Prey"), another winner.This film really revives the slasher genre.
Okay normally i'm not really into subtitled movies, but when I came across this little gem the other day and after all the rave reviews that I read about this on web, well I just had to see what all the fuss was about, and I was pleased with the result.The Plot = Five people decide to take a snowboarding trip in the Norweign mountains, but one of them falls and breaks his leg, then they find refuge in an old abandoned ski lodge cabin, this where the terror begins.Okay It's a generic plot but that doesn't matter and in no way makes this a bad movie whatsoever, It's however one of the many strenghs of this movie that brings a certain realism to it's surroundings and characters.
Okay It's a slow burner at first it takes about 40 minutes for the first murder to happen, but when it does it really kicks in and in the meantime we get to know the main cast and it always keeps you interested all the way through.The eerieness and tension are all there in this, the ski lodge was a geniue creepy place and when they start exploring the place and finding information and the killer works really well since he's just a regular guy geared up to handle the cold weather, so his face is naturally covered by material to keep himself warm.
The movie just shows that even if you have a predictable and clichéd story you can deliver a decent watch.The cast were all top notch = Ingrid Bolso Berdal who plays the main heroine Jannike hit all the right notes, she was fantastic and really stood out, her emotions and logical thinking made her a very likable character too root for.
Tomas Alf Larsen (Erik) was also another interesting addition to cast as was Viktoria Winge (Ingunn) the pretty blonde more than the usual bimbo they usually have in these movies, she actually layers to her character and Endre Martin Midtstigan (Mikal) who also played the asshole role pretty well.All in all a decent slasher that hails all the way from Norway, that actually brings realism and an interesting set up and beautiful scenery a definite must see the best slasher in years..
Well for starters, in a world overdosed on allegedly scary slasher movies this Norwegian film actually delivers with a terrifying atmosphere and genuine suspense.
This is an outstanding movie within the slasher genre and a sterling example of Norwegian horror..
Après Ski. Above average slasher which means not a very good movie per se, but tolerable.The setting comes up trumps as well as the unusually likable character portraits and solid performances.
It's midwinter.Five youngsters are heading for the Jotunheimen mountain area to go snowboarding.On the slope,one of them has a bad fall and breaks a leg.There is no sign of any other people around and their mobile phones are out of range.They catch sight of a mountain hotel in the distance and decide to find shelter there.The hotel lies emtpy and silent,obviously closed down years ago.The phone lines are dead and the youngsters realize they have to spend the night in the hotel.Unbeknownst for them there is somebody else in the building-somebody thirsty for their blood...Pretty eerie Norwegian slasher with truly creepy looking killer.The director Roar Uthaug manages to create few moments of suspense and terror.There is very little gore and the motivation of the killer is fairly silly,but if you want to be scared give "Cold Prey" a look..
Set in the snowy landscape of Jotunheimen, Norway, a group of young adventure-seeking boys and girls ends up trapped in a mysteriously abandoned mountain hotel.
They try to enjoy their stay in spite of the circumstances, but after a while they realize that something horrible haunts this else-how so charming (?) old building.As with most horror movies, don't expect anything new, it's just the same old spooky murders in another setting.
Though it was not an English movie it had so many repeat screenplay that we (horror / thriller lovers) had experienced.For instance to tell it had the hotel set similar to 'the shinning' The killer was a Jason type I know what u did psychopath but fails to say what is exactly wrong with him to kill every one.Since the movie has three parts the first one was like an intro so don't expect so many spine chills all are ultimately guessable ones.
Where do i start about this film,its a story of a group of enthusiastic youngsters who are looking forward to a fun vacation but find something terrifying instead with their lives at stake.This is a summary which obviously looks interesting and especially for those who are inclined towards thrillers/horror films,i am one of them,this keeps me on a constant search for such summaries.Many of these so called thrillers turn out to be a low budget trash with bad stories and highly unprofessional approach,but after seeing COLD PREY i assure you that its nothing like the trash i have mentioned b,its a brilliant thriller movie with a perfect score on movie making scale with a simple yet terrifying story making it an appreciable 90 minutes experience...definitely worth watching!!!.
These people must be on serious..and I mean SERIOUS..hallucinogens.This was the most SCARY, SUSPENSEFUL, WELL-FILMED horror movie I've seen in about 10 years.
Norwegian movies are on the rise and Fritt Vilt is proving this big time.Five people are snowboarding in the beautiful mountains of Norway when one of the guys break his leg and they are forced to spend the night at an abandoned hotel far away from everything.
The acting wasn't really that good and the story is the same thing we have seen in every mediocre film before.
This is and will be a never forgotten movie, Im sure...So, the plot: Some teenagers goes snowboarding in the mountains, but when one of them break a leg they have to find safety at a abandon hotel.
The entire movie starts out boring and bad, and we are introduced to characters that are in fact too similar to the typical Norwegian movie setting.The fact that the language is Norwegian and the typical characters are the only things that is noticeable Norwegian in the movie, it could just as well have been a low-budget Hollywood film.There have been a great many good Norwegian films the last three years, among them are movies like "Reprise", "Den brysomme mannen", "Uno" and "Hawaii, Oslo".
I especially liked Jannicke (Ingrid Bolsø Berdal), she is such a strong and smart character.The movie is very suspenseful despite the fact that it's kinda predictable.
Group of twenty somethings seek refuge in an abandoned hotel and get picked off one by one, it really couldn't be more clichéd.Cold Prey isn't bad at all, it's just yet another generic slasher flick and I'm surprised it has two sequels.
Fingers crossed that they figured out something in the follow ups to set them apart from the other million movies of its ilk.The Good: Great setting Solid cinematography The Bad: No originality at all Things I Learnt From This Movie: Superglue in Norwegian sounds like super lube, this could end in disaster!.
There's not a great deal of story for the film, which isn't a surprise and director Roar Uthaug seems keen to focus on the killings, which is obviously the reason why most people will watch this film.
For any reason(better technology or better international distribution of films),on last years,a lot of filmmakers around the world decided to do horror films in their countries(mostly,European countries).From the slasher sub-genus,we have seen French films(like Promenons-nous dans les Bois),German(like Der Tod feiert mit) or Swedish(like Strandvaskaren).Mostly of the horror films of that nationalities are crap.So,I did not have high expectations with the Norwegian film Fritt vilt.But,I took a surprise because the film resulted to be pretty good and a lot better than I expected.The film does not loose much time for showing us the story and the bloody scenes are more intense than graphic.There's a lot of blood in this film,but it puts more attention to the suspense and the tension than the blood.The performances are very well and they can transmit the tension of the characters.The fail I found on this movie is that the story is not new;it's the same than a lot of slasher horror films and the film has some clichés and predictable elements.But Fritt vilt is a very fun horror movie with a lot of blood and intensity..
At first, it may have seemed like you were going to get the typical format slasher movie, where a group of youngish people, (not exactly teens I didn't think) get stranded in an abandoned or derelict building, even better that in this movie, it's an abandoned ski motel on a snow covered mountain!
And no silly attempts at injecting annoying humour to irritate when it crops up in silly places, (ok, "Frostbite" had humour, but at least it was reasonably clever humour, but then I'm not reviewing that one, although I did enjoy it, but not as much as I enoyed this one) and what was unusual also, is that in "Cold Prey" one could really care about the characters and want them to escape, unlike in some movies where you don't care one way or the other what happens to them and might even sympathise with the killer.
Beside the kids act pretty stupid at times and the whole boring "5 kids to kill in 90 Minutes" theme is wrapped in a real lame plot that barely covers there is absolutely nothing new to this movie except its norwegian.
It's nice thought to see a setting like this, Norwegian snowboard enthusiasts driving down the mountains in loose snow, having and accident, and they have to take in for the night on a abandoned mountain hotel.
They find out that this hotel was closed for many years due to the disappearance of the managers son who is still missing.I liked this movie very much because of the plot and the story of it and because of the nice images of Jotunheimen.
Now I do like a good horror movie almost as much as the next seventeen year old, although I prefer when they are atmospheric other than in-your-face blood and gore.
They are not alone.Now, I have watched a lot of halfway norwegian movies in the last couple of years.
"Fritt Vilt", or "Cold Prey" as it was called in English, is a Norwegian horror movie from 2006, directed by Roar Uthaug.Five young friends are on a snowboarding trip in the Norwegian mountains.
They soon discover that someone has been living in the hotel since it was closed down in the seventies, killing anyone who trespasses."Fritt Vilt" is one of the best horror movies made in recent years.
Sweden has a lot to learn from Norway when it comes to making horror movies.The acting is quite good for a slasher.
Scariness would be 7.5/10 so still decent.Really if you enjoy a good slasher and haven't seen this do yourself a favor and watch it.
It takes a while but finally they confront the guy, and in the end we do learn something about the stranger.Cold Prey is a boring but well made slasher lacking violence, gore, nudity, interesting characters, and a story.
This has been my first taste of Norwegian Horror, and I must say I liked it!Frit Vilt is a classic Slasher with a fairly common background story - youngsters go on ski vacation (to a far and desolate place, obviously), one of them gets injured, they find an "abandoned" cabin and use it for shelter, enter Slasher, let there be blood.
So I finally decided to check them out and im glad I did but not as impressed as I was told I to would be.As "Cold Prey" starts you get the feeling you are watching the same thing you have seen in countless other slasher films, and that feeling is correct.
The fact that it takes place in the snow was interesting but its not like this is the first horror film to do that.The main things a slasher flick needs to be great is a good killer, like-able characters, and a nice pace.
"Fritt vilt" is a horror film filled with predictable situations, bad written characters and the classics clichés we've already seen out there.
I liked the snowy setting that makes this a OK winter slasher but the movie is completely unoriginal and downright dumb most of the time.
It looks like they had a decent budget for this movie, the gore effects were good but the kills were nothing new, and with the winter setting the movie is watchable but it is way too basic for me..
'Fritt vilt', or 'cold prey' does to you what a horror movie is supposed to do: it glues you on your seat from start to finish.This film doesn't start as a horror story, though.
it actually has everything you possibly want out of a horror film: group of adults going on vacation (ski), force to stay in a remote abandoned "evil" hotel, try to have some s**, discovery its not that easy!
Cold prey was not to bad I was interested to see how the norweigens done it ,and they done it well there was some genuine scares and at least a good effort was made into the movie having a good story line with a twist to the end.The jist of the movie goes like this A group snowboarders take a holiday to the Jotunheimen mountains ,low and behold one of the five friends has an accident ,and the nearest shelter is an old abandoned lodge ,with a storm closing in they take shelter...with very dire consequences .This movie received some decent praise and i thought it done its job well .If you like your horrors and slashers and don't mind subtitles check it out its above the recent Hollywood standard anyway.I think it might surprise a few.
Cold prey is a great film and I think it is one of the best slasher film ever.It is about a group of friends being stalked by a mysterious killer,in the cold,snowy mountains.The movie has a very good atmosphere.An old abandoned hotel,wind blowing and loneliness everywhere.The killer has a great weapon to kill and the way he murders is riveting.Cold prey is a descent slasher and if you are bored with the same Masked killer stuff watch this one.It is indeed a ride of fun and horror and a perfect end.
Cold Prey is a Horror/thriller movie that starts out with five friends heading for a nice day skiing and snowboarding.
When one of them becomes injured they have no choice but to seek shelter in an abandon hotel.While this movie was subtitled for me I found the acting good overall, with a strong performance from the lead female.
I would have liked to see a darker atmosphere once in the hotel but it gets along just fine as it is.The plot is is where this movie will break down for some people.
But if your looking for a movie that does everything great and keeps you wanting to see more then you will find Cold Prey a good addition to the genre..
I Especially recommend watching this movie to any one who enjoys the flavor of 80 slasher/horror films.
Norwegian horror film that begins with news reports of weird things going on and people going missing in the mountains.
Good looking and well constructed horror films doesn't really have any scares. |
tt0080601 | Death Car on the Freeway | Aereal images of lanes and lanes of highways with cars roaring by.Becky Lyons (Morgan Brittany) is an actress who is memorizing her lines while Robert "Bobby" Lessentein (Hank Brandt), a cute guy, is filling out the tank of her car. As she has forgotten to cash in a check, she puts very little petrol on his car, but it should be enough to get where she is going to be the first victim. Jan drives fast but well. However, a black van cuts her from her exit on purpose. The camera pans on the hairy hands of a guy who cleans his steering wheel, puts on some gloves and a casette on the cassette recorder and drives like a maniac after Jan, who is already getting ready to leave the freeway on the next exit. Suddenly, the black van appears again and pushes Jan's car away. Jan's car finishes dangling from one of the sides.Becky speaks to a reporter, Ace Durham (Alfie Wise), who presents the recording to the producers of his program. However, everybody seems to think that it is a publicity stunt, as she is in show business. Jan phones Pauline, who works at NTF, Channel Three, and gives her name first as Jan Claussen, but then she changes it to Jan Jeffries. Jan is apparently getting divorced from Ray Jeffries (George Hamilton), a big shot at TV who is having shoes made to measure.Jan sees a recording of Ray with a lady who says that cars have given women freedom. She is a kind of posh lady,and when Jan goes to speak with her, she is absolutely convinced that the man wanted to kill her for no reason.The lady had surgery twice because of the attempt on her life.Jan and Ace speak to Lieutenant Haller (Peter Graves) on their studio before going on air. They think that theere is coincidence enough to investigate, but Haller says that they are imagining things, as a case like that would be good for Jan's career.At a hospital bedroom,a nurse called Jane Guston (Tara Buckman) is telling bed-ridden Mr. Frisch (Abe Vigoda). that she is gong to meet her husband at the airport in forty five minutes to celebrate their anniversary. The nurse drives her red car onto the Ventura Freeway. As she is getting late, she passes the black van quite rudely. That sets the man off, who puts on the cassette again and pushes Jane's car several times. Another car who gets caught in the fracas pushes the black van out of the freeway, but it comes back even more savagely for revenge. Finally, it pushes Jane's car across the lanes so that another car crashes onto Jane's and her car is set on fire. The black van goes down a slope and joins the heavy traffic of another freeway.Jan visits Jane on hospital. Jane's husband (Buddy H. Farmer) tries to make her more positive, but Jane knows that with 60% of her body burnt she has no chance of getting alive. She mentions hearing some kind of music - country music with a weird fiddle thing going on.Jan immediately phones Lynn Bernheimer (Dinah Shore) to ask her if she knows what it could be, but she is meeting important people from San Diego and doesn't take her seriously.There is a call for Doctor Glenn de Grant (Jerry Jensen). On the background, this doctor announced to the pilot that his wife has passed away. He is terribly distraught. Jan leaves her telephone on a recorded message at Becky's answering machine, 5559807.Ray drives Jan home. He advises her to be more aggressive. Becky had not heard the music. Jan wants to prove that she can succeed on her own. He proposes that they have a drink,but she complains that he never listens to her. Ray is his usual jackass in spite of saying that he is seeing a therapist. Jan cuts the conversation and says that wants to go home. At 6431, she rushes to pick up the phone. It is Lynn, the posh woman from the tennis club, saying that she heard some kind of music. Jan shouts it out to Ray,who was already leaving. He pretends to be happy about Jan's progress.Barry Hill (Robert F. Lyons), is going to make a special with Jan live to tell women not to drive on their own on the freeway. Ace announces that on Ray's channel they have given that news first. Jan is distraught, as it was her story. Ray apologises with many words about that, saying it was not his fault. Jan just hangs up.The black van driver attacks again. At least four more women are dead.This goes on the news. The driver gets rid of the California number 247PCE and chooses another one. Also, he paints hisvan in another car.Another murder. Now, everybody calls the driver "the fiddler". Jan puts pressure on Haller.Jan interviews Dr Rita Glass (Gloria Stroock), who gives a psychological profile.The fiddler is a repressed personality unsure of his masculinity who has been domineered by his mother. He is a man looking to be killed because he has chosen a dangerous way of killing these attractive women. Mr. Blanchard (Hal Needham) has contacted Jan to show her what his school is about. Jan goes to Mr. Blanchard's Defensive Driving school. Blanchard accepts Jan as a student. At KXLA, she speaks about the fiddler again.One rainy day, the black van driver is following Jan, only that now the van is white. Jan has taken her first lesson, next time it will be defensive evasion.Mrs Anthony has a call from Mrs Risen. Her son Teddy has a temperature so she has to go and pick him up. She runs to her blue car and gets into the freeway on her own. A white van won't let her pass, so she honks and honks. Now there are two white vans, and the murderer driver sets the music on. Suddenly, the white van stops and the blue van crashes onto it. Now, the blue car has got caught by the white van with a trailer hookattachedat theback. A police car sees this weird thing and runs after them. Mrs Anthony tries to stop to a halt without avail. The white van leaves the freeway in a crash turn, all the time pushing Mrs Anthony's car around. He releases Mrs Anthony 's car in the precise moment that the police car crashes onto her.Haller blames women's terrible driving for calling the fiddler's attention.Jan returns home on her own. She suspects something. She hears something while she is chilling out on her own.Somebody knocks on the door. Somebody says it is "flowers by telegram". It's moronic Ray, who laughs the scare off. He congratulates Jan on her success, as her investigation of the fiddler's case is drawing loads of attention to her. However, he gives good advice: Jan should be careful, as she is the prototype of woman the fiddler is looking for. He goes onto saying that she should have a different job, but Jan feels that he is just jealous, as she is becoming more famous than him. Jan feels that women are being attacked because they are resourcetful, intelligent and successful. Ray leaves, feeling rejected after Jan reminds him that sticking their necks out goes with the job.Rosemary (Barbara Rush) is going on vacation for two weeks at a spa in Arizona, and Jan is going to replace her. Lynn realises that it's her chance,so she tells her to pick it up. Jan hesitates, and asks for Rosemary's advice: should she stay with her man or take her chance? Rosemary says that she will not be happy if she quits.Jan is being followed and attacked on a secondary road. Both the van and her car end up in a ditch. Luckily,it was Blanchard, training her.Jan's program is going to be cancelled, says Ralph Chandler (Frank Gorshin) as the car make does not want to advertise anymore. Haller also called to request that the channel sends another reporter. Ray recommends her to resign before the channel lets her go. With a black mark on her CV, she wont be able to find another job. Jan prefers to stick until the end. Ray offers to call Carl and take her up. Jan feels that Ray is scared that she makes it on her own. Ray denies it, but he believes that she can't succeed without him. Ray doesn't want her to leave upset after what he has said.Another car wreck.However, Jan says that there is no fiddler. Apparently, more men have died because of car accidents than in the two World Wars, as there is a million deaths per year on the roads. She says that it was mass hysteria and mass media invention about the fiddler. Ace and Rosemary look at her with satisfaction. She says that car makes should stop making commercials encouraging males to drive faster and aggressively.Ralph, Ace and Rosemary are sorry that Jan has been fired. Ray says that right now Jan is unemployable. He will pull some favours and give a job to Jan. Ran is obnoxious and a bully, and wants to take her home.A man phones Jan. It is probably the fiddler saying that she should come over to look around because of friend of his knows who the fillder is,but is not sure. Ray wants to take her home, but she refuses to go with him. Ray says that he has taken a huge risk for her, but Jan says that she can do whatever she wants, and goes to meet this man.She exits the freeway and goes to a shop with a big painted advertisement saying "Roy's Muffler Radiator". It is not a good area, and she feels weird and watched. She is scared of an aggressive dog, a gang of motorbikers, but keeps on walking.She enters a dirty place. There is some graffiti saying "Phantoms". A rat falls in a mousetrap. Several guys look at her menacingly.Bobby (Jack Collins) and Maurie (Sig Haid) are the ones who have called her. They have stolen cars, but they "don't want to kill nobody". They usually prepare cars for motor races. The gang are supposed to be a social club and call themselves the Roaches. They socialize, but other guys don't socialize, go to a party, have friends or like girls. But somebody like the fiddler would never join a club like that. That guy would sit outside the club and just sit there outside ,without speaking to anybody. Nobody liked the guy. He had a scar on the side of his face and would play country music all day long.Jan leaves. Everybody stares at her, but she is looking for Eddie (Roger Aaron Brown).She speaks to Eddie about the guy with the black van who used to play country music about a year ago. The guy has a scar on his face, almost a hidden eye, and is re-painting a car in blue. Jan suspects it is him.Eddie gives him the address of John Evans, 8921 Herald Street, La Crescenta, California without a word and leaves. But Jan decides to follow him. The bikers laugh at her, as she looks very scared.Jan goes to that address.She speaks to Helen Sheel (Harriet Nelson), a blind lady. She says that John moved two days ago, but maybe he will go onto living on his van again. Mrs Sheel gives the key of the crappy apartment / shack where John used to live. Jan enters and sees photos of accidents, a collage of photographs of accidents everywhere. Mrs Sheel says that John may come back later. Jan calls the police.Haller congratulates Jan and says thank you. They are convinced now that she was right.Jan leaves on her own, and the fiddler is following her. Jan goes onto the freeway and the fiddler repeats her ritual: the music, the cleaning of the steering wheel, the gloves. Now it is a van in dark blue with flames graffited on. Jan realises that the van is very close and accelerates.At first, the thinks it was a false alarm, as the van exits. She relaxes but the fiddler surprises her driving like crazy. she tries Blanchard's manouvers. She takes an exit of a road still on construction. The van is pushing her. Jan moves away, but the van crashes onto the announcement of "End of freeway" and explodes in a million pieces.Jan stops to see the van burn.Credits.Nancy Stephens ... ChristineJim NegeleHank BrandtMarguerite DeLain | murder | train | imdb | For car fans there's a lot of cool old cars to look at and some decent crashes.
It definitely borrows from "Duel" (one of the immensely overrated Spielberg's only decent films) but manages to come up with a fresh take on it.
The best thing about this movie is that the action is for real, back in the days when movie-making was real blood and sweat, instead of the computer crap we see today.
When these cars crash, you can see where if something went wrong, there would have been more trouble on the set.
But that's real movie making, not drawing cartoons on a computer.This movie definitely has the odd tricks and turns a lot of tv-movies did from the day, and still sometimes do.
I was always impressed by this film's use of action and suspense.
We see the killer's actions, but we don't know why he's going after these Women.We feel the helplessness of the victim's and the powerlessness of the police to do anything.
This is not just another car chase/crash movie.
There's Hitchcock like suspense and action that helps the story line, not muddle it into an idiot film like most car chase flicks.I sure miss this movie and I wish there were plans to put it on video soon.
A good film like this needs to be viewed often because it also has a sobering socio-political message to it.It is also a pity that such outstanding film making has passed away.
Too many TV and theatrical film makers are making boring hyper violent films that make no sense and give us car chases and crashes that have no real visual impact other than mindless destruction and sheer stupidity..
Great little TV movie about a crazed car killer.
DEATH CAR ON THE FREEWAY is one of those atmospheric US TV movies that were made throughout the 1970s and seemed to fizzle out around 1985 or so, when all TV films became safe, sanitised and terminally dull.
Still, that's not the case with this film, which is a great little exercise in suspense as it tells the story of a crazed van driver who enjoys killing women drivers in car accidents.The film is low budget, sure, but it's a lot of fun and it contains all the right elements for a good thriller.
The murderer is a spooky, Michael Myers-alike who we never really get to know or understand, which makes his actions all the creepier.
The sound of a fiddle has never been so sinister as it is here.The film was directed by Hal Needham, a noted stuntman, so needless to say the car chase scenes are exemplary, with some pyrotechnic effects that beat the hell out of modern-day CGI ones.
The intriguing cast list incorporates George Hamilton, Peter Graves, and Frank Gorshin, and there's a neat cameo from Sid Haig too.
The television film Duel directed by a young Steven Spielberg had a driver menaced by an unseen truck driver.
The film got a cinema release in some places.
Obviously inspired by Duel is the 1979 Television movie Death Car on the Freeway where an unseen driver known as the Freeway Fiddler (because he puts on bluegrass music) is terrorising women drivers and pushing them off the freeway.
It is surprising that no other driver notices the maniac loose on the road when he is bashing into other cars and being a danger to everyone!The police (represented by Peter Graves) are reluctant to take these incidents seriously and at one point blame the women for being bad drivers for getting into these scrapes.
At least it is a social commentary regarding sexism and the police force!Shelley Hack is the reporter who makes the story public and plots to catch him even taking special hazardous driving lessons in case the Fiddler pursues her.The director is Hal Needham, a former stuntman and a director associated with Burt Reynolds and films such as the Cannonball movies.
There are some good car stunts from such an esteemed stunt director but it also suffers from rather dull made for 1970s television movie narrative.George Hamilton is wasted as Hack's ex beau and star news reporter.
The film loses focus when it dwells on relationship issues and when it introduces some kind of Hells Angels type of group who may know the identity of the Freeway Fiddler.An interesting premise made bland and even silly when it should had been grittier..
The TV equivalent of a drive-in version of "Duel," and okay for what it is..
With Hal Needham behind the camera and Shelley Hack - one of the last of "Charlie's Angels" - in the main role, you've probably guessed that "Death Car on the Freeway" won't be of Spielberg standards.
It isn't, but I remember getting some low-brow entertainment out of this TV movie way back when.Women drivers are being run off the road and killed by a strange man who a TV reporter (S.
Hack) dubs the "Freeway Fiddler" because he always plays fiddle music before going into action; she can't finger the misogynist van driver (and indeed we never see the driver, but the resemblance between this and "Duel" pretty much ends there) but she plots to catch him before he can continue his reign of terror.
machine in a race to the death.Writer William Wood and director Needham don't deliver a great feminist tract, nor is this an actors' showcase; but they do keep the automotive action coming, and it's not a message TV movie by any means.
It's basically a pulp novel on the screen, and it's not bad - something that certainly can't be said for some of the director's bigscreen movies ("Megaforce," anyone)?.
Taught little tele-movie featuring a maniacal van driver bearing down on lone female motorists, causing mayhem, death and destruction.
It's a serial killer movie with a twist; the van is the modus operandi and the signature is a frenetic bluegrass tune blaring from inside, earning the killer 'The Fiddler' nickname.
Novice TV anchorwoman (Hack), desperate to emerge from beneath the shadow of her former husband (Hamilton), investigates the road rage attacks for the network news service, becoming not only an expert, but part of the story itself, which attracts attention from seedy individuals, who may be linked to the killer.Director and veteran stunt co-ordinator Hal Needham has crafted a tense mystery thriller on a TV budget, incorporating a raft of well-executed stunts, and some big names in the cast.
The 'tanned one' plays his usual character (i.e. George Hamilton) and while Hack is a bit like her surname, there's good support from veterans Rush, Gorshin, Graves, Vigoda and co in the wings.
Even pretty Morgan Brittany is realistic as an over-zealous, aspiring actress, keen to emphasise her near-fatal encounter with 'The Fiddler'.There seems to have been an attempt to convey the message of journalistic objectivity, and professional integrity in media, but neither Hack nor Hamilton are credible enough to carry that pretext.
Despite this, Needham plays his aces at the right times, employing his experienced cast for scene fillers, and handing the rest of the movie over to the outstanding stuntwork to deliver the action sequences, which are superior to those employed in many feature films.
Duel II: Rush Hour Rage!.
Who better than Hal Needham, notorious stunt driver and director of many good ol' boy car chase movies like "Smokey and the Bandit" and "Cannonball Run", could direct this modest but worthwhile TV-thriller with numerous crashes and exploding vehicles?
The resemblance with Steven Spielberg's phenomenal "Duel" is unmistakable, but that doesn't necessarily makes this film a blatant rip-off.
Both films center on a psychopath who, seemingly without much of a motive, uses his/her vehicle as a deadly murder weapon.
In "Duel" it's a filthy old truck in the middle of nowhere, whereas in "Death Car on the Freeway" it's a Dodge van on the traffic-infested highways of California during rush hour (which is probably why he occasionally has to switch license plates and re-paint).
William Wood's scenario also hints that the murderous van driver does have a motive, in fact.
The "freeway-incidents" are tense and spectacular, in spite of the obvious budget restrictions, which is a good thing because the rest of the film is overly talkative and somewhat dull.
The crashing cars burst into flames illogically fast, if you ask me, but that only makes it more exciting.
Although it's "just" a TV-movie, "Death Car on the Freeway" stars a fairly impressive number of familiar names, like Peter Graves, George Hamilton and Robert F.
After rewatching the exceptional TV-movie, Duel, recently, I started searching for other, similar flicks in the "horror on the highway" genre, and stumbled onto this quite odd, obscure (and quite bleached- out) flick about a van driver and targeting single women on the LA motorways.
The print that I saw was quite bleached out, making some scenes almost unwatchable.
The film also had a decidedly brown/ grey pallet, which coupled with the print's washed out, faint look, made it look like a sepia-toned black-and-white movie.Part of the reason Duel was so effective was its setting on a lonely desert road over the course of a single day.
With this film's action transplanted to busy LA motorways, it loses the feeling of isolation, and taking place over several days robs it of the urgency and immediacy Duel also had.
The unseen driver targeting numerous people instead of just one, as Duel did, makes it difficult to get attached to any of the characters, or care if they survive.
The idea of the van driver changing the look of his van to confuse the people (after a description is broadcast on television) was a novel twist the first time, but lost its effectiveness when it was done repeatedly.
There were some decent enough car crashes and (curious) explosions, but they are widely separated, and what lies between is a lot of women's lib and feminist ramblings shoved down the audiences' collective throat, and the whole ordeal is further negated by the fact that we know the killer's identity will remain a secret, burned to a crisp in some fiery climactic explosion, and, sure enough......
Six cylinders.
A woman is badly shaken when she is run off the freeway and nearly killed by a crazy van-driver.
Her story is not taken too seriously by TV or the police - until another woman is killed in similar circumstances, also by a dark van.
The police seem to have no leads, so a TV reporter starts investigating the similarities between the cases.
As the deaths mount, she takes hazard-driving lessons.
When she finally locates the driver's whereabouts, he's missing, but chases her onto the freeway.This movie has some loud music.
It's no a horrible movie, but it's directed like a TV movie which takes something away from the film.
The print I saw was so bleached out the color was nearly gone and sometimes it seemed like I was watching a b&W movie.The verdict: 6..
The Freeway Fiddler.
Or so the killer in Death Car On The Freeway Was Called.I have a soft spot for good car chase movies and this one was as good as it gets.
Directed by Hal Needham (ex stuntman who brought us Smokey And The Bandit and all of Burt Reynolds subsequent smash em up movies) this movie is dated in many ways.First of all, the movie has some definite you go girl I am female hear me roar undertones.
The movie came out in 1979 and the feminist movement was in full swing.
There isn't anything wrong with it, but because it is so obvious it dates the movie.Secondly, if you have ever seen an episode of CHiP's you should have an idea of what the stunts in this movie look like.
The stunts are real (not CGI) performed by real stunt men, risking their lives not over paid actors sitting in front of a blue screen.Okay, so the acting is a little cheesy.
The movie is over acted to say the least.
Made for TV movies rarely satisfy on the same level as a big screen picture, but then again you don't have to pay for them.
This one fires on all cylinders.
A psycho in a van decides that women have over stepped their boundaries and begins stalking and killing them on the highways of California.
Shelly Hack is a television news reporter willing to risk everything including her career and life following the story.We never see the killers face, just his hands and feet.
When the movie ends we never learn who the killer is.
I think the movie does a good job of implying that it could be anyone.
The movie also has a message that still holds true today.
In their commercials they show their cars being driven in a way that will either land you in court or in the hospital.This is one of my favorite movies of all time, probably because it reminds me of my childhood (I was 5 when it first aired).
When it comes to the biggest TV movies of all time, you have to include Steven Spielberg's Duel on the list.
A battle between Dennis Weaver and an 18 wheeler for a taunt 74 minutes that stayed in viewer's minds for way longer.That leads us to this film, which originally aired on CBS on September 25, 1979.Janette Clausen (Shelley Hack, TV's Charlies Angels, plus Troll and The Stepfather) is a crusading reporter who has moved up from writing feature stories to being on the air herself.
She sinks her teeth into a story about a van driver who she feels has been targeting and killing only female motorists, taking on not only the male establishment but even Detroit auto manufacturers and advertising itself!
If you're a 1970's TV star buff like myself, you'll have a field day with this film.
And hey look - that's Dinah Shore as a tennis pro who may have faced off with the villain of this piece, the Freeway Fiddler, before!As Billy Mays used to say before he died from doing too much blow, "But wait, there's more!"The Riddler, Frank Gorshin, is here!
You got your throat slashed in Silent Night, Deadly Night and here you are in this TV movie!
Sure, you were in Dallas, but you also started your career in Gypsy but found the time to be in movies I care way more about, like being the Virgin Mary in Sunn Pictures' In Search of Historic Jesus and the TV movie The Initiation of Sarah!Nancy Stephens!
She's probably best known as Nurse Marion Chambers from the Halloween series of films.
Now you do!Is that Hal Needham as the driving instructor?
Hal formed Stunts Unlimited, which did all the stuntwork for Burt Reynolds' biggest films, but he also directed Megaforce!
He also directed this movie and did a ton of the stunts, too.Death Car on the Freeway sets up a slasher who kills targeted women with his evil black van, particularly strong women who excel beyond men.
We never see him or learn more about him than that, but if this reminds you a bit of Death Proof, Quentin Tarantino's part of Grindhouse, you're not alone.The best part - for me - was when Jan goes to meet a gang of street racers and Sid Haig shows up!
I ran around the house screaming, "SID HAIG!" so many times that Becca had to tell me to settle down and covered me with a blanket until I calmed myself.When Jan ends a report by saying, "This is Janette Claussen for KXLA from the scene of the Freeway Fiddler's latest attack, and not at all anxious to leave the scene, horrible as it is.
Because when I do, I'm going to be like thousands of other women, in a car on Los Angeles' 491 miles of freeway...
This is better than 'Duel'.
Don't get me wrong, I like the film 'Duel' but after a while it's hard to keep watching the road pass by.
'Death Car on the Freeway' gives the viewer a break from being on the road the entire film.
Don't underestimate the breaks because behind your back the film is building in suspense and action.The characters in this are better than 'Duel' as well.
Not just the one annoying guy behind the wheel and the killer but a whole array of well developed characters.The action is better.
Sorry Speilburg your camera tricks are nothing compared to the real deal here.The sparse character insight to who the killer is makes you want to know who he is even more.
With 'Duel' all you get is the car.
The actions sequences are unrivaled as mentioned before and the fact that the mysterious black van explodes fits and works well.
The best part is that you never really get to see the killer.
Only his hands when he puts on his black gloves to drive deadly.
Very gialloesque.This is probably my second favorite movie of all time.
It's still a good movie but next to this film...it's run off the road..
One of the cheesiest and worst movies from the 1970s.
Death Car On The Freeway is one of the worst and cheesiest 1970s movie ever made.I give it about the same rating as movies like Rollerboogie and Car Wash.The movie comes from a time period of a lot of made for TV movies that started with ABC's movie of the week back in the early 70s.There are a lot of made for TV movies that are excellent like Seven In Darkness,Dr.Cook's Garden and Shadow On The Land.Death Car On The Freeway has one of my favorite actors Peter Graves.This movie was far beneath him but I guess it paid the bills.Shelly Hack looks good but is not a very good actress.I recommend this movie for lovers of cheesy 70s movies with a disco soundtrack!I have this movie. |
tt0879843 | Katyn | Katyn describes the tragedy of a generation. The film follows the story of four Polish families whose lives are torn apart when, at the outset of WWII, a great number of Polish soldiers (who are also fathers, husbands and brothers) fall into the hands of Soviet troops and later brutally become victims of Stalinism. The film also underlines the complicated circumstances of Poland's position both in the war and after. -tc-119"Katyn" tells the story through the eyes of the women; the mothers, wives and daughters of the victims executed on Stalin's orders by the NKVD in 1940.The main male character is Andrzej (played by Artur Zmijewski), a young Polish captain in an Uhlan (light cavalry) regiment who keeps a detailed diary. He is taken prisoner by the Soviet Army, which separates the officers from the enlisted men, who are allowed to return home, while the officers are held. His wife Anna (played by Maja Ostaszewska) and daughter Weronika ("Nika", played by Wiktoria Gsiewska) find him shortly before he is deported to the USSR. Presented with an opportunity to escape, he refuses on the basis of his oath of loyalty to the Polish military.Andrzej ends up in a prisoner of war camp, where he is kept for awhile and continues to keep his diary. He carefully records the names of all his fellow officers who are taken from the camp, as well as the dates they are taken. When winter comes, Andrzej is obviously suffering from the cold temperatures, and his colleague Jerzy (played by Andrzej Chyra) lends him an extra sweater. As it happens, the sweater has Jerzy's name written on it. Finally, it is Andrzej's turn to be taken from the camp, but Jerzy is left behind.At this point, the film fast-forwards to the post-WWII period back in Poland, when and where Andrzej's wife and daughter are still awaiting word about him. News of the Katyn massacre is reported, including the names of the victims, but Andrzej's name is not included in the list of victims, leading his wife and daughter hope that he was not among them. Jerzy, who has survived the war, has enlisted in the Peoples Army of Poland (LWP), which is now under control of the post-WWII communist government, but still feels personal loyalty to his friends, and like all Poles he loves his country and has sympathy for those who have suffered. He visits Anna and her daughter to tell them the news. Apparently, when the list of the names of the victims was compiled, Andrzej was misidentified as Jerzy on the basis of the name in the sweater that Jerzy had lent to Andrzej: it was Andrzej who was killed, not Jerzy.Evidence of Soviet responsibility for the Katyn massacre is carefully concealed by the authorities, but a few daring people working with the effects of the victims finally deliver Andrzej's diary to his widow Anna. The diary clearly shows the date in 1940 when he must have been killed from the absence of entries on subsequent days. The date when the massacre happened is crucial in assigning the responsibility for it: if it happened in 1940, the USSR had military control of the territory where it happened, while by 1941 the Germans had taken control of it.The film ends with a re-enactment of parts of the massacre. [D-Man2010] | violence, historical, murder, flashback | train | imdb | null |
tt0094082 | Suspect | Set in Washington DC, Suspect centers on three disparate characters. Carl Wayne Anderson is a homeless, deaf-mute Vietnam veteran accused of murdering Elizabeth Quinn, a file clerk at the Justice Department. Kathleen Riley is the beleaguered Federal Public Defender assigned to represent Anderson. An agribusiness lobbyist who normally works on Capitol Hill, Eddie Sanger, is made a member of the jury and begins investigating the details of the murder himself, eventually teaming up with Riley to solve the case. We see some early scenes of Sanger's work as a lobbyist on Capitol Hill, including his efforts to win passage of a bill by seducing a Congresswoman. While not relevant to the movie's plot, these scenes are establishing shots giving us a sense for Sanger as a charming, though somewhat ruthless, person.The movie begins around Christmas with the suicide of a United States Supreme Court Justice, for which no explanation or context is given. We only see the Justice making a tape recording and then shooting himself. Shortly after the Justice's suicide, Elizabeth Quinn's body is found floating in the Potomac river, and Carl Wayne Anderson is arrested for the crime, based almost entirely on the fact that he was found sleeping in Quinn's car, which was abandoned in the parking lot where she worked (and was mostly deserted at night). Anderson explains that he found it unlocked and was just looking for a warm place to sleep since it was the dead of winter. But since he was homeless, had no alibi, and was found in Quinn's car, he was arrested for her murder. The establishing scenes show Riley trying to communicate with Anderson and realizing that he is a deaf-mute. Over time, she begins to penetrate his hard exterior and he tries to cooperate with her efforts to mount a defense for him.In the District of Columbia, all crimes are tried in the federal courts, so a murder trial that would normally be in state court was in federal court instead. Riley selects Sanger to be a member of her jury. Soon thereafter, it becomes clear that Sanger is intent on helping Riley with her investigation and defense of Anderson. As the investigation by Riley and Sanger intensifies, they begin focusing on Deputy Attorney General Paul Gray. Figuring that a key found on Elizabeth Quinn's body has something to do with the Justice Department (where Quinn worked), Riley and Sanger break into the file department at the Justice Department late one night and try to find what the key unlocks. They find that it unlocks a file cabinet, which contained trial transcripts from federal cases from 1968 that Quinn was in the process of transcribing.While the investigation goes on after hours, the movie shows scenes during the day from Anderson's murder trial. During the trial, we are introduced to the stern federal judge Matthew Helms (John Mahoney). Helms is rumored to be the President's nominee for a seat on the prestigious United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Judge Helms begins to suspect that Riley may be collaborating with Sanger, which would be a disbarrable offense of jury tampering, although he does not have concrete proof. One key sequence in a law library (where Riley and Sanger continue looking for the elusive case from 1968 that may be the key to the murder) brings Helms, Riley and Sanger into close proximity. Riley and Sanger narrowly avoid being caught by Judge Helms. Eventually, Judge Helms sequesters the jury to avoid further contact between Riley and Sanger.Riley and Sanger continue tracking the federal court cases from 1968. Their theory is that Elizabeth Quinn stumbled onto something during her transcription of those cases. They look for any case that might have an impropriety. As is explained to the audience, fixing a case requires participation from both the prosecutor and the trial judge. Riley and Sanger think they will find evidence that Paul Gray was a prosecutor on a rigged 1968 case, which would be his motive to murder Elizabeth Quinn if she approached Gray about what she found. Eventually, Riley goes back to Quinn's car (still impounded where it was found in a government parking lot) and finds an audiotape that the police did not uncover in their half-hearted investigation. The tape is the one we saw the Supreme Court Justice making at the beginning of the movie. In it, he confesses to conspiring to fix a case in 1968 (with a politically influential defendant) in return for an appointment from the United States District Court to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Riley assumes the prosecutor on that case was Paul Gray and goes back to the courthouse to retrieve the case book that will confirm this. As she gets to the courthouse (now deserted at night), she is pursued and attacked by an unseen figure. With the help of Sanger (who managed to get away from being sequestered by creating a diversion with a fire alarm), Riley was able to slice the right wrist of her assailant, who then fled unseen.The following day takes place in court. Paul Gray shows up in the courtroom, to the surprise of Judge Helms. Riley then tells Judge Helms that she wants him to take the stand. Irate and perplexed, Helms says that Riley cannot make him testify as he is the presiding judge. Then, in a somewhat-rushed speech, Riley reveals that Judge Helms, not Paul Gray, was the prosecutor in the fixed case in 1968. The Supreme Court Justice was the presiding judge in that case. In exchange for fixing the case, he was promoted from the District Court to the Court of Appeals. Helms, who was the prosecutor on the fixed case, was appointed to the District Court. Judge Helms then waited 17 years (from 1969 to 1986) to be promoted again to the Court of Appeals. Just as he learned he was the President's nominee, Quinn inadvertently discovered the case fixing as she transcribed the cases from 1968. She approached the Supreme Court Justice, who responded by committing suicide. By contrast, when she approached Judge Helms, he murdered her. As Judge Helms angrily bangs his gavel during Riley's accusation, his right wrist begins to bleed from where Riley slashed him the night before, confirming his identity as the killer.The movie ends with Riley reinvigorated in her job and in a relationship with Sanger. | neo noir, murder | train | imdb | This movie version of "Suspect" finds Cher portraying a public defender that has been given a murder case in which her client, played by Liam Neeson, is deaf, dumb, and homeless.
Unable to verbally communicate in his defense, Neeson has to rely on Cher's ability to search through the evidence to prove his innocence.Caught up in this courtroom scene is Dennis Quaid, portraying a member of the jury that is unable to keep himself from being drawn to Cher.
I find today's movies to be so "dumbed down" to accommodate the full spectrum of moviegoers (the debt, and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy as SOME exceptions), and this thriller manages to combine a few genres (mystery, courtroom, thriller, drama, suspense) into one package.Cher stars as a lawyer, badly in need of a vacation, who gets appointed a murder case in which a deaf and mute suspect (Played by the ever-ready Liam Neeson) seems to have perpetrated the crime.
As she delves into the case, and into to case precedent, she begins to unravel a mystery that goes much higher than a homeless deaf mute.A fresh faced Dennis Quaid is a juror who is intrigued by puzzle pieces that don't seem to fit and begins his own look at the case, culminating in a heart pounding climax that'll leave you panting and wishing there was another hour to go!
She actually pulls this movie off.And watch for Frasiers dad, John Mahoney, as a judge here - don't worry, you won't miss him.Give it a look!!.
"Suspect" is how about a how a homeless man (Liam Neesom) and his public defender (Cher) find themselves in a case that has much larger ramifications than a simple matter of did a homeless person murder the victim for $9.The aspect that makes this movie a gem is the fine acting: Cher as the overworked and underpaid public defender, Liam Neeson as the deaf/mute defendant in one of his first major roles, Dennis Quaid as a sexy lobbyist (often messing around with congresswomen to get votes for his industry) turned juror turned amateur sleuth, and John Mahoney as the stoic judge at the trial.
A lot of it is pure fantasy but the moments in the courtroom are actually very much like a real courtroom in its obsessiveness with procedure and protocol.The story begins with the suicide of a prominent Supreme Court Justice and the subsequent murder of his assistant who has been slashed to death.
Cher is appointed to take the case, and Quaid ends up becoming one of the jurors.
Cher with the unlawful help of Quaid (lawyers and jurors in the same trial are not supposed to commiserate, let alone team up) stumbles upon some evidence that makes the case much more complex.
Cher easily convinces us of her serious attorney's commitment to helping society's outcasts;Liam Neeson in his first film role as the silent hulking Viet-vet street person accused of murder; Dennis Quaid at his cocky best as a razor-sharp lobbyist/juror, and John Mahoney and Philip Bosco.
Not only is this a courtroom drama (and as you know the streets of Hollywood seem to be paved with this kind of scripts), it also featured Cher as one of the main actresses.
When a judge commits suicide and his secretary is found murdered in a river, a homeless and deaf-mute man, named Carl Anderson, is arrested for her murder, because all indirect evidence points to him.
She gets help from the congressional adviser Eddie Sanger, who is called to be on the jury panel and together they find some important evidence that the murder has something to do with corruption in some high ranks...I must admit that Cher has done a better job than I ever expected from her.
The story on itself certainly isn't that bad, but the plot is a bit far-fetched and gives this movie an ending that is a bit too abrupt.In the end this is a reasonably well-done courtroom drama / thriller that lacks the required tension to be fully satisfying, but which offers some nice acting and some good direction.
Exciting, suspenseful and tightly woven suspense drama.Cher proves she can ACT.You probably will not immediately recognize Liam Neeson in the role of the deaf, mute, shell-shocked Carl Wayne Anderson.For someone that does not speak for the entire film he turns in a stellar performance.Dennis Quaid is very good as the juror that steps outside his assigned duties as a juror and becomes a detective.Also John Mahoney is almost unrecognizable as Judge Matthew Helms -- a polar opposite from his "Frasier" character.When I spoke to Tom Barbour (Justice Lowell in this film, stage actor and the father of Dudley Moore in the "Arthur" movies) he said when he got the script he was thrilled -- the film opens with him, it took place in his office, he had every other line, and then on page three -- well I guess you will just have to see it.Surprise ending goes right up to the last couple of minutes -- prepare to be shocked..
However, given the rather surprise ending, this would be a necessary variation, given its circumstances.Cher is not a person whom you reference when thinking of leading, versatile actresses -- but this isn't so.
John Mahoney's performance is well-delivered, and an interesting performance, in contrast with his more pleasant persona in "Moonstruck," also -- and particularly juxtaposed with his likable presence in the long-running "Frasier" series.As another pointed-out, there is a surprise ending, if somewhat more abrupt than seems necessary.But overall, an interesting, entertaining film..
Cher plays the role of a dedicated public defender who is given a case just as she is about to collapse from overwork.
The plot is far-fetched and a lot of elements might seem questionable:the whodunit,Dennis Quaid's cynical character,the umpteenth courtroom drama...But everything vanishes when it comes to depict the Cher/Liam Neeson relationship.Both shine ,especially the latter,who ,being deaf and dumb ,has to express his emotions with his face .He is so good he seems to carry the weight of the world .He was once a man who had something in his life ,but he was betrayed by his country when he returned from Vietnam.How a man who gave the best years of his life (to mention a famous movie)can be treated like a dog ("nine dollars ,it's much when you've got to survive" says his idealistic lawyer)and end up one of the last lonely and wretched?Every scene where they are together rings true.And "suspect" becomes the story of a redemption:physically,morally and intellectually,the homeless man regains his dignity his pride and the right to be a citizen again.There is a complex plot ,dealing with politics ,but it's the luminous Cher and the very moving Neeson,desperately trying to communicate, who will haunt the viewer after the movie..
When a deaf-mute homeless man is accused of murdering a federal worker in Washington DC, the public defender assigned to the case assumes he is guilty--until she begins to receive tips about the case from the most unlikely of sources: a member of the jury seated for the trial.Any one even remotely conversant with the law will find the story so full of loopholes that it is more than a little ridiculous, but it scarcely matters: the cast carries it off in fine style, playing the script with exceptional precision and poise and generating plenty of suspense along the way.
The same might be said for both Liam Neeson, who plays the deaf-mute on trial, and Dennis Quaid, who plays the smarmy juror who begins to put two and two together; SUSPECT is clearly Cher's picture, but her co-stars are every bit as good as she.Although it has its share of courtroom pyrotechnics and suspenseful moments, SUSPECT is a surprisingly low-key and all the more successful for it.
While it will never compete with the likes of Hitchcock, SUSPECT is a good, solid, and very unpretentious courtroom thriller executed with a great deal of style.
Cher is excellent as a public defender who has her passion for the law restored by a special case, even if some of the outfits she wears in court are questionable (a leather jacket!?
Quaid also does good work keeping the smugness that often marred his work at a minimum but the real standout is Liam Neeson who was just starting to break out of the pack at this point and emerge as star material.
An Outstanding Cast And A Great Courtroom Twist At The End. The highlight of this movie for me was a wonderful performance from Cher.
She was playing the part of Kathleen Riley, a public defender who gets caught up in more than she bargained for when she takes on the case of a homeless man accused of murdering a 24 year old woman.
We're quite sure that Carl (the homeless man played by Liam Neeson) did not kill the young woman.
Basically, we settle into a waiting game, as we look for the connection.The movie settles down for a while into a pretty standard courtroom drama, and Cher (and Joe Mantegna as the prosecutor) are quite credible in their courtroom activity.
Another twist is added to the story by Kathleen's growing involvement with juror Eddie (Dennis Quaid) - a congressional lobbyist who gets involved surreptitiously in helping to build the case for the defense.
The whole thing builds up to a surprising courtroom twist that would have done Perry Mason proud, and that I didn't see coming at all.My basic criticism of the movie is that it tries perhaps too hard to keep the viewer off balance.
A no-frills role for Cher playing an over-worked public defender whose latest client (forced upon her by the court) is a homeless, deaf-mute male accused of murder.
Dennis Quaid is a decent match for her as a Capitol Hill lobbyist and juror who wants to help piece together the mystery surrounding a murdered female clerical assistant who had information regarding dirty doings in Washington, D.C. A fairly sophisticated yarn, though one cut straight from a formula.
Cher delivers good performance in far-fetched courtroom drama....
He's a cocky juror with knowledge of the judicial system who gives her help in solving the case of a man wrongly accused of murder whom she's defending.LIAM NEESON is the wrongly accused and he's excellent in a role that has him as a homeless deaf mute accused of murdering a girl for a mere pittance.
There's a well done chase scene toward the end with the killer revealed only in shadow or shown only from shoes to knees, so that the final revelation of the killer in the courtroom does come as a surprise.Watchable but easily forgettable, with a not too convincing relationship established between CHER and DENNIS QUAID..
There were also a lot of other actors in the film who were outstanding, including Cher who was very believable.Anyway, Liam Neeson is a great actor and is very definitely under-rated.
In this low budget film Cher plays an overworked public defender that is given a high work load instead of her year vacation.
This impossible case seems to get worse as witnesses seem to murdered, and juror Dennis Quaid illegally helps Cher with her case.
Starring Cher and Dennis Quaid, Suspect is probably one of my most watched movies.
Liam Neeson does an excellent job of playing a mute/deaf person, and is extremely believable.
Solid performances by all the cast, especially Cher and Quaid, flow throughout the film.
There was sufficient suspense and mystery to keep my attention, and the attraction between Cher's and Quaid's characters adds another dimension to this quality movie.
Her homeless client Carl Anderson (Liam Neeson in a great performance) is a deaf-dumb veteran, on trial for murdering a young woman and stealing her purse, containing 9 dollars.
Carl claims to be innocent and being a conscientious lawyer, Riley investigates the case, to discover that there might be a lot more to it.Enter cocky Eddie (Quaid), a lobbyist forced to take jury duty.
The movie I'm sure was supposed to show Cher as the heroine but it is a creature of its time and its writer's time, so of course it takes a Man to save the day.
The Director said this was written by Cher herself - so you now know she was a great actress in this movie but should have left the writing to the writer.
Cher's character, a defence lawyer, cooperates with Quaid's, a juror, to investigate the case she's trying.
Cher is defending a deaf mute man (Liam Neeson) who is accused of murdering a judge and his secretary, but the case is not near as simple as it appears.
Dennis Quaid helps out Cher and John Mahoney is along for the ride as the judge trying the case.
Denis Quaid's character wants to solve the case himself, but at the same time, the movie is supposed to stress on Cher's character.
Of course, Cher's heroine receives one of the toughest cases with a deaf, violent man, accused in murder, played by Liam Neeson.
Suspect begins with a veteran judge, committing suicide and it turns out that his character has influence over the case, we follow through out the whole film.
I mean everything is OK in this movie and the only thing that actually helped this film get over a 5 out of 10 was the ending.
Cher plays a tireless, put-upon defense attorney who's handed a seemingly winless case, the murder trial of a homeless man (Liam Neeson) who also happens to be deaf and mute.
Seriously, it sounded like a pretend-yell, as in "Eek, help, I'm being attacked by a killer beagle!" Even so, Cher was appealing and acceptable in the lead role.Dennis Quaid was good as well, although his character wasn't exactly deep.
Made it all that much tougher to swallow.Rounding out the notables in the cast are Joe Mantegna as the prosecutor and John Mahoney in a great role as the presiding judge.Suspect would have been a winner if the writing had been a little tighter.
"Suspect" is a hugely enjoyable courtroom thriller in which a Washington D.C. public defender becomes convinced that the suspect in a murder trial is innocent and also that the case is unwinnable.
Unfortunately, accepting the help on offer also involves taking some extremely serious and potentially career threatening risks.Shortly after a Supreme Court Justice commits suicide and a clerk/typist who'd also worked in the Justice Department is found brutally murdered, a homeless man called Carl Wayne Anderson (Liam Neeson) is found with some of the victim's possessions on him and is immediately arrested and accused of her murder.Burned out public defender Kathleen Riley (Cher) is assigned to the case and soon discovers that her client is uncooperative and prone to having violent outbursts.
To make matters worse, the trial judge Matthew Helms (John Mahoney) is unsympathetic to the problems she's experiencing and also seems more preoccupied with other matters as he's said to be the President's nominee for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.Eddie Sanger (Dennis Quaid) is a jury member whose interest in the case leads him to carry out his own investigations.
Ultimately this information provides an explanation for the suicide and the murder and also leads to the discovery of the identity of the real murderer.Cher and Dennis Quaid both give good individual performances but are even better when working together.
Sanger, on the other hand, is a Capitol Hill lobbyist who's used to pursuing his goals in a ruthless manner and has no inhibitions about cutting corners or acting outside the rules if such actions are likely to produce the desired results."Suspect" has a good plot with many moments of real suspense and the solid performances provided by Cher and Dennis Quaid are also complemented by those of John Mahoney, Liam Neeson and Joe Mantegna..
What a wreck of a movie.At various points the dialogue was so bad it must have been written by a graduate of a junior high school creative writing class.In the middle of jury selection Cher has a lengthy tete a tete with prospective juror Quaid?
Cher makes no pretense: "this is it, folks." This movie is a good example of just getting lost in one without having to be overly intellectual.
The best way to remain "unjudged" is to be good and not get caught in situations you have to be......Dennis Quaid was great - I'm not familiar with Paul Mahoney, but his role was well-played.
Also didn't know who Liam Neeson was at that time, but sure thought he did his role VERY well.
The ending scene was surprising to me, because I suspected that OTHER justice-dept guy......I get my VHSs and DVDs from eBay - why pay $10.00 for a one-time shot in the theater, when the same amount lets you watch whenever you want - even if it isn't so often, and only for a change of pace?
Interesting film with a very good acting, as usual, of Cher.
In this case she is the defender of a deaf-mute man, ex-soldier in Vietnam war (Liam Neeson), who is accused of murdering a lady who was closed to high level politicians.
The fact is that a member of jury (Dennis Quaid) noticed that something wrong in the process from the very beginning and also felt in love with the defender, so he tried to help her secretly.
Not a bad film as such and Cher gives a reasonable performance as a lawyer, for someone who once believed the sun revolved around the earth(according to Sunny).
Cher and her role are what are special about "Suspect." She is not only a convincing lawyer, but a convincing person.
Suspect is a dull and pointless film.Lets get Cher to do a courtroom drama.
Lets gets Dennis Quaid in it as well, don't worry we'll find something for him to do.Without a proper introduction, did we need to have a deaf/mute character. |
tt1650554 | Kick-Ass 2 | Dave Lizewski (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) stands several feet away from Mindy Macready (Chloe Grace Moretz) as she aims a gun at him. She fires a round at his chest, throwing him off his feet, but it's shown he was trying out a bulletproof vest. Dave says that was awesome but is nervous when he sees Mindy pull out a bigger gun. He tells her not to shoot it at his chest and he walks away, leaving her to shoot him in the back.In the four years since Dave became the costumed vigilante known as Kick-Ass, Mindy has been enrolled at school by her new guardian and her father's former partner Marcus (Morris Chestnut) but has been cutting to continue training herself to become tougher. She hasn't gotten caught because she hacked the school's server and gave herself perfect attendance. Dave is dealing with being a high school senior and an increase in fatigue and boredom, even around his friends Marty (Clark Duke) and Todd (Augustus Prew). Additionally, other individuals have gone around dressed as superheroes, inspired by Dave's heroism. Dave asks Mindy to help him continue training to become as good a fighter as she is, which means she subjects him to a lot of beatings and bullets to the chest.Meanwhile, the spoiled and rotten Chris D'Amico (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) has moved to Long Island and is still seeking revenge against Kick-Ass for the death of his father (in the previous film). He complains to his mother Angie (Yancy Butler) and his new bodyguard/driver Javier (John Leguizamo) about her removing a news report on Kick-Ass from the DVR. Angie blocks out her son by drinking and getting into a tanning bed. Chris throws a tantrum and starts kicking the tanning bed, causing it to break and electrocute his mother.Dave expresses a fear of dying to Mindy, especially after her father was killed trying to be a superhero. Mindy tells Dave that if he fears death, he will eventually die, and adds that she considers her dad to have been the first true superhero.Chris is putting away his mom's belongings after her funeral, when Javier comes across a pair of guns that she owned. Chris also happens upon some S&M gear of hers (including anal beads), but he is most interested in the outfit that she has.Mindy puts Dave's training to the test by having him walk around a dangerous part of the city dressed as a pimp. He is followed by a group of four thugs who harass him with homophobic slurs, but Dave starts to take them on, doing pretty well until they gang up on him. One thug pulls a knife and prepares to kill him, but Mindy comes in dressed as Hit-Girl and single-handedly takes all of them out, ending with her slicing the hand off the lead thug with the knife. Dave and Mindy hear police sirens, forcing Mindy to run. Marcus overhears on the radio that someone fitting the description of Hit-Girl is on the run, and he calls Mindy, who fakes sick and rushes home on her motorcycle before Marcus gets home. She makes it and nearly fools him until he spots blood on her cheek, then sees she's still wearing her costume. Marcus tells her it is time for her to be done with Hit-Girl for good.Dave finds Mindy at school the next day and tries to talk to her, but she says she's sorry for ditching him and nearly getting him killed, and that she is done with Hit-Girl. Unfortunately, everybody overhearing this conversation thinks Mindy is breaking up with Dave. This includes Dave's girlfriend Katie (Lyndsy Fonseca), who effectively breaks up with him when she mistakenly thinks he is seeing Mindy and refuses to listen to his denials.Dave still takes it upon himself to be Kick-Ass, receiving a welcome back from the citizens of New York, but he feels alone without Hit-Girl as his partner. He contacts another costumed citizen named Dr. Gravity (Donald Faison), who claims to be a physics professor (he's not) who has a weapon that levitates objects (it's a baseball bat wrapped in tin foil). As he walks the streets, Kick-Ass is attacked by two thugs. He fights back and is helped by Dr. Gravity. They send the thugs away, and Dr. Gravity invites Kick-Ass to join his team of heroes.At the same time, Chris has donned his mother's S&M gear and fashioned himself a super villain costume, calling himself...The Motherfucker. His first act as a villain is to try and spread the word of his crimes by robbing a convenience store, but he's pissed to find there are no cameras around. He instead starts shooting the beverages, even hitting himself in the eye with his gun because of the recoil.Marcus, deciding that Mindy needs to live a normal life as a teenage girl, takes her to her first slumber party at the home of the high school's queen bee, Brooke (Claudia Lee), joined by Brooke's two shallow friends Harlow (Tanya Fear) and Dolce (Ella Purnell). They pester Mindy with questions such as if she's ever done anything with a boy. They put on a music video from a boy band called Union J, which gets Mindy's hormones going. She joins the girls to go sniff bath salts.Meanwhile that same evening, Kick-Ass joins Dr. Gravity at a meeting place for a new team of superheroes known as Justice Forever, led by former mafia hitman turned Born Again Christian superhero, Colonel Stars and Stripes (Jim Carrey). Also joining them is Night-Bitch (Lindy Booth), a young woman who started fighting crime after her sister was murdered; a husband-and-wife duo named Remembering Tommy after their son who disappeared; Insect Man (Robert Emms), a gay superhero who doesn't wear a mask because he feels he has nothing to hide; and Battle Guy, who is really Marty faking an origin story to sound cool, though Dave recognizes him and reveals to Marty that he is Kick-Ass. Together, Justice Forever patrols the streets of the city performing good deeds, such as volunteering at a soup kitchen. Dave enjoys the experience and even starts hooking up with Night-Bitch. Todd tries to join with a wetsuit of his own, taking on the name Ass-Kicker, which Dave and Marty mock him for, causing him to angrily leave.Chris decides to train himself to fight against Kick-Ass, going as far as getting help from Chuck Liddell. He gets his ass kicked by a skilled fighter (Daniel Kaluuya), but Chris decides to hire this guy to join his planned supervillain team, naming this guy Black Death (which Javier thinks is racist).At school, Brooke tries out for the cheerleading squad by putting on a risque performance for everyone watching. When Mindy is up, she visualizes a fight as Hit-Girl between a couple of ninjas. She shows off her fighting skills and passes it off as dance moves, which impresses everybody and makes Brooke look inferior.One evening, Dave and Marty go off in their superhero costumes to join Colonel Stars & Stripes and Night Bitch to catch a man named Jimmy Kim (Benedict Wong), who is running a prostitution ring with girls, and even children, from his village. Colonel S&S busts the bouncer up and storms in with the other three heroes, taking out Kim's gangsters together. When asked where the girls are, Kim refuses to comply, so Colonel S&S brings in his dog Eisenhower to take a bite of Kim's groin, and then threatens to shoot Kim in the head until he relents and admits where the girls are. Justice Forever frees the girls and gives them over $50,000 from Kim to send them on their way.Meanwhile, Chris continues recruiting villains for his team. With Javier's help, he picks three people: a short-statured and ruthless killer who Chris names The Tumor (Andy Nyman); a former Triad member who is dubbed Genghis Carnage (Tom Wu); and a hulking blond Russian ex-KGB woman who apparently ate her cellmate. She is named Mother Russia (Olga Kurkulina).Mindy goes on her first date with a boy named Simon (Wesley Morgan). He drives her out to the woods where he tries to hook up with her, but she refuses. Mindy then hears something in the woods and walks near it, only to find Brooke and her friends, along with other high schoolers, parked in their cars. Brooke walks out and tells Mindy that she's a loser who messed with the queen bee and is now getting stung. She gets Simon (whom is her boyfriend) to ditch Mindy and leave her alone in the woods. Mindy goes to Dave's house in tears, expressing her humiliation. He reassures her that she is tough and beautiful, inspiring her to be herself to take them on.Mindy goes to school the next day looking absolutely stunning in a purple dress and wearing make-up. She catches Brooke trying to use some "Mean Girls" ploy on a dowdy-looking girl, but Mindy tells the girl she doesn't need to follow them and gives her a wad of cash to get herself something nice. Brooke tries to browbeat Mindy again by telling her that she will never live the life that Brooke does, but Mindy simply responds by pulling out a device that looks like a phone. It turns out to be something from her father that causes vomiting and diarrhea. She uses it on Harlow and Dolce, causing them to projectile vomit, and then pulls it on Brooke, causing her to puke and shit herself in front of everybody.Chris visits his Uncle Ralph (Iain Glen) in prison to ask for his help in killing Kick-Ass. Ralph laughs Chris off, especially when he tells him that his name is The Motherfucker. He has one of Chris's guys call Javier, making Chris listen to Javier getting stabbed and killed by one of Ralph's guys. This inspires Chris to do something drastic.Colonel S&S is alone with Eisenhower when the dog starts barking. The Colonel finds nothing but then finds The Motherfucker and the other villains coming in. They call themselves the Toxic Mega-Cunts. Mother Russia breaks the Colonel's leg and impales him with a large blade. Chris finds the address and identity of Night-Bitch, whose real name is Miranda Swendlow. He leaves Mother Russia to break the Colonel's neck and decapitate him.Kick-Ass and the other Justice Forever team members hear of the Colonel's death. They know that Chris is bragging on Twitter as The Motherfucker about killing the Colonel, but they are unable to track his IP address. Dave goes home and finds his dad (Garrett M. Brown) in his room, holding the Kick-Ass suit. He knows his son has been going off late at night as a superhero, and he tells him to stop. Dave coldly rebuffs him and tells him that nobody will remember him when he's gone, and he leaves.The Toxic Mega-Cunts make their way down a suburban street and find Night-Bitch's home. They break in and chase her into her room where The Motherfucker tries to rape her, but he can't get hard despite his efforts. He orders The Tumor to beat her up. When they leave, the police start showing up, and Mother Russia begins a full-scale assault on every officer who comes by. She grabs a canister of gas and puts a cigarette in there to make a bomb and hurl it at a cop car, then goes as far as ramming a cop car with another car that has a lawn mower on it, shredding two cops apart.Distraught over the murder of 10 cops, the NY police begin to crack down on everybody seen wearing a mask or costume, whether they are criminals or not. They arrest the remaining members of Justice Forever. The cops arrive at Dave's home where Mr. Lizewski spots them. He takes the fall for Dave and is arrested, claiming that he is Kick-Ass. Dave calls Mindy to ask for her help, but she tell him that she is grounded for the incident at school and is unable to help. He visits his father in the city jail and is asked to promise that he will never wear the costume again.In his villainous lair, The Motherfucker laments that the shark he bought is immobile. It's also shown that he has loads of fertilizer to make bombs. Todd shows up in his Ass-Kicker costume and inadvertently reveals to The Motherfucker that the man arrested for being Kick-Ass is Dave's father. We see two goons come into Mr. Lizewski's cell when the cops are gone, and they say they want a picture together. Dave and Marty then go back to Marty's place when Dave gets a text from Chris. He collapses to the floor in shock when he looks at his phone. Marty picks it up and finds a horrifying picture of Dave's father, bloodied and hanged by the neck.Dave goes to his father's funeral, remorseful for what he said to him earlier. The members of Justice Forever (sans Night-Bitch, who is recovering in the hospital) attend without costumes after being released on parole. Dave sees Mindy, who consoles him. Several tombstones away, the Toxic Mega-Cunts (also without costumes) pull out weapons and fire at the attendants, releasing smoke bombs to create a diversion so they can abduct Dave and take him away in a van. Genghis Carnage orders him to put on the Kick-Ass suit, but Dave refuses. The villain pulls a knife on Dave, but he is shot in the head. Mindy has climbed onto the van and begins shooting at the other villains. After an intense and violent chase, she holds The Tumor at gunpoint and forces him to pull over. She interrogates him into telling her and Dave what The Motherfucker's plan is. She then tells Dave to look for pliers so she can cut off The Tumor's dick and feed it to him.Mindy calls Marcus to tell him that the villains are creating fertilizer bombs to bring the city down. Dave sends out a mass message on Facebook to ask every other wannabe superhero for help.The Motherfucker rounds up his army of villains to head out and execute their plan, but Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl infiltrate the lair. The Motherfucker laughs at them when he thinks they're fighting alone, but they open the doors to reveal their own army of costumed citizens, including Justice Forever. This makes most of the villains slightly more nervous. Kick-Ass throws the first punch and a large brawl ensues, with Kick-Ass fighting The Motherfucker while Hit-Girl takes on Mother Russia. Kick-Ass chases The Motherfucker out to the roof of the building while Mother Russia nearly kills Hit-Girl. She pulls out an adrenaline needle and holds it near Mother Russia, who thinks it contains a poison. She injects it into Hit-Girl, who fakes being dead, only to jump back with fury, bringing Mother Russia to her knees and repeatedly stabbing her with broken glass until she is dead. Meanwhile, Kick-Ass beats The Motherfucker's face in as payback for all the people he's hurt and killed. He falls through the skylight, but Kick-Ass catches him. The Motherfucker refuses his help and lets go, but then immediately regrets it. He lands in the shark tank and is then ripped apart by the shark.The heroes make citizens arrests and detain the villains. Justice Forever meets on the roof as a team once more before they retreat to avoid being arrested again. Mindy drops Dave off somewhere on her motorcycle and says she is leaving New York because she doesn't belong there anymore. She kisses Dave and goes off. Dave concludes the film by saying that the world doesn't need a hero who is super, but someone who is brave enough and can really kick ass.After the end credits, it's shown that Chris survived the shark attack, but his legs are gone, as are most of his fingers (and apparently his dick). He complains and asks for help as he is unable to even take a sip from his cup of water (but still leaving the door open for another sequel). | comedy, murder, violence, flashback, humor, satire, revenge, sadist | train | imdb | null |
tt0471711 | Futurama: Bender's Big Score | Two years after Box Network executives canceled Planet Express' contract, the executives are fired and Planet Express is back "on the air." As the crew celebrates, Hermes is decapitated, causing his wife LaBarbara to leave him. His head is placed in a jar while his body is repaired. Lars, the man who performs the procedure, flirts with Leela, much to Fry's chagrin.
During a delivery to a nude beach planet, Leela discovers a tattoo of Bender on Fry's buttocks. A trio of scammer aliens (Nudar, Fleb and Schlump) dupe the crew into providing their personal information and infect Bender with an obedience virus, allowing them to seize control of Planet Express. The scammers then discover that Fry's tattoo has a code that allows time travel, but only into the past. Nibbler tries to warn the scammers against using the code, but is ignored.
The scammers have Bender use the code to steal valuable objects from Earth's past, storing them in a cave beneath the ship. Hermes also has Bender retrieve an earlier version of his body so he can win back his wife. Meanwhile, Leela and Lars date, further depressing Fry.
Once the scammers have history's treasures, they decide to get rid of the time code by killing Fry. Fry uses the code to escape to January 1, 2000, just after he was frozen. The scammers send Bender after him. Bender arrives before Fry, creating a duplicate of himself when he has to use the bathroom. Another Bender from "way at the end" then appears, opens Fry's cryogenic tube and puts the tattoo on his butt. When Fry arrives, the first duplicate of Bender inadvertently initiates a self-destruct sequence as a result of not going to the bathroom. Fry shoves that Bender into another tube, then escapes. The original Bender spends the next twelve years hunting Fry, finally catching up to him and seemingly killing him by blowing up his apartment.
Bender reports his success to the scammers, who then erase the time code and the virus. The crew holds a memorial for Fry, but he suddenly shows up. Fry says he created a duplicate of himself, which remained in the past while he accidentally fell into his own cryo-tube. When Fry (plus the Fry that was originally frozen) awoke 1,000 years later, the present Fry froze himself until the current year. Meanwhile, the Fry in 2000 spent the years before Bender's attack working at Panucci's Pizzeria, then at an aquarium caring for Leelu, an orphaned narwhal. He also hung out with his family and tended to his beloved dog Seymour Asses.
Nibbler removes the tattoo from Fry to keep the scammers from further abusing it. Leela and Lars decide to marry, but during the wedding Hermes is again decapitated. Professor Farnsworth says that Hermes' body would have died anyway since time paradox duplicates are doomed to die prematurely. Hearing this, Lars panics and cancels the wedding.
The scammers then trick Earth President Richard Nixon into giving Earth to them. Exiled to Neptune, the population assembles a fleet with the aid of Robot Santa, Kwanzaabot and the Hanukah Zombie. Hermes has his bureaucratic brain wired into the ship's battle computer, allowing him to destroy the scammers' fleet and win back his wife. Meanwhile, Leela uses a doomsday device that Bender had originally stolen for the scammers (then stolen back for himself) to destroy the scammers' ship.
Unable to console a heartbroken Leela, Fry arranges for her to meet with Lars at the cryogenic lab. Having survived the doomsday blast, Nudar ambushes them. Lars tricks Nudar into approaching the Bender duplicate on auto-destruct and holds him against the duplicate, who explodes, killing the three of them. The explosion singes off some of Lars' clothing, revealing the Bender tattoo.
During Lars' funeral, the Planet Express crew learn from Lars' video will that he was actually the time-paradox duplicate of Fry, who had survived Bender's attack in 2012; the fire and smoke changed his appearance and voice. The duplicate Fry froze himself to return to the future and be with Leela. However, when he learned that time travel paradoxes were doomed, he canceled the wedding to spare Leela the pain of his inevitable death. Leela forgives “Lars” and reconciles with Fry.
Bender removes Lars' tattoo and travels to 2000 to place it on Fry in the cryogenic tube so that the events that transpired "make any sense at all". Upon returning, Bender emerges with all the duplicates from his stealing sprees. Terrified of the paradoxical consequences, Nibbler urges everyone to evacuate the universe before swallowing himself. The Bender duplicates explode and cause a tear in the fabric of space, leading to the events of the next film. | cult, psychedelic | train | wikipedia | But thankfully, like Family Guy before it, Futurama has now been given a new lease of life in the form of 4 direct to DVD movies (to be split into 16 episodes to make up a new season).
When Family Guy released Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story, I feel it suffered the problem of seeming too much like an over-long episode, a problem I think that the Simpson's movie also suffered (though both were not without their fair share of laughs).
However,Benders Big Score, the first of these new Futurama features FEELS like a movie.
Simpsons, the movie.One thing both of these lacked were going back and not only recalling, but intertwining our favorite side-characters into the plot.Futurama does this beautifully and we see not only commonly featured side-characters, but characters that hard-core fans will rejoice to see, and I _wont_ give any examples here, because every element of surprise in this movie is what makes it worth watching.I want to stress that I was very critical to the idea of a movie after such a long pause, and I was a die-hard fan.
I have just watched this, and was a fan of the original show and am being completely honest here when I say this is not just one of the best animated movies I have ever seen but in fact one of the best movies of any genre I have ever seen.Unlike the previous Family Guy and Simpsons films (both shows I am a fan of by the way) Benders Big Score seemed to have something extra in it separating it from these two films.The jokes are great, the music and songs are great, the animation is absolutely superb (the 3d animation looking much better than when the show originally aired) and the story is very smart and also quite touching.The writing was absolutely superb, cramming in a lot of past characters but not in a way that it felt they had been thrown in for the sake of them being there (as can be noticed Mom does not make an appearance at all) and also adding new call-backs to well known parts from the series.All in, just superb and make sure you see it one way or another..
No neat hyper modern animation tricks, no bullet time camera spins, just the familiar Futurama, which is all i wanted.Bender's big score is a surprisingly plot-driven movie, reminiscent of the few more serious episodes.
Even with the horrid singing numbers (i was looking for anti-depressants) and the obsessive re-introduction of nearly every character that ever appeared on the original series, this is a rewarding event for sure, especially for us die hard fans who waited so long.
Anyways, Bender's Big Score is a great movie, and thanks to the developers for their effort to bring us Futurama back!
These are the things that lose the film a perfect rating, and are the sorts of niggles I would have expected after such a long hiatus - after all, much of Family Guy's comeback season (number four) is terrible when stacked up to the classic old episodes and a fair few new ones.But I marvel at what they did right.
It retains much of the trademark dynamic writing, taking in some of the same unbelievable and jaw-dropping spins on science and human/alien relationships and making us laugh when explaining away the continuity errors the writers were aware were needed to create an engrossing story.It makes good use of screen time and never drags it heels which I felt both the Family Guy and Simpsons features did.
With this Futurama feature although the plot is bombastic in the greatest sense of the word (like a Queen record for example) it ties up everything I wanted to know in a timely fashion using classic storytelling techniques - and where necessary awesome, seamless and not gratuitous 3DFX - throughout.Now I've covered the good and the bad, it is time to address the ugly - the backlash.
Yes it has several moments of great humour - a nice fifty-fifty of building set pieces and incisive one-liners - but it balances them well with a poignant story which I think they pull off as well as 'The Devils Hands Are Idle Playthings' if you consider that they had to pace it out over nearly ninety minutes which is over four times the length of a standard episode.
They must have been watching a different movie because I stuck with almost every twist and turn with awe, and the few I haven't resolved yet will - like all great works of art - reveal themselves with further observation.In closing - to you hardcore fans who say this isn't a patch on the original episodes, get off your soap box and think yourself lucky there's anything new at all and secondly, I bet you only grew to love those episodes through repeated viewings so stop being so hard on what is a logical continuation of a great premise!
Hi everyone out there!...I have had the pleasure of watching the all new Futurama full length movie, Bender's big score!...
I have been a big fan of the series and have watched all the episodes more than once, and I can say already now that I am not disappointed by this full length movie!...
Alright, this is going to be ugly, sorry...FYI: I am a hardcore fan, profession interface design, age 28, watched most episodes like 20 times (~15 with original audio track, ~5 with commentaries) and I feel deceived by the creators of this movie.
It however wasn't cancelled for long and returned with a vengeance with his movie and it's rather underwhelming stuff.It tells the story of our heroes running into global scale scammers who cost them their jobs, plus time travel plus a love story etc etc etc.The standard Futurama humor is on display so there are laughs to be had and plenty of adult jokes that would go straight over kids heads.
Coincidentally someone was peeling onions nearby me when it happened, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!A must for fans, a pass for everyone else.The Good:The finaleSome laughs to be hadThe Bad:Most of it will only appeal to true Futurama diehardsThings I Learnt From This Movie:There is a joke here to be made about Nude Beach Planet and Uranus but I'm too mature to make itBarstool softener is the greatest joke I never knew I needed in my lifeOne day there will be a wealthy Nigerian Prince!Family Guy > Futurama.
Bender's Big Score may have been a pleasant feature film in its own right, however when faced with the nearly flawless original series and the three years of anticipation by eager fans, it sorely disappoints.
While its understandable that such emotions may prevail after the frustrations over the premature cancellation of the show, expression of these feelings in the first few minutes of the comeback seems to be in poor taste.The movie is filled with little details that remind you of just how great the original series was, by falling short of the standards set by it.
In addition, a number of otherwise genuinely emotional and poignant scenes were drained of their emotional component due to poor acting.After all this, though, I still think Bender's Big Score is a movie worth owning, especially for long time Futurama fans.
Well, it wasn't REALLY bad, but Lord, was it disappointing.Let's start off with the plot: the basic core of the film revolves around a trio of naked lobster-like aliens who, using the power of e-mail scams and a tattoo on Fry's rear end which has an embedded code that makes time travel possible, enlist Bender's help to go back through time, steal a variety of expensive objects, and take over the world.
However, as is the norm with feature-length adaptations of television shows, there's a number of subplots: Hermes' body is destroyed and, living as a head in a jar, must try to win back the love of his family (this story doesn't really go anywhere and is mainly used to pad out the 89-minute run time), a series of flashbacks follow the life of Fry if he were to return to the 21st century (which, of course, creates TONS of continuity and canon problems), and Leela starts falling in love with "Lars", a lab technician, much to Fry's dismay (this story takes over the entire third act, wrapping up in a completely ludicrous conclusion).And, of course, there's a fair amount of time spent on cameos from beloved 'Futurama' characters.
To deem this film a "misstep" is to undersell the astronomical blunder at hand here.Accepting its shortcomings, what Bender's Big Score does well is to retain every bit of the artistic genius of the series a plentiful array of oddball characters are thrown at us, and the writers do well to parody Internet scammers, the Bush/Gore election, and even their little brother Family Guy.The very basic premise for the film is that a rabble of Internet scammer aliens con the Planet Express crew out of their company and place Bender under their control to steal ancient treasures, kick-starting a time-spanning adventure, whilst truths about Fry's past and future are revealed.Bender's Big Score is an entertaining film, in that nobody will argue its artistic merits, yet it seems to be sorely lacking in any deal of uproarious humour.
Yes, FOX have cancelled a multitude of critical darlings, such as Joss Whedon's wonderfully spirited sci-fi western Firefly, the wildly funny Freaks and Geeks, and even McFarlane's own Family Guy (before reviving it years later), but by the end of this film, I felt like declaring "Be grateful you're back, and make the best of it!", neither of which the film's helmers seemed to do.The film seeks to slightly redeem itself in the final scenes, treating us to a wonderfully-envisioned space battle with a fantastic orchestral score, yet it only serves to reinforce my chief complaint of this venture the laughs are very much gone.
That said, even to a dedicated fan like myself, it starts off a little lukewarm.For the first third to half of the film, though I enjoyed it, I got the impression that a lot of what made Futurama a classic, such as Fry's goofiness and the subtle, black, satirical humour had been dumbed-down or even totally neutered to appease the exec-u-bots.
However, it's as you approach the end and the story starts to disentangle itself from the time paradox business that you start to see that the reason it's not so intense in its delivery of gags is because they've actually written a story, and a great one at that.It was brilliant to see some of the better characters reappear - Kwanza-bot's a personal favourite, as is the God Entity - and anyone that's watched all the episodes will love the soppy story.
list could go on and on, movie featured almost all(?) characters from Futurama series in their nice little came-o roles, and couple new ones, which was nice..
How I was wrong, it was delivered over a week early and in my excitement watched as soon as I could.After the moderate success of The Simpsons Movie which actually turned out to be half decent, I had bigger hopes for Bender's Big Score as Futurama has always been the better series IMO.Frustratingly though, I feel a little let down.
I love perfect, characterful and very funny humor of Futurama TV serial, but I can't feel love to the movie Bender's big Game.
There are several sequences that feel way too rushed, and the writers try desperately to shove every single Futurama character into the mix, like they were never going to be able to make another episode again (which they might have actually thought when they started writing this, but it's not true now).
A lot of intentionally confusing time travelling going on, lots of in jokes about about the series being cancelled etc, all this seems to make this more of an attack on the people that cancelled the series rather than a genuine attempt to make a good movie length feature.Glad to say i've seen it, but to be honest it isn't in the same league as some of the episodes of the series, still if Pirates of the Caribbean can make money out of the last load of confusing nonsense my guess is this will do just fine..
Furthermore, unlike the aforementioned Family Guy motion picture, Bender's Big Score is essentially a very extended Futurama episode, not simply three episodes mashed together.What makes this movie a winner is the combination of both slapstick and intelligent humor, particularly the satire of everything from the Fox Network to spam.
Maybe they swing a little too hard for their first DVD outing.The story (as if it really matters to fans and non-fans): A race of flabby alien nudists try to take over Earth using spam and internet scams (a more-than-worthy yet untapped villain in our pop culture - thank you "Futurama"!), and using their ability to sniff out your personal information discover the secret to time travel as a tattoo on Fry's (Billy West) butt (there is more animated butt in this movie than in all 72 episodes of the show).
In fact, I wish the story had explored a Fry and Bender facing-off more then the character drama it winds up on.With a captive audience of eagerly awaiting hardcore fans, Cohen & Keeler have jam-packed "Score" with a smörgåsbord of all things "Futurama".
I personally am a die-hard Futurama fan, and when it got taken off the air I thought I would never hear from or see my favorite characters in new adventures ever again, I was joyfully mistaken.This movie is great, it brings back a lot of the old lovable characters and of course the usual charming characters.
It's very funny and the ending is great, Futurama: Benders Big Score is better than the Family Guy Movie and I would even go as far as saying its better than the Simpsons Movie which I thought was well made as well.
Well Like everybody else, The episode are much better one and half hours.Don't get me wrong I love futurama I saw all the episodes over 40 times.But to make a good movie...
The last line is also funny because it is an understatement "Well, we're boned." after the universe had a tear in it but overall I love the joke "What's the secret of Time Travel doing on Fry's ass?" "It was bound to be somewhere." That part got me cracking up.Overall this is a good sequel to the series and if any Futurama fans don't have a copy already, Get it.
I used to think Futurama was in the shadow of The Simpsons, but now that i've seen so many of the Simpson's episodes about 20 times, Futurama is more fresh and just as much fun.It's good to see Futurama back with four movies coming out over the next year, it's hard to bring a show from the small screen to the big screen without it becoming a disaster!
"Futurama: Benders Big Score" is a pretty decent movie, it's short so the jokes stay fresh and arn't overused, but just like "The Simpsons Movie" the plot is insane and wacky, but that's what you have to expect from shows like these!So overall it's a pretty decent flick, it's not a laugh out loud film but it's still pretty funny and worth a watch!7/10.
i found this movie to be funny and risqué.it's also very fast paced.it's based on the animated TV show,which i am not that familiar with,having only seen it once or twice.the movie is a bit convoluted at times.if you watch it,you will no why.also not being very familiar with the show,there were a few minor characters i knew nothing about.i am familiar with the main characters.anyway,you might want to watch some episodes of the TV show before viewing the movie.i don't think it's completely necessary,but it might help a bit.regardless,this is a very funny,enjoyable movie.it's not for young kids though.for me,Futurama:Bender's Big Score is an 8/10.
From buying the volumes on DVD, to watching the repeats shown on Adult Swim, we've finally got some more Fry, some more Zoidberg, some more Professor Farnsworth, and oh yeah, even some more Zap. Futurama fans rejoice and be happy that Futurama is going to be back on the air, but the celebration begins with their first direct-to-DVD movie Bender's Big Score.
I can't think of one funny thing that happens in the whole movie, or any memorable moments.I can only hope that this disappointing effort was the result of trying to write a feature-length film for the first time, and that it indulged whatever need the creators have to reference themselves..
Yes the film looks pretty and it's wonderful to see all the characters back together again but this is just like The Simpsons Movie, cobble together a load of old ideas, claim their new and hope the fans won't notice.I'd have rather they took another 5 years and came up with a completely original storyline.
I just finished watching the first Futurama movie, Futurama: Bender's Big Score, And it was a breath of fresh air, Although I have to admit that from a die-hard Futurama fan's point of view, I was expecting more, Now, don't get me wrong, it was very good in all aspects, and very much enjoyable, and i LOVED it.
Futurama: Benders Big Score is a classically funny movie that proves even further the people at Fox were not thinking straight when they axed this awesome show.
It's not really a movie, doesn't feel like one.The story is that a group of scammer aliens take over the Planet Express, and use Bender to try to take over the world.
Overall, Bender's Big Score was a great return for Futurama, not the best way to reincarnate the series, but far from the worst.. |
tt0032976 | Rebecca | A naïve young woman (Joan Fontaine) is in Monte Carlo working as a paid companion to Edythe Van Hopper (Florence Bates) when she meets the aristocratic but brooding widower Maximilian "Maxim" de Winter (Laurence Olivier). They fall in love, and within two weeks they are married. The young woman is now the second "Mrs. de Winter."
Maxim takes his new bride back to Manderley, his large country house in Cornwall. The housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers (Judith Anderson), is domineering and cold, and is obsessed with the beauty, intelligence and sophistication of Maxim's dead wife Rebecca, the first Mrs. de Winter, preserving her former bedroom, the master suite, as a shrine. Although dead, Rebecca's presence is nonetheless pervasive - several things throughout the house - stationery, handkerchiefs, bed linens, even the master bedroom door - bear her ornate "R" or "R de W" monogram. As her closest confidant, Mrs. Danvers regularly comments on Rebecca's exceptional grace and style. When asked what Rebecca was like, Frank Crawley (Reginald Denny), Maxim's best friend and manager of the estate, absent-mindedly tells the new Mrs. de Winter that Rebecca was an exceptional beauty.
The new Mrs. de Winter is intimidated by her responsibilities and begins to doubt her relationship with her husband. The continuous reminders of Rebecca overwhelm her; she believes that Maxim is still deeply in love with his first wife. She also discovers that her husband sometimes becomes very angry at her for apparently insignificant actions. She also meets Rebecca's so-called "favorite cousin," Jack Favell (George Sanders), who visits the house while Maxim is away.
Trying to be the perfect wife, the young Mrs. de Winter convinces Maxim to hold a costume party, as he had done with Rebecca. She wants to plan her own costume, but Mrs. Danvers suggests she copy the beautiful outfit in the portrait of Lady Caroline de Winter, an ancestor of Maxim's. At the party, when the costume is revealed, Maxim is appalled; Rebecca wore the same outfit at the ball a year ago, shortly before her death.
Mrs. de Winter confronts Danvers, who tells her she can never take Rebecca's place, and almost manages to convince her to jump to her death. An airborne flare reveals that a ship has hit the rocks. Mrs. de Winter rushes outside, where she hears that during the rescue a sunken boat has been found with Rebecca's body in it.
Maxim admits to his new wife that he had earlier misidentified another body as Rebecca's, in order to conceal the truth. His first marriage, until now viewed by the world as ideal, was in fact a sham. At the very beginning of their marriage Rebecca had told Maxim she intended to continue the scandalous life she had previously lived. He hated her for this, but they agreed to an arrangement: in public she would pretend to be the perfect wife and hostess, and he would ignore Rebecca's private wanton lifestyle. However, Rebecca grew careless, including an ongoing affair with Jack Favell. One night, Rebecca told Maxim she was pregnant with a child that was not his. Laughing at Maxim's dismay, Rebecca proclaimed that the child, presumed to be a boy and legally Maxim's son, would thus inherit his beloved estate Manderley. During the ensuing heated argument she fell, hit her head and died. Maxim took the body out in her boat, which he then scuttled.
Now assured of her husband's love for her and not his first wife, the new Mrs. de Winter sheds the remnants of her girlish innocence. She begins to coach her husband how to conceal the mode of Rebecca's death from the authorities. In the police investigation, deliberate damage to the boat points to suicide. However, Favell shows Maxim a note from Rebecca, which appears to prove that she was not suicidal; Favell tries to blackmail Maxim. Maxim tells the police, and then falls under suspicion of murder. The investigation reveals Rebecca's secret visit to a London doctor (Leo G. Carroll), which Favell assumes was due to her illicit pregnancy. But the police interview with the doctor establishes that Rebecca was not actually pregnant; the doctor had told Rebecca that she was suffering from a late-stage cancer instead.
The coroner renders a finding of suicide. Only Frank Crawley, Maxim, and his wife know the full story: that Rebecca told Maxim she was pregnant with another man's child in order to try to goad him into killing her, an indirect means of suicide that would also have ensured her husband's ruination and possible execution.
As Maxim returns home from London to Manderley, he sees that the manor is on fire, set ablaze by the deranged Mrs. Danvers. The second Mrs. de Winter and the staff escape the blaze, but Danvers is killed when a ceiling collapses on her. Finally, a silk nightdress case on Rebecca's bed, with a beautifully embroidered "R" - Rebecca's proud emblem of ownership - is consumed by flames. | dark, mystery, cruelty, gothic, murder, comedy, atmospheric, flashback, romantic, suspenseful, sadist, home movie | train | wikipedia | The supporting cast also includes some brilliant performances, especially Judith Anderson ('Laura') as the extremely creepy Mrs. Danvers, George Sanders who plays Rebecca's slimy cousin, and Nigel Bruce in a typical role as de Winter's bumbling brother-in-law Major Lacy.
I have debated on whether Laurence Olivier's character, the tortured Maxim de Winter, is the pitiable character or if his second wife played by Joan Fontaine is really the one to feel sorry for.
She acted the part so well that it's strange to imagine that she was any different in real life.With a wonderful storyline, and a very surprising ending, Rebecca well deserves the title as the only of Hitchcock's films to win the oscar for Best Picture.
She's also absolutely perfect in the role of the second Mrs. DeWinter, taking a character that could have become a cloying bore in less capable hands and transforming her into a sympathetic and interesting figure.The movie, on the whole, is similarly amazing, capturing the spirit and the tone of those great Gothic romances.
Even character actor Nigel Bruce, best known for his role in the Sherlock Holmes films, makes an appearance and plays, in effect, Nigel Bruce!But it is Judith Anderson's role as Mrs. Danvers that viewers are likely to remember best.
I love the inside of Mandalay and Sir Laurence Olivier played a wonderful mysterious and sullen Maximillian De Winter opposite his new wife, a beautiful and naive young Joan Fontaine who is never even given a name here, probably deliberately and in keeping with how mousy and "second hand" she feels about herself in relation to the first and late Mrs. De Winter, who is actually Rebecca from the title.Of course there is also George Sanders, playing the type of character he is best known for--sarcastic, snobby, self-assured, pompous, witty and verbose.
It's best if you watch them unfold yourself in true Hitchcockian style.I will say that Rebecca, the first wife of Max de Winter, is NEVER seen, but we learn about her by what is said about her by the various characters, even going as far as seeing the untouched shrine of a bedroom maintained by Mrs. Danvers.
She is young, naive, and completely unprepared for the life which is awaiting her; all qualities which George Fortescu Maximillian 'Maxim' de Winter finds endearing.I won't detail the events in this movie, as the story itself is quite haunting, with surprises around every turn.This is a definite "must have" in any suspense / horror / Hitchcock / classics movie collection, and a mandatory must see for all fans of all movies.It rates a 10/10 for its absolute perfection, from...the Fiend :..
The only Alfred Hitchcock (Oscar-nominated for directing) film to win the Best Picture Oscar, "Rebecca" is one of those typical films from the amazing director that chills, entertains and puts you on the edge of your seat each time you watch it.
Joan Fontaine (Oscar-nominated) has just married the very wealthy Laurence Olivier (also Oscar-nominated), but she is haunted by his mysterious housekeeper (a show-stopping Oscar-nominated performance by Judith Anderson) and the memory of the film's titled character (Olivier's late wife).
Dark and moody, the film boasts Sir Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine in slam-dunk, dead on performances, George Sanders as the deliciously despicable Jack Favell, and Judith Anderson nearly stealing the show as the eerie, obsessed housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers.
Hitchcock's style and eye for detail combine very well with a story (from a novel that is extremely good in its own right) filled with psychological fear and settings that are interesting and suggestive.Most of the time the story itself moves fairly slowly, allowing the focus to be on the characters, but there are also a couple of very good plot twists, which can be very surprising if you've not seen the movie or read the novel.
Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, Judith Anderson, and George Sanders are all perfectly cast and do a wonderful job bringing their characters to life, and making you feel a part of the story."Rebecca" should be satisfying not only to any Hitchcock fan, but to anyone who likes classic movies.
This is a Daphne Du Maurier's story (from a best-seller novel) concerning a prominent widower (Laurence Olivier) called Maxim De Winter who finds a gorgeous and timid young girl (Joan Fontaine) who is serving to an old Mistress (Florence Bates) .
There works as a servant the creepy and obsessive housekeeper , Mrs Danvers (Judith Anderson,a famous stage actress in her most important role) and sh meets a cynic gentleman (George Sanders).This film has suspense , romance , unlimited tension , full of lingering images and with the typical touches Hitchcock .
Cinematography is by George Barnes and music scored by Franz Waxman.After meeting and marrying 'Maxim' de Winter (Olivier), the Second Mrs. de Winter (Fontaine), finds life at his English estate, Manderley, far from comfortable because the servants and the house serve to remind her of the first Mrs. de Winter, whose death remains a source of mystery.
Can this newly married couple survive the oppressive cloud that looms large over the mansion?A Gothic emotional near masterpiece, Alfred Hitchcock's first American film may seem a bit too serviceable at times, something he was also aware of himself, but the production values are high and the story is played out supremely well.
However, to me this will always be Joan Fontaine's show, she nails it perfectly, the new Mrs. De Winter wants to do right but can't seem to so for doing wrong, she infuriates at times, yet the next minute you just want to hold her, for she's so vulnerable, but beautifully so, it's a brilliant performance in a brilliant film.
In the case of "Rebecca", however, the overall plot is equal to Hitch's masterful style, producing an epic film worthy of its Oscar statue.For a basic plot summary, "Rebecca" begins with the the meeting and courtship of Maxim de Winter (Laurence Olivier) and the lady who will become his wife (Joan Fontaine).
When the couple arrive at Maxim's elegant mansion, however, the new bride discovers just how deep the love of Maxim's first wife runs through the home, especially in maid Mrs. Danvers (Judith Anderson).The main plot element of this film reminds me very much of "Vertigo" in the sense that a supernatural presence is hinted at.
Olivier & Fontaine shine in their leading roles, but Anderson's Danvers pretty much steals the show in this one as one of the great creepy movie characters of all time.
Still, "Rebecca" is worth seeing at least for Judith Anderson's amazing performance as the evil Mrs. Danvers.If you're a Hitchcock fan, take notice that Leo G.
In Monte Carlo, the shy and naive lady's companion (Joan Fontaine) of the snobbish Mrs. Edythe Van Hopper (Florence Bates) meets the wealthy widower aristocrat Maxim de Winter (Laurence Olivier) in the hotel while her employer is ill.
However, when the boat of Rebecca is found with her body trapped in the cabin, Mr. and Mrs. de Winter are haunted by the past."Rebecca" is probably is one of the most famous movies of Alfred Hitchcock in his earlier career, with a suspenseful romance with many surprises and twists.
Voltage, typical in Hitchcock's creative work, there is more than just entering the Manderley, not wane even after the last scene.Joan Fontaine as the second Mrs. de Winter is a common companion and plain, simple girl who becomes the mistress of a huge estate and wife of a man of high lineage.
Olivier is certainly one of the few actors who make a small play in conflict with his own emotions.Perhaps the animosity was as good a reason of attraction between Olivier and Fontaine on the screen.Judith Anderson as Mrs. Danvers, housekeeper of Manderley is the perfect villain for this opportunity.
And Joan Fontaine suffers from the most ungrateful status as she's not even given a first name, she's only known as the "second Mrs. De Winter" she's not even Rebecca's rival because it's a lost fight, mentioning her in the same breath than Rebecca is like pronouncing the name of God in vain.So, the whole movie is overshadowed by Rebecca's aura, it's like the black-and-white photography, drawn through powerful contrasts, was just some decoy containing the shadowy presence of Rebecca, likely to commit an intrusion at any time, by means of a memory, an evocation, a revelation or a confession.
As the shy, hapless and desperate-to-please Mrs. De Winters, Fontaine is vital to the credibility of the story because through her behavior, she's the plain that gives prominence to the mountain.And 'plain' is the word, it is the mark of a very subtle talent to take distance from the usual strong-minded, glamorous and independent heroines played by the likes of Bette Davis and Katherine Hepburn and create such a fragile, delicate and mild-mannered woman, begging for friendship rather than love, in awe of her husband and in total fear from Mrs. Danvers, the ominous governess who never misses an opportunity to remind what kind of a woman Rebecca was.
Even Danvers who seemed to have had a privileged relationship (of platonic nature in the film) seems to glide over the place, as if she was possessed by the soul of her deceased mistress.Hitchcock was a craftsman and his camera loved the faces of Anderson and Fontaine, the cinematography also accentuates the feeling of an impending danger, and the acting was enriched by the presence of a youngish George Sanders and Leo G.
The film won the Oscar for Best Picture, over classics like "The Grapes of Wrath" and "The Great Dictator", without winning any of the major awards in the directing, acting and writing department, but I guess that's what can be said about "Rebecca", it is a great picture with the looks, the mystery, the acting and everything one could ask for.I only wish it didn't overplay the melodramatic violins and a succession of twists and revelation at the end satisfy the mind, but don't fool us either as Olivier didn't play the kind of roles that deserved a happy ending by Hitch' standards.
Rebecca isn't his best film (which in my opinion is Rear Window), but it deserves to be ranked amongst his best work thanks to a gripping screenplay, some wonderful performances, memorable characters, and above all its beautiful black and white cinematography.
Charles Ramirez Berg, when discussing various landmarks of Hitchcock's films, pointed out that therein "evil manifests itself not only in acts of violence but also in the form of psychological, institutionalized and systematic cruelty." And it seems that REBECCA, his Hollywood directorial debut, a production that the New York Times reviewer Frank S.
It is, actually, REBECCA's Gothic atmosphere and sophisticated characters where its major strengths lie.(Gothic atmosphere) James Berardinelli observes in his review of the movie that "it is perhaps the height of irony that the only film directed by the Master of Suspense to win a Best Picture Oscar is a Gothic melodrama." Just the height of paradox where Hitchock proves to be a versatile director.
Quite underrated at certain moments, this is, undeniably, one of Olivier's towering performances.REBECCA is a gem, a highly recommended film which may enhance the Hitchock's reputation as a versatile director and a surprising work where atmosphere and characters still supply us with unique entertainment..
Fontaine exudes a lovable naivete, one that starts out earning sympathy but twists into an attribute that antagonizes the audience as the film goes on as the presence of the late great first Mrs. De Winter, Rebecca grows more powerful.The role of Rebecca easily ranks as the most powerful character in cinema to never appear on screen.
Although Hitchcock's directorial voice runs through Fontaine, Anderson adds punctuation to his efforts, especially as she steals the final moments of the film.Although the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences would have you believe "Rebecca" to be Hitchcock's finest effort, it merely showcases his ability as an artist to overcome what was a producer-driven Hollywood at the time.
With "Rebecca", however, he achieved one of his greatest successes, even though the story is hardly typical of his work.A number of Hitchcock's films, such as "The 39 Steps" or "North by North-West" end up with the hero and heroine falling in love, but are nevertheless essentially suspense films with an element of romance.
George Barnes won "Rebecca's" 2nd Oscar for Best Cinematography in Black & White.Novelist Daphne Du Maurier's plot certainly wouldn't work nearly as well without the spooky head housekeeper of the de Winters' castle, Manderley: Mrs. Danvers (Judith Anderson).
This is a classic film by perhaps the best director in history and it offers a view of Gothic horror and/or mystery you won't soon forget."Rebecca" is nearly 70 years old and yet it still projects a surreal world that draws the viewer into its web.
But, she fought her way to the truth about the first Mrs. de Winter and became a strong woman at the end of the film.Character actors, a Hitchcock staple, are a big plus in "Rebecca" as Dame Judith Anderson, Nigel Bruce, Gladys Cooper and George Sanders bolster the film.
Maxim seems unaware of the tension between the two and he seemingly has no fear of Mrs. Danvers even though she is so much a part of his tragic past.Although unspoken throughout, Hitchcock resurrects the memory of Rebecca as a tool to haunt all aspects of this film.
Mysterious Laurence Olivier (as Maxim De Winter) and the supporting cast are perfect; with sinister Judith Anderson (as Mrs. Danvers) raising her character to striking icon status.
********** Rebecca (3/27/40) Alfred Hitchcock ~ Joan Fontaine, Laurence Olivier, Judith Anderson, George Sanders.
Based on Daphne du Maurier's 1938 novel of the same name, 'Rebecca' is a tense, atmospheric Gothic melodrama about the lingering influence of the story's unseen title character, long after her own death.Relative newcomer Joan Fontaine plays a young, modest woman who falls in love with a wealthy widower, Maxim de Winter (Laurence Olivier), who still apparently mourns the death of his wife, Rebecca.
Selznick might have had more of an influence over this production than some might think- as with many of his films- and he is the one who ended up receiving the Oscar, not director Alfred Hitchcok, for the 1940 mystery-drama-romance Rebecca.
He is given a plethora of the best of English acting talents (Olivier of course is hyped and hyped again just like Brando, but his work is undeniably good here, and yet it's Joan Fontaine who quietly makes her mark quite powerfully even when she is reserved in scenes), lush sets and production decor, a solid 'studio' score by Frank Waxman, and some memorable sequences and set-pieces.
Than again so were the sets of Tara in Selznick's Best Picture of the previous year, Gone With the Wind.Rebecca is a good mixture of mystery, Gothic horror, and romance served up quite nicely by Alfred Hitchcock..
Though her second screen test was better than her first, in my mind, I've always pictured Leigh as the actual Rebecca, were she ever shown.The casting is perfect, with Joan Fontaine as the insecure Mrs. de Winter, coldly manipulated and laughed at by Mrs. Danvers, as expertly portrayed by Judith Anderson.
She never misses a note as the sinister Mrs. Danvers.The basic summary is this: Maxim de Winter (Laurence Olivier) takes his second wife (Fontaine) back to his large estate Manderley, where his bride is terrorized by memories of Maxim's first wife, Rebecca.There is no other movie that can compare.
She quickly finds out that Max can't seem to get over his first wife and the evil housekeeper Mrs. Danvers (Judith Anderson) loved the first Mrs. de Winter--and doesn't want anyone to take her place.Alfred Hitchcock's first American picture.
"Rebecca" tells the story of a young woman (Joan Fontaine) who meets and falls in love with a wealthy widower (Laurence Olivier).
I cannot understand why academy didn't award Hitchcock an Oscar for this(though the movie got one) This is the story of a young simple woman played by Joan Fontaine who falls in love and marries a widower Maxim De Winter who is the lord of Manderly .
Though he would not receive as much credit as Orson Welles one year later with Citizen Kane, he nevertheless left behind a stirring story filled with complex and emotional people who bring us along on this strange and mysterious journey.The movie never would have been as great without an all-star cast, which Hitchcock had with Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine as the two lovers separated by the dead Rebecca's presence as well as supporting characters Judith Anderson as the obsessed housekeeper Mrs. Danvers and the slick and sneaky George Sanders.
Nevertheless, filled with dazzling images of Manderley, a completely convincing performance by the beautiful Fontaine and Hitchcock's ability to have Rebecca cast a shadow over the characters despite being dead, this is a classic not to be missed and one that needs multiple views before the mystery is cleared up.
The acting is great; Laurence Olivier as the mystical yet charming Maxim de Winter, Joan Fontaine as the nameless heroine who is humble and submissive, George Sanders as the sleazy, creepy Jack Favell and Judith Anderson as the cold character of Mrs. Danver, who is seemingly devoid of emotion.
Joan Fontaine as Mrs.De Winters & Judith Anderson as Mrs.Danvers in the film Rebecca (1940 film) by the great Alfred Hitchcock, are two of the most cinematic characters I have ever seen!
It is somehow overrated in my opinion, as despite being a good movie it is not one of its best, and it's the less Hitchcock of all his films.The film starts as a romance, with young and innocent Joan Fontaine meeting widower Laurence Oliver on the Cote d'Azur to become in 20 screen minutes his second wife.
Up to that three-quarter way mark, I found that Olivier, Fontaine and housekeeper Judith Anderson (Mrs Danvers) were all too predictable and that the film was a little long.
Additionally, this film offers up an unpredictable story as well as some wonderful performances from Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine. |
tt0154420 | Festen | Respected family patriarch and businessman Helge (Henning Moritzen) is celebrating his 60th birthday at the family-run hotel. Gathered together amongst many family and friends are his wife Else (Birthe Neumann), his sullen eldest son Christian (Ulrich Thomsen), his well-traveled daughter Helene (Paprika Steen), and his boorish younger son Michael (Thomas Bo Larsen). Christian's twin sister, Linda, has recently taken her life at the hotel.
Before the celebration dinner, Helene finds Linda's suicide note, but hides it in a medicine bottle after becoming upset by the contents (which are not revealed to the audience). Michael fights with his wife, whom he had earlier abandoned on the roadside with their three children, and then has sex with her. Michael later is pulled aside by a waitress with whom he had an affair (and had made pregnant) and then beats her when she disparages Helge. Later, during dinner, Christian makes a speech to the family in which he accuses his father Helge of sexually abusing him and his late sister Linda. There is an initial shocked silence, but the party gradually returns to normal, as the guests react by silent denial. In a private conversation in the pantry, a seemingly baffled Helge asks Christian about his motivations for slandering him, and Christian appears to recant his accusation. However, Christian is spurred to further action by hotel chef Kim (Bjarne Henriksen), a childhood friend who knows about the abuse. Christian then stands up and continues his toast by accusing Helge of causing Linda's death. Helge speaks to Christian alone and threateningly offers to announce in a toast Christian's troubled personal history, impotence with women and his perhaps inappropriately close relationship with his late sister, Linda. Christian says nothing in response to the threat. Further exacerbating the tensions of the day, Helene's black boyfriend Gbatokai (Gbatokai Dakinah) shows up, enraging the racist Michael who later leads most of the partygoers in singing the Danish song "Jeg har set en rigtig negermand" in a racist way to offend him. During a toast, Else makes a series of back-handed compliments towards her children, accusing Christian of having an overactive imagination as a child and asking him to apologize for his earlier accusation. Christian responds by accusing her of interrupting Helge during one of the rapes, yet not interfering with the incident, and calling her a "cunt". Michael and two other guests violently eject Christian from the hotel. When Christian walks back in, they beat Christian and tie him to a tree in the nearby woods.
Christian unties himself and returns to the house. Helene has a headache and asks one of the waitresses (Pia) to go and fetch her pills. Pia finds Linda's suicide note in the medicine bottle and gives it to Christian. Christian gives the suicide note to Helene and leaves a note with the toastmaster. The toastmaster reads aloud the note that urges Helene to read the suicide note to the guests. Helene does so. Linda's note states that she decided to kill herself after feeling overwhelmed by dreams in which her father was molesting her again. In a fit of anger, Helge admits to the abuse in front of all the guests by saying that it was all Christian was good for. He then leaves the dining room with the guests stunned. Christian, who is drunk, faints after walking out of the dining hall and imagines seeing Linda. When he awakes, he learns from Helene that Michael is missing. We learn that the drunken Michael has called Helge outside and then beat his father severely, promising him that he will never see his grandchildren again.
Next morning shows the family (excluding the parents) and guests eating breakfast nonchalantly. Then Helge comes in and speaks to the group admitting his wrongdoing and declaring his love for his children. Michael coolly dismisses their father from the table, stating that he should now leave so that they can have breakfast. Christian reveals that he is going back to Paris, and asks Pia (who has known Christian for years) to accompany him. | comedy, psychological, murder, paranormal, cult, violence, satire, plot twist | train | wikipedia | "Festen" aka "The Celebration" was the impressive directorial debut of the young Danish filmmaker Thomas Vinterberg ("It's All About Love", "Dear Wendy"), and the first film made according to the rules of the daring Dogme 95 movement.
When we watch the only scene in which Christian weeps, with Gbatokai leaning over and giving moral support, it could almost pass for a candid moment in a homemade documentary.I've seen a lot of good family dramas, but rarely have I had such an urge to hug the main character and unleash profanity at several of the others..
I'm tired of watching films which try to make me feel sorry for rich kids whose parents just don't understand how hard it is to be a rich kid with pimples.As the families (one in ten?) with histories like this one can attest, being "dysfunctional" would have been a very happy place to be, compared to the reality as shown in this fine film..
Indeed with the hand-held camera the reality of the scene is intensified to such an extent one feels an integral part of the drama.It's a family celebration of father Helge's 60th birthday.
A very creative film that puts so much focus on the shadow side of us all, of Danes in particular that is so effective that it actually makes me sick, me, a person who's been watching violent movies since I was twelve and was hardly ever affected by it.
The rules of the Dogme 95 as the use of natural light, camera in the hands, etc, help to create a claustrophobic and confidential clime, like nobody knows that someone is filming them.
Paprika is a great actress and I can't stand waiting to watch "Idiotern", the second Dogme, in which she's acting again."Festen" is not just a worth watching film.
Though not if you think Armageddon is the best movie ever made but if you think character study, fantastic actors and a very strange feeling of disgust and fascination at the same time..
The characters are played expectionally well and the Dogme setting only makes it look like a home film gone horribly, horribly wrong.This film, although not entertaining, is excellent and deserves every award it recieves.The characters are strong and complex and the actors pull them through well.
All performances are stellar - from Ulrich Thomsen's Christian to the wonderful Paprika Steen's Helene, but for me, the performance of the film is by Henning Moritzen as the father, Helge, whose 60th birthday celebration it is which draws his whole family together.
I assure you that I have never experienced the grief of the antagonist, nor the suffering and redemption of the protagonist.Its first quality is that it is well written story (it is neither too incredible to be unbelievable, nor too familiar to be dull), secondly the characters are convincingly portrayed (only after watching several times do you realise that the actors react to their every social circumstance, regardless of whether it has been revealed to the audience or not), and thirdly I should mention the unique directorial style.
Having read about the film makers' "Dogme 95" charter I was expecting something pretty bizarre here but "Festen" (festival, celebration) co-written and directed by Thomas Vinterberg turned out to be the fairly orthodox tale of a traumatic family reunion.
Perhaps "no artistic egos were destroyed in the making of this film" but the impression I got was that somebody competent was in charge, albeit somebody with a taste for odd camera angles.The story centres around Christian, who travels back to the family country hotel (in Denmark) from his successful Paris restaurant to celebrate his father's 60th birthday.
I also liked Helmuth (Klaus Bondam), the Danish idea of the comic German toastmaster, who after some particularly shocking revelations at the dinner table manages to suggest dessert, coffee and dancing in the lounge - and the stunned guests meekly comply.There were hints of Bunuel in this movie ("there's nothing charming about the bourgeiose") and perhaps "Last Year in Marienbad." The spirit of Ingmar Bergman was not far away either.
He joined with Lars von Trier and two other Danish directors in endorsing a deed called Dogma 95, which was brought to light at Cannes and contracted them all to shoot on location, using only natural sounds and props found on such location, employing no special effects or music and working solely with hand-held cameras.
Ten years on and Festen (1998) remains a surprisingly radical piece of film-making; a work of daring drama that presents a story rich in the very basic need for intrigue and suspense, and tightly structured around a vast ensemble of characters brought together under the pretence of family.
However, the reason that the singular elements manage to come together and envelope us so successfully in a way that few films of recent years really do is down to the visual presentation of the text.Although Lars von Trier's The Idiots (1998) remains perhaps the most successful experiment in working within the confines of the Dogme 95 manifesto - with the limitations of conventional cinematic style used there to outwardly convey the search for inner purity and emotional simplification of the heartbroken central character - Festen's use of style works towards bringing the audience into the film, into the family; so that the darker, more mysterious elements of the script appeal more to our natural sense of curiosity and the voyeuristic nature that film, at its most basic level, presents.
Had this film been shot more conventionally, with glossy 35mm colour stock, elaborate lighting and ornate production design the story, characters and performances would have still worked, but the overall sense of intimacy and painful emotional suffocation simply wouldn't have been so searing.
The use of hand-held digital video, natural light, sloppy jump-cuts and lack of music create a sense of abstracted realism; tapping into images familiar from wedding videos or self-shot home-movie footage of birthdays, anniversaries, etc and making the audience almost a member of the proceedings (an innocent viewer, caught up in this painful family turmoil, or a co-conspirator, aware of every action the central character is about to make and implicit in his downfall).The scope of the story and the manner in which it is presented lends itself to this idea that what we are watching is somehow real; which offers the already engaging drama an uncomfortable feature that manages to question the very nature of what it is to be an audience.
Of course, at the back of our minds we're still aware that what we're watching has been created; with the artifice of self-shot video being a deconstructive element in itself, especially when combined with the disintegration of the facade of film-making further created by the strict rules of the Dogme.
It's pushed even further by the careful direction of Thomas Vinterberg, who has yet to produce a piece of work that comes anywhere near the effective brilliance and originality of the film in question.Although the influence of Dogme would wane somewhat within the next couple of years, being pronounced dead as early as 2002, the idea of removing all sense of obvious cinematic artifice in order push the emotional and psychological concerns of the story to the surface was an interesting one, and something that clearly worked, both for von Trier's provocative masterwork The Idiots and this fantastic film itself.
For me, Festen is one of the great films of the 90's; a continually gripping drama about families and their secrets and a modern-day Greek tragedy of epic proportions..
A danish extended family all get together at a large mansion in the country to celebrate the 60th birthday of the patriarch of the family which sort of has an unmentioned shadow over it since one of the family members recently came to a bad end in that same mansion.Rough germanic mannerisms create quite a stir of hilarious foul language with the comedy that comes from the different characters interpretation of what this day should mean and how they interact with each other.This is a rough flick in that it handles the idea of a large extended family protecting someone at the expense of a few of the other family members- a common and disturbing practice.
It was chilling to see the various family members lie through their teeth and rewrite history to avoid confronting uncomfortable truths about their own inaction.This movie's location reminded me of various large old hotels I have been to in Switzerland and the characters act very German but that's only because I don't really know what a Dane is, I just know Danish act very German in that they don't like to expose their personal affairs publicly and pull excessive stunts to avoid the appearance of being imperfect.
There's real manic, nervous, anxious energy to the whole piece, even when it's just two characters sitting down to talk, like early on when Christian, sort of the main character in this ensemble, is listening to his dad (or step-dad I guess) telling him something important before festivities begin (or the one who really kicks off the central conflict - that being the one being celebrated for his 60th birthday, good old dad).It's not really important; not like, say, the bombshell that Christian drops almost carefree during his toast at this big familial engagement at this country hous, or the fact that this is taking place just days after the death of his sister by suicide.
I'm a big fan of Lars Von Trier's films (apart from The Idiots) and I understand that he was part of the whole Dogme 95 wave of filmmaking which saw Danes making films on hand-held cameras, using no props and no false lighting.
It's a wonderful script which makes full use of its one-location idea and reveals its drama through character interactions which don't feel contrived in any way.I understand that Festen has been turned into a play and I can see why.
But a great film is a great film, whatever the rules under which it is made; and 'Festen' reminded me of Robert Altman's 'The Wedding', which begins with a long zoom shot from a static camera, the complete antithesis of the hand-held style that 'Dogme 95' dictates.'Festen' starts as a black comedy, the tale of the re-union of a highly dysfunctional family.
I watched this brave movie last night and thought it was fantastic in that the subject matter of how the painful realities of growing up in a family like this were brought to light in a creative way.
The use of "cheapening" filming effects, ie shaky hand held shots, which initially take some getting used to, ultra grainy shots and deliberate out-of-focus, ultimately allow the individual artist's performances to shine.This is as close as a film audience get to a movie, and the viewers emotions move not just up and down, but left, right and every which way - rapidly.
It is both very funny and very tragic, and when watching this movie emotions will change rapidly.Great actors especially Henning Mouritzen and Ulrich Thomsen which are confronted during the film..
Thomas Vinterberg's heinously underhyped film engages in the usual paradox of the Dogme film: that is, by using hand-held cameras, producing sound and picture together, eschewing studio lighting, costuming, music, and in many other ways attempting to strip away the apparatus of artificiality that purportedly stands between a film and its audience, the Dogme films in fact call attention to their own filmic-ness, simply by being outside the parameters that our eyes and ears have been accustomed to translating into a sense of naturalness.
Watching Festen was the strongest cathartic experience I've had this year at the movies, and I think the natural film shooting policies Vinterberg has adopted have paid off here in making it seem like a real story with real people that you care about.
They can happen in any family (provided that the patriarch is like the movie character).So if you're looking for a great experience (as stated above by the other reviewer) you're in for a treat.
It is a great film that follow the guidelines of Dogme 95 to perfection and it keeps you nailed to the screen.I've seen a lot of movies.
Like a macabre travesty, the horrors that are revealed are stifled beneath the stiff upper lip of black tie and bravado, until the only celebration is one of confronting truth.Director Thomas Vinterberg achieves remarkable results within the strict remit of the rather arbitrary 'Dogme95' rules of minimalist film-making.
Everything is shot with a domestic video camera in low light or candlelight - looking rather like a home movie about a family gathering.
He says, "The characters played by Ulrich Thomsen and Thomas Bo Larsen arise from my fascination with James Caan and Al Pacino in The Godfather, and Moritzen's patriarch was of course inspired by good old Marlon, not that I'm making any comparisons, of course."Almost a parallel to the Dogme revolution against style over substance and the abuse of art by Hollywood, Celebration is cinema at its most powerful but without reliance on technical wizardry or artifice.
By turns harrowing and funny, it's not the sort of story that would normally draw me (affluent family disintegrates under the weight of revelations made by its adult children, during a weekend celebration of the father's sixtieth birthday); but I was spellbound by the acting, script and grainy, naturalistic camera work (and NYPD fans, please take note: THIS is the way to handle the 'moving camera').If thought-provoking film is what you're after, please try Festen.
Forget the Dogme film style, which does suit this film better than perhaps other situations; the main puller here is the drama between the "underground" and the family, while Christian's story is attempting it's way through the party.
Another good interpretation made by Thomas Bo Larsen who played as Michael.Finally I have to say that "The Celebration" is a classic drama movie which represents many families which have many secrets between its members.
In 2003 the man from the radio show had changed his story to announce that he had made it up and that none of the events had taken place.As for the movie itself, this was not Thomas Vinterberg's debut, but his first film following the Dogme-95-concept.
Not to say that since I didn't recognize anyone or know about the movie it and they weren't great, it is quite the opposite that is true, I was really amazed by how awesome this movie was.I don't want to spoil it but it is basically a big dinner party with an entire family there to celebrate but instead a terrible family secret is opened up after all these years.A really great story with superb acting that you should not miss, but the subject matter is definitely for mature audiences only so keep the kids away!.
It's directed by Danish film director Thomas Vinterberg and is the first movie created under the Dogme95 rules.
It tells the story about a Danish restaurant owner named Christian who lives in Paris, France and who returns to his homeland where his mother named Elsie, his sister named Helene and her friend named Gbatokai, his brother named Michael and his wife named Mette and their three children, his friend named Pia, a waitress named Michelle, a chef named Kim and many other guests are getting prepared at a grand conference hotel where they are to spend the day and night celebrating his father named Helge Klingenfeldt-Hansen's 60th anniversary.Distinctly and brilliantly directed by Nordic filmmaker Thomas Vinterberg, this finely paced fictional tale which is narrated from multiple viewpoints though mostly from the main character's point of view, draws an uncanny and throughout engaging portrayal of a son who has kept a family secret ever since his childhood, an uninvited brother who gets into a dispute with his sister's new boyfriend and a waitress with a crush on one of the family members who notices that one of the female guests is flirting with her.
While notable for it's distinct and naturalistic milieu depictions, fine cinematography by English cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle, editing by Icelandic film editor Valdis Oskarsdottir and use of sound, colors and light, this dialog- driven and narrative-driven story about family relations and traditions which became Thomas Vinterberg's initiation into cinema history and where the distinctions between truths and lies becomes very evident, depicts several dense and interrelated studies of character and contains a timely song sung by the mother of the man at the center of the party with the lyrics : "There is an idyllic quiet peace
".This dramatic, situational and darkly humorous social satire from the late 1990s which is set at a hotel in Denmark during a summer in the 20th century and where a light-hearted and inspirited celebration becomes a shock after the eldest son has asked his father to choose between a green and a yellow speech and all of the guests car keys vanishes, is impelled and reinforced by it's cogent narrative structure, substantial character development, efficient continuity, variegated characters, versatile perspectives, the words in a letter : "Dear whoever finds this letter
", the prominent acting performance by Danish actor Ulrich Thomsen, the hilarious, unsettling and authentic acting performance by Danish actor Thomas Bo Larsen, the charming acting performance by Danish actress Trine Dyrholm and the fine acting performances by Danish actresses Paprika Steen, Helle Dolleris, Therese Glahn, actor Gbatokai Dakinah and Danish actors Henning Moritzen and Lars Brygmann.
This film is about a birthday celebration being ripped apart by a shocking revelation of a deeply buried family secret.I like the plot a lot, because it is simple, and yet profoundly affecting.
There are many more scenes worth high-lighting, but these three are great examples.Everything works in FESTEN: the fully-developed three-dimensional characters, the acting, the innovative hand-held Dogme95 camera style, Vinterberg's and Mogens Rukov's manuscript.
acted in a natural way so when the movie is over you feel like being part of the family. |
tt2132285 | The Bling Ring | Five teenagers climb over an iron gate and break into the mansion at the top of the driveway. The gang's ringleader, Rebecca (Katie Chang), playfully says, "Let's go shopping". The teen robbers steal jewelry, clothing, and artwork before climbing back over the gate. A security camera records their movements.One year earlier.Nicki (Emma Watson) and her quasi-adopted sister Sam (Taissa Farmiga) wake up after a night of partying and grinding against random older men. They go downstairs, where Nicki's mom Laurie (Leslie Mann) gives them their morning dose of Ritalin and leads them in a new age prayer. Laurie home schools the girls and her younger daughter Emily (Georgia Rock) and she begins their lesson, which is based on the book, "The Secret."Elsewhere, Marks (Israel Broussard) mom drives him to his first day at Indian Hills, an alternative high school. Mark struggles to fit in until he meets Rebecca, who shows him around the school. After school, Rebecca and Chloe (Claire Julian) invite Mark to go to the beach with them to smoke pot. Rebecca tells Mark that she wants to go to the same fashion design school as the girls from The Hills. She loves Hollywood's celebrity-crazed culture, and thinks of Lindsey Lohan as her fashion idol. Rebecca tells Mark and Chloe that her mom and her stepdad are out of town, so shes throwing a small party.Later that night, Mark goes to Rebecca's party. She finds him on his own and asks him about his life. When Mark mentions that his dad works for a film distribution company, Rebecca is impressed by his connections to the biz. She asks Mark if he wants to go look at cars outside. Rebecca walks down her street and breaks in to unlocked cars, much to Marks surprise. She finds hundreds of dollars in cash in one car and a bag of pills in another. Although Mark seems uncomfortable with stealing, he doesnt leave, and in fact, begins to help Rebecca.The next week, Rebecca takes Mark for a drive after school. She confesses that she recently went into an unlocked house in her neighborhood because she knew the family was on a vacation. She asks Mark if he knows anyone who is out of town, and he gives her the name of Evan, a boy with whom he hooked up. Rebecca drives to Evans house and is impressed by how large it is. Mark becomes alarmed when Rebecca finds an unlocked door and goes inside, and he tells her they should leave. Rebecca ignores him and explores Evans house. She eventually finds the master bedroom, and in it, a closet full of expensive purses, including one that is similar to one owned by Lindsey Lohan. She steals the purse and a wad of cash she finds in another drawer. Instead of driving away in her own car, Rebecca hops into the sleek convertible parked outside of Evans house. Mark thinks Rebecca is crazy but still climbs into the convertible with her and helps her spend the money she stole at a trendy boutique.Over the following weeks, Mark and Rebecca become even closer. Chloe takes Rebecca and Mark to a nightclub; they get in right away because Chloe is sleeping with the clubs manager Ricky (Gavin Rossdale). Inside, Rebecca introduces Mark to Nicki and Sam. Everyone dances and drinks and takes pictures of their nightclub antics. Nicki claims Jude Law has been texting her nonstop, and Mark spots Paris Hilton and Kirsten Dunst.One night, Mark and Rebecca are looking at celebrity gossip websites and fashion magazines. When Mark tells Rebecca that Paris Hilton is in Las Vegas at a club opening, she asks him to look up Paris's address. Mark finds it online, and Rebecca suggests they go to her house. She wants to break into it and look around. She correctly guesses that Paris is the type to keep her house keys under her welcome mat. Mark starts to panic when he and Rebecca actually enter Paris's mansion, but he becomes distracted when he sees how Paris has decorated her home with pictures of herself. Mark and Rebecca wander through the mansion until they find Pariss gigantic dressing rooms. Rebecca grabs a purse and begins to stuff clothing and jewelry into it. Mark wants to leave, but he is again distracted when he and Rebecca discover Pariss nightclub room, complete with a stripper pole. The two teens take their loot and leave.In an interview set in the future, after he and Rebecca have been caught, Mark says he came to love Rebecca as a sister. She was his first true best friend, which makes their current situation that much more awful. Mark confesses he felt self-loathing at the times of the robberies and wanted to fit in, so he went along with Rebeccas plans.Later, Mark and Rebecca watch an interview with Audrina Patridge. Rebecca loves her sense of style and tells Mark he should look up her address. Mark finds the address, and when they learn Audrina will be at an Oscar Party all night, they decide to break into her home, as well. After successfully robbing Audrinas home, Rebecca and Mark become more brazen and confess their crimes to Chloe, Nicki, and Sam. Nicki becomes obsessed with going to Pariss home to see her nightclub room. I want to rob, she whines.Eventually, when they learn Paris is in Miami, Rebecca and Mark take their friends back to Pariss home. They break in and explore her shoe closet together, although Mark is the only person who can fit into Pariss large heels. They find a stack of Polaroid pictures of Paris (it's implied they're pornographic), but the real score is a bag of cocaine they find in one of Paris's purses. The gang steals clothing, accessories, money, and the bag of cocaine. They snort it at a nightclub, and after much drug-fueled dancing, Chloe drives them home. Unfortunately, she runs a red light, and another car crashes into hers. No one suffers serious injuries, but Chloe is arrested and must clock many hours of community service.Laurie leads Nicki, Sam, and Emily in a daily lesson. She tells the girls to make vision boards filled with people whom they admire; hers is of Angelina Jolie. Someone rings the doorbell. When Nicki answers it, she meets Rob (Carlos Miranda), a handsome water jug delivery man.Mark and Rebecca continue to rob famous celebrities, often with the help of Nicki and Sam. They break into Megan Fox's home and find a gun hidden in a box under their bed. Sam takes the gun and messes around with it, carelessly pointing at people. Mark gets upset when she points the gun at him, which makes her laugh and tease him with the weapon. Later that night, after the robbery, Sam climbs through Robs window and points the gun at him. He grabs her wrist, the gun fires, and she screams. Rob silences her by kissing her passionately.Unbeknownst to the gang of teenagers, Audrina Patridge had security cameras installed in her home. She gave footage from the night of the robbery to police officers, and a specialist finds a clip where Marks face is shown.Rebecca and Mark learn that Miranda Kerr and Orlando Bloom are in New York, so they invite Chloe, Nicki, and Sam to break into their house with them. Miranda and Orlando's home is the mansion with a gate in the opening scene. Inside, Mark finds a box filled with thousands of dollars and several Rolex watches. On her way out, Rebecca grabs a rug and a painting, which Mark feels is going a bit overboard. Next, Rebecca, Mark, Nicki, and Sam break into Rachel Bilson's home by having Emily crawl through the doggy door. Later that night, they go to a party thrown by Chloe and brag to numerous people that they've broken into the homes of multiple celebrities.A news report shows footage from the robberies at Audrina Patridge's home and the home of Miranda Kerr and Orlando Bloom. Mark and Chloe want to lay off breaking into homes for a while, but Rebecca points out that nothing has happened to them. Mark later confesses that that was the problem: nothing happened after the news report, so they kept breaking into peoples homes. They take Rob to Pariss house with Nicki and Sam, and they also break into the home of Lindsey Lohan. Chloe also takes Mark to Rickys club so that Ricky can help Mark fence his stolen Rolexes. The teens continue to brag about their exploits to many people. Eventually, someone calls the police and gives them their names.Rebecca decides to go and stay with her divorced father in Las Vegas because of problems she has been having with her mom. She asks Mark to hang onto to some of her stolen belongings, which he happily agrees to do. Not long after, detectives come to Marks home and serve his mother with a search warrant of the premises. Mark emerges from his room, crying, and apologizes to his mom. The detectives arrest him. Next, they go to Nicki's house and arrest her too. Nicki cries for her mom and complains that the detectives are hurting her. Chloe, Rob, and Ricky are arrested too. Mark learns that Rebecca purposely left Los Angeles because she thought she could escape prosecution and blame the crimes on him. Detectives in Las Vegas arrive at Rebecca's dads house and serve her with a search warrant. Rebecca initially denies she had anything to do with the robberies, but when officers find stolen goods and Paris's Polaroid pictures in her closet, she breaks down.Nicki parlays her notoriety into an interview with Vanity Fair (which was the inspiration for the movie). She explains to her interviewer that shes a good person who made bad decisions, and the true story will emerge once the case goes to trial. Nicki becomes angry when Laurie interrupts her during the interview and tries to talk about their church, which is also based on The Secret. Nicki claims she works at the church but cannot recall the name of the African country where church members go to build wells.As the trial approaches, Nicki tries to find a conservative outfit to wear to court. Sam sits on her bed and watches her dress (Note: the police could not find evidence that put Sam at the scene of the crimes, so Sam has not been charged with anything). On the day of the trial, Nicki tells the cameras she will make a statement. She blames the burglaries on karma and believes people will want to hear her side of events. Her mom, Sam, and Emily accompany her into the courtroom, where the other defendants wait. Mark looks sadly at Rebecca, who stares straight ahead.Nicki, Chloe, Rob, and Ricky are found guilty and sentenced to one year in county jail. Rebecca and Mark are sentenced to four years in prison. Nicki cries as she exits the courtrooms. Later, Mark, dressed in an orange jumpsuit and shackled to other, older, more hardened men, climbs aboard a bus that will take him to prison.The film ends with Nicki giving an interview to a Hollywood Access type. She served thirty days in jail, and the hardest part for her was waking up so early. She also shared a jail block with Lindsey Lohan. Nicki asks viewers to follow her new life at nickiforever.com in the aftermath of her tenure as member of the so-called 'Bling Ring'. | comedy | train | imdb | null |
tt2172934 | 3 Days to Kill | The film opens at the CIA Headquarters in Langley, VA. Agent Vivi DeLay (Amber Heard) meets with the CIA director and another man to discuss their target, Wolfgang Braun, aka "The Wolf" (Richard Sammel). The man is attempting to sell arms to terrorists along with his associate, The Albino (Tomas Lemarquis). The men assign Vivi to take both of them down. She asks them which agent they have on the ground. His name is Ethan Renner.We meet Ethan (Kevin Costner) in a hotel in Paris where he and another agent, Yasmin (Mai Anh Le), are set to take down The Albino, set to make a deal with Serbians. Ethan has already killed the buyers, and he makes a quick and swift exchange with The Albino as he swaps briefcases containing secret codes. He goes to hand them over to other agents in a van, when his phone rings to remind him it's his daughter Zooey's (Hailee Steinfeld) birthday. He runs to make a call on a payphone and uses his watch as collateral with a nearby vendor to get change. He calls Zooey but gets her voice mail. In the hotel, Yasmin's identity is compromised when The Albino recognizes her. He drags her to an elevator and waits til it comes down so it decapitates her. His cohorts shoot at the agents in the van, leading to a gunfight from the lobby to outside the hotel. Ethan runs after The Albino and kills his men before chasing the villain. Ethan starts getting weak and groggy until he catches up to The Albino. He falls to the ground before shooting The Albino in the foot. He limps away as Ethan loses consciousness.Ethan wakes up in the hospital to a doctor who tells him that he has cancer and it's spread to his lungs. He gives Ethan about 3-5 months to live.Ethan returns to his apartment to find that there's a family living there. The patriarch, Jules (Eriq Ebouaney), warmly welcomes Ethan back, telling him they are refugees seeking a new place to live. He goes to complain about it, but is told that if he forces the family out, he can get arrested. Ethan goes back and takes out his gun in front of Jules, but then relents and says he can stay until his eldest daughter gives birth to her child.Ethan calls his ex-wife Tina (Connie Nielsen) as she's meeting up with friends. She is hesitant to meet with him until he says it's urgent that they get together. They go together to sign his will and he tells her that he is dying and he doesn't want Zooey to know. He wants to meet up with her, and Tina tells him only on the condition that he is officially done working for "them". Ethan says yes.The two of them go meet Zooey at her school. Her reunion with her father is awkward and she seems less than interested in talking to him. A handsome older boy comes over to Zooey, and she introduces him as Hugh (Jonas Bloquet). He is polite to Ethan when she introduces them, though he is understandably on the fence about it. Hugh leaves and Ethan presents Zooey with a purple bike, thinking that is still her favorite color. She opts to take the metro with her friends, leaving Ethan to ride the bike himself.Ethan stops at a stand and is met by Vivi. She drops Zooey's name and shows him his watch that he left by the hotel. She gets him to ride with her, telling him to work for her. He refuses until she says she has an experimental drug that can save his life. Ethan reconsiders, and Vivi tells him the job is to find The Wolf and kill him.Vivi takes Ethan to a hotel to find a man that can give them the whereabouts of The Albino's accountant. She tells Ethan there's only one guy in there, but after he busts into the room of their target, he finds five guys. He and Vivi end up killing all of them when nobody gives them any info. In the elevator, Ethan tells her he will only continue the assignment if he is given 50 grand and a $1 million life insurance policy. She complies and gives him a shot of the drug.We see The Albino meeting up with a man. He gives this man a photo of Ethan to keep on him.Ethan goes to Zooey and Tina's apartment and hears Zooey scream. Thinking she's in danger, he breaks the doorknob and busts in, only to find that she is upset over a bad hairdo. Tina is mad at Ethan since he earlier promised to cook dinner, yet he is th
ree hours late. She is heading to London the next day on business and decides to call a sitter to look after Zooey, but Ethan insists that she let him take care of her.Later, Ethan starts to feel dizzy and he faints. He calls Vivi and tells her he's hallucinating. She tells him to drink vodka to ease himself. He does just that.Tina leaves the next day, and Zooey comes in wearing a wig with a shade of red. She sees Vivi calling Ethan's phone, so he tells her it's his boss. She puts "I Don't Care" by Icona Pop as Ethan's ringtone for whenever she calls. Ethan once again tries to get Zooey to ride the bike to school, but she walks and drops the wig.Ethan meets with Vivi again. She gives him the check she promised him and reminds him to keep his heart rate low. She has Ethan go look for a car salesman named Mitat Yilmaz (Marc Andreoni). Ethan goes to the dealership, insults Mitat's employees and knocks them out, then waits in Mitat's office until he returns. Ethan threatens Mitat's family and takes him back to the apartment, until he gets a call from Zooey's school, urging him to go speak to the principal. He takes Mitat with him and stuffs him in the trunk.Ethan and Zooey meet with the principal. He learns that Zooey hit another classmate. He asks, "Open palm or clenched fist?" As they leave, Zooey tells Ethan it was because the girl she hit was teasing a girl from Pakistan. Ethan says he's not mad and tells her it's an effective way to get rid of a bully. Mitat starts making a fuss in the trunk, forcing Ethan to go punch him and tell him to shut up. Zooey leaves him, agitated by his behavior and his constant coughing. However, she later calls him back to apologize and asks him to meet her at her favorite spot, a little theme park where her favorite ride is the Flying Chairs. Although Ethan initially goes to continue his search for the accountant, he leaves to meet with Zooey. They go on the ride and have hot chocolate after. She tells him she has to go and study with her lab partner.Ethan goes to a store and is attacked by a man wielding a shotgun. He blasts Ethan, but he rises unharmed (he was most likely wearing a vest), and the two of them fight. The man nearly kills Ethan by stabbing him in the neck, but the man is shot and he dies. Ethan then notices the man was holding a photo of Ethan himself.Ethan goes home to see on Zooey's computer a message from a friend saying she'll meet her at the Tattoo Gallery. Concerned, Ethan rushes to this place and finds a car with Zooey's bag. He breaks into it and finds a flyer from a place called Spider. He goes to Mitat's house and asks the man's twin daughters what Spider is. They tell him it's a soiree house. Ethan goes to Spider, a night club, and sees Zooey drinking with friends. He starts getting dizzy again, and has a swig of vodka to ease up. He follows Zooey near the bathroom and sees three guys harassing her. Ethan is held back by a friend of the boys, but he gets into papa wolf mode and kicks all their asses before getting Zooey out of there.Zooey wakes up the next morning with no memory of the previous night. She's still wearing her dress, and she is about to go to school until Ethan tells her not to go like that. He insists on her riding the bike to school, but she angrily reminds him that he never taught her how to ride. He spends the morning teaching her, earning applause from onlookers. Zooey later tearfully asks him why he's been away for a long time. She thinks he has another family with another daughter, but he assures her that is not the case. As they continue to hang out, Zooey admits that she hit the girl at school because she was hitting on Hugh. They end up meeting Hugh as he is going to take Zooey to school.Ethan locates the accountant, Guido (Bruno Ricci), as he is escorted through the streets. Ethan shoots a tear gas grenade at the car and takes Guido before blowing the van up. He takes Guido to his apartment to exchange the briefcase with codes he had earlier with codes set to trigger explosives that The Wolf and The Albino are in possession of. Zooey calls to tell Ethan that she is going to cook dinner for Hugh, and she wants to make a vegetarian dish. Ethan puts Guido on the phone to tell Zooey about a spaghetti sauce recipe that his mother used.That evening, Ethan comes home to find that Jules's daughter is going into labor. She gives birth to a healthy baby girl, and she decides to name it after Ethan due to him allowing them to stay in his home. Jules says they are to leave as promised, but Ethan insists they can stay as long as they want. Jules says the family prefers a smaller home to stay closer to each other.Ethan goes back to Zooey's home and learns that Hugh asked her to prom, but she says she can't dance. Ethan decides to help her out, just as Tina comes home. She watches them dance, bringing tears to her eyes. They have dinner as a family, and Tina tells Ethan later that he ought to tell Zooey about his condition sooner or later. They end up sleeping together.The next morning, Vivi calls Ethan to tell him The Albino is staying at the Grand Hotel. Ethan heads there and spots The Wolf. The villains get in a car driven by Mitat. Ethan chases after them, slamming into the car until he pushes them all over a footbridge. The Wolf and The Albino flee, and Ethan spares Mitat so he can return to his family. Ethan chases the villains into the subway, where he starts to get a nosebleed and he begins to feel dizzy. Before he can shoot The Wolf, The Albino drags a barely conscious Ethan toward the train tracks. He waits for the train to come even as The Wolf yells at him to kill Ethan. Ethan regains enough motion to push The Albino in front of the train just as it passes. He passes out and The Wolf flees. He wakes up to see Vivi brought him to her place. She reminds him of The Wolf's escape, but tells him the results of his treatment turned out positive with the drug.Ethan, Zooey, and Tina go to meet with Hugh and his family. His father introduces Ethan to his business partner...The Wolf. They recognize each other and uneasily shake hands. Hugh's parents escort them all into a club. Tina eventually realizes that Ethan is working an assignment. She thinks he's been lying to her but he assures her that he hasn't. The Wolf's men shoot at Ethan, and he runs after them. He kills the goons before cornering The Wolf in an elevator. He shoots the wires on the elevator, causing it to fall and crash to the bottom. Meanwhile, Hugh and Zooey find a private room where they dance and share their first kiss.The Wolf crawls out of the elevator, and Ethan finds him. He starts to feel weak again, unable to shoot him. He drops the gun, which The Wolf reaches for until Vivi comes in and pushes it to Ethan to finish the job. Thinking about Tina and Zooey, he refuses and drops the gun. Vivi grabs it and shoots The Wolf herself.Sometime later, Ethan is still staying with Zooey in a house near a beach. He's setting up a Christmas tree (after thinking he wouldn't live to see Christmas), and we hear him talking to Tina, saying there have been bad days, but they are still trying to keep their relationship well. Tina arrives in person, and Ethan acknowledges to her that he hasn't always been there for her and Zooey like he should have been. Zooey comes up to invite her mom in so Ethan can make them hot chocolate. Ethan goes into another room while Tina and Zooey sit together. She asks her mom if Ethan is going to stick around now. Meanwhile, Ethan finds a box with a large syringe and a note from Vivi wishing him a Merry Christmas. She has given him the drug so he can continue to live some more as well as spend time with his family. In the distance, Vivi stands watching the family in their home. | violence, comedy, neo noir, murder, flashback | train | imdb | Continuing my plan to watch every movie in Kevin Costner's filmography in order I come to 2014's three days to kill.Plot In A Paragraph: Ethan Renner (KC) an estranged father, with limited time to live, desperately tries to reconnect with his estranged wife and daughter before his death.
3 Days to Kill began with some promise and I was enjoying Kevin Costner's lead action role, but that feeling didn't last too long once the action scenes and comedy became repetitive.
The screenplay was weak, Costner's character kept on having ridiculous blackouts during every climactic scene, the father daughter relationship problems that tried to play out as a comedy were repetitive, and the villains never felt menacing.
The only positive thing about 3 Days to Kill were the action scenes and Kevin Costner's star power.
3 Days to Kill opens with a scene at the CIA headquarters where Agent Vivi (Amber Heard) is given an assignment to hunt down a terrorist known as The Wolf (Richard Sammel).
In order to spend more time with his family, he accepts, but balancing out work and family proves to be a very difficult task.I was glad that Kevin Costner got a lead action role and I thought he was pretty solid despite the weak character he was given.
Kevin Costner and cast make a good thriller/drama/part-comedy in 3 Days to Kill.
This movie tries to be many things; its mostly an action film but also plays heavily into the family drama while throwing in some dark comedy too, all with mixed results.The somewhat recycled story follows Kevin Costner as a gruff ex secret service agent who after being told has just 3 months to live sets out on that infamous "one last mission" in exchange for an experimental drug that will save his life.
This last job just happens to take place with he also tasked with looking after his estranged teenage daughter (Hailee Steinfeld) after his ex wife (conveniently) has to leave town.The action storyline is quite good though thanks to Luc Besson; decent stunts, tons of broken glass and bullet riddled bodies, and Costner gets the job done -Liam Neeson style-.
I'm not quite sure what this movie set out to be - a serious CIA thriller, another Bourne/Reacher/Ryan attempt to achieve what James Bond achieved and spawn a remarkable franchise, or a slapstick comedy that didn't take itself too seriously, but enjoyed the thrill of action and explosions in the manner that films such as Die Hard, Mr and Mrs Smith or by Mcg himself, This Means War did.
Not quite action, not quite spy thriller, not quite comedy, and so many botched attempts at sentimentality that it becomes almost soap operaish in it's execution.A solid performance by Kevin Costner, who's gone along the lines of Liam Neeson in perfecting the senior bad ass role, but even Costner wasn't enough to give this film plausability.
I didn't know what to exactly expect from 3 Days to Kill, a film produced by Luc Besson and directed by McG.
I know that many people hated the frantic style McG used to employ (I personally liked it), but it would have brought some life to 3 Days to Kill, avoiding it from being a pathetic collection of clichés, completely anonymous and without any energy..
A terminally ill former CIA agent is given one last assignment in exchange for an experimental hallucinogenic drug that may extend his life, and he struggles to reconnect with his teenage daughter with the time he has left.I know what you're thinking: this is a Nicolas Cage action movie.
Indeed Heard's costume changes are a metaphor for the film itself, which doesn't seem to know whether it is a comedy (in which case it fails), an action thriller (which is far too long and not too thrilling), a romance (without much spark by anyone), or just a plain family adventure (with too much violence).Luc Besson provided the story and the screenplay.
I don't know what Kevin Costner was thinking, or how Luc Besson's name got attached to this movie.
At times, the movie is so poorly directed (and acted) that you can't believe that Costner would allow something like this to be put on film.
Kevin Costner delivers a Nicholas cage in "3 days to kill" .shittiest of his lot...even direction by McG couldn't save it.The story is so predictable right from the start that it takes all the fun out of everything.
We can't understand why this movie has such a low rating – it's Luc Besson writing & humour at its most entertaining and Costner – like fine wine – gets better with age – is just great – no flab – it's kinda like Taken but with a few home truths (which came later with Taken
.) If you want a bit of thriller entertainment of an evening, this does it for us..
This story failed to depict Ethan (Costner) as having any kind of genuine relationship with his wife, daughter or spook colleagues.Other than the usual shoot-em-up action scenes in which random bullets always find the bad guys, the terminally ill hero Ethan came across as a sick, boring has-been who allowed himself to be cowed and manipulated by a sadistic CIA agent, Vivi, who came as close to being a dominatrix without actually being one (I think).
The filming and angles I thought where great and in some cases extremely difficult, although in this day and age, anything can be done on a computer.All in all this will appeal to those who like a Spy Thriller, a Family movie, bit do not expect this to be XXX or one of the latest James Bond movies.
you are going for one of the worst movies everKevin Costner career lowest point i don't cant even imagine how Luc Besson associate his name hereall the plot the misenscene, the action, is lame to say the least, and is not crediblei was surprised to see the average review of IMDb's users which is misleading considering the relative high standard the users normally showmovie to avoid clearly.
Costner wears the role of action hero incredibly well and is easily the reason why this film is such a great movie, the flow of the film can be a tad convoluted at times but Costner's steady presence saves the movie and easily makes it likely to be one of the better films of the first quarter of 2014.
When the opening scene introduced the bad guys as "the Wolf" and "the Albino" and the super spy assigned to catch them looked like she would need a fake ID to get into a bar, I thought uh oh, this can't be good.
Amber Heard's character is as stunning as she is silly.The bad guys are not scary or threatening.Lots more to laugh at, but all in all, a couple of good action sequences and the fact that I enjoy Costner made me give this film a 3 instead of a 1..
When I heard of 3 Days To Kill coming out I wasn't to sureof how good or bad it was going to be,I heard Costner was playing the lead role as a CIA agent not exactly his normal role as we all know.But do not let that turn you away from a good action film Costner portrays his character brilliantly its far from the worst film I have ever seen, its not the best either.Its worth watching it is enjoyable.If you like Action or Spy genre movies you will like this have a look you may be surprised..
3 days to kill has a loose story, characters are completely one dimensional, and there is no character development at all, the premise is ridiculous and the movie is so full of clichés (divorced wife of a government agent, alienated daughter, that "last job" that's interfering with family affairs, high speed car chase with ample camera time of shifting manual gears, the Peugeot is slower yet it is catching up with a faster car, and being the much lighter one, can also easily push it off a bridge???) it's just a shame.
So instead you end up with a 2 hour movie that is so boring you won't remember it in a few days (maybe 3 days *wink wink*).Full Review:3 Days to Kill, is a McG directed "action" film starring Kevin Costner, Hailee Steinfeld, and Amber Heard.
Films like Taxi and The Family (both also written by Besson) have exactly the same sense of humour - which is not exactly universal.Yet 3 Days To Kill is ultimately let down by an indecision of what it wants to be.
A wannabe Crank and I don't know who in their right mind would want to imitate such a horrible film.It bounced back and forth between Transporter like action and Taken drama except in this film the daughter hates him and the wife is extra dramatic because he's in the CIA.
personally l think the film was better than l thought ,when things got a bit serious, along can a phone call from his daughter and its makes the film funny too, as most of the ordnance laugh when the phone rand (music ) all up l enjoyed the film, like all spy films their is a good plot, car chase,s but l found that when the cars crash ,no air bags went off ,'strange' and the drug they give him has some funny side affects, which had you on the edge of your seat, most of the film time, like James bond films he is the main creator, and keeps the film ticking along once again see it your self and you will come out with a grin on your face !!!!!!.
The story centers around Ethan Renner, (Kevin Costner) a man who has spent his entire life killing people for the CIA.
The whole film was more like Uncle Buck than an action movie, though Kostner does manage to kill quite a few baddies with a hand gun while they constantly miss him with their machine guns.All the was through I was confronted with ridiculous clichés.
Kevin Costner as terminally ill CIA agent Ethan is excellent (he is aging deliciously, not unlike a fine wine), Hailee Steinfeld as his teenage daughter Zooey has an Ellen Page toughness/vulnerability that is very appealing, Amber Heard as CIA agent Vivi is wacky, scary and sexy, and Connie Nielsen is spot on as Ethan's estranged wife.
The action is very boring and there are just way too many subplots that really go no where and distract from the story.Overall this is a waste of Costner, who should at this point in his career being picking better movies then this and is sadly just very forgettable.2 Beards Out Of 5.
Kevin Costner back in a semi comic gray fox action movie, with a hint of "Taken" - whats not to like.
Costner is great :DAll sets in Paris, an cia-like agent going into retirement fighting cancer, disconnected from his family, chasing a criminal and still keeping his cool - this goes for a fine movie for fans of Costner and the light fast pace action movies that dares to be a bit funny.Good picture, not to much cliché dialogue, and a story that develops good - good fight scenes, car stunts and all the stuff we like :DPeople will think of Taken, From Paris with love, Body guard...
He decides to use his remaining time to build bridges with his estranged daughter Zooey (Hailee Steinfeld), only to find himself approached by seductive agent Vivi (Amber Heard), who promises to offer him an experimental new drug that could save his life, if he uses his skills to systematically illuminate notorious terrorist The Wolf (Richard Sammel), and his henchmen.Kevin Costner is one of the more divided of the all time Hollywood A listers.
And now we find him in this straight-forward, formulaic action yarn that promises to get from A to B without much fuss.Or, at least it does, up to a point, when, whilst roughing up the villain's limo driver, what appears to be comic relief intervenes, and Costner begins a gushy foray in to sentimental, sappy family bonding drama, with his daughter showing him how out of touch he is with technology, and teaching her to ride a bike, which ends up over-powering the main crux of the terrorist hunting story.
Writer Luc Besson managed to blend emotional drama and pulse pounding action to splendid effect in Leon, but he totally fails to strike the balance here, and the result is a film that seems to be offering something forgettable but fun, that ends up going in a totally different direction to what you want.
Its Kevin Costner's attempt to do a Liam Neeson playing a tough, veteran action man, here a CIA operative who finds that he has not long to live.The film opens with CIA operative Vivi (Amber Heard) given an assignment to hunt down a terrorist known as The Wolf.
Then we have the sub plot of Costner spending time with his daughter which detracts us from the film, we even have some comedy with some of the bad guys and Luc Besson gives us another instalment of Taken outtakes.
3 Days to Kill turns out to be an annoying story wherein Kevin Costner, each time he's about to duct-tape some guy's mouth shut, must stop to answer his cell phone.
The carrot on a stick is an experimental drug that could cure him, which a very badly cast CIA boss (who has more legs than brains) uses to pressure him into taking the assignment; (a bit like rewarding a circus animal after they perform a trick/routine); and as is typical of this type of action movie, he kills a lot of other people (baddies along the way, never missing on his first shot, while all the baddies never hit their target.
The professional level of execution of the story telling, good acting with a cast which aside Costner also includes another semi-comeback by Connie Nielsen, a touch of humor which makes the violence on screen palatable, the background of Paris which always looks well - all these are actually the setting for the family melodrama which simply works.
The cast also includes good performances by Hailee Steinfeld (in the role of the teenage daughter, she actually has an impressive acting record although she was just around 18 when the film was made) and Marc Andréoni.We can ask for more, of course, but for this summer day it was the good entertainment I needed..
Written by Luc Besson, directed by McG ("Terminator 4"), starring Kevin Costner (yeah, apparently he's still alive) and taking place in Paris.This is a weird combination of serious action and comedy.
In any case, you'll have to suspend your disbelief and not take the movie too seriously if you want to enjoy it.Costner is actually pretty good in his role.
There's not much originality in the story line or the characters, which seem like they were lifted from a hundred other movies, but what set this film apart is the fun sense of humor that runs through it.
Usually in a cliché movie such as this, there are some good action scenes that make it worth watching.
Far better performances are given by Hailee Steinfeld as Zoey Renner and Tómas Lemarquis as The Albino.The script is okay, with clichés and predictable moments, but thanks to Luc Besson, it is mostly catchy to watch, particularly chases and shootings which are much more successful than the romantic parent line in the story.
a fun film with distinct features of a Luc Besson movie - the jokes, the setting, characters, funny situations..all mixed into a crazy story with a signature which is immediately recognizable.i think that a fully french movie might've been even a better take, kevin costner puts a little too much gravity and seriousness to his role, as if he cannot let go and play a killer that has also absurd features at times.this movie has a bit of everything in it - thriller, family drama, comedy, love, more comedy etc.had fun watching it, so hope you have fun as well.
Yes, we can safely say that this mishmash of action, comedy and family drama is hardly going to be the shot in the arm that will do for Costner's career what 'Taken' did for Neeson - and that is despite the obvious thematic similarity in the father-daughter dynamics between the two films.
(end spoiler alert)Working in the illegal immigrant squatter thing, and the bizarre French laws surrounding that was just one of many Besson-style story arcs that he has been spinning into his inimitable action adventure films from the get go.Overall, for Costner and all parties involved, especially if you happen to be a guy like me, this is a much better film than the yawning "Draft Day." And it won't feel like it took three days to watch it, or just killing time..
Director McG teams up with a grizzled Kevin Costner and a story by French populist Luc Besson for a terrific collision of action, family drama and nutty humour..
It bring nothing new to this genre and is obviously full of clichés, However I actually did enjoy the movie which certainly is the aim of this film.I like Kevin Costner, his charm is always working in this genre.
Plus points is definitely the acting of Costner(not his best- at times looked a bit bored), his daugther, Hailee Stanfield is superb(definitely the highlight and centre)as well as a good turn by Connie Nielsen.Amber Heard's character is too over the top and a stereo type that hurt the credibility of the film, although the movie is not supposed to be too serious..
Action-Packed, Crisp & Entertaining at most parts, '3 Days to Kill' is a winner for its genre, with an Engrossing Performance by Kevin Costner. |
tt0119116 | Le cinquième élément | The story's premise is that every five thousand years, in conjunction with a planetary arrangement, a 'Great Evil' appears whose purpose is to destroy life. In preparation for the next appearance in 2263, a group of aliens called the Mondoshawan arrive on Earth in 1914 to extract the only weapon capable of defeating the Great Evil, a collection of four stones representing the Classical Elements and the eponymous Fifth Element that conjugates the other four into organic life. After taking the weapons, the Mondoshawans present a key to a priest and tell him to pass the information provoking their mission through future generations in preparation for the Evil's arrival.In 2263, the Great Evil appears and destroys an interplanetary battleship. When the Mondoshawans attempt to deliver the Elements back to Earth, they are ambushed by another alien race, the shape-shifting Mangalores. Earthly scientists are able to recover a portion of the Fifth Element and use a reconstitution device to recreate it, whereupon it takes the form of an apparently human woman named "Leeloo" described as "the perfect being". Leeloo, terrified of her unfamiliar environs, escapes the scientists and arrives in the care of taxi driver Korben Dallas, a former major in the Federated Army's Special Forces. Dallas then delivers her to Priest Vito Cornelius, the current holder of the Mondoshawans' knowledge. Dallas, Cornelius, and his acolyte David help Leeloo recover, though Dallas is forced out of Cornelius' apartment before learning her purpose. Cornelius learns from Leeloo that the four Elements were not carried by the Mondoshawans but instead entrusted to Diva Plavalaguna, a singer currently performing on a luxury space liner at Fhloston Paradise, and that Leeloo must recover the stones from her. Meanwhile, wealthy industrialist Jean-Baptiste Emmanuel Zorg has attempted to gain the stones as urged by communication with the Great Evil. After learning that the Mangalores' attack on the Mondoshawans was unsuccessful in recovering the stones, Zorg betrays and kills them, whereupon the surviving Mangalores decide to extract revenge and gain the stones for themselves.Dallas is later met at his apartment by his General Munro, who informs him that he has been drafted into the Army in order to travel to meet the Diva, having rigged the annual Gemini Croquette Contest to allow Dallas to win. Their meeting is interrupted by the arrival of Cornelius and Leeloo. Dallas, learning of Leeloo's need, offers to help, but is knocked out by Cornelius, who steals his winning transportation tickets and departs with Leeloo. Dallas accepts the job from General Munro and travels to John F. Kennedy International Airport, intercepting Cornelius, David, and Leeloo before they board their flight, and escorts Leeloo. The Mangalores and Zorg's assistant are rebuffed by the ticketing agent when they try to pose as Dallas. Cornelius instructs David to prepare the temple and then sneaks aboard the passenger spaceplane before it leaves.On the flight, Dallas meets interstellar radio personality Ruby Rhod, who escorts him for being the contest winner. Upon arrival at Fhloston Paradise, Dallas is taken by Ruby to prepare for the show, while Leeloo waits near the Diva's quarters in order to retrieve the stones from her after her performance. The Diva's show is interrupted by the Mangalores, and the Diva is fatally shot. Dallas learns from her dying words that the Diva has hidden the stones inside her body; after she dies, Dallas extracts them, giving them to Ruby to hold as he defeats the Mangalores and saves the rest of the passengers and crew. Leeloo is able to defeat the Mangalores that attempt to ransack the Diva's quarters. Zorg, having flown himself to Fhloston, fights Leeloo at the Diva's quarters, injuring her and forcing her to retreat. This allows him to take the case he believes contains the stones while starting a time bomb. When Dallas goes to recover Leeloo, Zorg finds the case to be empty. Zorg re-enters the liner just as Dallas, Leeloo, Cornelius, and Ruby leave it on Zorg's ship. Zorg is able to stop his bomb; but the defeated Mangalores activate another bomb, destroying Zorg and the liner.The four return to the temple on Earth as the Great Evil rushes towards the planet. There, Dallas finds Leeloo disillusioned and unwilling to perform her role, believing that humans will destroy themselves despite her rescue of them. As the protagonists arrange the stones in the temple to form their weapon, they are briefly baffled by their ignorance of the weapon's operation, but discover that each stone is triggered by the presence of the Classical element to which it corresponds. Dallas then convinces Leeloo to perform her role, embraces her, and kisses her. At this, Leeloo releases the weapon's "Divine Light", causing the Great Evil to become a new moon in Earth's orbit. Later, the President and General Munro go to the reconstitution lab to congratulate Dallas on his successful mission, but he and Leeloo are unavailable, despite the president's assertion that he is in a hurry. Viewers then see he and Leeloo are making love in the resurrection chamber. | murder, cult, good versus evil, psychedelic, humor, satire, action, romantic, sci-fi | train | imdb | Leeloo it seems was genetically manipulated to be the ultimate weapon against pure evil but her beauty and butt-kicking hide a more fragile nature that Dallas and a host of others will have to step up and help her save humanity.This amazing sci-fi adventure from Luc (Leon) Besson has a little something for everyone.
Beauty (the gorgeous Jovovich with orange hair even), action and gun-play, excellent acting, amazing visual effects, romance, creative sets and costume design, dynamic and interesting music and a mildly annoying but funny Chris Tucker.
5th Element is hands down one of the best science fiction films ever.I've seen it many times and always want more.
The story has never been seen before : Good has only one weapon to defeat evil; it is composed of four stones representing the four element (water, earth, fire and air) and a perfect creature.
Bruce Willis (one of the best action actors of our time), Milla Jovovich, Ian Holm and Gary Oldman make the suspense even more intense.
this film is pitched uniquely at those who can laugh at life but who have deep down an unquenchable desire for adventure and the romantic.Set on a futuristic earth, where really nothing has changed except the technology, Bruce Willis is STILL John McLane, a has-been stormtrooper reduced now to driving air-cabs for a living...same old premise for him - nothing's changed much since STRIKING DISTANCE, except maybe the yellow hair-rinse.
As the film progresses she assumes the identitiy of the perfect girl any man would wish for and want to protect.The comedy angle is hysterical, the action sequences in your face, and the fx generally impressive if not mega weird at times.
Luc Besson, a creative genius and the director of classic films such as The Big Blue, Nikita and Leon (The Professional) has returned to the genre that started his filmmaking career, sci-fi.
In The Fifth Element Luc Besson realises his life long ambition to make a film based on a story he thought of while still at school, Zaltman Bleros.
Writing and directing the film, he skillfully mixes humour with action and amazing visual effects that put The Fifth Element in a class of it's own.
Stunning performances are put forward by Milla Jovovich, Bruce Willis, Ian Holm, Chris Tucker and Gary Oldman, who returns to work with Luc Besson after playing Norman Stansfield in Leon.
After making heavy movies like La Femme Nikita and Leon, it is somewhat of a departure for Luc Besson to do this comic, pulp, sci-fi film The Fifth Element.
Willis must join with Holm and Jovovich on a mission to recover the stones and find a way to save the world.A lot of the success lies with the man behind it all, Luc Besson.
Singer Tricky is great as Oldman's "Right Arm" and Mathieu Kassovitz partakes in one of the best scenes in the film when he attempts to mug Willis at his apartment.Even with all its camp and fun, Besson keeps it all grounded in drama as any fantasy tale does.
Beautiful settings, great visual effects, Gary Oldman, the beautiful Jovovich or the funny moments from Bruce Willis, Chris Tucker and Ian Holm.
Luc Besson in front (crazy as a loon but boy can he write scripts) and Willis/Oldman in front.For the day, the special effects were top notch.There a joyful innocence about the film which was rare at the time, and even rarer today.See it once.
I thought it was a very fun movie.THE FIFTH ELEMENT is about an evil force coming to destroy the world.
A priest named Cornelius (Ian Holm) seeks the elements to try to save the world while the military sends a the retired Major Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis) to find the elements and stop a bunch of alien bounty hunter-like bad guys and a very evil man (and of course very rich) man who is under the employment of the evil force named Zorg (Gary Oldman).And of course, there is the insane but loved radio DJ Ruby Rhod (Chris Tucker) who gets trapped in the middle of this whole thing and becomes the comic relief of the movie, even though this movie really does not need comic relief.
Bruce Willis did a great job playing his part, and Milla Jovovich was excellent as the sexy but strong fifth element.The special effects were fantastic.
Korben takes her to the priest she names, but he finds that everyone wants her for one reason or another then he finds that both the army and the priest need him to go on a mission to reclaim the missing four stones and save the Earth from evil.I have seen this film several times and will usually come back to it if I find myself in the mood but yet I also find myself thinking of its flaws whenever anyone asks me about it.
Bruce Willis delivers the same, great mocking performance that he tried in Hudson Hawk but here he does it in a film that is better structured and less silly than that one and it works a lot better.
Some of the plot has too many ideas or unnecessary elements but most of it is really good and, combined with mostly good performances and stunning designs and effects make for a film that I will watch many times even if I cannot help but see the weaknesses that many others cannot get past..
It's just like a James Cameron movie, way ahead of its time, well, the 90's.The city with the flying cars, floating Chinese take-out, and cigarettes that have the filter backwards, I love this film!
The worlds and locations in this film are just stunning and beautiful, it's like you wish the world looked like that today, but sadly it doesn't look anything close to what the Fifth Element looked like.Overall, this movie gets a 10/10 for originality, creativity, and stunning visuals.
Last night I watched "The Fifth Element" (1997) written /directed by Luc Besson for the first time - somehow I missed it and not being a huge fan of sci-fi, I did not search for it.
Bruce Willis is as good as ever doing what he does best -fighting the bad guys (ugly scary aliens and very bad Gary Oldman with a hairdo you have to see to believe) and saving not just a hotel or one big city or even the great country but the Life as we know it.
Most sci-fi films try to break new ground with special effects and visual eye candy, but The Fifth Element created a whole new concept in the genre: the art-action science fiction.While this film has many flaws, particularly in the flow of the plot, visually, it surpasses most sci-fi films I have ever seen.
Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, Milla Jovovich, and Ian Holm all produce the necessary passion for their deep characters and the splendid dialog.
The story, the action, and the comedy were very enjoyable; all the more so because they were not ruined by previews.The script writers did not feel it necessary to insult the audiences intelligence by explaining every situation.Chris Tucker got a little annoying, Milla is HOT, what's up with Luke Perry even being credited, and Gary Oldman, of course, plays a delightfully psychotic villain.If nothing else the final fight scene is a must see/hear..
But the skilled Korben Dallas has fallen in love with Leeloo and decides to help her to retrieve the stones.I have just seen "The Fifth Element" maybe for the fourth or fifth time (last time was on 16 February 2002) and I enjoyed this film the same way I did fifteen years ago.
The special effects are excellent; the story if funny and entertaining; Chris Tucker steals the movie with his gay character; Bruce Willis is excellent in action films; and Milla Jovovich is impressively gorgeous.
("The Crow", for instance.) The regular "theatrical" trailer wasn't much better but it got my interest up.The movie itself was good the first time I saw it but a little hard to understand because of the way some parts were edited.
/ DTS) at high volume!The story is a little bit 'basic' (A mission to save the world)but I still liked it.The characters were good in that they fit into the plot very well but some people may find them "silly" or "stupid".It's probably because they don't "get it".My rating system:* = Dumb -- Forget it.** = I would wait for it on HBO if I were you.*** = Go watch it in the theatre**** = GREAT!
Chris Tucker with his freaky voice, the heavenly Milla Jovovich, Gary Oldman plays "Zorg" great and Bruce Willis...what can i say about him...i'm a big fan !
I had sooo many deja-vus while watching THE FIFTH ELEMENT that I gave up trying to guess the hodge-podge of films Luc Besson was "inspired" by.
And it's somewhat sexy but when the Tucker character arrives, the whole sexiness of the movie collapses.Watching Tucker, as effeminate as he is in this film, making out with any women that comes his way was, to my surprise, repulsive.
Though I love Science Fiction, it surely must have more stinker movies than any other genre, the most annoying kind of sci-fi stinker for me is the one that poses all over the place and forgets to include a good story, i.e; The Fifth Element.If you're a Luc Besson fan you'll doubtless love his obsession with style over substance, you'll love his 'hilarious' and 'quirky' character caricatures and you'll go all wet at the 'fabulous' over-the-top wackiness of his story situations.
It's not that I can't like this sort of stuff (the other kind of sci-fi stinker is the way too serious one, like The Phantom Menace) but it's just the way Besson does it, self-consciously smirking to himself, I don't know, maybe its just a French thing.There are good things here, the futuristic cityscape is beautiful, the best since that seen in Bladerunner, and a colorful counterpoint to that film's gloomy vision.
Bruce Willis isn't too bad here, doesn't stretch himself too much but does a decent job of being the straight man amongst all the crazy stuff.On the other hand, Gary Oldman hams wildly as the villain as usual, that joke isn't funny anymore, Chris Tucker - likewise.
So in other words, ifyou love awesome, "Star Wars"ish science fiction movies, watch"The Fifth Element," but if you are also looking for a film withperfect performances as well as effects, try "Star Wars"instead, and avoid "The Fifth.
Speaking of annoying, I don't even need to elaborate on the character of Ruby Rhod, who--by the way--simply walks out of the pyramid at the end of the movie, presumably to a slow, fiery death (there I go filling in the gaps on my own).I'm not a big fan of science fiction anyway, but there are some sci-fi's that I like.
The first third of the film is good and you think it's a decent sci-fi/action movie you'll enjoy.
Such a shame as the character is completely unnecessary to the plot and without his ever present shrill campness that only a teeny mind would find amusing, and then surely for only 60 seconds, the film would be much better.Plus points, Bruce Willis in laconic form, nice glimpses into the future, like the Chinese Takeaway, Milla Jovovich and Ian Holm are also well cast and add to the film..
Even The Phantom Menace has more plot and credibility than this.Europeans like to criticize Americans movies, but when a French director comes up with his version of a Hollywood sci-fi movie, it accomplishes absolutely nothing.It can't be categorized as sci-fi, since the science is as good as a Duck Dodger cartoon, and there lies another problem, since The Fifth Element tries to be funny like the cartoon, but it is not even remotely that.
I'd always had the impression that THE FIFTH ELEMENT had been set in the far flung future which caused by the oft shown clip of the heroine crashing through the taxi roof ( Very similar to the scene in PULP FICTION also starring Bruce Willis ) so imagine my surprise when this movie starts of in the deserts of North Africa in 1914 .
Without doubt the worst performance belongs to Chris Tucker who nearly brings the fim down Like the cast THE FIFTH ELEMENT is very uneven .
This is one wild science-fiction ride that is generally fun to watch until Chris Tucker enters the film near the end.
However, calling Milla Jovovich's character ("Leeloo") a "supreme being" is not only blasphemous but just plain annoying.However, if you enjoy wild effects, strange characters and a very fast-moving, action-packed film you'll like this, even if the story is stupid.Bruce Willis does a nice job with his low-key role of "Korben Dallas," an average type of Joe who drives a cab in futuristic New York City.
Even when the special effects are good the acting is very bad, every actor make his work like a clown, maybe the only one who do some decent work is Bruce Willis.
With a very poor script full of brainless concepts i really can't understand why many people hate Battlefield Earth, when this movies have less science fiction and more stupid things than any other film I ever seen..
This could have been a great sci-fi movie, (and it is as far as great special effects), but the addition of ridicule scenes that the director probably tried to pass as funny really make you wonder how Bruce Willis put up to make this film ($$$ of course).
After Luc Besson's 'The Professional', which is a great film, and after seeing the 'Die Hard Trilogy', which are some of the best movies around, I had high expectations because of the clashing of Bruce Willis and Luc Besson.
Whatever was intended, the visuals overpower everything except Gary Oldman and Chris Tucker, who look like they know eye candy when they see it.***** The Fifth Element (5/7/97) Luc Besson ~ Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich, Chris Tucker, Gary Oldman.
Milla Jovovich, more than anyone, makes her mark as a real kind of 'breakthrough' role (i.e. I never really heard of her before the movie and for a while I thought of her as the '5th element' chick in high school).
I would probably take her work in this film over her other Besson collaboration in Joan of Arc, as here she takes herself seriously for what she is, and it still ranks as one of her very best performances so far in her decade long career playing roles like this.The rest of the cast, however, is a bit more hit or miss, though a little more hit than miss.
Terry Gilliams visions are always great as I also loved Brazil and his Monty Python stuff.Bruce Willis is the star of the movie but Milla Jovovich blows everybody off the screen.
There were certainly some things that were really odd to me that don't really warrant explanation, I still scratched my head about, (like what was the deal with Gary Oldman sounding exactly like Billy Bob Thornton>) but ultimately chalked up to eccentricity.There wasn't even anything universally wrong with the script; I thought that it was a very basic, but fun story, and I liked the fact that notorious badass Willis wasn't so much living up to his reputation until we approached the end of the film.
I think the director, Luc Besson (who is himself annoying), made one of the most annoying films in history in "The Fifth Element." The acting, the special effects, the music, all guaranteed to set your teeth on edge.
which has been completely wasted on this ridiculous, woefully misplaced piece of rubbish.Who'd have thought that someone capable of creating a perfectly pitched, wonderfully crafted thriller like 'Leon' could show such an astounding clumsiness in putting together the mess that is the Fifth Element.The sets are just bad, the music is for the most part irritating, and the costumes designed by an over excited Jean-Paul Gaultier add an off-putting campness to a film which never seems to know what it's doing.
Gary Oldman who has some pointless, camp South American accent, overacts his way from one dreadful scene to the next.The only thing that Luc Besson has successfully done is to show, with a painful, two hour blow, that a big budget certainly does not ensure a decent film.Awful from start to finish.
The story is horrible, the music terribly mis-placed, the comedy is just dumb and the characters are lame.Ok, so the "Fifth Element" is this alleged "perfect being" (Milla Jovovich)?
He helps her find Father Vito Cornelius (Ian Holm) to bring the five elements together to defeat the evil.This is a great looking sci-fi movie from director Luc Besson.
(stop doing tripe like Resident "will work for food" Evil films would be a good start).Sci-fi fans will obviously get the point that the support cast features Ian Holm (Alien) and Brion James (Blade Runner), which off sets the annoying and painful turn from Chris Tucker as zany, insecure DJ Ruby Rhod (is Besson having a pop at world DJs here I wonder?).
Well, THE FIFTH ELEMENT is a movie by Luc Besson.
Bruce Willis was ok, but poor Milla what-ever-her-name-is was totaly awful.I believe Chris Rock, oh, I mean Chris Tucker (they are like twins) is in this movie.
Come to think of it, isn't watching Bruce Willis act one of the bad and nasty things in the world?We need movies that do not build to stupid, sappy endings and do not take themselves seriously in that endeavour..
Milla Jovovich is very good-looking in this movie.The special effects are great here.
With plenty of beautiful special effects, sights, sounds, story, perfectly chosen actors and Eric Serra's fitting score, "The Fifth Element" is pure sci-fi fun at the movies, the likes of which haven't been seen in a long time."The Fifth Element" is simply an extravagant tale of good vs. |
tt0449092 | Rings | In October 2013, on an airplane bound for Seattle, passenger Carter, reveals to Faith that he has watched Samara Morgan’s cursed videotape before heading to the bathroom. Faith tells another passenger Kelly, who reveals she has seen the tape too. She rushes to the bathroom and asks Carter if he made a copy and after learning he hasn't, the airplane begins to malfunction as Samara comes for Carter and eventually causes the plane to crash.
Two years later, college professor Gabriel buys an old VCR once owned by Carter, discovering the videotape inside. Elsewhere, Julia sees her boyfriend Holt off to college, but becomes concerned when he falls out of contact. She is inspired to find him when a panicked girl, Skye, contacts her asking for Holt’s whereabouts. Julia meets Gabriel, following him to a private area of the college where a group of people known as "The Sevens", are involved in an experiment involving the cursed video, watching and filming themselves, before passing the task to another person, called a “tail”.
Julia recognizes Skye, who takes her to her apartment to have her watch the video, but Holt contacts Julia, warning her not to. Julia locks herself in the bathroom as Skye is murdered by Samara. Holt arrives shortly after. He reveals that he has watched the tape as well and has 12 hours left. Unwilling to let Holt die, Julia watches his copy and when she picks up the phone after, she experiences a vision of a door. As she reaches for the handle, the phone burns a mark on her hand. Turning to Gabriel for help, he notices Julia’s copy of the video cannot be copied and is larger than usual. He discovers extra images within the tape and Julia watches the new footage which features a mysterious woman and tells them that they must cremate Samara's physical remains.
Gabriel sends them to the town Sacrament Valley, where Samara was given a burial after the residents of her island refused to accept the remains. He later realizes the mark on Julia’s hand is Braille, translates it, and goes to warn them. Arriving in town, Julia and Holt travel to a church Julia saw on the video, exploring the graveyard for Samara’s stone. They find an unmarked tomb, but when they break in, they find it is empty. Julia and Holt are caught and taken to a blind man named Burke, who claims Samara’s body was entombed by the local priest but a flood came shortly after leading the priest to bury her in a Potter's field just outside town. He also notes Julia’s mark, asking her why she has it.
Heading out of town to look for the remains, Julia and Holt are stopped due to a car crash and learn Gabriel was involved. He tries to warn Julia of his discovery but is fatally electrocuted by a falling utility pole. After experiencing a vision of Samara’s birth mother, Evelyn, Julia and Holt return to town. While Holt makes inquiries about Evelyn’s fate, Julia goes to the church following her visions. She discovers a hidden chamber beneath the bell tower and finds evidence that Evelyn was imprisoned there whilst pregnant, held in captivity by the priest after being raped before she escaped at eight and a half months into the pregnancy.
Julia visits Burke and explains her findings. He suddenly attacks her, revealing he was not only the priest but Samara’s biological father, and had blinded himself to escape the reach of his daughter’s powers. Julia pushes him down the stairs, temporarily incapacitating him. Meanwhile, Holt, finding Julia missing, rushes to Burke's house where he is knocked unconscious. Julia is drawn to a room in the house where she discovers Samara’s skeleton hidden behind a wall. Burke suddenly appears behind her and tries to choke her to death, but a swarm of cicadas fly in, summoning Samara through Julia’s phone. Samara removes Burke’s blindness so she can kill him. Holt recovers and rushes to Julia's aid. Later that night, he and Julia cremate Samara’s corpse.
Shortly after, Julia and Holt return home. While Julia is in the shower, Holt notices a voicemail from Gabriel, who warns him of the Braille. Holt begins to translate it on the computer, discovering it means “rebirth”. The computer begins to malfunction as Holt translates the symbol. In the bathroom, Julia peels away the skin where the mark was, revealing gray skin underneath. She falls to the floor and begins to cough up a string of black hair, from which a cicada is born. Holt unsuccessfully tries to disconnect the computer as Julia’s copy of the video is suddenly sent to everyone on her contact list and begins going viral. Julia stands again, gazes into the mirror, and as she clears away the fog, her reflection is that of Samara's. | horror | train | wikipedia | null |
tt0258068 | The Quiet American | [The first synopsis is a far shorter summary of the film with more of a historical context; appearing a few paragraphs down is a second, "chronological" synopsis of the film.]I.Set in the early 1950s in Saigon, Vietnam, during the end of the First Indochina War, on one level The Quiet American is a love story about the triangle that develops between a British journalist in his fifties, a young American idealist and a Vietnamese girl, but on another level it is also about the political turmoil and growing American involvement that led to the Vietnam War.Fowler, who narrates the story, is involved in the war only as an observer, apart from one crucial instant. Pyle, who represents America and its policies in Vietnam, is a CIA operative sent to steer the war according to Americas interests, and is passionately devoted to the ideas of York Harding, an American foreign policy theorist who said that what Vietnam needed was a third player to take the place of both the colonialists and the Vietnamese rebels and restore order. This third player was plainly meant to be America, and so Pyle sets about creating a Third Force against the Viet Minh by using a Vietnamese splinter group headed by corrupt militia leader General Thé (based on the actual Trinh Minh The). His arming of Thé's militia with American weaponry leads to a series of terrorist bombings in Saigon. These bombings, dishonestly blamed on the Communists in order to further American outrage, kill a number of innocent people, including women and children.Meanwhile, Pyle has stolen Fowlers Vietnamese mistress Phuong, promising her marriage and security. When Fowler finds out about Pyle's involvement in the bombings, he takes one definitive action to seal all of their fates. He indirectly agrees to let his assistant, Hinh, and his Communist cohorts confront Pyle; when Pyle tries to flee, Hinh fatally stabs him. Phuong subsequently returns to Fowler, and while the local French police commander suspects Fowler's role in Pyle's murder, he has no evidence and does not pursue the matter. [D-Man2010]----------------------------------------------II.It is Saigon in the early 1950s. Thomas Fowler (Michael Caine) is a writer for the London Times, and he is covering the conflict between the Communists and the French in Indo-China (Vietnam). He is asked to identify the body of Alden Pyle (Brendan Fraser). Most of the rest of the film is a flashback. Fowler remembers how he met Pyle at the Hotel Continental in Saigon. He remembers that when he met him, Pyle was an enthusiastic and idealistic member of a medical aid team. Fowler next gets a telegram from his editor ordering him to return to London. Fowler writes a story about Phat Diem, which is a village being attacked by the Communists with the hope of getting his editor to let him stay. Fowler introduces his girlfriend, Phuong (Do Thi Hai Yen), to Pyle. At a dance hall, Pyle dances with Phuong. He tells her that he can only speak two words in Vietnamese, beer and haircut. Her older sister (Pham Thi Mai Hoa) hopes to get Phuong attached to Pyle, who she obviously considers a better match than Fowler. Fowler tells Phuong that he must return to London, but that he cant get a divorce from his wife.Later, Fowler is with soldiers investigating Phat Diem, when Pyle appears in a boat, surprising everyone. They find the villagers massacred. That night, Fowler and Pyle are together, and Pyle tells Fowler that he has fallen in love with Phuong. Pyle returns to Saigon first, and when Fowler returns to Saigon he watches a parade to honor General The (pronounced Tay; Quang Hai), who is the leader of a new political party. Afterwards, Pyle comes to Fowlers house, and he proposes to Phuong, but she rejects him, and he leaves.Fowler's editor now wants him to stay in Saigon on account of his story about the massacre. He writes to his wife seeking a divorce, and he tells Phuong that he is doing so. Much later, Fowler drives to the front to interview The and is surprised to see Pyle with his medical team. Fowler can't get to see The, but Pyle arranges an interview for him. Fowler angers The with his questions, and the interview ends. Fowler and Pyle leave together in Fowlers car. Apparently, the Vietnamese have siphoned the gas from Fowlers car, and it runs out of gas on the way back to Saigon. They are in a tower in a village when the village comes under attack. Fowler hurts his ankle, and Pyle goes for assistance. In a further flashback, Fowler remembers how he first met Phuong at a dance hall.Pyle returns and they go back to Saigon. Phuong welcomes Fowler back and gives him a letter from his wife. Fowler tells Phuong that his wife has given him a divorce. However, later, Pyle, Phuong and her sister accuse Fowler of lying about the divorce. Fowler and his Vietnamese colleague, Hinh (Tzi Ma), uncover a shipment of diolacton at a warehouse. They dont know what diolacton is.Phuong leaves Fowler for Pyle. Subsequently, Fowler is sitting on the porch of the Continental Hotel. There is a terrific explosion, and horrific death and injuries. Fowler, in a daze, tries to help. He sees Fowler at the scene. Later, he realizes that Pyle was speaking Vietnamese. Fowler finds out that diolacton is used to make explosives, and he figures out that the Americans are supplying The with explosives. Hinh informs Fowler that Pyle works for the CIA. At Hinh's suggestion, Fowler invites Pyle to his house. Pyle brings his dog with him. Pyle defends The as someone who can inspire the people and stop the advance of Communism. Fowler arranges to meet Pyle at a restaurant that evening. We next see him sitting at the restaurant outdoors, and he watches Pyle cross a bridge with his dog. We next see Pyle kidnapped by Hinh's men with knives. Later, he escapes from them and is running away when he is re-captured by one of the men who stabs him to death. After seeing Hinh leave the area, Fowler leaves the restaurant. Later, the policeman suggests that Pyle had been to see Fowler because Pyles (also) murdered dog had cement from the floor of Fowlers house on its paws. Fowler tells the police that he didnt kill Pyle, and "there is a war on and people are dying every day." It is not clear whether Fowler set up the murder to help Hinh stop the CIA's involvement in Vietnam or to kill his girlfriend's lover, or (most likely) both.In the end, Fowler goes back to the dance hall and tries to get Phuong to dance with him. Phuong tells him to dance with someone else, until he tells her that he will never leave. Fowler says that he feels a need to apologize to someone, but Phuong says "not to me, never to me." Afterwards, news headlines show the beginning and full-fledged advance of the American involvement in the Vietnam war. Its not clear whether we are supposed to think that Fowler's helping Hinh murder Pyle led to the American war in Vietnam. | anti war, revenge, murder, flashback | train | imdb | null |
tt0457400 | Land of the Lost | Three years after being kicked out of the science department for his theory of Time warps, and his attempt on Matt Lauer's life, Rick Marshall is reduced to working as a teacher at the George C. Page Museum until he meets Holly Cantrell whose finding urges him to create a tachyon amplifier to enable time warp travel. They go to the Devils Cave attraction where the finding was found, hiring its tour guide Will Stanton. But once they've activated the tachyon amplifier, losing it in the process, the three end up in a parallel universe where all timelines converge. They soon meet some ape men, Pakuni, two of whom were going to kill the younger one, when Stanton unintentionally gives the other two the secret of fire as they run off. The gang then proceed to help the other one, named Cha-Ka, until he runs off with them in pursuit.Once catching up to Cha-Ka, they are trapped by a tree which turns out to be a dinosaur feeding site, being attacked by a Tyrannosaurus. The T. rex chases them until they come to a small land bridge. Marshall is convinced they are safe as he explains how a T. rex has a walnut-sized brain, and is incapable of judging depth and distance. Hearing this as he stalks away, the T. rex stops in his tracks, turns, and runs full speed to jump across the chasm. Chasing them until they reach a crevice in a cave, it gives up, though still wanting to eat Marshall. Holly, knowing the dinosaur's attitude, gives him the name "Grumpy". Though Marshall didn't believe it to be possible, Grumpy's vendetta becomes more apparent when he leaves a gift, beach-ball sized walnut, gift-wrapped.The next day, Cha-Ka brings fruit full of spiders. Rick pours dinosaur urine all over himself as a way to masks his scent from "Grumpy" he then has visions about a strange creature begging for his help, running out into the Lost City. The others follow as Cha-Ka gets agitated and attempts to tell them they should leave as they are attacked by the slow yet deadly Sleestaks. But when the Pylon opens, Marshall and company enter, meeting the creature who contacted them, Enik. Enik tells them that the evil Zarn is out to control the universe and needs the tachyon amplifier.In spite of Will's feelings, Marshall offers his aid as Cha-Ka takes the group through the jungle and onto a salt flat landscape that is a feeding site for Compsognathus and Velociraptors, who proceed to tear an ice cream man to pieces until Grumpy comes and scares them off. However, a female Allosaurus arrives as well. The two territorial predators prepare to fight when the both of them catch Marshall's urine-drenched scent and chase after him. Though managing to outsmart Grumpy, Marshall runs from "Big Alice", the Allosaurus, until he reaches Holly and Will, using the tank of liquid nitrogen to freeze the Allosaur before she explodes with the tachyon amplifier among her remains. After that, a Pteranodon steals their time machine.Though down in the dumps, Marshall regains his confidence as he attempts to apologize to his friends in song (The theme song to the original TV series) while unknowingly attacked by a giant mosquito. After managing to get the tachyon amplifier back from a nest of pterosaurs, they return to a motel back in the salt flat. While Marshall, Will and Cha-Ka laze in the pool, Holly goes, finding a Pylon. Inside, she finds dinosaur eggs lodged in dinosaur feces, taking one out before she find a holographic message from the Zarn, learning that Enik is the real villain and being taken by a Sleestak to stand trial for aiding him.Meanwhile, after eating a Giant Crab, which killed itself by stepping on a geyser while advancing on them, the three realize Holly's missing and go find her. They meet two mating Sleestaks, that shed their skin, which Marshall and Will use to disguise themselves while Cha-Ka goes to get Enik. Arriving to Holly's aid as she is condemned to death by the Library of Skulls, Marshall and Will learn that Enik was the one who wiped out the Altrusians while confirming Will's feelings about the villain's tunic. After saving Holly, the gang confront Enik and his Sleestak slaves, taking the tachyon amplifier while revealing his plans on using the Sleestaks to overpopulate the worlds. He then leaves Marshall and company to their fate as Grumpy arrives to get his revenge.Seeing no other way, Marshall takes on Grumpy one-on-one, ending with Marshall vaulting into the dinosaur's mouth. Though Holly chides him for it, Grumpy shrugs her off and leaves as she and Will attempt to fight off the numerous Sleestaks. However, after being excreted out while taking out some intestinal trouble, Marshall and a "less grumpy" Grumpy make their peace as they arrive to kill most of the Sleestaks. Entering the Pylon, Marshall and company manage to destroy the crystal shard that powers it, with Will choosing to stay with Cha-Ka in the Land of the Lost while holding Enik off so Marshall and Holly can return home. Will takes advantage of his new life by meeting Cha-Ka's harem which he was told earlier by Cha-Ka that they were ugly only to find them to be very hot Caribbean tanned women wearing only a loincloth. He almost immediately get surrounded by half a dozen women who start rubbing him all over. He responds to this by saying " I made the right choice."Back on Earth, Matt Lauer reluctantly gives a second interview with Marshall this time proven right and proceeds to rub it in Matt Lauer's face by bringing a dinosaur egg back and giving him a signed copy of his new book. But after being forced to show off the title of Marshall's new book, ''Matt Lauer Can Suck It'', history repeats itself with Matt trying to kill Marshall. Soon after the show ended, unaware of what Marshall and she left behind on the set, the dinosaur egg Holly found hatches into a baby Sleestak. [D-Man2010] | comedy | train | imdb | you're telling me that crank is funnier than this film...I can't accept this, so here I am I've signed up at IMDb because of the unfair ratings this film is getting.Anyway about this film I thought it was kind of similar to hitchhikers guide to the galaxy but not really aimed towards kids both in my opinion were great films.Key point to this rant**if you do not like sci-fi comedy don't watch this film** even more important if you disregard my last comment Do Not then go on IMDb and then think oh I don't like this film so I will vote it 1/10 because I didn't know there are any other numbers apart from 1 and 10.I read another review about how this film had no plot...are plots key to comedies??
And yes, it may not be appropriate for very young viewers as there is some sexual innuendo and cursing, but it does have a PG-13 rating so I don't know why you would be dragging young children to it anyways...'Land of the Lost' starts with a quirky and oddly arrogant scientist, played by Ferrell, claiming to Matt Lauer on 'Today' that we can solve our energy problems by tapping into inter-dimensional blah blah blah.
And Ferrell, who I have often disliked in previous works because of his tendency to gnaw on the scenery, was reserved enough to deliver a good number of very funny scenes.In short, don't go to this expecting a children's film, a summer action flick, or something akin to the original.
"Land of the Lost" is another in a long line of old TV shows lazily packaged into summer movies, too dumbed-down for fans of the original show and nothing all that memorable for those younger viewers coming into it for the first time.
There is no doubt it will join the class ("Bewitched"-which Will Ferrell also was in, "Dukes of Hazard" and "Wild Wild West") of films so bad that they make "The Brady Bunch Movie" look like the "Ben-Hur" of the genre.
Granted not all his works are great, but neither were all of Chris Farley's or Adam Sandler's."Land of the Lost" is worth the ticket price because it's funny, random, most likely improvised and holds true throughout.
Granted the last half hour is a bit of a drag compared to the first hour, the movie is still full of laughs and unbelievably original story-line.Yes the costumes are weak in detail, and the whole interaction between the humans and animals is far-fetched, but that's the whole point of the comedy: it's supposed to make you laugh.All those people expecting their 1970's TV show to be revived can get a life.
This film, as the title suggests, is affiliated with the famous children's TV Series "Land of the Lost" from the 70s, which was about Rick Marshall, and his two children Holly and Will, who got stranded in a strange and mysterious worlds, where time and space collided.
"Land of the Lost" is without a doubt one of the worst films of the year 2009; especially considering that I actually thought the movie looked pretty decent in the trailer.
After the saving a primate from being sacrificed by his own people, the little monkey-like creature named Cha-ka reluctantly guides them through the strange "land of the lost, which is inhabited by green aliens, large dinosaurs, and filled with objects from the human world.Several words can be used to describe this film, among them being uninspired, dull, pointless and unfunny.
To be fair, I laughed about half a dozen times in this film, once when Will Ferrell pours dinosaur urine all over himself in order to cover his human smell.
Those unfortunately occur at least two or three times a minute, and it's just painful to see that if the script had been completely rewritten dialog-wise the film could have been so much better.I'm really not the biggest fan of Will Ferrell, since most of his comedies tend to be hit and miss and often don't really work for me, and this film without a question belongs in the category "complete miss".
Jorma Taccone though, as the primitive Cha-ka, is just plain awful, because even though he doesn't say too much, all of his attempts to be funny are somehow related to sexuality, and that's just not really my kind of humor."Land of the Lost" was definitely the biggest disappointment of the summer, and I actually really enjoyed the trailer, which literally contains all the funny moments of the film.
I can't believe millions of dollars was spent making this piece of garbage...the jokes are not funny,the acting is reaching for something in every scene and they just move on like nothing happened...Like we the audience are so brain dead that we wouldn't know any better.
OK I KNOW will ferrell has not managed to be funny for the last 10 years or so but wow, he's really hit a new low with this umm i hesitate to call it a movie....
What's most disappointing is that if you are an old fan of the show (like myself) this just takes what was somewhat of a real live adventure (and the whole idea of escaping the land of the lost) and turns it in to a silly goofy series of the worst sight gags I have ever seen.
I think a 5 or 6 is quite reasonable, unless you love Will Ferrell.I tried, I really tried to watch the original Land of the Lost when it was on, but it was obviously for kids about 6-12 (boys and girls) that being fairly older than that (late teens to early 20's), I just couldn't get into it.
I turned it on several times (I really remember all the creatures, but the stars faces are lost to me!) The problem I have with this is that I think the writers/producers/directors were torn between what audience to appeal to - fans of the original Land of the Lost who would be in their 40's - 50's, or young boys 12-16.So, they made a movie that really didn't appeal to either.
Honestly, if you liked Hot Rod, or have seen Eastbound and Down, or Old School, or any of those type of comedies, you will enjoy this movie.
Having never seen an episode of Land of the Lost, it is hard to judge the film as anything other than the next entry into the hall of zany Will Ferrell comedies.
Sure enough, the group end up in a totally different time where dinosaurs roam amongst ape/human hybrids and creatures referred to as Sleestaks.It sounds needlessly complicated, and unfortunately for Land of the Lost, it comes off as trying to hard in many areas.
It feels like an extended chase film at certain points (especially because of the Tyrannosaurus Rex constantly gunning for Ferrell), but it manages to slow itself down to really allow the audience to take in the ideas it is trying to explore and get across.
After being horrifically disappointed in the graphics in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, I was not expecting another film to appear so soon that looked like it needed more effects work.
But instead of being scientifically interesting (if outdated and impossible), this time we get some serious low-brow comedy that misses almost every mark.Those of you out there who also are not fans of Will Ferrell (TALLADEGA NIGHTS) will want to avoid this film like the plague.
Anna Friel stars as Holly, and her interactions and supposed romantic attraction to Ferrell's Marshall character are probably what'll give most of you a good laugh.
Land of the Lost Should Stay That Way. Having grown up on watching the series and being a fan of Will Ferrell, I had hoped that the movie would be a nice mix of old and new.
Will Ferrell, the graduate comedian from Saturday Night live, plays paleontologist Dr. Rick Marshall who not only is ridiculed by T.V. host Matt Lauer for his outlandish ideas, but then journeys though a time warp with the help of a device called a Tachyon Amplifier.
I'm usually not expecting much from a comedy, and if one of them gives me five good laughs over 90 minutes, then I feel satisfied, but this movie failed to achieve even this small task.
After all, I'm still happy about seeing this picture, 'cause my definition of "bad movie" became wider.There are some quality comedies out there nowadays, so don't waste precious moments on this, only if you've got time to burn.It's getting 2 stars from me, not more, and all two for the somewhat funny T-Rex...(Sorry for my English...).
Then the worst thing happened for me; Will Ferrell started pretending like he is funny.This movie was lame and more stupid than the 90's remake of The Land Of The Lost Series.
After the movie, I was so disappointed and let down; it literally made me mad, and I hope that Sid and Marty Krofft aren't as excited about this hokey, boring, dumb remake of their 70's hit show as hey have appeared to be.I have some recorded 70's land Of The Lost shows at home that I recorded them from when Sci-Fi ran the LOTL marathon a few weeks back.
After I watched a few of them, I realized that it wasn't my fault and, like a lot of people, I was sucked into watching this movie by having some faith that it actually might be good.
As far as I knew, there were people stuck in a remote place making stupid jokes and finding themselves in trouble every 5 minutes.Don't waste your time on this movie.
OK first of all this movie is supposed to be a parody of the original show because the original show was so poorly made and had such bad acting i mean you can't say you enjoy the original series and danny mcbride and will ferrell i think did a great job and had great chemistry in this movie, and take a look at the rating people complaining about it not being family friendly it's PG-13 meaning anyone under 13 should not be watching it so there's that and if you don't like will ferrell why'd you go see it and why are you posting comments and problems with it people these days are so ignorant when it comes to movies and it had great entertainment value and good laughs but if your not a will ferrell fan that shouldn't be your concern now if you liked will ferrell but just didn't like the movie why not post a comment because you have a reasonable explanation..
But this adaptation of the schlocky television show from ages past is a twisted marriage of R rated rudeness, PG visuals and a plodding and often excruciating screenplay.Aside from the effects which are by all standards just fine, the only thing I can recommend about Land of the Lost is Danny McBride playing scientist Dr Rick Marshall's (Ferrel) tour guide (that being his profession before they were transported through space and time) but even his bizarre style of humour is quashed by the atrocious writing and his lack of screen time.
What we are left with is a movie that feels twice its actual length and becomes so utterly obnoxious by the climax that you beg for more nights at the museum.Perhaps the most ironic thing about Land of the Lost is that it likely would have been better if the studio had purposely made the budget minute and make a full fledged goofy B movie instead of making a B movie into a blockbuster.
For fans of Anna Friel, Land of the Lost is bearable, the actress cavorting around in a small pair of red shorts and a tight vest, showing off her toned legs, occasionally bending over to give a glimpse of butt or cleavage; I can't imagine anyone else being entertained by this steaming turd of a movie, not even the most desperate of Will Ferrell fans (I don't usually mind the bloke, but here he's about as funny as a collapsed lung).Ferrell plays quantum-paleontologist Dr. Rick Marshall, inventor of the Tachyon Amplifier, a device capable of creating doorways to parallel dimensions.
When he and pretty 'groupie' Holly Cantrell (Friel) test the machine, the pair are sucked into an alternate universe (along with redneck tour-guide Will Stanton, played by Danny McBride), where they discover ferocious dinosaurs, primitive apemen, and an advanced race of reptilian aliens intent on conquering the Earth.Based on a '70s TV series, the sloppy plot is meandering, mindless nonsense, the CGI/green-screen work is diabolical, and the whole affair is completely unfunny, despite Ferrell's best efforts (the actor coating himself in Hadrosaur urine and Tyrannosaurus poop in his desperate quest for laughs).
When they started making comments like that I was suddenly a lot more happy with Land Of The Lost (2009) and I understood where they were coming from with the movie.Granted, some of the comedy scenes in the film are a bit over-the-top, but the retro look and retro costumes make this a fun ride for adults...I don't know about little kids?
I watched a bit of the old TV series Land of the Lost when I was younger, and out of curiosity decided to check out this movie version on weekend TV.
Will Ferrel sucks 90% of the time this movie is stupid ridiculous filled with special effects most likely done by a mentally challenged kindergarden class.
Danny mcbride is the only good part about this.The only people who may like this movie is 2 year olds or the mentally ill.
I was in the right place, a movie theater, wrong time, "Land Of The Lost" was playing.
One that I can remember, Elf. And that was good because of the script and because the director kept Will Ferrell in control.Land of the Lost was originally a CHILDREN'S show.
I've never seen the original series (didn't even know that there was one), but the TV spots made it look like good fun.
I have never seen a movie quite as good as Land of the Lost.
In the process, you see lots of dinosaurs and strange creatures that make this film like taking a hit of LSD.I need to point out that I never saw the TV show "Land of the Lost" as I was a bit too old to watch it--and I hated Sid & Marty Krofft's shows (though they DID produce this movie).
Low-brow and dumb throughout..but for me, in a good way.Overall a very stupid movie...that STILL made me laugh.By the way, Danny McBride sure seemed to be doing a great imitation of John C.
His character was a lot like the ones Reilly played in the Will Ferrell movies "Talladega Nights" and "Step-Brothers"--really, really dumb and quite funny.
Land Of The Lost is the typical dumb comedy that you'd expect from any movie starring Will Ferrell.
Now get on with the movie already!" If that's not your kind of comedy, you're unlikely to enjoy this film.The cinematography is good and the dinosaurs look pretty great, but that doesn't make up for the script.
I myself would have expected something along the lines of the Brady Bunch films.For those who don't know the TV series involved a family named Marshall, widower father, teenage son, and adolescent daughter who while on a camping trip fell into a time vortex and into the Land Of The Lost.
The rest of the film is the group stuck in the Land Of The Lost and searching for the time machine to get back and encountering some of the creatures that we remember from the TV series if not quite how we remember them.A whole lot of stupid and rather gross gags get pulled off without the requisite laughs that should go with them.
The Land of the Lost movie is very ridiculous, cheap, stupid and not funny at all, the dinosaurs in this movie are very silly, very boring films.
So why on Earth make a comedy out of it?I'm not a big "Land of the Lost" fanboy, ergo I'm not all that offended by a comedy made of it, but just on kind of a basic principle of taste, why turn a children's adventure show into a raunch comedy that isn't all that funny in the first place?Those of you who've read my previous reviews you know my opinion on Wil Ferrel's comedy (or lack of it), which makes one wonder why he or his agents thought making this movie was a good idea.Land of the Lost was just another Kroft Saturday morning show, although it was probably their more sensible show, and as an avid watcher when I was a boy, it didn't deeply resonate with me, though I did like it.
This so called "comedy" starring Ferrell as archaeologist Dr. Rick Marshall, lacked the laughs and special effects to hold any degree of my interest.The only times I chuckled during the film were at the crude, sexual remarks occasionally slipped into a scene, usually directed toward Marshall's assistant Holly (Anna Friel).
There is not a person who walked out of the theater who didn't laugh at least 30 times.And if you don't like Will Ferrell, don't see the movie.
If there's one thing I can't understand, is how a movie like G.I. Joe can get a rating above 6 whereas Land of the Lost only gets 5.4...really, I don't get it.
I walked out happy and laughed my way home at some of the scenes in it.I honestly didn't expect it to have swear words since Canada rated it PG, but it felt like a 14A movie, well, very close to it because Danny McBride always entertains the audience with his type of sarcastic and witty humor.
The original series was fun and enjoyable and had losts of potential to make a good movie.
All around funny movie really enjoyed will ferrel in this one.. |
tt1234721 | RoboCop | Television personality Pat Novak (Samuel L. Jackson) starts off an episode of his show "The Novak Element" by pointing out that every country in the world except for the United States is under high security with droids from multinational conglomerate OmniCorp.His camera crew takes a look from Tehran where one OmniCorp employee, Rick Maddox (Jackie Earle Haley) is handing out red asset bracelets to one of Novak's reporters and camera crews as they observe the large droids and other robots doing a scan on citizens in the area. From inside a compound, a mother and her son, Navid (Noorin Gulamgaus), watch the droids do their work. Navid's father Arash (Meysam Motazedi) leads a group of suicide bombers outside to capture themselves getting killed live on international television. They launch their attack, with all the bombers getting themselves killed by the droids, though they succeed in taking out some of the EM-208 droids themselves. Navid runs out with a knife in hand. The ED-209 droid decides he is a threat, giving it probable cause to machine gun him. The camera crew captures all of this.Novak continues by admiring how the droids handled the situation, pointing out that OmniCorp CEO Raymond Sellars (Michael Keaton) has the right idea to push forward for use of these droids in the U.S., but Senator Hubert Dreyfuss (Zach Grenier) is against it, having issued the Dreyfuss Act to prevent this type of law enforcement. Novak ends by asking why America is so robophobic.In Detroit, we meet Detroit Police Department detective Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) walking to a meeting with Chief Karen Dean (Marianne Jean-Baptiste). In her office are two other cops, John Lake (Daniel Kash) and Andre Daniels (KC Collins). Dean reprimands Murphy for taking on a case without bringing it to her first, as it cost the lives of six individuals and his partner Jack Lewis (Michael K. Williams) has been shot and hospitalized as the result of a shootout with men working for crime boss Antoine Vallon (Patrick Garrow). Once Lake and Daniels leave the office, Murphy tells his story.Murphy's story is told in flashback. He and Lewis have been undercover to crack down on a recent shipment of illegal firearms. Posing as buyers, they interview a dealer named Jerry White (Jordan Johnson-Hinds), but they begin to think he's selling dirty weapons. Acting like they believe Jerry is an undercover cop, they scare him into revealing that he works for Antoine Vallon. Murphy and Lewis run the serial numbers of the weapons being sold and discover something shocking: they are guns that should have been locked up in the evidence room, which means Vallon's got a cop or two who are on his payroll.On a rainy night, Murphy and Lewis go to a restaurant to meet with Vallon. Lewis insists that they need backup, since Vallon's guys might shoot them for target practice, but Murphy overrules his concerns, arguing that calling for backup will tip Vallon off. Inside the restaurant, Vallon and his right hand man hear Murphy and Lewis out, and appear to fall for their undercover identities. Unfortunately, somebody betrays Murphy and Lewis to Vallon and notifies Vallon by smartphone. Vallon immediately leaves the table.While Vallon is standing up, a car pulls up in front of the restaurant and a group of gunmen armed with pistols and submachine guns open fire. Murphy and Lewis return fire with their pistols, pinned down in one of the booths. After a lengthy exchange of gunfire, during which several henchmen are killed, Murphy escapes outside by jumping through a glass window into an alleyway. A couple of henchmen are waiting in the alley to ambush him. Murphy uses a dumpster as a shield while advancing on and shooting at the henchmen. He kills two of them, and the remaining one escapes by foot. Lewis prepares to follow Murphy when a henchman hiding in the kitchen bursts out and fires on him. He manages to return fire and kill the henchman, but in the process is shot in his right shoulder. Murphy stays with him until an ambulance can arrive.In the present, Chief Dean reminds Murphy that he isn't supposed to carry out such an assignment without talking to her first.In Washington, DC, Sellars is at a hearing with Senator Dreyfuss in regards to the matter of using OmniCorp droids as law enforcement. Dreyfuss argues that a machine could not feel anything if it were to kill anybody, even a child. Sellars later returns to OmniCorp Headquarters to meet with his marketing associates, Liz Kline (Jennifer Ehle) and Tom Pope (Jay Baruchel). Realizing that more than half of the country's population will not stand behind a machine protecting its citizens, Sellars proposes that they get a man into a machine.At the OmniCorp rehab center, Dr. Dennett Norton (Gary Oldman) and his assistant Jae Kim (Aimee Garcia) are tending to a man who has had his arms replaced with artificial robotic limbs. Although he is nervous to use them at first, Dr. Norton convinces him to give it a go. The man starts to play the guitar, and he and his wife are overcome with joy. The man's emotional levels begin to rise, which would interfere with the program. He tones it down but then says he needs emotions to play. Dr. Norton is then called away by Sellars. They, along with Kline and Pope, review potential amputee candidates for the man-in-a-machine program, all of them veteran police officers, but Dr. Norton and Sellars reject each one either due to their physical form or their personal reputations.Meanwhile, it's revealed to us that the two officers Chief Dean shooed out of her office earlier, Lake and Daniels, are the men who betrayed Murphy to Vallon. They tell him that Murphy is going to visit Lewis at hospital. While Murphy is inside the hospital, one of Vallon's men walks up to Murphy's car and plants a bomb in the left front wheel well.Alex goes home to his wife Clara (Abbie Cornish) and 10-year-old son David (John Paul Ruttan). After putting David to bed, he and Clara start to get intimate when the car alarm starts going off. Worrying that it'll wake David, Alex goes to turn it off. The car alarm is a trap, and as expect, it lures him outside, and the car is then blown up remotely. Clara runs outside to find her husband lying on the front steps of her house, burning.Clara is met by Norton and his associates to discuss Alex's condition. He has suffered fourth degree burns, both his legs and one arm were amputated, he is blind in one eye, and will probably be deaf. The team attempts to persuade Clara to give consent to use Alex for the program, but she is concerned as to what kind of life he will have.Three Months Later:Alex is at a party with Clara, along with Jack and his wife. Alex and Clara dance to a Frank Sinatra song. This turns out to be a memory that Norton and Kim are viewing as they put the finishing touches on Alex's new mechanical suit. They wake him up, and he is in shock as to what he sees. He grabs Norton by the throat and throws him down. Kim tries to shut Alex down as he runs out of the room, but Norton tells her to let him go. Alex continues to run until he hops over the wall of the facility and through a field. Norton tells Kim to shut him down.Back in the lab, Norton speaks with Alex face-to-face and shows him just what is left of him - only his head, heart, lungs, and brain are there. Alex is horrified by this and requests that he die. Norton reminds him that Clara signed the consent forms, so if they let him die, the work will have been for nothing. Alex later talks to Clara through a video chat. She is happy to hear from him again. Afterwards, he later sees news reports on his attempted murder, a lack of evidence to trace back to Vallon, as well as interviews featuring Lake, Daniels, and Jack.Alex is put through training and is set to get familiar with his program. As Maddox shows him, his suit can respond to a threat, taking out a firearm if needed. Alex is taken a simulator room where he is placed next to a basic robot. As shown on a monitor, the robot responds to threats quicker than Alex, who hesitates and is conscious of potentially harming civilians. Maddox quips that he "wouldn't buy that for a dollar".In another training facility, Alex is put to the test against Maddox in an exoskeleton along with other robots. As Alex easily maneuvers through the robots' gunfire, he shoots them all. Norton tells Sellars that although Alex thinks he is the one carrying out these actions, he is merely carrying out orders as programmed. Kline points out that this is illegal, but Sellars thinks it's fully legal for a machine to think it is a man. Once Alex is done, he tases Maddox for good measure.Norton drives Alex to his home where he will get to see Clara and David for the first time. David set up a "welcome home banner" for his father. Alex enters his home, and although both Clara and David are surprised by his new appearance, they still embrace him.A public press conference is held to present the new and reformed Murphy to the city. While he is getting set up, Norton and Kim see on a monitor the emotions going through Murphy's head as they put the police database information into his head. When he starts to remember his attempted murder, he becomes overwhelmed and starts to have a seizure. Dr. Norton catches him and starts to get pressed by Kline and Pope to find a solution. He and Kim resolve to lower Murphy's emotional levels. He walks out to find Clara and David waiting for him. David says hello to his dad, but Murphy just continues walking with no expression. He passes Sellars and the mayor as they extend their hands to him. Once he steps out before everybody, the crowd goes silent. Through Murphy's vision, he assesses that nobody is a threat until he spots one man in the crowd, Thomas King (Dwayne McLean), who is wanted for murder. Murphy calls the man out to arrest him. King begins to run until Murphy hops into the crowd and shoots him with a taser round to the back, knocking him down..Novak brings this up on the show as a reason for people to finally get behind this new program. He notes that King stood within spitting distance of two cops who could not identify him and that he has eluded the police for six years on charges of rape, assault, and murder, yet Alex was able to catch him within a minute. As a result, public opinion on the Dreyfuss Act begins to change. The citizens of Detroit begin to embrace Alex, giving him the nickname of RoboCop, though some are against this due to the belief that the police work belongs to human cops and not a robot. However, Sellars tells Dr. Norton to, for the meantime, keep Murphy away from his family.At the police station, Murphy comes in as Dean briefs the other officers on several murder suspects. Murphy says he will take on the case to look for a criminal named John Biggs (Robert Thomas). He patrols through the city on his motorcycle. He catches a few totally stoned junkies, getting one to tell him where Biggs's drug lab is. Murphy finds the lab and has a shoot out with Biggs's goons. Biggs tries to run but Murphy has him cornered. He tries to throw a grenade at Murphy, but he gets tased and drops it, blowing himself up in the process.As Murphy is set to continue, he is stopped on the street by Clara. She pleads for him to hear her as she tells him that David is traumatized and is having nightmares. He rides off and accesses CCTV footage to show the reporters hounding Clara and David as she tries to take him to school. Unable to show his face, David retreats to the car.Murphy rides back to his home and inspects the crime scene where is car blew up. He reviews the footage of the explosion to realize how David witnessed his father's burning body, leaving him fearful, anxious, and distressed. Afterwards, he locates Jerry White and pulls him out of his car to get him to give him a number to one of Vallon's goons. He traces it to locate Vallon's warehouse. When someone tips off Vallon to Murphy's impending arrival, he rallies his men to grab their guns and turn the lights off and watch out for Murphy with night-vision goggles. The crooks open fire on Murphy, getting his suit shot, but he kills all the men and finally shoots Vallon down. Murphy picks up a gun and scans it for fingerprints, picking up prints from Lake and Daniels.Murphy returns to the police station, followed by Jack. He interrogates Lake and Daniels, showing the meeting through every monitor in the station to prove their involvement in the car bombing. Daniels tries to shoot Murphy but gets shot in return. Lake admits that Dean was involved with both the shootout at the restaurant and the car bomb. He tases Lake and goes to confront Dean. Before he can get a confession out of her, Maddox, operating from the facility, shuts Murphy down. Maddox reports this to Sellars who is in his helicopter.On another episode of "The Novak Element", Novak comments on how Murphy exposed the corruption within the police department, further suggesting why it's time to finally put the robots out on the street. Meanwhile, Sellars meets with Maddox, Kline, and Pope to talk about the state of Murphy's condition. Kline issues a statement to the public to say that Murphy is in critical condition. Sellars decides that they can use Murphy as a symbol of martyrdom to stir up sympathy. Additionally, the Dreyfuss Act is repealed. Clara demands to see her husband but is denied.Sellars sends Maddox and other mercenaries out to destroy Murphy, preparing to tell Clara that Alex died from his injuries. Kline arrives at Clara's home and escorts her and David to HQ to meet with Sellars. With Kim's help, Dr. Norton runs into the facility where Murphy is being kept, warning him that the mercenaries are sent by Sellars and are there to kill both of them. Murphy wakes up in time to kill the two goons before they can fire at him and Norton.Murphy rides his motorcycle to OmniCorp Headquarters and gets help from Lewis, who has rallied the SWAT team to assist. He tases one guard outside the building, forcing the others to stand down. He flips his motorcycle into the building, getting the attention of two ED-209 droids. They shoot at Murphy, but he gets them to shoot at each other. A third droid is caught in the chaos and falls from a great height, and Alex's arm is caught beneath it. As more droids come in, Murphy is forced to grab a submachine gun and shoot his left arm off. The droids shoot at him, bringing him down. Lewis runs in and stands in front of him, giving Alex a chance to run. He is found by Maddox and another goon, both of whom are wearing red asset bracelets, which keep Murphy from shooting either of them. Before Maddox can deliver the fatal shot, Lewis shoots him in the back and kills him, and then kills the other goon before getting shot himself. Murphy assesses the wound and determines it to be non-fatal to Lewis.Murphy makes it to the rooftop of the building as Sellars is waiting for a helicopter. Clara and David are there with him, as are another mercenary, along with Kline and Pope. Alex orders the latter two to stand down, and they comply. He attempts to arrest Sellars for trying to have him killed, but he is also wearing a red asset bracelet, and therefore he cannot shoot him. Sellars aims his gun at Alex, and then at Clara and David. This gives Alex enough of a push to override his program and shoot Sellars, who returns fire. As Sellars dies, Clara and David rush to Alex's side.A while later, Alex is given a new repaired suit. Clara and David are there to visit him. He smiles as they come in.The last scene shows one more segment of "The Novak Element." The President has vetoed the repeal of the Dreyfuss Act once Norton testifies against OmniCorp's program. Despite this, Novak is still pro-robot, continuing to praise Sellars and bash Norton for being a whistleblower. As he concludes his show, Novak urges viewers to stop whining and to get with the program. | murder, violence, flashback, action, revenge, sci-fi | train | imdb | null |
tt0417056 | Pledge This! | When a dorm toilet explodes on the first day back to school, a group of misfit girls are forced to leave their housing and search for a new home. They ultimately decide on pledging a sorority. However, not many sororities are normal at South Beach University. The girls decide to pledge the most popular and exclusive sorority at the university, Gamma Gamma, which is led by president Victoria English.
While pledging the sorority, Victoria sends the girls to do a task: collect used condoms. While searching the park, the leader of the group, Gloria, bumps into Victoria's boyfriend Derek, and they become close. The only reason Victoria plans to let the freshmen pledge is to display diversity, which is a requirement for the "FHM Hottest Sorority in the Country" contest. From then on, Victoria declares war on the girls during "Hell Week" but ultimately lets them join, only to kick them out once they have won the contest. This angers the leader of the misfit freshmen, Gloria. Gloria decides to quit the sorority as do her friends. Derek and Gloria realize their feelings towards each other and seal it with a kiss.
Gloria's ex-best friend, Kristen, convinces Gloria to come back. Gloria and her friends come back but only to declare war on Victoria by sneaking into the Gamma Gamma house and stealing embarrassing photos and video footage of her to show to everyone at the Gamma Gamma victory party. The video also showed her badmouthing her sorority sisters, and her past dorky self. She also reveals to Victoria that she and Derek love each other. Victoria becomes embarrassed and eventually realizes how reinventing herself made her into a bad person, so she makes a public apology to the freshmen. The movie ends with a giant food fight at the Gamma Gamma party, and Victoria saying that she loved her cover of FHM so much she bought the magazine. Gloria becomes the president of Gamma Gamma the following year. | humor, adult comedy | train | wikipedia | But I thought that it would be a more or less fun 90 minutes if i wanted to watch a simple brainless sex comedy with lots of fart jokes.
This movie made me stupid.The acting is terrible, and Paris Hilton's voice-over is annoying at best, and sometimes ambiguous about whose voice-over it actually is.
Its so bad that it is actually funny in a very cringe worthy way.Paris is absolutely terrible, I mean she just cannot act, period.
Somehow I don't think an Oscar is on the cards for this guy.I have never written a comment on IMDb, but this movie was so bad I felt compelled to do so.If you get the chance to see this film, don't..
There is no logic at all in this movie.This is what I believe that the movie is about: Paris Hilton is the head of some girl sorority, her biggest dream is to be on the cover of FHM (soft-playboy) and now she has her chance.
But (oh no) the sorority has to have a nerd girl too so now they have to let in a group of nerd-girls in the sorority.Actually the only thing that kept us watching was that every time one of us started to complain about how bad this movie was one of the girls in movie showed her titties.
The acting is appalling (even Paula Garces whom I normally like) the script seem to have been written by a bunch of pubescent 14 year old boys and in what film EVER have you seen the "baddie" given an narrative voice-over???
I did not see this film as Paris Hilton was in it in fact I saw it despite the fact her name was on the cover,in fact I thought her name was only on the cover for name value as no-one would be stupid enough to put her in a lead role, but yes they did!
That's how "Pledge This!" came to be.Never before have so many hot women (not including Paris of course, but that's just my opinion) starred in a more lame movie.
Easily the worst film I have seen since little shop of horrors....And what Horrors there were in this film.National Lampoons films up until now had a certain pedigree, they were a bit cheesy but very funny Chevy Chase was always brilliant in them.This was just a pathetic ego booster for Paris Hilton as far as I can see who obviously is believing her own hype.Paris should stick to home made porn and shopping that is all she is good for Her parents must be so proud.
I think she is a terrible actress in fact it didn't even seem like she was acting to me it was pathetic.To all of you who watched it just for Paris Hilton and drool over her grow up she is a spoilt slapper who can't act.
Do better next time or there wont be too many opportunities for you to produce crap movies because people wont watch them.If I could mark this film lower I would..
Having one of those girls in my actual LIVING ROOM naked would have made it even, and that's about it.I would like to personally curse the names of the people who gave this movie a positive review, since I watched it based on those recommendations.
She forgot to also add "as narcissistic and pathetic".Here are a few of the highlights in this uplifting and sublime film: a bathroom where the toilets and sinks become geysers of liquefied human waste and it spews on everyone, an Indian lady who learns about the joys of a vibrator, a lady showing off her horribly scarred breasts following breast surgery, stereotypes as opposed to realistic characters (such as the obligatory fat girl with a suitcase stuffed with snacks and the religious zealot), some anti-lesbian and anti-woman remarks/jokes (I'm not super-sensitive about politically correct stuff and still it clearly offended me to hear women referred to that way), bestiality as well as the crudest language I've ever heard (not funny crude, just classless and crass).
Currently, this and several other Paris Hilton films are in the hallowed Bottom 100 on IMDb. Considering it consists of Hilton dispensing advice to others on how to be a better person or just her torturing people for fun, I could certainly understand it making the list!
If you think that Paris does not get enough time in front of the camera and you have absolutely no values (other than to look 'hot'), then this movie is for you.
What's the worst bit though, is that the film keeps on portraying Paris Hilton as the Goddess that everyone worships.
The minor characters says "Oh my god she is so hot" once every minute, and Paris Hilton uses every opportunity to degrade and humiliate everyone else to show that she is superior.
I have to admit that I rented this movie because Paris Hilton was in it.
Anyway, I have seen quite a few Paris Hilton films and enjoyed them all, and to be honest, I didn't think she did a bad job here guys.
This isn't a movie as such, more of an extended filming of "I am Paris Hilton and I must be idolized".
The only reason I gave it a 3 was for the few tatas that did make it to the screen, the fairly frequent scantily clad coeds and Poo Poo. Paris is a scanky, stuck up, rich, snobby b-word who looks down on everyone the entire movie and in the end she's still that way and we're supposed to love her for it.
She probably gave the director his own private showing of A Night in Paris.All in all, this movie isn't even worth it if all you're looking for is T&A.
I don't expect much from the straight to video releases from National Lampoon, but they should be ashamed that years after creating the ultimate Fraternity life college movie they made a Sorority one this pitiful..
Paris Hilton has made a number of movies that might bear watching, but this one isn't one of them.While the idea of a sorority movie set in sunny, sexy South Beach is intriguing, this film fails to deliver.
I fell for it.Finding a film with bad acting, a lifeless plot, no action, and a complete absence of humor was difficult -- but I did it when I found this movie!
The plot is based on a first grader's limerick, the acting is based on porno, and you know what - Paris Hilton is really not that hot.
Most of the other girls looked way better than that silicone plastic Barbie, although they all portrayed a similar lack of intelligence and acting abilities.I saw "Cursed" once and believed it was the worst movie ever, but this movie is not even on the scale.
Pledge This has Paula Garces and Holly Valance in it but despite this it is UNBELIEVABLY bad.Now, don't get me wrong, I watched this film knowing that Paris Hilton could not possibly be involved in any high quality professional production and couldn't really have many (any?) film roles to choose but all I could think for the duration of this film is how on earth Paula Garces and Holly Valance could be persuaded to take part in this rubbish?This makes American Pie - The Naked Mile seem like a Spielberg production!
However, I just know that you're still going to watch this film, refusing to believe that it's so bad.
The constant background music was poorly matched to the screenplay, and was of low quality anyway.Overall I wish I could burn the part of my brain out that remembers even thinking about watching this movie.
It claims that Paris Hilton was the 'executive producer' - please don't ever let her produce another film herself.
If you like Paris Hilton and don't care very much for a story, this is the film for you to watch and enjoy..
Perhaps Paris Hilton's head is a good suggestion.....Why did I even watch that whole thing?
And Paris has no real acting training whatsoever and you can tell that spoiled so and so doesn't even try for her movie scenes and that the directors are just totally fine with that.
This film will serve as a documentary about what an ugly, stuck-up, vain, shallow, talentless, and brainless **** Paris Hilton actually is.
In the infamous words of Comic Book Guy: Worst Movie Ever!What possesses people to think that Paris Hilton can not only act, but carry a whole movie?
This movie featured a "pretty girl", Paris Hilton (who plays Victoria English), who was the president of the Gamma Gamma sorority at South Beach University.
The acting was actually pretty good, for what looks like a low budget movie (sorry, directors.) The storyline wasn't very deep, but it's all what we like.
The struggle was real.This movie was probably only made to expose Paris Hilton's ego, with her in both the leading role and as executive producer.
The film was all so messy and the acting so horrible that the story probably drowned in it.Paris Hilton's parents must be proud..
The "plot" is about Paris Hilton wanting to get on the cover of FHM magazine.
Do yourself a favor and avoid this hell spawn like the plague.Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to youtube Paris Hiltons death scene from house of wax..
The zombie-like face of Paris Hilton, consumed by the Glamor monster, tells the viewer that there is no hope of good acting in this movie.
I found this movie on DVD laying around in my house a while back and I thought to myself "Paris Hilton actually made a movie!?" So I popped it in the DVD player and watched it with a friend.
It was a big mistake because now I will die knowing I spent over an hour of my life watching this terribly thought out, horribly casted movie.
It was not acting, it was not a movie, and it seems like Paris Hilton directed this train wreck.
The only time Paris Hilton should be on camera is when she isn't saying anything.This film is a disgrace to American Film.
I'm not so good with reviews, but I think everyone out there should be warned about such a terrible movie before they put their brain cells through so much torture.The plot is absolutely pointless and ridiculous.
It is basically about a popular girl (played by the always engaging Paris Hilton), who wants her sorority to be featured on the cover of FHM magazine, but in order to do so she must include geeks in her sorority.
Paris Hilton and actress is a bad mix because the bottom line is she's about as far away from being an A-list actor as I am from winning the lotto.
I just want to apologize to myself for wasting almost two hours of my life on watching this rock bottom of the movie industry.Paris Hilton IS NOT HOT in any way.
She can't act and that becomes painfully obvious after only a few minutes of watching the movie.
She uses phrases and behaves like she does in real life, and the movie is just a brief description of her everyday routine: being a spoiled self-centered daddy's little daughter.Rest of the casting crew consists of very pretty girls who look at Paris, like she's a Goddess.This movie is a comedy, and yet there wasn't a single funny situation in the whole movie..
There is absolutely NO plot, no decent acting, WAY too much focus on irrelevant posing and looking 'hot' by Paris Hilton (who will never be and never was hot, she is mildly pretty and is her own biggest fan) and even falls sadly short of passing as a D-grade bad slapstick attempt at a 'movie'.
Well i have to say unlike most of you Paris Hilton haters out there i absolutely LOVE her, i think she is so ace, she wears the most amazing clothes and always looks so good and i love her and Nicole Richie in The Simple Life.
Now to the movie, im sorry Paris but it was just plain awful, her acting was so bad and it wasn't even her doin the voice overs for her character, what is up with that?
The story was so crap i cant actually believe that i watched the whole film all the way through.
You know a movie is unwatchable when even Paris Hilton herself disowns it (she objected to the additional shooting involving nude scenes)..
Paris Hilton delivers the greatest performance of her career (yes even better than her jaw dropping acting in House of Wax or the recent film The Hottie and the Nottie).
No other actor this decade has come close to the mark Paris Hilton set in this film and I highly doubt anyone else will.
Since Paris Hilton stars at least 4 of the 100, this movie seamed to be a good choice.
Story: It is sort of a simplified "Revenge of the Nerds" storyline, if that movie was to complicated, check this oneActing: Paris Hilton is "playing" a bimbo with very rich parents, interested only in fashion and style.
Having seen a couple of Paris Hilton movies before, I can tell you that watching this annoying, ugly, pigeon-faced, arrogant, dumb skank trying to act, is my idea of torture.I got to watch this atrocity when I picked "dare" in a "truth or dare" game.
Not much dumber than this, I assure you.I think I lost at least 10 points off of my IQ by having to sit through this brain-damaging crap of a film.What can be worse than a dumb movie?
Paris Hilton is really pretty and she is president of a sorority which is perfect for her because she always seems like she's in charge of all the fun stuff.
For the life of me I can't understand how this did not get shelved after seeing the final product.Someone actually watched this and thought it worthy of movie material releasable to the public, that person should be fired and never allowed to even see a film again.Something tells me that Paris wasn't acting, that this character is pretty close to the way she is in real life.I enjoy bad movies, but not this bad.
Paris Hilton in a movie!
for starters it has the staring role of Paris Hilton, yeah, things are looking bad already, that just guarantees you a bad movie.
Where to begin-the ridiculous attempts at comedy, the absolutely evil mean bitches in this POS, the completely hateful protagonists...I don't think this is a spoiler by saying Paris Hilton is a HORRIBLE actress and an even worse narrator.
I was forced to give this movie a 1/10, while it deserves a hell of a lot less.Firstly, Paris Hilton.
Never before have I seen a movie this bad - and it's not because Paris Hilton is the main character though yes, she can't act.
I just watched the most vapid movie with exploding toilets and collecting used condoms!" Paris Hilton plays Valerie English, the most pampered character of the movie.
I wasn't expecting much from Paris Hilton, as I had seen her in House of Wax and her acting was so wooden and boring that, basically, I wanted to throw up.
His acting style is always hysterically funny, and the movie was worth watching just to see what sort of wacky performance he would appear in next.
Paris Hilton really shows that she can act.
I'm a big Paris Hilton fan and I'm looking forward to seeing her next film "The Hottie And The Nottie".
First off let me say that I like Paris Hilton.
All this and more spells doom in a project that should have been left on the cutting room floor.It doesn't help that I find Paris Hilton to be extremely annoying and totally unworthy of the screen time she has been given, but to make matters worse, she narrates a movie in which she constantly tries to reaffirm her "character" as better than everyone else, but what was vividly clear (at least, in my eyes) is that she is talking about herself as a person, not the character she so poorly portrays.You would figure that someone like Paris would be able to handle playing the spoiled rich girl since the role hits so close to home, but unfortunately, even she seems like she doesn't know what is going on.
Paris is not a great actor, but the other characters are so varied that your are bound to like just something about this movie.
I could probably have rated it even higher but the ending is just so cliché, and actually manage to restore (a little) of Paris/Victoria's dignity, that's just pathetic..but that being said, its a fun movie to watch with your friends, with absolutely no danger of using more than just a few brain cells to figure it out.
I think they thought they be come a model after it or get more jobs.Paris Hilton was great.
I saw Paris Hilton in another movie once, she was in the horror movie and she died.
Paris Hilton like you've NEVER seen her before .
It could get his name back in the news, if he goes as Half-and-Half, as in half tux, half white train.)When all is said and done, if this movie--PLEDGE THIS!--does not deserve its current infamy as the 25th-lowest rated film of all time, it certainly checks in on National Lampoon's bottom 25.
I totally love Paris Hilton's movie, 'Pledge This!'.
Here Paris Hilton thinks she is making fun of a "hot chick" image she imagines herself to have!
Even though I was not expecting some great acting, Paris Hilton is good eye candy, so it should be entertaining.
Paris Hilton is head of this sorority, and pretty much the film is basically all about her and her queenlike status. |
tt0455957 | Goya's Ghosts | During the Last Bastion of the Spanish Inquisition, 1790-1810, An Inquistador named Lorenzo (Javir Baldem) is being painted on various visits by artist Fransisco Goya when his fellows say Goya is painting whores as angels. Lorenzo tries to defend his work, saying it is those people--the whores and maimed --who the church needed to reach, to keep them from committing acts against God, not the artist just painting what he saw; then tells younger church leaders to pick up the Inquisition, search for those secretly practicing other religions.
Into this hyped -up search for heathens, a rich merchant's young daughter out one evening (Natalie Portman as Inez) is said to have refused to have eaten pork , making her practicing Jewish rituals secretly...Incidently she is a model Goya used who was an angel on a church ceiling; Lorenzo displayed an interest in her by asking if long hours with such models made Goya think of other things, and what was her name. Goya ignores the last but says "You have too acute an eye, Brother Lorenzo." When the girl's father comes to him and says Inez is a Church prisioner, Goya is angry but refuses to ask Lorenzo about her freedom.
The father donates all his gold to the church for his daughter. Goya allows him to leave the gold , pay for the painting of the Brother, and tells Brother Lorenzo the deal. She is kept by the Catholic Church for trial, and "put to the question" ,which brother Lorenzo has learned for her family but believes in the sanctity of--if you were innocent, God gave you the fortitude to withstand torture and you didn't sign guilt to a lie. Lying to escape torture went against God. If you lied you were just as much a heretic as if you'd done the act. The girl has admitted she did it after extreme torture and Brother Lorenzo tries to take leave of her family when her father has his sons and servants hold him. Goya, also present, is telling the father," you don't treat Brother Lorenzo like that !" when they grab him and bar the doors. They will let Goya free alone. After torture, Brother Lorenzo signs a rediculous paper that he had to be tortured pretty bad to sign. The father says he will produce it if Lorenzo does not get his daughter out.
Lorenzo is next seen walking slowly down the Church's prison hall, looking into cells. He finally finds the girl, younger and dressed in rags that show her more sexual than even the artist had made her in sheer angel gowns. He tries to look away and put his overcoat on her but as she leans to him to pray with him and he watches the sharp little mind love his Lord so much and speak so fast and earnestly, he suddenly pulls her to him and says "I do care about you, I do" and "that's alright" as she struggles. His new discovery is a selfish one (it doesn't mattter if she cares about him, he hasn't asked if he can hold her tight, he is only learning that the real girl in the painting, so infatuating, was someone he also actually cared for.) He may also have meant that in matters of the flesh he had not expected to care about his target. So he'd go to her , say do you want to pray with me, at which she'd fall into his love, say "Love me".Obviously he did--years later he learns they had a child.
Meantime the rich merchant has brought the Catholic Tribunal or whatever the signed statement and they are searching for Lorenzo, who has fled. Goya is visited by the church who takes his painting of Lorenzo away as part of a heresy trial they're working up on him. Lorenzo's signature showed the merchant and townspeople that torture did not work and was unfair; it showed church heads that people were in danger of not trusting "The Question" and that God gave His people fortitude to withstand torture--only bad people signed, making Lorenzo a false man of God.
Although Lorenzo was alone in Inez's room with her at least several times, he never tried to help her escape, even when he ran, himself--he left her there. He ran to France where the French Revolutionaries got him into a Spanish Revolution. He comes back as a leader of the Spanish uprising., and has fun sentencing to death the old Church leader who wanted him killed. He has a nice office into which Goya comes, now fully deaf. He tells Lorenzo that Inez was finally released, after Lorenzo says he could never forget the family--they were what changed him. Lorenzo has him bring her in.
She's a mess. She's just found no one waiting for her on release, walked home, and her family was dead around the stripped house. She has not combed her hair or looked in a mirror, has a "mad" twist to her mouth, but lights up at sight of Lorenzo and runs to him and begins to kiss his hand all over. Lorenzo kind of sits where she can't keep it up and asks gently what he can do for her. She says they took her baby. She says "our baby." He tries, looking at the deaf artist, to correct her. She says he's the only man she's been with. He asks if she knows how long she was locked up. She has no idea. (The baby would be 20). She's still looking for a baby she can raise. Lorenzo has a wife he loves, he's told Goya, and children, and can make 10 paintings, his family is so big now.He tells Inez two men will take her to her baby and she leaves happily. Goya demands to know where he really sent her. "She is out of her mind, she'll always be safe," Lorenzo says." Part of her insanity is to think he could have fathered a baby with her; Sorry she's changed to this.... Goya doesn't buy it and tracks down the baby and finds it is a hooker in a hooker park.
On his own Lorenzo has already tracked babies who were born in the Catholic dungeons and found she had run from an Catholic orphanage at age 7 and has cautiously also asked if the parents' names were written anywhere and told no. He has a soft, smiling manner of asking and it doesn't seem he is collecting very important information . He fondled a young girl's head in the orphanage, whom he seemed to hope was his, asking which one in the room was her, looking at all these girls under 18. But that's when they said none; she ran off at age 7. Her given name was Alicia. Now Goya comes to see him again. He has found the daughter. Where? Lorenzo demands. Goya bitterly tells.Lorenzo says in his calm way, " How do you know this is Inez's child?" "Because she looks exactly like the face I saw whenever I shut my eyes, the face that's haunted me all my life,..." As Goya goes on Lorenzo says "You are obsessed with Inez!" and Goya defends himself. He's looking out for her, which Lorenzo knows in his heart he is not. Goya has seen Alicia get in a rich man's carraige and go off for the night; the old lady peddling her say Goya can have her next. What he doesn't know is that Lorenzo is on that carraige, one time we are unexpectedly happy to see actor Javier Baldem, and when Alicia (Natalie Portman, also) tries to move on him, slaps her away angrily. This is his daughter. He offers to send her to America, he wants her to leave Spain (so Goya can't force a meeting). The girl gets sassy and attacks and is out of there like a bobcat while the big heavy Lorenzo is left asking her to please come back. Later Goya tries to arrange for the two to meet, after Lorenzo warns him with deep anger that there is no way he is going to help a mother learn that her daughter is a harlot and asks why he won't leave it alone. Goya has Inez, who he bailed out of a home for the insane, in his carraige and is in the bar trying to get Alicia to come out and meet her. Alicia says"Why would I care?" but then a counter-revolutionary attack with the Bitish involved enters the bar and arrests the harlots, dragging Alicia away so that she looses her baby she was holding. Another girl has handed it to her while going off on a date, but we never know if it is really Alicia's or not. It is left crying under a table. Inez has gotten out of the carraige and walks upon the carnage, used to it, and picks up the baby. She later talks to the shocked Goya like it's hers. He has seen Alicia carted off.
Alicia's group are freed by some handsome British , one who Alicia catches the eye of with a winking smile.
Goya is in Lorenzo's office . They are accusing each other of whoring to be there. Lorenzo went from church to revolution-- -well, Goya paints for the king, paints for the new leadership when the King is deposed, paints for anyone, paints for money, Lorenzo spits. At least, maybe he didn't see the light at first, but Lorenzo has morals. Just then there is news that the British are advancing , no one is stopping them, and Lorenzo runs out and gets his wife and kids hurriedly in a coach and is following them on horse when the Brits reach him. He turns off to let the coach get away, and mobs reach him and drag him into town, where the Catholics are reinstated in power and try him instantly, find him guilty, and sentence him to death. If he repents he will be spared. He looks at them, throws their pen down. He did not pass this test last time.
This time he is not going to be tortured, just have his neck cleanly broke. As he looks at a world where the man who sentenced him to death called him "my son", and few know him by name--Lorenzo--he can only look at a mob of strangers and see the new leadership walk out --his granddaughter now part of the inner royal circle as she stands thereon the courtly balcony with what appear to be the new King , Queen, and prince, Alicia at his side like royalty, never noticing Lorenzo as she smiled at the crowd and danced as his neck broke. But Lorenzo saw that she was doing all right for herself--that she knew how to "whore" through life. And that her days of abuse by men were over. Then he hears his name out of the crowd and, sweat filling his eyes with salt, just makes out the young face he'd "cared for", twisted and stark-raving mad, smiling broadly as she holds up a baby. He manages to give her a smile. I felt something was left out here as the baby should have confused him, made him think, oh, oh. And I felt a scene where he had to acknowledge he'd known her was in order , and should have been between all his dismissals of her as nuts while not really meeting her eyes, and this smile as if the sight of her (as she then was, out of her mind) pleased him . Only two times did it seem he cared about her--when he said "I do care about you" and when he said tersely that he'd never tell a mother that her daughter was a harlot. Nothing explained the kind of smile she evoked from him except if he had once loved that face while it smiled and to see it again was a present, a gift. It beat seeing her fighting for him, yelling no, getting pushed down,as he died--but her simpleton-manner, "everything's great now, I have a baby", would not have been enough to make me smile--I'd rather have seen her in her real mind, knowing what was going on , that I was about to die . But that out-of-it smile got him to smile as he watched the world be wrong about its need to murder him for being a heretic. In the end, children dance and sing around his body being dragged, head down , on a cart; the crazy girl joins them, picking up his hand and kissing it as Goya brings up the rear yelling "Inez!"
You don't want to talk about anything else after it's over, and it keeps popping up as you go about the next 6 or 8 hours, heavier fare than the things you are usually involved with. You keep thinking. Was he good to her? That smile, that was the one time, that she knew of, as she had no idea he'd talked to her baby , that it had grown up.But she thought he was her love. She'd kept a candle lit for him. The smile was a gift to her. He was ultimately, finally, good to her. But never enough--for his part in creating her crazed mind, a baby raised in an orphanage, etc.He never took on that guilt, unless in trying to make the harlot daughter go away. | insanity, violence | train | imdb | null |
tt0099864 | It | On a cloudy day in Derry, Maine, a little girl is riding her tricycle down the street. Her mother, seeing a storm approaching, calls for her to come inside as she brings in the laundry. The little girl then spots a clown behind the laundry. A moment later, her mother comes outside to bring in the rest of the laundry, and screams: the little girl is dead. Shortly afterward, as the rain falls, the town librarian, Mike Hanlon, comes looking around and talks to the police, much to the chagrin of the police chief, who is frustrated. Before he leaves, Mike spots an old photograph of a boy, which he's seen before, laying on the ground. Later, writing in his journal, he notes the murder as "another killing", and how he found the photograph, and is at a loss to explain how it suddenly turned up after 30 years. He decides that he has to call his old friends up, hoping that he is mistaken. He picks up the phone and starts dialing (presumably he has been keeping track as the years passed.)Mike's first call is to England, where Bill Denbrough is working on turning one of his horror novels into a movie, even as his dinner gets cold. His wife Audra is unhappy that he spends so much time working. The phone rings and Mike identifies himself. Bill has a flashback to when he was talking to his friends as a boy; this was the first time he thought of them or Mike in years. Mike tells him "It's back", and about how he found the photograph. Bill, who had barely touched his dinner, goes off back to his work room, where he has a longer flashback.In Bill's flashback, his mother is playing the piano one rainy afternoon while Bill lays in bed, recovering from an illness. His younger brother George (the boy in the photograph) is bugging him to talk to him or play with him. Bill doesn't feel up to it, but he gives him a paper boat to play with. Bill seals it with wax while George puts on his rain gear. George goes out to play, and that's the last time Bill sees him. George sails his paper boat down the gutter, which is full of rainwater. Unfortunately, the boat is swept into a storm drain. George is upset at losing the boat, and is ready to leave when he spots a clown in the drain. George is nervous at first - his father warned him against interacting with strangers - but the clown introduces himself as Pennywise, and already knows George's name, which means George "knows" him. Pennywise holds out the boat to George, but when George reaches for it, Pennywise grabs his arm instead. George screams. The next scene is George's funeral. Later, Bill, still in shock over his brother's sudden death, goes into George's old bedroom and looks at George's photo album, and finds the picture of George that Mike would find decades later. Suddenly the picture winks at him. Bill is horrified and throws the album on the ground. Blood begins to seep from it. Bill screams in horror, and his parents come in. They simply put the album back on the shelf. They can't see the blood, and demand that he never enter the room again.
Coming out of his flashback, Bill wonders how he could have forgotten, and he prepares to leave immediately. He tells Audra about the phone call from Mike, and how he has to return to his hometown. He has also begun to stutter, which he did when he was a kid. Bill leaves, leaving Audra on edge.The next scene is in New York, where a drunk bearded man steps out of a limousine, bringing a foreign woman home with him (apparently one he just picked up, as she hasn't seen his place before.) A picture of the man on the cover of Time Magazine identifies him as Ben Hanscom, an architect. Just then the phone rings. It's Mike. Ben has a short flashback of his own, to when he was being confronted by bullies as a kid. Ben is very shaken. Mike tells him that "it's back". Ben doesn't remember much, but tells Mike he'll come home. Very rattled, he pours himself another drink, leaving the woman behind he goes up the elevator to the top of one of his half-finished buildings, contemplating suicide. There he too has a longer flashback.Ben remembers introducing himself as a new student in Derry, where he has just moved with his mother to live with his aunt. The bullies of the class dislike him on sight because he is fat. Their teacher reminds them about the curfew, imposed by the sheriff because of all the killings that have been going on. He meets a girl from the class, Beverly, and immediately likes her. Walking down the street, he is confronted by the bullies he met earlier. These are Henry and his friends. Henry confronts Ben with a switchblade, disturbing even his own friends. Ben kicks Henry in the nuts and pushes himself back, through a fence and down an embankment into a wild area. The enraged Henry and his friends chase him. Ben spots a drain pipe to hide in. Henry doesn't find him, but he finds two other boys playing in the stream. They push them around and ask them if they'd seen Ben. They hadn't. Henry and his friends leave, disgusted that Ben was able to ditch them. Ben comes back out and meets the other two boys, one of whom, Eddie, is having an asthma attack. The other - the young Bill - has to go and get medicine. Ben and Eddie talk about how they both lost their fathers - Ben's in the Korean War, Eddie's to cancer - Eddie tells Ben about how Bill's brother had been killed a little while back. Bill and Eddie tell Ben about how they were trying to make a dam in the stream, and Ben comes up with an idea for an improvement. They invite him back the next day. Later, Ben is writing a postcard, intended for Beverly, when his cousin (with whom he is now living) comes in and reads it, taunting him. The embarrassed Ben wrestles him. The cousin is clearly unhappy about having Ben around, reminding him that he's only their because his mother (Ben's aunt) felt obliged to take Ben's mother in to keep them off the welfare rolls. Ben's aunt reminds Ben's mother of this, too. Ben, who doesn't want to be there either, goes for a bike ride. He finds himself back in the wooded area, and there he thinks he sees his father. His father talks to him, but gradually his voice and appearance change, until he has turned into the clown. The clown vanishes suddenly, and a skeleton climbs out of the water. Ben is horrified and retreats. Ending the flashback, the adult Ben remembers these horrors and drops his bottle 16 stories to the street below.Next up is Chicago, where Beverly Marsh is now a fashion designer. Mike's call comes in, but her boyfriend Tom Rogan rebuffs the call and reminds Beverly about an upcoming deal with Japanese investors. The two of them go out into their factory to meet the investors. Later, Beverly and Tom drink up the champagne. Apparently the deal went through. The phone rings again, this time Beverly gets it. Mike was persistent, and tells her the news. Tom, who went to the refrigerator to get more booze, returns to find Beverly packing. He is immediately angered and starts beating Beverly, getting out his belt. For the first time, Beverly stands up to her abusive boyfriend, throwing jars at him and hitting him in the forehead. This stuns Tom for a moment, long enough for her to escape. She gets in a cab to go to the airport. During the ride, she has a flashback of her own.She remembers being a girl and making breakfast for her father, when the doorbell buzzes. It was Ben, but he doesn't stay there to greet her. He simply left the postcard on the porch while he crouched down across the street to make sure she got it. Beverly's father sees the postcard and immediately confronts her about it, thinking she's running around with boys already even though she's only 11. Her father starts smacking her around (this treatment obviously influenced her as an adult, as she ended up with Tom). Beverly runs out of the house and down the street. Her father stands on the porch and shouts after her, but does not give chase. Concerned that he might have caused this problem, Ben goes off to find her, and finds her crouching behind a bush. Ben invites her to come with him to the wooded area where he was going to build the dam with Bill and Eddie. They are about to start when they are approached by two more boys, Richie Tozier and Stan Uris, who are also friends. Richie is a wise-ass, and Stan is quiet and intelligent, a Boy Scout. The six of them work for several hours on building the dam out of rocks, dirt, and garbage, and it is a success, they end up with a pretty big pool. At the end of the day, Bill, Ben, and Beverly take leave of one another. Beverly starts to think Bill wrote the postcard; she likes him. Ben sees this, much to his dismay, but says nothing. Beverly goes home where her father is watching TV, apparently having forgotten about the morning's events or not in the mood to talk about it. Beverly goes into the bathroom to wash up and hears voices coming out of the drain in the sink. Suddenly blood bursts out of the drain. Beverly screams and gets her father to come look, but he can't see any of the blood. He thinks Beverly freaked out for no reason. Beverly makes up a story about a spider that scared her to satisfy her father. As soon as he leaves, the voices start again, and Beverly is terrified. She remembers this as her cab arrives at O'Hare.Next up is Eddie, now leaving on Long Island. He has just gotten Mike's call and is preparing to leave by filling his bag with pills and medicine. He still lives with his overprotective, smothering mother, who demands to know where he is going, and is unhappy when he says Derry. He leaves with his driver - he now runs a limousine company. The driver is worried about him, but takes him to Penn Station. While they are driving, Eddie has his flashback.
Eddie remembers being in a theater watching "I Was a Teenage Werewolf" with his five friends, Richie, Stan, Ben, Beverly, and Bill. He accidentally kicks a bucket of popcorn over the railing, where it lands on Henry and his friends. Richie decides to instigate further, insulting Henry and pouring his Coke on them. The six decide they'd better get out while they can, and run from the theater, reaching the wooded area. They pass by the swamp and the sewer building where Ben saw his father's ghost earlier. Returning to civilization, they arrive at Eddie's house. His mother immediately comes out and chases the others away, telling them that Eddie needed to rest and that he didn't need any friends except his own mother. She reminds him not to take a shower at gym class because of germs. On his next gym class, the coach notices, and instructs him to go take a shower. All the other boys have left, so he has the shower to himself. Suddenly all the showers in the room come on by themselves, and then the shower heads themselves lengthen and reach out from the wall, spraying Eddie with water. Then the clown's voice comes out of the drain. It then pushes the sides of the drain apart with its hands and sticks its head out. Eddie retreats, wheezing with his asthma as the clown talks to him. He escapes, remembering his fear as he gets on the train heading for Boston.Mike's next phone call goes to Beverly Hills, California. There, Richie Tozier has become a comedian, just finishing his routine. He leaves the stage, talking to his assistants. It's pandemonium in the back rooms. Richie finally picks up the phone. It's Mike. Richie immediately gets ready to leave for Derry, angering his manager, who thinks Richie is just running away from several important comedy jobs for a trivial reason. He has his own short flashback, being attacked by a werewolf in a cellar. Then he goes to the toilet to vomit and remembers the rest of that day.
In that flashback, Richie remembers listening to Bill telling a story, which all of his friends enjoy immensely. They sit around their campfire, built next to the dam they built earlier, talking about what they might want to do when they are grown. Bill, suddenly quiet and serious, starts to tell them something very important, warning them not to laugh or make fun. He is about to tell them the story of how George's photograph winked at him when they are interrupted by Officer Nell, who has come down to see why the storm drains aren't draining properly. It was the dam the kids built. They all own up to having worked on the dam. The policeman tells them to tear it down, reminding them to always play as a group because of the killer on the loose; another child was killed that morning. The next day at school, Stan and Richie are confronted by Henry and his friends in the cafeteria at lunchtime. Henry is still angry about having cola poured on him at the theater, and rubs mashed potatoes on Richie's glasses. Richie, tired of being pushed around and ever the smart-ass, throws his lunch in Henry's face and runs. Henry chases him but slips in some food and falls. Richie taunts him and takes off to run again, but this time collides with the school principal, spilling the principal's lunch all over the principal. Henry, knowing enough to not press the issue any further that day, stalks away. The school principal tells Richie to go get a mop from the janitor (who happens to be Beverly's father) to clean up the mess. Richie goes into the cellar to look for him, but instead finds the werewolf that he saw in the movie. The werewolf catches him, but Richie is able to wiggle free. When he looks back, the werewolf has turned into the clown. Richie runs away, back into the cafeteria. He says there's a werewolf in the cellar, and everyone laughs at him except his own circle of friends. Richie remembers being scared even as he tried to sleep that night as we shift back to the present.The next story is Mike's own. He looks at an old photograph and writes in his journal, remembering how he entered that particular circle of friends. On show-and-tell day at school, he brought an old photo album that his father assembled with pictures of Derry's past. He talks about the disasters in Derry's past, an explosion at the ironworks in 1930, some drowning deaths in 1900. The teacher is somewhat upset by the morbidity. Later, on the street, Mike is confronted by Henry and his friends. They intend to put a firecracker in his pocket. A businessman across the street shouts at Henry, giving Mike just enough time to grab his photo album and run. Henry and his friends chase him. Meanwhile, in the wooded area, the six friends are talking about what they've seen. All of them are relieved that they weren't the only ones to see something, except Stan, who hasn't seen anything yet and doesn't believe any of the stories. They are still talking about it when the winded Mike comes over the ridge, having run all the way from town with Henry and his friends close on his heels. Bill decides they should take a stand where they are at, and begin to gather rocks to drive off Henry. Mike reaches where the others are standing just before Henry and his friends arrive. He recognizes all of them, and hates all of them, and insults all of them, calling them the "Losers' Club", but tells them he only wants Mike that day. Bill's circle begins to throw rocks, and several of them start fistfights. One by one, Henry's friends retreat, until only Henry is left. Outnumbered 7 to 1, Henry also retreats, promising to kill the other kids. The others welcome Mike to their Losers' Club. Mike takes a photograph of all of them, the same photograph he would look at 30 years later. Then he shows the others the rest of his photographs and engravings. Even in the 1700s, there were pictures of Pennywise the Clown. The album begins to move by itself, until it opens to a picture of a street with a horse-drawn carriage. Suddenly the picture begins to move, the horse and people move around, and then the clown comes running down the street. It climbs up onto a light pole in the foreground and talks to the Losers out of the photograph, taunting and threatening them. The horrified kids close the book and reopen it, where the photograph is the same as it was before the movement started. Stan witnessed it too, he was the last one. He just wants to forget about it. The kids decide they'd better try to do something about it. Bill, who lost his brother to the monster, asks the rest of them to help him kill the monster.Mike remembers all this writing at the library after hours. When he looks up, there are muddy footprints and a balloon on his desk.Mike then places his last call, to Stan Uris, now living in Atlanta. Stan hesitates when Mike reminds him of his promise and asks him to come. Stan returns to the living room where his wife asks who was on the phone. Stan, looking rattled, goes up to take a bath, which is out of character for him at this time of the evening. As he gets undressed, he has his flashback.He remembers reciting the Boy Scout Oath. The seven Losers are having a slingshot competition, to determine who should be the one to shoot at the monster. Beverly is far and away the best shot, getting 10 out of 10 shots. No one else did better than 3. Richie gives Beverly two silver earrings that he sneaked from his mother's jewelry box, this will be their ammunition against the monster. Stan remains skeptical as they walk toward the sewer building on another rainy day. They all take a shot from Eddie's aspirator - something to unite them - although Richie remarks that it's disgusting and tastes like battery acid. Then they enter the building. Henry and his two closest friends were just outside, and follow them - Henry intends to make good on his promise that he made on the day of the rock fight. The Losers' Club, still unaware of Henry, descend into the sewers. Henry sees them and sends his friends into other pipes, hoping to trap the Losers. They know the layout of the pipes because they chased a dog through the sewers one time. The Losers walk through the pipes, with Eddie, the best navigator, directing them. Suddenly the monster appears, in the form of a bright white light, and attacks Victor, Henry's friend that he sent off to chase the Losers from another direction. Belch (Henry's other friend) and Henry capture Stan silently even without Victor's help and drag him away. The Losers don't immediately notice his disappearance. Henry and Belch are preparing to torture and kill Stan when the monster comes for them, too, again in the form of white light. The monster takes Belch first, and then comes back, although it does not take Henry, his hair turns white immediately from fear and shock while Stan runs off. Stan catches up with the rest of his own group, just ahead of the monster, which soars over them. As they glance up, they see a large, glowing light grid, shaped almost like a turtle shell. The monster passes them by. The kids are still alive and unhurt, clearly the monster was not as strong as it would have liked. A fog suddenly comes out of the walls, forcing the kids to grab hands to stay together. Apparitions appear to several of them, trying to get them to break the circle. The clown appears and grabs Stan. The clown tells the group that it deliberately frightens the children before killing them because they taste better when they are scared. Eddie distracts the clown with his aspirator, remembering Richie's remark about battery acid, long enough for Beverly to shoot it with the first silver earring. The clown jumps into the drain to escape. The kids try to grab it to prevent it from leaving, but its claws break through the clown gloves and eventually, a large, 3-fingered claw takes the place of the clown's hand. The kids scream and the monster escapes. It growls in agony, leaving the kids wondering whether or not they really killed it. Still uncertain, they leave, and Bill asks them to swear to him that they will all come back to fight it again if it ever shows up. Again, Stan hesitates, and he ends up being the last one to swear.Back in the present, Stan's wife comes to the bathroom, puzzled by the extended silence. She enters the bathroom and sees Stan in the tub, dead. He committed suicide by slitting his wrists. He drew the word "IT" on the wall in his own blood. His wife screams, and thus ends the first half of the movie.The second half of the movie begins with Bill arriving back in Derry for the first time since he was a kid. The woman at the motel is starstruck, she is a fan of his horror books. Feeling restless, he goes for a cab ride, seeing how downtown has changed. The movie theater is now abandoned. Bill arrives at the cemetery where George is buried and visits his graves. Then he has a vision of Pennywise in front of seven graves, one of which appears to be taken already. When he looks again, there is nothing there. He then goes to the city library where Mike works. Some of his own books are on display. He sees Mike for the first time in years. Mike welcomes him and they go for a walk. Bill doesn't remember much - yet. They arrive at Mike's house, who lives just down the street from where Beverly lived as a girl. They have a beer, and then Mike shows Bill a surprise. He found Bill's old bicycle in a pawn shop a year earlier, and bought it, just in case. Bill fixes up the bike while Mike changes clothes. Putting his hand on the handlebar, Bill has another flashback, this time of helping Stan escape something on the bicycle.Richie arrives in a rented car and gets a scare of his own, seeing his own obituary on the marquee outside the abandoned theater. He races to the library to find Mike, but Mike left with Bill a little while earlier. Richie decides to wait for him. He is very much on edge and jumpy. Then he hears the clown's voice. No one else hears it, and when he replies to him, everyone looks at him funny for talking in the library. The clown appears and sends down many blood-filled balloons, no one else notices. The clown continues mocking Richie while he talks to the assistant librarian, more and more hysterically. Richie flees the library.When Mike comes back into his back yard, Bill has got the bicycle in rideable condition. They go for a bike ride together for old-time's sake, remembering how they did much the same thing as kids. Mike hands Bill a deck of cards to stick in the spokes for noise. Bill fumbles the deck and drops the cards, and the two of them receive three scares at once: Only two of the 52 cards land face up. Both are the ace of spades. And the back of the cards has the picture of the clown on them.Ben arrives in town in a cab, and tells the driver to stop and wait for him at the bridge over the stream that he helped dam up many years before. He goes down to look around and sees a fat boy climbing down the embankment with some other boys close behind. He immediately remembers when he did the exact same thing, fleeing Henry, 30 years earlier. The bullies push the fat kid to the ground and run away. Ben, sympathizing with the fat kid, ties his handkerchief around the kid's injured leg. Then Ben goes toward the swamp where he saw his father's ghost. This time, he just sees a skeleton, and then nothing. A hand falls on his shoulder, and the jumpy Ben almost screams, but it was only a bum asking for spare change. A shaken Ben gets back in the cab and they continue into town. Ben sees the clown by the roadside.Eddie also arrives downtown, and his first stop is the drugstore where he got so much of his asthma medicine in the past. He has a flashback to when he was 11. The drugstore's proprietor, thinking he is now old enough to understand, takes him into the back and tells him that so many of his problems are all in his head. His mother stifled him so much and convinced him that he was always sick, and Eddie doesn't believe it when the drugstore's proprietor tells him that his medicine is only a placebo. The adult Eddie still needs the stuff, and picks up some at the drugstore. Then he sees the proprietor in the back. His grandson runs the store now, the old man has retired and doesn't seem to be quite all there any more. But he does remember Eddie, saying a few disjointed words about the placebo. Suddenly the old man grabs Eddie's arm and the clown's voice comes out, warning him to leave town. As quickly as it started, he goes back to being a senile old man.Beverly arrives on foot at her old house, hoping to meet her father. Instead a woman in late middle age answers the door, informing Beverly that her father has been dead for five years. The woman invites Beverly inside for tea. Beverly goes to the bathroom, and stares into the sink where the blood came out years before, before washing up. Instead of blood coming out of the sink, it rapidly fills with droplets from the tap. She comes back into the main room, admiring what the woman had done to fix up the house. But the woman's appearance gradually changes, becoming uglier. Beverly's tea cup suddenly contains blood. The woman's voice changes to her father's voice, and Beverly runs out into the street. She looks back and the clown is on the porch. A truck almost hits her in the street, and when she looks back again, the house is abandoned and boarded up.
Back in England, the movie producer has come to see Audra, enraged by Bill's sudden departure. The producer swears that Bill will never work on another movie, and warns Audra not to leave too lest her career meet the same fate. Audra, worried about Bill, leaves anyways. Mike has arranged a reunion dinner at a local Chinese restaurant in Derry. One by one, the Losers arrive, marveling at how they have changed, Ben having lost weight. Richie is the most shaken, going to the bathroom to regain his composure before he goes back to greet them and be a smart-ass. Beverly is the last to arrive, even fainting from the stress. When she comes around, they share stories of what they saw during the day. All of them got scares of some kind. None of them remember very much yet. At Richie's request, they decide to go ahead with the dinner even though Stan has not yet arrived (they do not yet know that he is dead) and talk about something other than the monster for awhile. They do so.They have a big meal and talk about several subjects. Richie's multiple failed marriages, Ben having escaped it several times. Eddie says he's seeing someone but doesn't have much spare time. Beverly mentions her boyfriend. Then the topic turns to Henry. It seems Henry was blamed for all the killings in 1960, had confessed, and he had been sent to an insane asylum where he remained to this day. That same day, the clown appeared in the moon and started talking to Henry. The clown wants Henry to break out of the asylum and go back to Derry and kill the Losers.At the end of the meal, Richie announces his intentions to leave the next morning. He's clearly not committed to killing the monster. Eddie isn't enthusiastic, either, but they realize they're all beating around the bush and not talking about the monster. The group opens their fortune cookies and they get scares from them. All of them contain something disgusting - an eye, a baby bird, something with claws, a gout of blood, a cockroach, and a spider. The Losers flee the restaurant and go to the library.There, Mike tries once more to call Stan. Beverly sees the blood from when Richie got his scare and remembers trying to clean up the blood in her bathroom when she was little. As soon as she had cleaned it up, more blood came out. Richie begins to tell jokes, trying to lighten the mood. Mike hangs up the phone, having just learned that Stan committed suicide. He informs the group. The suddenly somber Losers begin to talk about the monster. Suddenly Bill understands why he saw one occupied grave out of seven in his vision at the cemetery earlier that day. Then he remembers a day when they were kids when Stan had almost been killed, even after the day he saw the moving photograph with Mike and the others. Stan had been birdwatching at the park when some voices called to him from a nearby house. He went to investigate, figuring there was a rational explanation, and when he entered, the door closed and locked behind him, and a mummy began to walk down the stairs toward him. Stan, unable to think clearly, simply started to recite the names of all the birds he could think of. It worked, the mummy withdrew and the door opened. Stan escaped and ran away through the park. Eddie remembers that Stan had also seen the monster when it had taken Belch and driven Henry insane, seeing not the clown but what was behind the clown, which he referred to as "the deadlights". Mike opens the refigerator and dozens of balloons sail out, leaving Stan's head inside. The head taunts the suriviving Losers before Mike slams the door closed. All the doors in the library slam shut and books fly off the shelves, Papers fly around randomly and the typewriter types with no one operating it. Rain begins to fall indoors. The six of them gather together and form a new circle. The rain stops and the lights come back on. Bill looks at the paper in the typewriter. His stutter is getting worse and he can't read it aloud. Ben does it for him: "He thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts". It's an exercise to help stutterers. They leave, carrying boxes of supplies with them.At the insane asylum, the moon sets and Belch appears under Henry's bed. Henry speaks aloud, attracting the attention of the ill-tempered night guard. Belch tells him to just think what he wants to say. Belch, invisible and inaudible, tells Henry that he will need to get out, because Henry was a living, mortal human being, and could not be stopped by silver or incantations. Belch tells Henry to walk toward the door, and he would take care of the guard. Sure enough, when the guard comes out to beat up Henry, Belch appears to him as Doberman Pinscher wearing a clown suit, allowing Henry to escape.At the hotel, the Losers continue their discussion. Richie, seeing flashlights and helmets in the boxes, drunkenly shouts that he does not want to go into the sewers. Eddie asks Mike to tell them more stories about the monster. Mike hands around old newspapers and tells them about all the children who were killed or disappeared. No one did anything except they themselves, and when Henry confessed the killings stopped. He tells them about the disasters that happened in town every 30 years. They remember his show-and-tell presentation, and Beverly notices for the first time their teacher deliberately didn't want to know. She also remembers how Henry and his friends had sexually harassed her outside her house one day, and she looked across at a neighbor hoping for help, but the neighbor simply went indoors. Only the arrival of her father saved her, one of the few times she was happy to see him. Mike told them about the killings that had started in the present, and then showed them the picture of George, which he had found at the latest crime scene only the day before.Mike then notes how their being together and united made them strong, and protected them from being picked off one by one. Then he notes that all of them who left, including Stan, had become at least moderately rich. Mike had stayed put and was still lower middle class at best. Also, none of them had had children. Even in the era of birth control, seven people childless at age 40 was quite a coincidence. Meanwhile, Audra arrived in town at night and was immediately confronted and taken, although not killed, by the clown, who posed at first as a gas station attendant.Ben told the story of how he had gotten thin. In high school, he had been inspired by a cruel gym coach to start running and try out for the track team. After some months, he kept his word and beat the coach's best guys at track and asked the coach to apologize. The coach hit him instead, and lost his job. But they are once again beating around the bush. Beverly tells them about how when all of them came to help her clean up the blood in the bathroom, it never returned. As the night wears on, they decide to return to their rooms to take a break and refresh themselves. It's not a good idea to separate, so they keep their doors open. Nevertheless, Mike is attacked by Henry in one of the rooms while he's by himself. Beverly finds Ben and asks him about the postcard and Ben admits to it and kisses her, only for her to change into the clown again - Beverly was never really there at all. The clown disappears. Eddie finally hears the commotion, and he and Ben break into the room where Mike and Henry are. Henry, who now looks like an old man, managed to gravely injure Mike, but he ended up impaled on his own switchblade and died. The Losers load Mike into Richie's rented car and go to the hospital. In the morning, they wait around while the doctors examine Mike. Beverly talks to Ben about the monster. Then she tells Ben she now sees the mistake she made, getting together with Tom, who turned out to be abusive, everything she hated in her father. Ben tries to console her, telling her that he had never really felt anything and she was luckier in that regard. Beverly mentions the postcard, and Ben, remembering his last encounter with Pennywise, is shocked, but this is the real Beverly, not the clown; and they begin to kiss. Just then, Eddie comes outside to get their attention. Mike will live, although he isn't going home any time soon. Bill goes to see him and they come up with their cover story in case anyone asks about the accident. Mike directs Bill to his jacket. In the pocket are the silver earrings. Mike tells Bill how some few years ago, he was feeling depressed and close to suicide. He went back into the sewers to look for the earrings, halfway hoping the monster would wake up and kill him. When he came out, he got things together, but the fear had made him start to turn gray. Back at the hotel, the five remaining Losers cover Henry's body and decide not to involve the police yet. They think something would happen to them if they did. Richie and Eddie are ready to leave town, but Ben persuades them to hang a Do Not Disturb sign on the door to buy time while they went outside to talk further. They leave the hotel. Bill is the last one, and before he leaves, he sees a woman and her son playing the piano in a room off to the side. They were playing the same piece his mother was playing on the day George died. Bill comes back outside, where the others are all ready to leave. He tells them he can't leave. He has made a living scaring people, but he has been scared his whole life by what had happened. After the fun times at the reunion had worn off, it is revealed that all the Losers, although well-off, have been unhappy and screwed-up as adults. Bill doesn't want to be scared any more. He vows to return to the sewers to kill the monster, and once more asks them to come back with him to kill the monster. One by one, they come over to him, Richie last.In Richie's rented car, they return to the bridge over the stream. Beverly still has the slingshot, the only thing she saved from the old days. Bill gives her the earrings, telling her about Mike, and saying the earrings were for Mike and Stan. Richie is still unhappy about going through with it and states that they should've brought a gun instead, but he comes along. They enter the sewer building and climb into the same pipe they went into thirty years earlier. The first thing they see, instead of an orange pom-pom like the last time, is a purse - Audra's purse. Bill, for the first time realizing that she followed him, runs through the pipes calling for her. The others hurry after him. Bill blames himself for telling her where he was going..They remind him that they must kill the monster to save her.
They continue through the pipes, Eddie navigating as before. They arrive in the four-way chamber where they had their showdown the first time. The building has been neglected. The cracks in the walls caused by the first confrontation with the monster thirty years earlier were never repaired, and plant roots have come through the walls and ceiling. Just then, the paper boat appears after a 30-year absence. George's ghost appears to Bill and blames him for his death. The others remind him that there's nothing really there, and that Bill was not at fault for George's death. The ghost vanishes. Bill challenges the monster to show itself. The clown appears to them, still taunting them, and vanishes. Richie thinks it's impossible to fight a ghost that vanishes, but Bill reminds them, the monster eats, and in order to eat, it has to take a physical form which can be killed. He places the paper boat in the water channel and follows it as the currents carry it away toward the monster.The channel goes into a tunnel and continues through a cave that appears not to be part of the sewer at all. There are human bones scattered around the cave, and a small door surrounded by candles leading to the monster's lair. Before they go through the door, Eddie confesses that he lied earlier. He isn't seeing anyone, and he never has. He's still a virgin, even though he's 40 now.The group goes through the door, into a large, alien cave. There are bodies suspended from the ceiling in things that look like cobwebs. One of them is Audra, who appears to be in a vegetative state. Finally the monster appears to them, in the form of a giant spider. The spider has razor-sharp teeth and the same 3-fingered claws that the Losers saw the first time they defeated the clown. Beverly shoots at the spider, but the silver slug bounces harmlessly off the spider's exoskeleton. Beverly shoots again, with the same result.The spider then stands up and light glows from his chest, hypnotizing Bill (the light appears to be coming from the same glowing grid that passed over the group in the sewers during their first confrontation). Ben and Richie approach and are also hypnotized. Only Eddie and Beverly are left. Beverly goes around the spider to look for the silver, while Eddie remembers Richie's remark about battery acid. Shielding his eyes from the hypnotizing light, he steps forward and shoots his aspirator at the spider, saying it's battery acid. The spider is unfazed, picking up Eddie. Beverly finds one of the slugs and shoots the spider in the chest. This part of the spider is vulnerable, and it collapses, dropping Eddie, who was mortally wounded. He dies surrounded by his friends.The spider crawls off, moaning, deeper into the cave. The remaining four Losers have gained in resolve. Even Richie is committed to finishing it off now, and they pursue it. They corner it, push it over on its side and punch into its still-glowing chest, finally tearing out its heart and hoisting it overhead. The monster is dead at last.
Bill, remembering Audra, returns to the room he just left, where the cobwebs are rapidly decaying, lowering the bodies to the floor. Bill catches the catatonic Audra and carries her. They return to the outside world, with Richie carrying Eddie's corpse.Mike, some few weeks later, read his journal entry about the adventure, having started to forget things himself. He will be out of the hospital soon. Richie had returned to Los Angeles and had a part in a comedy movie, with another comedian who look and acted like Eddie. Ben and Beverly left together. Before long they had gotten married, and shortly after Beverly was pregnant. Another curse was broken. Bill and Audra were still in town, but Audra's condition was unchanged. Just before they were set to go back home, Bill spots his old bicycle by Mike's house. He climbs onto it and puts Audra on his lap and starts cycling down the hill toward downtown. The trick worked, Audra wakes up, although she has no idea where she is, all is well once again. | dark, comedy, gothic, murder, paranormal, horror, flashback, good versus evil, revenge, sadist | train | imdb | Stephen King's book is awfully graphic and the movie would have been twice as scary if they had shown a bit more gore.
That is the big climax?"Bottom line is that for a TV movie with such strict time limits "It" did a very good job at bringing this scary book to life.
However, considering that the book upon which it is based takes over 1,000 pages to tell its story, it is hardly surprising that the film version needs so much running time to cram in all the twists and turns.
Thirty years later, the seven are all grown up, but they re-unite to seek out the monster when it once more awakens for its regular killing spree.The acting is very goood, especially John Ritter as a successful architect and Tim Curry as the terrifying Pennywise the Clown.
The most striking thing about the film was Tim Curry's iconic, creepy performance as Pennywise the murderous clown.
The bad news is that, with rare exception (eg - SHINING) the B-grade studios that made easy money doing "tv movies" (you had to be there, otherwise you would not understand) generally snapped up his stuff and then did cheap, low-talent adaptations.Wotta waste.IT was one of King's more interesting works and this is one of the less awful adaptations.
STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All CostsAdapted from the epic novella by Stephen King,It is set in the town of Derry,Maine,in 1960.A series of gruesome child killings are going on,which seem to replicate similar events that happen every 30 years in the town,rounded off by a big disaster that causes similar confusion and devastation.Seven young kids are drawn together over the course of the summer to face off against a psychotic bully named Henry Bowers and his gang,as well as coming face to face with the perpetrator of the horrific killings,a monster which generally takes the shape of a clown named Pennywise (Tim Curry).One day,they decide to go down in to the sewers and confront and kill It once and for all.They believe they have done this,only to get a call 30 years later informing them that this is not the case and that they must now abide by a promise they made as kids to return once again to do battle with It if it ever returned.Now,as mature adults instead of naive kids (and therefore finding it harder to believe) can they be as successful?Very rarely do adaptations of King novels translate well to the screen,with only a handful of exceptions,and the producers of this two parter certainly had an even harder job on their hands turning a book of over 1000 pages in to a film adaptation.Under the circumstances,one might say they haven't done too bad a job,but they've had to edit out a lot of key sequences (and even characters) from the book,and as a result,they've ended up with a script that's had to leave out a lot of the original source material,and so you don't get the full effect of the book,which was a real door stopper of a book that took forever to read but engrossed you right to the end all the same.So as you might expect this film adaptation isn't as good as that but it's still an impressive, scary enough effort all things considered that spreads out an epic story engrossingly enough.On the acting front,the child actors (with the exception of the one who played Bowers) fare better than the adult actors,with the exception,of course,of Tim Curry in terrifying form as Pennywise (one of the scariest characters in the history of cinema,never mind the fact he only ever appeared in a TV movie) and possibly Harry Anderson.Some of them are laughably bad in parts(especially the one playing the adult Bill when he tries to stutter,so sad when young Johnathon Brandis played him so well).Pennywise always gave me the creeps,possibly in a way no other horror movie character could,and nothing else is scarier in the film.But maybe scares aren't the main aim of the game here,this being a Stand By Me style King fable of friendship over-coming great evil against all odds.Overall,this is a decent enough effort taking on the challenging task of turning an 1000+ page book into a feature adaptation,where it's easy to see where the cracks are showing but easy to appreciate for the things it gets right.***.
Another major disappointing aspect of the movie are the special effects and the awful ending that is just a major let down and just isn't fitting and doesn't seem to have an awful lot to do to the earlier scary moments and the character Pennywise/It.Still for the fans of the horror-genre, there is plenty to enjoy.
The movie has some good, original and well constructed scary moments and the character Pennywise/It should be reason enough for horror-fans to watch this two part made for TV movie.The cast mainly consists out of TV actors and aren't much good or likable.
In 1990, when a mysterious serial-killer attacks children in Derry, Maine, the local librarian Mike Hanlan (Tim Reid) feels that something is wrong in his hometown and calls his childhood outcast friends that formed the loser club and that are presently successful professionals Bill Denbrough (Richard Thomas), who is a writer of horror novels that is working with his wife Audra (Olivia Hussey) in a movie in Hampstead, England; the awarded architect Ben Hanscom (John Ritter) in Houston, Texas; the designer Beverly Marsh (Annette O'Toole) in Chicago, Illinois; the entrepreneur Eddie Kaspbrack (Dennis Christopher) in Great Neck, New York; the comedian Ritchie Tozier (Harry Anderson) in Beverly Hills, California; and Stanley Uris (Richard Masur) in Atlanta, Georgia.
Although being a child of the 80's and a long time reader of Stephen King novels I've never gotten around to watching this classic until now, and man, I'm glad that did!Having seen the 2017 IT-movie only a couple of days ago, and found it pretty lousy, I figured I had to give this one a try as well.
As for the clowns, Tim Curry did an excellent job with offering us a character that perfectly mixed the fun, jokes and games with an equal amount of psychosis, while Bill Skarsgård did the hungry for fear and mad creature which was intended for this horrific (in a good way) film.Nevertheless, each of them had their goods and bads, and I consider them equal over all.
The 1990 version of "IT" most certainly has a good story, and this is definitely a good interpretation of the novel.However it just suffers from catering to a too broad audience in terms of having a fairly low rating, because a lot of scenes could have been so much more convincing with more graphic details of violence and horror.Good and wholesome entertainment, and the movie (or mini-series, as it actually is) never really ages or becomes boring to watch.
You know every time that I mention this movie or book, all my friends say that this story is the reason for their clown phobia, funny enough, it's mine too.
Made for TV, almost 4 hours long(oddly enough not enough time for this huge story), it was a very decent horror movie that could easily give anyone nightmares for many nights.A group of friends are re-united and go back to Maine when an old friend calls them up and tells them about the murders that were similar to the one's that happened 30 years ago.
Now this is how you do a good horror film with no Cgi grafts but with good writing I have always wanted too see this movie as it look really good and what to say I really enjoyed it Tim Curry is great as pennywise the clown and he does a fantastic job at it while it may not be as good as the novel its still wroth watching soundtrack is very well done giving it a very spooky tone Stephen King has blown me away again with his movies and this is What I call a good horror film horror films in the 90s where at their finest as it was the golden era of horror films.
Now I have heard about the 2017 remake and I plan to watch it but while it be as good as the original only time will tell fantastic horror film from the begging to the end 10/10.
Despite that, it was much better than expected (possibly because of the familiarity held with the ending) and, in numerous scenes, you can feel the anticipation of that moment which, may or may not be delivered, installing a sense of dread every time you see anybody you don't already know.The mini-series, as expected, does keep the violence and gore to a minimum, but, (partly thanks to a chilling soundtrack by Richard Bellis) the mini-series is, in fact, scary, and it is easy to see how Pennywise has traumatised so many children..
While the acting in this version of Stephen King's It, is for the most past good, (who can argue with Tim Curry as the clown), it none the less was stripped of a lot of its themes to be put to television.
While the acting in this version of Stephen King's It, is for the most past good, (who can argue with Tim Curry as the clown), it none the less was stripped of a lot of its themes to be put to television.
Children from the town are disappearing without a trace and pretty soon seven friends, known as The Losers Club, come together when they start to be haunted by a bizarre clown known as Pennywise (Tim Curry).
Decades later the group must come back together to finish what they started and end the clown forever.You can check out the two separate episode entries for a more detailed look at both parts but on the whole there's no question that this here is one of the better made-for-television horror movies out there.
For all its good acting, cinematography, and pacing ( despite its three hours long run time ) the film is sunk by a terrible ending, like something out of a dime store 1950s monster movie.
It takes everything you've ever known about cheesy horror, puts it in a melting pot and then tries to give it to you like it's as serious and dark as it thinks it is.Pennywise was amazing in both the book and movie, but in such a horrible context I cannot even give him much praise.
WHat makes this film so good, like the best films of King's books, is that they seem to translate well to mini-series events.
Especially great in his role was Tim Curry as Pennywise the clown (from hell) who was so into his part during filming that the rest of the cast avoided him.
I was not around to see the mini-series version of "It" when it first aired on ABC in 1990 but I recently bought the DVD and watched it today.I would say this is the longest horror film of all time being a bit over 3 hours long.I would list Stephen King as my favorite author.He has made some books I didn't enjoy, but I do enjoy most of them.I read the novel "It" about a year ago.I would say that "It" is King's best.The novel is extremely long(it's over 1100 pages) and the novel could have been trimmed a bit, but the novel is a very interesting and disturbing look at children and their fears.If you are a Stephen King or horror novel fan, then "It" is a must!
Now for the film adaptation.I was actually expecting the movie to be much worse than it actually was.Since it was a made for TV movie, I expected it to be pretty bad, but it was actually decent and if you have not read the novel, you should like it(though the length might turn people off).The acting is fairly good especially from Tim Curry who played a good role as the sadistic Pennywise the clown.The rest of the cast includes John Ritter,Annette O'Toole and a young Seth Green.Being a made for TV movie, the film didn't touch many of the disturbing aspects of the novel.The movie did'nt show Henry Bowers avid racism and homophobia or his equally racist father and his slow turn to insanity.The movie didn't show the extended history of "It" and the movie didn't show a variety of other things that made the book shocking and disturbing.The plot involves a group of young friends in the 1950's who must stop an evil monster who can transform into a persons worst fear, who haunts their small town of Derry,Maine, while they fight off local bullies and cope with their own problems.Then in the 1980's, they all find out that "It" is still alive and killing so they all return to Derry and try to destroy it again.So the movie was definitely not as good as the novel, but it was still a fairly decent horror film..
All the actors, young and old involved in the movie are really good and most of the time you can really feel there terror of the clown called 'IT' who likes to terrorise children.
Stephen King is my favourite writer and I've read the book about It. It's true, that the novel is better, but in my opinion they made an exciting film from it..
We eventually watched it, and it took me years to get rid of the horrible clown thoughts!This is a two part film, one looking at the past of the main characters stories and relationships, along with their experiences with Pennywise the Dancing Clown, leaving the second part reviving the disbanded group, who are now adults, and after many years they have pledged they must do something about the evil clown!This intriguing story takes place in Maine, a typical location for Stephen King.
But in true King fashion, he executes his story with great ideas, good build up and scares at the right time, making it a believable and enjoyable movie to watch.A fantastic TV movie which does not disappoint, however as it is a TV movie, it does feel at times to drag on a little bit, perhaps it is best watched in two sittings.
Without the clown this film would probably have become another non entity, as despite its appeal, it is low budget, and the scenes/acting often get a little cheesy, despite the fact that its based on a brilliant book (which I didn't read until about 8 years after first seeing the film).The movie is set in Derry, Maine, which is where a number of Kings stories are based.
The story of this entity is told through the medium of 7 young children, who face IT as 11 year old school children, then again 30 years later as grown adults.This film had/has a big impact on me, mainly for the fact that I first saw it when I was 11, and it was the first time I had seen such a horrific and scary representation of a clown.
It's also worth noting that as I didn't watch this movie until 2008, other movies with improved graphics/detail had more or less desensitized me from the 'fear' this movie was intended to provoke.I gave this move a 6 because I appreciate that for its time & for it's blatant effect on my sisters view of clowns it is obviously a great movie (I noticed another review referenced it to the book saying it was a good adaptation - which - is hard to come by now-a-days).
Tim Curry was brilliant and the main characters were great.This film is based on the book from 1986.
They don't convert Stephen king work into movies too well..Except Misery..And this was no exception..But one thing saved this film..Tim curry..The book was amazing..Possibly the best horror novel ever.And the On-screen adaption was a letdown.But Tim Curry was truly magnificent as Pennywise the Clown.
Its worth watching it just to see his Splendid performance.I would recommend they re-made it, as i believe they could do a better job the second time around, But i don't think they would ever be able to replace Tim Curry...
As for the actors well, they were OK but did'nt really look like the characters in the book except Tim Curry, who played Pennywise.
Curry was outstanding in the film and really should have got some kind of honor because he did a good job of scaring a lot of people who saw the movie.
All in all i should say that the film is worth watching because the story is still very good but i always wish that they had put more effort into making IT more like the book.
But still a horror film back in the day.Pennywise is a brilliantly written character, and only made better by a great performance by Tim curry.
King is an excellent writer and all of his works are very interesting and quite scary, so naturally the story to this film (adapted from the book, obviously) is also very good.
I LOVED the book and it could have made a fine film but sadly that will never be the case now.The only redeeming features in the entire shambolic mess were the kid actors and Tim Curry (who never seems to mess up in anything he's in).I could write pages and pages about why it is such a bad movie but I'm not going to waste my time.
there are some things I like about stephen king's work but this movie/TV show I always found hard to engage with in a way I wanted to, the lore of the monster seems too ambiguous to make any sense of ,at least this adaptation of the novel does.
If you wanna see a good Tim Curry film, check out "THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW." He is in make-up in that movie too. |
tt3521164 | Moana | Gramma Tala (voice: Rachel House) is telling a story to a group of children, with an animated tapa cloth illustrating her words. From the ocean sprang the island goddess Te Fiti. She lay on her side, with her curves becoming mountains and valleys. And in the center was her heart, a stone with a spiral shape on one side, giving out the force of life. Men began to covet her heart, wanting its life-giving power for themselves. A boat carrying the demigod Maui (voice: Dwayne Johnson) sailed toward the island, and he jumped off and magically transformed into a hawk. He landed on the island and changed again into a lizard to make his way through the forest. Reaching a row of large rocks, he became a bug and squeezed between them. When he reached the heart, he turned back into a man, and he used his large fish hook to pry out the heart.Without her heart, the island of Te Fiti began to crumble. Maui ran to the edge of the island, jumped off a cliff and changed into a hawk in midair, then flew back to his boat. He tried to escape, but a lava monster named Te Ka, who also wanted the heart, arose from the sea into a volcano and started to erupt. Maui grabbed his hook and jumped at Te Ka. There was a blinding flash, and Maui was struck from the sky. Maui, the hook and the heart were lost at sea.A thousand years later, Te Ka still lurks, draining fish from the ocean and swallowing up one island after another until there will be none left. But, Gramma Tala says, one day a hero will journey beyond the reef, find Maui and sail with him across the ocean to restore the heart and save everyone. One little girl is spellbound, but the other children are terrified. Before Tala can continue, Chief Tui (voice: Temuera Morrison) reminds the children of the most important rule of the island, the one that keeps them safe: nobody goes beyond the reef.The spellbound girl, the toddler Moana (voice: Louise Bush), slips away and walks to the beach. She sees a baby turtle being menaced by a group of seabirds and she escorts it into the ocean, shading it with a leaf and shooing the birds away. When the turtle is safe, the ocean recedes, revealing a trail of beautiful seashells, which Moana gathers in her tiny arms. A wave forms over her head and magically stays in place. She pokes the wave with her finger and water drips down on her. The wave comes down over her hair and gives her a silly hairstyle. Moana plays with the wave some more, and then the ocean parts, making a canyon that she walks through. She sees a shiny object, and the ocean brings it closer. It's a glowing green stone with an interesting spiral shape.She picks up the stone and, just then, her father, Chief Tui, calls out to her. The ocean lifts her and deposits her back on the shore. Her father races over and picks her up, causing her to drop the stone. Before she can see where it went, her father pulls her close and tells her never to go into the ocean again. He takes her back to the village where her mother, Sina (voice: Nicole Scherzinger), is waiting for them. She tells Moana that she will do wondrous things as the next chief of the island but Tui tells her that she must learn where she's meant to be.Growing up, Moana learns everything about life on her island, Motunui (song: "Where You Are"). She finds herself drawn to the ocean but, every time she goes near it, her parents drag her back, away from the water. She never even learns to sail. Gramma Tala encourages Moana to follow her heart and listen to the voice inside, to figure out who she really is. One day, Chief Tui leads the now sixteen-year-old Moana (voice: Auli'i Cravalho) up to the peak of the tallest mountain. He shows her a tall pile of stones and tells her that one day, she will place her stone on the pile, just as he and the chiefs before him did.Moana makes her rounds of the island, giving advice to everyone who asks. When a man points out the rooster Heihei (voice: Alan Tudyk) dumbly pecking at a rock, Moana tells him that sometimes strength is hidden beneath the surface. A fisherman walks up to her and tells her that there are fewer fish every day. She suggests fishing in different areas but they have already tried that. She tells him that they should try fishing beyond the reef but Tui reminds her of the rule. The men walk away, leaving Moana alone. Sina walks up to her and explains that once, Tui went sailing beyond the reef with a friend and ran into giant waves. Tui was unable to save his friend and he doesn't want to lose Moana the same way. Sina tells her she must make her own choices, however hard they are.Moana climbs the peak, preparing to add her stone to the pile. She sees the sun reflect off the ocean and she realizes that she can't ignore the call of the water any more (song: "How Far I'll Go"). She drops her stone and runs down to the sea. She takes her pet pig, Pua, on a boat and casts off. She feels excitement as a wave picks her up but then the wind changes and the boom swings toward her and just misses her head. She feels relief but another wave hits the boat, knocking Pua overboard. A third wave hits, knocking her off as well and breaking the boat. She hits the surface with Pua in her arms but waves continue to hit the broken boat, driving it into her head and pushing her underwater. She gets her foot trapped in coral, unable to break free. She grabs a rock and smashes the coral then swims back to the surface. The waves push her and Pua back to the shore. The boat comes back in pieces and Moana knows she'll be in trouble for what she did. Gramma Tala walks up to her and Moana says that Tui was right about going out there. She tells Tala that she's going to put her stone on the pile. Tala sees a school of manta rays swim up and says that when she dies, she's going to come back as one of them. Desperate for advice, Moana asks Tala if there's anything she wants to tell her and Tala asks her if there's anything she wants to hear. Tala walks off and Moana decides to follow her, knowing that she would tell a good story.Carrying a torch, Tala leads Moana into a cavern. Tala tells her to go inside and bang the drum to get the answers she's looking for. Moana carefully makes her way into the dark cavern, finding dozens of boats--outrigger sailing canoes. She jumps onto a canoe and sees a log drum. Picking up a pair of sticks next to it, she bangs on the drum, causing torches to magically light up, illuminating the tapa sail. She sees an image of her ancestors, voyagers who fearlessly sailed the ocean, finding new homes whenever they needed to (song: "We Know the Way"). She asks Tala why they ever stopped voyaging and Tala tells her about Maui. After he stole the heart, the ships that sailed out never came back. And Te Ka has been chasing away the fish, draining life from one island after another. She repeats what she told Moana as a child, that one day someone will restore the heart and save everyone. Then, she presses a green stone into Moana's hand. Moana recognizes it as the same stone the ocean lead her to years before. Tala points to a hook-shaped constellation and tells her that Maui can be found at the bottom of his hook.Tui is talking to the island council, trying to reassure them that they won't run out of food, when Moana bursts in and tells him that she can restore the heart of Te Fiti. Angrily, he grabs the green stone from her hand and throws it into the bushes. She runs to get it and finds Gramma Tala's walking stick as well. A warrior runs up and tells them that Tala is not well. Moana and Tui run toward her hut. Tala whispers in Moana's ear that she must leave now and then hands her the necklace that her voyager ancestors wore. Moana puts the heart of Te Fiti in the necklace and makes up her mind to leave. Grabbing supplies, she heads to the cavern and boards one of the canoes. As she sails off, she sees the light in Tala's hut go out. She sees the glow of a manta ray passing by, illuminating a safe passage. It looks just like her grandmother's manta ray tattoo. Reaching the ocean, Moana sets a course for Maui.Moana paddles the boat through the night and day. A clucking noise leads her to find Heihei in the cargo hold. As night falls, she starts to fall asleep and when a wave shocks her awake, she looks at the sky, unable to find the hook constellation. She sees that it's now behind her and tries to turn the boat around, but the wind pushes it over, dumping her into the water. She swims back to the boat and tries to right it, but the waves get worse. A large wave crashes down on her and everything goes black.When she opens her eyes, she finds herself on a shore. Feeling for her necklace, she is relieved to find the heart is still there. She sees Heihei pecking at a rock and notices that it has a hook design on it. Following a set of footprints, she sees a camp, and realizes Maui must be inside. She ducks behind her boat to prepare herself and Maui comes out and sees the boat. Joyously, he picks it up with one hand, revealing Moana behind it. He thinks she's just a young fan of his and he picks up Heihei and uses his beak to scratch a sort of autograph (a heart and a hook) into Moana's oar. He jokes that when you write with a bird, it's called tweeting.Moana tries to give the speech she's been practicing, telling him who she is, that she knows he stole the heart of Te Fiti, and that she needs him to restore it. He isn't interested but he distracts her by boasting about his exploits (song: "You're Welcome"). Moana gets a first glimpse of Maui's animated tattoos, which help him tell stories and sometimes serve as his conscience. Maui tosses her into a cave and rolls a boulder over the entrance. He takes her boat and sails off to get his magic hook. Inside the cave, Moana sees a statue that Maui made of himself. Finding a small opening in the ceiling, she climbs the statue, tips it over and climbs out. Seeing Maui sailing away, she jumps into the ocean to swim after him, but she can't keep up. Suddenly the ocean pulls her along rapidly and deposits her on the boat. Maui throws her off and the ocean puts her right back on. Maui throws away the heart and the ocean throws it back at him. He jumps off himself and the ocean puts him back on the boat. He tells her that the heart is a curse and bad things will come for them if they keep it. Just then, a spear lands on the side of the boat. Looking into a bank of fog, they see a large silhouette moving toward them.Maui tells Moana that they're under attack by the Kakamora, tiny coconut-shelled warriors. His first impulse is to flee but, when he urgently orders Moana to tighten the halyard and find the stays, she looks bewildered. "You can't sail?" he asks incredulously. "I'm self-taught," she replies. Meanwhile, the Kakamora load spears tied to ropes into their catapults, launch them at the boat, and zip-line across to it. They knock Moana to the deck, dislodging the heart from the necklace. Heihei gobbles up the heart and the Kakamora grab him and take him back to their ship. Moana tells Maui that they have to get Heihei back and Maui sails close to the other ship but he is intent on escape and not retrieving the heart. Moana jumps across and bats the Kakamora away with an oar. She runs past the Kakamora chief and grabs Heihei as they shoot blow darts at her. She uses a spear with a rope to zip-line herself back to her canoe. Heihei regurgitates the heart which Moana triumphantly grabs, before realizing that they are surrounded by Kakamora boats.Maui expertly sails through the swarm of boats, causing them to collide and sink. Maui tells Moana he won't help her return the heart but she says he'd be the biggest hero ever if he did. He replies that he won't be able to defeat Te Ka without his magic hook, so she says they need to go and get it. Maui sails them to the lair of Tamatoa (voice: Jemaine Clement), teaching Moana about sailing and wayfinding (celestial navigation) as they go. He moors the ship at a tall spire, the entrance to Lalotai, the realm of monsters. He tells her to stay put as he climbs the spire but she decides to follow him. They reach the plateau at the top and Maui stomps the ground, making a face carving appear. The mouth opens, revealing a vortex below. He jumps in and Moana follows him. They fall through the air and land in an ocean, still falling. They break into the underworld and a monster grabs Moana with its tongue.The monster is pulling Moana toward its mouth when another monster eats the first and she falls to the ground still wrapped in the first monster's tongue. She looks around and sees Maui's hook inside a cave, surrounded by treasure. Maui pops up behind her and tells her that he's going to use her as a distraction. She bangs gold objects together, trying to make as much noise as possible. Maui tells her that when Tamatoa shows up, she should get him to talk about himself. The floor rumbles and Tamatoa, a crab monster, greets her. He grabs her in a claw and asks her what she's doing there. As Maui sneaks toward the hook, Moana tells Tamatoa that she came to rob him but, now that she sees his splendor, she has to know how he became so beautiful. Smiling, Tamatoa tells her that he decorated himself and his cave with gold to lure in fish (song: "Shiny"). Then he lifts Moana in the air and draws her toward his mouth. Just then, Maui grabs his hook and pulls Moana free. He tries to transform into a hawk but ends up turning into other animals and then back to his demigod form. Tamatoa knocks Maui across the cave with a claw and continues hitting him. Moana begs him to stop but he throws her into a bone cage and continues hitting Maui. Moana slips out of the cage, unseen, and notices a crack in the cave's wall that she can escape through. Looking back, she realizes she can't leave Maui behind.Tamatoa grabs the hook back from Maui and knocks him across the cave again. As he's preparing to deliver a death blow, Moana holds up the green, glowing heart to get his attention. Tamatoa drops Maui and chases Moana, who loses her footing and drops the heart and it falls into a crevice. Tamatoa tries to grab it and Moana takes the hook and brings it to Maui, telling him they have to leave. He asks about the heart and she shows him the necklace with the heart still inside. When Tamatoa reaches into the crevice, he pulls out a barnacle covered with glowing algae. Enraged, he pursues the pair, who run out of the cave. They reach a geyser that erupts and shoots them high in the air and back into the ocean above.Returning to the shore, Maui tells Moana that since he can't control his transformations, they have no chance of beating Te Ka. She sees a tattoo on his back of a woman throwing a baby in to the sea, and asks him how he got it. He says that he was born a human and his mother didn't want him, tossing him into the ocean as a baby. But the gods found him, raised him, and gave him the hook. She says that the gods saw something in him that was worth saving and he starts practicing his transformations. He regains control, turning into a bug, a lizard, a shark and a hawk. Maui lets Moana navigate this time and, in the morning, she sees a ring of islands surrounding Te Fiti. Maui tells her that she has successfully delivered him across the ocean.Maui takes the heart from Moana, turns into a hawk, and flies over the islands. Te Ka roars to life and knocks him out of the sky. He hits the water below and Moana sails up to him and pulls him onto the boat. She tries to sail through a gap between the islands with Te Ka chasing them. Te Ka raises a fist and swings it toward Moana but Maui blocks it with his hook. The force of the impact causes the ocean to swell, pushing the boat away from the islands. When Moana comes to, she sees the canoe badly damaged and Maui shows her the hook with a crack down the middle and a piece missing. He tells her that if the hook takes one more hit, it will be destroyed. He says he's done helping her, turns into a hawk and flies off.After he leaves, a sad, down-hearted Moana begs the ocean to take the heart and find someone else to choose for the task of returning it. After a small hesitation, the ocean, reluctantly, takes the heart and returns it to the bottom of the sea.With the heart gone and feeling lost and unsure of what to do, Moana sees a glowing manta ray approaching the canoe and swims around it. Suddenly it disappears and a familiar voice greets her from the other side of the canoe.She tells Gramma Tala that she doesn't know what to do. Tala tells her to listen to the voice inside her. She envisions all of her ancestors encouraging her to continue the quest. Looking down into the water, she sees the glowing heart and dives in to grab it. When she resurfaces, Tala and the ancestors are gone and she is alone, but she knows what she has to do.She repairs the canoe and sails back to the islands, once again sailing up to the gap. Te Ka reappears and raises a fist to smash the canoe but Moana steers toward another gap, just avoiding the blow. When Te Ka catches up to her, she sails back to and through the first gap. Te Ka sends a giant wave toward her and the canoe capsizes. With boulders raining down around her, she tries to right the boat but she isn't strong enough. Te Ka raises a fist toward her but, at the last second, a hawk appears and blocks the blow. Maui resumes his demigod form and uses his hook to flip the canoe back over. Turning back into a hawk, he flies over Te Ka as Moana sails. Te Ka knocks him out of the sky and he lands on an island. He turns back into a demigod and finds Te Ka about to throw a laval boulder at Moana as she climbs the island mountain. He charges at Te Ka and bats the bolder with his fish hook, destroying both, and allowing Moana to reach the place where the island of Te Fiti should be only to find that Te Fiti is gone.Turning back to Te Ka, Moana notices a pattern on her chest. When Te Ka is about to kill Maui, Moana holds up the heart which starts to glow brightly. Seeing it, Te Ka turns toward Moana. Realizing what she has to do, she asks the ocean to part to allow Te Ka to come to her as she starts walking to meet her. She tells Te Ka to listen to the voice inside herself. She calms down and Moana walks up to her and puts the heart in the center of the spiral on her chest. With the heart restored, Te Ka, who was dark with highlights of red lava, returns to her original form of the green island goddess, Te Fiti. The ocean rises up and deposits Moana, Maui, and Heihei on the shore. Maui apologizes to Te Fiti for stealing her heart and she opens her hand and reveals his hook, completely repaired. Te Fiti lifts up Moana and they touch foreheads, before Moana is returned to the beach. Te Fiti also uses her magic to repair the canoe and decorate it with flowers. Moana tells Maui that he could come with her back to the island since her people need a master wayfinder and he replies that they already have one (meaning Moana herself). He hugs her then turns into a hawk and flies off.Sailing back home, Moana sees that all the plants and fish have returned to Motunui. She jumps out of the canoe and runs to the shore where Sina and Tui are waiting to hug her. Days later, they pull the canoes out of the cavern and put them in the water. The ocean recedes to reveal a pink shell. Moana takes it and climbs up the mountain, depositing it on the pile of stones. Later, Moana is sailing a canoe, with her parents sailing another one (song: "We Know the Way (Finale)"). She teaches others the skills of sailing and wayfinding, passing along what Maui taught her. A glowing manta ray swims past her, and a hawk screeches and dives toward her. Moana realizes she's exactly where she is meant to be. | storytelling | train | imdb | null |
tt1164999 | Biutiful | Warning some spoilers!!!Uxbal (Javier Bardem) is in the snowy woods and meets ups with a younger man (whom we later figure out is his father who died young in exile in Mexico from rebelling against Franco). They share a cigarette and talk about random things- sounds of the sea.Uxbal and his daughter Ana (Hanaa Bouchaib) are having a sweet, intimate moment in bed, which she has gotten into after telling her father in the bathroom (where he has just gotten through urinating blood) that she knows he is dying, and they are looking at each others hands. She admires his ring, and he his daughter mi amor his ring, which he had gotten from his own mother. This scene is a replay (but from a different angle) of the opening scene.Inspired by the movie To Live, Uxbal discovers that he has prostate cancer (there are a couple of scenes of his painful difficulty urinating blood). He needs to figure out what to do with his children.He works as a versatile middleman, obtaining cheap knockoffs from a Chinese sweatshop owned by Hai (Taisheng Cheng) and selling them to Senegalese street sellers, the main one being Ekweme (Cheikh Ndiaye), all the while bribing police (not too successfully) to stay away. His partying brother, Tito (Eduard Fernández), who is sleeping with Uxbals estranged wife, is his partner in working with the sweatshop. Tito has a new plan to lend out the Chinese immigrants as construction workers. The conditions of the hard-working immigrants is squalid, the Chinese immigrants living in a large basement room on the floor- the owner locking the door every night. One- Lilly, has a baby and watched Uxbals children for him. Ekweme has a wife, Ege (Diaryatou Daff), with a small child. She wants to return to Senegal, but he wants to stay. The police warn Uxbal, and Uxbal warns the Senegalese street sellers, to avoid certain areas, but the sellers continue to sell there. Much of the story is devoted to his precarious balancing act, trying to keep his several operations afloat.Meanwhile, Uxbal has a small, worn apartment, where he is raising two young children, Ana (who looks about 11), and Mateo (who looks about 8) (played by Guillermo Estrella). Though he, at times, can be moody, he is a loving father and cares deeply about his children. Their mother is bipolar and a drug addict, Marambra (Maricel Álvarez). She visits the children, and Uxbal is at first wary, but in the end,they reconnect after Marambra shows that she is sober and wants to have her family together again. The children and father move into Marambas apartment.Uxbal also has the gift off being able to communicate with a dead bodys soul (if they havent moved on yet). He offers his services to a grieving couple whose small boy has died. Though the mother is angry, the father is desperate. Uxbal is able to find out that the boy feels guilty about stealing his fathers watch. Throughout the movie, we see startling phantoms of dead souls in the background, often clinging to the ceiling.He also must, with his brother, cremate his fathers remains. The cemetery that had housed his father is being developed. We realize that his father was even younger than Uxbal, and is the mysterious young man in the beginning the of the movie in the snowy scene.Everything unravels: since it is cold in the basement, Uxbal buys gas heaters for the Chinese immigrants. Without air, all die from asphyxiation. The sweatshop owners lover, freaks out and dumps them in the ocean, the dead bodies float in with the waves. The police raid the Senegalese sellers, and Ekweme is arrested. Uxbal lets Ege stay in his apartment. Marambas mood swings reappear when she leaves Mateo home alone for the whole weekend, refusing to take him on a weekend vacation with her and Ana. Uxbal realizes that he cannot trust Maramba, and moves back into his old apartment. Ege helps Uxbal out, walking his children to school, and making food for them.Uxbals medical condition worsens, and Ege helps him as he grows weaker. His daughter also figures out that he is very sick. Bedridden and with no one else to turn to, he gives Ege all his money and asks her to take care of his children, she is reluctant to agree, but does in the end. Without him knowing, Ege goes to the train station with everything, planning to return to Senegal. Before Uxbal knows she is gone, she is back. Assumedly, she has decided to fulfill her promise to Uxbal.The movie ends, repeating the scenes from the beginning. | paranormal, violence, murder, bleak | train | imdb | null |
tt0083366 | Zorro: The Gay Blade | In 1840s Madrid, Spain, Don Diego de la Vega is in bed with a married woman. They are caught by her husband, Garcia, and Diego must sword fight with him and his five brothers. During the altercation, Diego's mute servant Paco reads (via gestures) a letter from Diego's father ordering Diego's return to California. Diego and Paco jump from a high wall into a waiting carriage.
When the two arrive in Los Angeles, they are met by Diego's childhood friend Esteban, who is now capitán of the guard. He has married Florinda, for whom the men competed when they were boys. Diego learns that his father was killed in a riding accident, his horse "frightened by a turtle". Esteban is the acting alcalde until the Dons elect a replacement.
Esteban is elected by acclimation and then gives a speech to the assembled peasants. He is interrupted by Charlotte Taylor-Wilson, a wealthy political activist from Boston. She and Diego meet, and despite their political differences, Diego is smitten.
Diego is invited to a masked ball celebrating Esteban's elevation. He also receives his inheritance: Zorro's black cape, hat, and sword, along with a letter from his late father revealing that he was Zorro. That legacy now falls to Diego. He decides the masked ball is the perfect place to announce Zorro's return. On his way there, Zorro witnesses a peasant being extorted. He confronts and defeats Esteban's tax collector, then instructs the peon to spread the word that El Zorro has returned.
Diego, in Zorro costume, dances with Florinda at the ball. Velasquez, the tax collector, reports the theft to Esteban, pointing to Diego as Zorro. A duel ensues with Esteban, and Zorro escapes by again jumping from a high wall, but this time injuring his foot and hobbling away.
Later that night, a drunk Florinda attempts to seduce Diego at his hacienda, but Esteban arrives to speak about the evening's events. He suspects that Diego might be Zorro, but Diego convinces him that his foot is uninjured.
A reign of terror begins, including torture and increased taxation. Diego is frustrated because, being injured, he cannot fight Esteban's tyranny. Fate intervenes when Diego's gay, foppish, and British-educated twin brother Ramon de la Vega, a Royal Navy officer, having adopted the name "Bunny Wigglesworth", comes home for a visit. Diego brings him up to date, and Bunny assumes the guise of Zorro, using a whip instead of a sword, while wearing flamboyant Zorro attire in a variety of coordinated colors.
The colorful Zorro always eludes capture. Esteban hatches a plan to lure Zorro to the alcalde's residence with another ball to show off Florinda's expensive new necklace. Seeing through the plan, Diego arrives dressed as Zorro. So do the rest of the Dons and male party guests, saying that a message from Esteban instructed them all to dress that way. Adding to the confusion, Bunny appears in drag, masquerading as "Margarita" Wigglesworth, Diego's cousin from Santa Barbara. Esteban is smitten upon meeting her. Bunny spills a drink on Florinda, and in the resulting chaos attempts to clean her dress, making off with the necklace. As Bunny leaves to return to the Royal Navy, he tells Diego that Charlotte Taylor-Wilson has confessed her love for Zorro.
At the plaza, Diego as Zorro and Charlotte meet again, falling into each others arms, but they are observed and Esteban is informed. As a ruse to lure Zorro, he has Charlotte arrested, and she is sentenced to be executed. Don Diego as Zorro surrenders to Esteban to save her, and he is sentenced to death.
Seconds before the firing squad opens fire, Bunny, this time wearing a bright metallic gold costume, announces the return of Zorro. With Charlotte's and Diego's aid, Zorro incites the assembled peasants to rebellion. Esteban's guards also rebel, joined by Florinda, and Esteban stands alone, defeated. Later, Bunny finally rides off to catch his ship back to England, waving goodbye, after which Diego and Charlotte ride off to plan their wedding. As her wedding gift, Charlotte suggests that Diego donate all his family lands to the people so they can settle down and raise a family in Boston. | cult, action | train | wikipedia | null |
tt1135503 | Julie & Julia | (NOTE: Julie & Julia is two stories in one movie: That of Julia Child, world-acclaimed chef, author and teacher; and Julie Powell, struggling would-be writer and student of Julia. The two women never meet, and their stories do not intersect.)The camera pans from a crane down to a shipping dock, where a French car with diplomatic plates and many boxes sit. Paul Child (Stanley Tucci) is driving his wife, Julia (Meryl Streep) into Paris, in the year 1949. They stop for a meal at a restaurant, and Julia is amazed at the taste of a fish that's been prepared for her. Julia is taken in at the sights of Paris and the home they will be living in.We switch to Queens, New York City, in 2002. A number of French cookbooks are packed into a box and placed in the rear hold of a compact Jeep. Julie Powell (Amy Adams) rides with her husband, Eric (Chris Messina), as they are relocating from Brooklyn to Queens. Eric reassures Julie that Queens will be beautiful, although the sight of the small walk-up located right above a pizzeria leaves Julie unsure. She lets her cat out and starts unpacking with Eric as the moving truck arrives behind them. Shortly after, Julie is in her kitchen making dinner. Some of the boxes and their contents are falling down from shelves on which they've been hastily placed. Eric again tries to reassure his wife; the apartment is still 900 total square feet, much bigger than their original apartment, and it's close to Eric's office (we could still renege on the lease and live in the Jeep, Eric jokingly offers).Julie walks to a train that brings her to Chambers Street in Manhattan, and her job doing customer service at the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, not far from Ground Zero where the World Trade Center was recently destroyed. LMDC provides assistance to survivors of the disaster and their families, and Julie does her best to maintain composure among many angry clients that slog through bureaucratic inefficiency. Julie finds herself struggling with her own supervisor while trying to get some extra help for a woman whose young son breathed in contaminated fumes.Walking to the train station en route home, Julie passes by a store offering chocolate cream pie, and comforts herself in her kitchen by making one. Eric brings her a drink and licks the spoon clean. Julie likes to cook, feeling more in control of her life while in her kitchen, and Eric appears to be a doting and supportive husband.The next day, Julie meets some friends in a diner for lunch-- ritual Cobb salad day where they each order a Cobb salad, each holding on one different ingredient. Although she likes the three women she's dining with, Julie finds herself a little out of place, as each of them are in much higher-paying and higher-valued jobs than Julie is: one is a realtor, one is a corporate publicist, and one is a writer-- all three of them unable to get off their mobile phones with assistants or making memos. Annabelle (Jillian Bach), the writer, arranges to meet Julie for breakfast to interview her for an article she's writing on their current generation that's just turning thirty.Julie's face is shown as one of four on the front page of New York magazine, for Annabelle's article, "Is 30 the new 20?" Browsing at a bookstore, Julie fumes over the portrayal of her in the article, particularly how her life has not been the upwardly-mobile, story-of-success that many of her college classmates thought was in her future. Again, she comforts herself in her kitchen at home, where she feels in control. Talking with Eric as she cooks dinner, Julie notes that Annabelle is writing a blog about herself online. Eric encourages Julie to write one for herself, as unlike the novel she stopped working on halfway when no publisher was interested, with a blog, you can publish yourself. The question is, what to blog about that anyone would be interested in following. A blog is something Julie would do to escape the hum-drum of her job, like she does with cooking. As an editor, Eric feels she's onto something: blog about cooking. Julie, an admirer of Julia Child, doesn't think she's a match for any acclaimed chef... but comes up with a challenge for herself: to cook her way through one of Julia's cookbooks. Julie reminiscing about her mother making one of Julia's recipes for dinner when hosting the boss of Julie's father, makes Eric smile. The two watch one of Julia's videos later and Julie is enchanted at watching one of her idols at work. Eric starts coming on to his wife as the video ends.Julie decides to go through with the project of cooking all the recipes in Julia's signature cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. She wants to give herself a deadline, as a motivator to finish the project. Although Eric's suggestion of one year seems daunting, as Julia's book has 524 recipes, Julie decides to go through with it. Eric helps her set up the blog, which Julie names, 'The Julie/Julia project.' Julie's Day 1 of the blog is August 11, 2002.Julia Child shops in an open-street farmers market in France. Although Paul writes to his brother that the French are famously grouchy, Julia proves otherwise in her interactions with many warm, large-hearted Parisian villagers in the suburban parts of the large city. Both Paul and Julia are American-born, but Julia has taken to Paris as if she'd been raised there. Paul works as an exhibits officer for the U.S. government, and he and Julia are having dinner at a cozy restaurant after a successful arts exhibit Paul hosted. Julia has also worked for the OSS, like Paul, but has left that behind and is looking for something to do with her life. Many French women are homemakers, something Julia is not content with. When Paul asks what Julia really likes to do, she laughs, embarrassed, as she says she enjoys eating.Julia tries a number of hobbies, including lessons in hat-making, playing bridge, and French books and learning to read and speak French, particularly after being unable to find a French cookbook written in English. While she and Paul are dining with friends, he gives her a cookbook as a birthday gift, although, like all French cookbooks, it's written in French. Paul is supportive of all Julia does, including her lessons in speaking French. As the two ready themselves for bed, starting to feel romantic with each other, Julia has an idea of going to cooking school.Julie has started the cooking project on August 13th, and she and Eric are loving the results. They're eating well, and Julie discusses her love of butter, a key ingredient in French cooking-- several one-pouund sticks are at the front of her refrigerator. The first couple of weeks go smoothly, and cooking Julia's recipes brings Julie much-needed respite from her day job. She spends a large portion of her most recent paycheck at the local Dean & DeLuca's. Julie's mother calls to ask about the blog, and tries to dissuade her. Julie makes a mistake in telling her mother that the blog is all she has, while Eric is close enough to overhear.Julie continues working, and together with Eric and Sarah (Mary Lynn Rajskub), Julie's sister, finally makes a poached egg, which tastes far better than Julie feared any egg would ever taste.Five weeks into the project, Julie feels great and is energized to continue, although she wonders if anyone is reading and has noticed her. She's excited at finding she has a comment, but is disappointed when it's just her mother asking if anyone else is reading the blog.Julia has enrolled in the famous Le Cordon Bleu cooking school, but feels the first lesson on boiling eggs is too basic. Madame Brassart (Joan Juliet Buck), the headmaster, says there's one other class available, but it's expensive, and 'for professionals--' are the other pupils are male GI's. Julia enrolls, and struggles at first; the head chef patiently showing her how to hold and work a knife to chop onions. Julia practices on a batch of onions at home, making Paul wonder if Julia is more occupied with proving she can hold her own against the men pupils who don't appear to take her seriously. Perhaps she is-- Julia is very pleased with herself as she begins matching and outpacing the other pupils in the class, and her instructor praises her. Julia writes about her progress, three weeks later, with a close pen-pal, Avis De Voto. She's loving her classes, slowly winning respect from her classmates, and having the time of her life, even though Madame Brassart appears to dislike Julia very strongly. She enjoys spending time in the streetside farmer's markets the way most American women love shopping for dresses-- although, as the 6'2" Julia notes, nothing local comes big enough to fit her. Julia knows she's found her career, and almost faints in ecstasy as Paul buys her a cooking mortar and pestle, something her instructor said was critical in proper cooking.Hosting friends for dinner on Valentine's Day, Paul and Julia talk about their past diplomatic work in the OSS, where they met while both stationed in Ceylon. Paul suddenly brings up the day he knew that Julia was the love of his life, and makes a toast to her that brings Julia to tears of joy.A scene where Paul writes a letter to his brother while watching Julia cooking at home, now with the precision and speed of a master, transitions into Julie reading something to Eric, that Paul overheard Julia say about cooking cannolis. Julie's blog is starting to slowly gain attention and more people are commenting. A number of people, who have become fans of Julie's, are even sending her non-perishable goods to use in her cooking project. By 47 days into the cooking project, she completes 65 recipes. She continues working, cooking and blogging even while at home with a cold, and Eric helps her with some of the projects. 59 days in, she's completed 87 recipes, and a week or so later, 103 recipes. Julie is saving some of the more daunting recipes for later, including lobster thermidor. which Julie particularly frets over as it involves buying fresh, live lobsters at a fish shop. Julie finally cooks the dish on her thirtieth birthday, and Eric again helps her when she freaks out over the live lobsters knocking the lid off of the boiling pot.For the birthday party, Julie talks about letters that Julia wrote to Avis, and that Paul wrote to his brother; much of the correspondence never having been discarded and eventually put into memoirs. Julie's sister and brother-in-law suggest she place an application on her blog that will accept monetary donations via Paypal, if any interested readers and fans of her blog were so inclined. As a birthday gift, Eric gives Julie an imitation pearl necklace, which resembles one of many real ones Julia often wore. Julie falls asleep on the couch and Eric lets her sleep there when he goes to bed.The next day at work, Julie finds 53 comments from readers on her lobster blog, much to her delight-- and it gets better when Eric, at first posing as a crank caller as a joke, tells her that her blog is the third most popular in a recent poll on the website salon.com.Julia is at a social event where she is introduced to Simone Beck (Linda Emond) and Louisette Bertholle (Helen Carey), who she learns are writing a cookbook for Americans; something that piques Julia's interest. Julia is ready to graduate Cordon Bleu, but can't get Madame Brassart to schedule the test-- Brassart, who Simone calls a 'bitch,' is probably the only person who detests Julia; a feeling Julia considers mutual. Simone and Louisette assure Julia that getting the diploma is not something she really needs in order to teach cooking. Julia mentions that her pen-pal, Avis, tells her the same thing, but Julia is conventional enough to want the diploma anyway.Simone and Louisette come up with the idea of writing Madame Brassart a letter in which Julia would boldly state that the American ambassador is displeased with Brassart's dragging her feet on the final exam. At first, Julia is too embarrassed at the idea, as she doesn't truly know the ambassador. But finally she writes the letter, and Brassart issues the exam-- but craftily ensures Julia fails by writing the French names for several recipes Julia has to write out; French names the American woman still isn't familar with. Simone and Louisette arrange for Julia to request to re-take the exam while helping them teach a class for Americans living in Paris. This is something that Brassart, when she learns of it, finds very funny.Julie makes a late January 2003 entry in her blog about aspics; a beef-flaved gelatin mold that, from the description, doesn't sound appealing to her... not to mention, she messes up while making them. This leads to an argument with Eric. A few days later, she has another accident while preparing another dish and gets emotional again. But as Julie lays on the floor and cries, a reporter from the Christian Science Monitor calls and Eric tells Julie that the reporter wants to write an article about her. Stunned, Julie gets up and takes the call, and is even more amazed when she learns she's been invited to host a particular guest for dinner one night.Julia is with Simone and Louisette, setting up the kitchen where they will be teaching. Soon they're tutoring three American women who pay $2 an hour-- barely covers the expenses, but "Les Trois Gourmandes," as Julia tells her sister, Dorothy, in a written letter, are enjoying being culinary teachers too much to care. The only downside is Louisette starts to have 'headaches' and doctor's appointments, and misses out when Dorothy (Jane Lynch) comes to France to visit Julia and Paul. Of course, a bistro is the first place they take Dorothy to, where they talk about Julia's love of food and fine dining, vis-a-vis their father's wish that the two sisters could have married Republicans and settled in Pasadena; as Dorothy, a woman every bit as tall as Julia, notes, women their size simply didn't fit in. But Julia and Paul know a man even taller than Dorothy is; someone they plan to introduce to her at a party... which backfires, because by the time the man arrives, Dorothy has struck up a conversation with a man named Ivan Cousins (Michael Brian Dunn), who's several inches shorter than Dorothy... and the two fall in love and soon are married. This brings Julia and Paul into contact with Julia and Dorothy's father, John McWilliams (Remak Ramsay), who doesn't care for either of his daughters' marriages.Only a short time after Dorothy and Ivan have returned home to America, Julia gets a letter telling her that Dorothy is pregnant... something that moves Julia to tears, as she is already past child-bearing age, and her one regret is that she and Paul couldn't have children of their own.Julia gets other news lunching with Simone and Louisette: their cookbook was turned down by publishers, who have suggested they bring in a collaborator who could make it work for American cooks; translating some of the words and terms into something Americans who have no training in French, can more easily understand. Julia, of course, is delighted to work with them in doing so.Julie writes in her blog about the dinner guest she's hosting, inviting her readers to guess who it is. Despite a few clues, nobody is correct, so Julie reveals that she's hosting Judith Jones, who, as an editor with the Knopf publishing company, helped get Julia's signature cookbook published. In honor of the occasion, Julie will be making boeuf bourguignon; the same one of Julia's recipes that Judith cooked herself in order to put the cookbook to the test, a little over forty years before. Julie will be hosting Judith at ten P.M., and so begins cooking the dish at the same time the previous night; watching a Saturday Night Live episode that pokes fun at Julia's cooking TV show, The French Chef while waiting. But again, Julie falls asleep on the couch after the show ends, doesn't hear the timer going off, and is awakened by the sound of a fire engine, realizing she's burned the dish.Julia is starting work on reworking the cookbook when Paul presents her with a serious question. Julia would need about two years to finish, and Paul's current assignment at the Embassy will only continue for eight more months. He's nearly certain he will be transferred out of Paris at that point. Still, they both agree, they have some time yet before they have to worry about it. Julia begins work and sends parts of the book to Avis as she completes them.Julia and Simone go to visit Louisette who introduces them to Irma Rombauer (Frances Sternhagen), who wrote the famous cookbook, The Joy of Cooking. Irma's story, about having been swindled out of a lot of royalty money by a publisher who claimed the copyright for themselves, gives Julia a lot of concern about how to get published. But Paul is holding a letter for Julia, from Avis, which, when Julia opens it, finds that Avis showed the manuscript Julia had sent her, to an editor at Houghton-Mifflin, who is interested in publishing the book and is offering a $250 advance, with $500 more when the book is first published.Julie writes about her blunder with the boeuf bourguignon in her blog, and that the stomach cramps made her call in sick (Eric admonishes her to write that she went right to bed for several hours, in case someone at her job reads the entry). Julie waits until noon to buy the ingredients to make the dish again, along with raspberry bavarian creme for dessert. Come early evening, Julie is ready to host Judith... only to find that the rainy weather, which the now, much older Judith can't travel in, has forced a cancellation of the dinner. Worse, another fight with Eric starts when he starts to eat some of the dish and then puts some salt on it, which Julie takes as a sign that he thought it was bland. The argument escalates over Eric having come to regret suggesting the blog project, as Julie has become self-absorbed in it to the point of narcissism. Eric grabs a few things and leaves the house.Eight months have passed for Julia and Paul, and he's being transferred to Marseilles, as a Cultural Affairs Commissioner for southern France. She tries to be brave about it, but is devastated at leaving a city she's come to love dearly. Soon enough, they're in Germany, and the deadline on their book has to be extended two more years. Paul is then called to Washington, which he's nervous about, although Julia tries to imagine they'll promote him and send him back to Paris. Meanwhile, Julia and Simone have decided that Louisette has been too inactive a partner for an equal royalty share, and they want to renegotiate the split. It starts to go badly when Louisette reveals her husband is leaving her, and finally Simone has to do what she first thought she couldn't.Julia then finds out the price of her naivete; Paul was called to Washington to be investigated by some of Senator McCarthy's cronies. He's acquitted of any kind of charges, but is emotionally drained and weary from the fiasco. He has one more posting and then plans to retire, and wonders what to do from there. Now it is Julia being supportive and brave for Paul, after all the times he was for her.Julie wakes up alone and writes in her blog, though she reconsiders and removes the part about Eric walking out on her after the fight. She writes she's taking the Bavarian cream to the office-- only to find she didn't pack it properly and it soaks through the bag while she's walking past the World Trade Center Memorial, splattering along the ground. If that wasn't enough, Julie's boss finds out about her little deception over the stew and figured out that she lied about calling in sick. He tells her that he's forgiving her and letting her keep her job, with no disciplinary action, but makes it clear that the blog is not to include anything regarding her day job with LMDC in the future, and she needs to tell him the whole truth next time.After meeting Sarah at a bar and talking with her, Julie writes in her blog that she realizes that despite having some things in common with Julia, she's come to understand that she hasn't lived up to Julia's standards in a lot of ways. She realizes Julia never lost it after not making something right, and Julie owns up to having behaved very badly to Eric, saying that right now, she doesn't deserve him after all the support he gave her. She calls Eric, though he doesn't answer, but then he reads her blog entry. Julie's mother calls and encourages Julie not to give up on the cooking project, saying it would be good for her to finish.Julie gets out of bed and goes to the supermarket to pick up some food to prepare. As she returns, Eric is coming back home, and they reconcile.Julia is with Simone at a train station in Boston where she'll be meeting Avis De Voto (Deborah Rush) for the first time. They'd been writing for eight years as pen-pals, as Julia tells the story, but this is their first time meeting. Avis brings them to the offices of Houghton Mifflin, where they're told the cookbook is too long to interest American housewives-- not to mention, it's not even the whole work. They are asking for revisions to be more appealing to American women who don't have anyone to do the cooking for them.Avis tells Julia and Simone they'll sent the work to another publisher and cut off talk with Houghton-Mifflin, although Julia feels they do need to condense and shorten the manuscript-- something Julia will be able to work on while she and Paul are in Oslo.A montage of scenes are shown showing Julia cooking more dishes and typing, and Julie cooking those same dishes for the project and continuing to blog.Julie hosts Amanda Hesser (played by herself), from the New York Times, for dinner and to talk about the blog and about her cooking. Julie is fifteen days shy of the one-year deadline, wih twenty-four recipes to go, including boning a duck. After the project is over, she and Eric plan to visit the Smithsonian Museum which has a full-size and scale replica of Julia Child's kitchen from her home in Cambridge, MA, where she and Paul lived after returning to America. Julie sees the article in the Times, including a photo of her, several times while on her way to work and at lunch, and is pleased. She brings home a stack of copies of that day's Times to find sixty-five messages on her answering machine; her name has exploded onto the map and people are lining up to talk about representing her and helping her write a book based on her blog.But the moment is tempered by bitter news from Barry Ryan, from the Santa Barbara News-Press, who's writing an article about Julia Child's 90th birthday. Barry brings the news that he's asked Julia Child about Julie's blog-- and Julia was 'in a pill about it,' and Barry is asking if Julie has any comment. Julie takes the call, and after finishing it, miserably tells Eric, "Julia hates me."Paul comes home and finds a morose Julia looking at a letter from Houghton-Mifflin. The difficulties in publishing a manuscript as large as Julia's, has her wondering what to do with herself now, if she can't publish her cookbook. Paul reminds her that she's still a teacher, and although she finds the idea more funny than inspiring, Paul insists she can host a television show on cooking. Her husband's gentle insistence that her work is going to make waves and inspire people, makes Julia feel much better and she rests her head on his chest.Meanwhile, Avis, undeterred by the reluctance of Houghton-Mifflin, submits the cookbook manuscript to the Alfred A. Knopf publishing company. One of the senior editors brings the manuscript to Judith Jones (Erin Dilly). Although Judith thinks the tentative title, 'French Recipes for American Cooks,' inadequate, her supervisor finds the manuscript intriguing, and she does too.We see the scene that Julie blogged about: Judith in her kitchen at home, cooking boeuf bourguignon from the recipe. One taste of the food and Judith is a believer.Paul and Julia have settled in their home in Cambridge, and are unpacking. It's the fall of 1960. The Postal Service brings Julia a letter marked special delivery. Julia opens the letter and bursts with excitement at the news that Knopf wants to publish the book, and they're offering an advance of $1500. Paul comes running out at Julia's out-of-breath shouts and he's promptly as excited as he is. Judith compares the book to Rombauer's The Joy of Cooking, and that Knopf intends to market it in the same way. Julia meets with Judith in the Knopf offices where Judith is helping come up with a good title for the book. She has a number of small pieces of paper thumbtacked on a cork wall, which she moves around to put various word combination ideas together. In this matter, she and Julia christen the book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking.In their bedroom, Eric comforts Julie, who's still miserable after what she'd heard from Barry Ryan. Although it's unsure if Julia read Julie's blog, it's clear she didn't appreciate the project, feeling Julie wasn't truly serious about it. Eric tells his wife that there are two Julia Childs-- the real one, and the one in Julie's head, whom she venerates as her heroine. That Julia Child is the one that really matters.Julie writes in her blog on the last day of the project; the one-year anniversary. The most daunting recipe in Julie's mind is all that remains; a boned duck in a pastry crust. Julie watches a video in her kitchen, using the guidance given by Julia in the video to make the cut along the backbone of the duck. When the cut comes out correct, Julie is pleased, and follows the rest of the recipe to cook the dish, exactly as it looks in the instructional video.Eric and Julie are setting up a table on the roof of the building where they're hosting the dinner for their family and closest friends. Julie's given a round of applause as she proudly serves the duck. Everyone loves the dish, and they laud Julie's success.Julie taps her glass with her fork and stands to issue a toast for her husband. Julie repeats the words used by Paul Child some fifty years prior in toasting his wife: 'You are the butter to my bread, the breath to my life.' Eric is moved, and tells Julie that he loves her.Before retiring to bed, Julie writes the final entry in her blog to mark the completion of the project. 365 days, 524 recipes. Julie finishes the blog with Julia Child's signature phrase, 'Bon Appetit.'Washington, D.C., at the Smithsonian Institute; Eric and Julie are visiting the exhibit showing a replica of Julia Child's kitchen in Cambridge. Beside the exhibit is a photo of Julia and a small log where people can sign to show they were there. Eric takes a few photos of Julie by the photo, and then Julie takes a one-pound stick of butter out of her purse and leaves it by the stand where the log book is, telling Julia that she loves her.The camera pans over to the model kitchen, and the scene shifts to the real kitchen in the Child home, in 1961. Julia is cooking dinner when Paul comes home. Paul says a package has arrived for Julia. Julia opens it and laughs in delight at the first copy of her cookbook in print. Paul laughs appreciatively, proud of her achievements, as Julia celebrates.A final series of title cards say that Paul and Julia passed away in their early 90's, in 1994 and 2004 respectively. Julie and Eric Powell still live in Queens, although in a better living arrangement than over the pizzeria; Julie is now a writer.Her blog was published as a book, titled Julie & Julia, in 2005.The book was made into a movie. | inspiring, comedy, boring | train | imdb | null |
tt0795351 | Case 39 | Social worker Emily Jenkins (Renée Zellweger) is assigned to investigate the family of ten year-old Lilith Sullivan (Jodelle Ferland), as her grades have declined and an emotional rift with her parents has emerged. Emily suspects that the parents have been mistreating Lilith, and proposes to her department to take the child away from her parents' custody. Emily's fears are confirmed when Lilith's parents try to kill her by roasting her in the oven at their home. Emily saves Lilith with the help of Detective Mike Barron (Ian McShane). Lilith is originally sent to a children's home, but she begs Emily to look after her instead. With the agreement of the board, Emily is assigned to take care of Lilith until a suitable foster family comes along. In the meantime, Lilith's parents, Edward and Margaret (Callum Keith Rennie and Kerry O'Malley), are placed in a mental institution.Not too long after Lilith moves in, strange things begin to happen around Emily. Two weeks later, another of Emily's cases, a boy named Diego (Alexander Conti), suddenly murders his parents, and Barron informs Emily that somebody phoned Diego from her house the night before the crime. As she is suspected of involvement in the incident, Lilith undergoes a psychiatric evaluation by Emily's best friend, Douglas J. Ames (Bradley Cooper). During the session, however, Lilith turns the evaluation around, asking Douglas what his fears are and subtly threatening him. That night while studying he receives a strange phone call in his apartment, Douglas is panicked by the sight of a mass of hornets coming out of his body and kills himself in his bathroom by snapping his own neck.Emily gradually becomes fearful of having Lilith in her home, so she heads to the mental asylum for answers from Lilith's parents. They tell her that Lilith is a demon who feeds on feelings, and that they tried to kill her in an attempt to save themselves. Lilith's father tells Emily that the only way to kill Lilith is to get her to sleep. Shortly after Emily leaves the asylum, both parents die in unusual circumstances. Lilith's mother is fatally burnt and her father is stabbed in the eye with a fork after attacking a fellow inmate through whom the voice of Lilith spoke. Barron initially thinks Emily should seek psychiatric help, but is later convinced when he receives a strange phone call in his home from Emily's cellphone, which is being used by Lilith. He arms himself at the police precinct to aid Emily in handling Lilith. However, he inadvertently shoots himself in the head with a shotgun when Lilith makes him imagine he is being attacked by dogs. After realizing all her most closest colleagues have been eliminated, this prompts Emily to serve Lilith tea spiked with sedative. While Lilith is asleep, Emily sets fire to her house, hoping to get rid of her. However, the girl escapes unharmed.
A police officer escorts Emily and Lilith to a temporary place to sleep. As Emily is following the police cars, she suddenly takes a different route and drives her car at a high speed, hoping to bring fear to Lilith. Instead, Lilith forces Emily to relive her childhood memory of her mother driving fast in a rainstorm. Emily fights through the memory, telling herself that it is not real. The image fades, and Emily asks Lilith if she is afraid. Lilith now appears afraid as she knows that Emily is no longer afraid. Emily then drives the car off a pier. As the car sinks, Emily struggles to lock Lilith (now in demon form) in the trunk by folding the rear seats against her. Emily then exits the car, but as she swims away, Lilith grabs her leg after punching a hole through the car's left tail light section. Emily struggles to break free until Lilith finally lets go as the car continues to sink. She climbs back ashore, relieved to be rid of her. | murder | train | imdb | null |
tt0091278 | Iron Eagle | Doug, a graduating high school senior, must quickly come to grips with manhood in a time of great emotional stress. He demonstrates leadership of his peers as together they develop materials and information to effect a rescue mission. He interacts with a skilled Air Force veteran to accomplish this daring mission. An underlying theme of the movie is the friendly conflict between children and parents, including several scenes where adults are lampooned as ineffective or easily redirected. Doug must also realize that he doesn't have all the answers, and must rely on the wisdom of a mentor. The pivotal rescue mission and climax showcase the talent of youth and the reconnection with that youth in the heart of the partnering Air Force pilot.=======================================================Doug Masters is a hot-headed high school senior about to graduate. He is the son of a top-rated US Air Force pilot, Colonel Ted Masters, and lives on his father's base. Doug has a network of friends, also military kids, who will often secretly procure information for him and each other by exploiting their parents' positions on the base. Doug himself is often given the opportunity to fly with his father and control the F16 jet they go up in. Doug is often also given time in the base's simulator. Doug also has aspirations to join the Air Force and attend flight school to become a military pilot. He receives a letter that states he's been turned down for admission to an air academy.Doug accepts a challenge from another teenager to race along a dangerous canyon: Doug will fly his small Cessna airplane against Knotcher, who will ride a motorcycle. Before the race begins, Knotcher tinkers with Doug's plane's fuel line so that it will stall out in the last stages of the race. Doug is barely able to win the race but starts a fight with Knotcher. Doug later is grounded by his father for acting in such a reckless and stupid manner.Doug's father takes a mission to fly reconnaissance over a Middle Eastern country. Though the government there is presumed to be non-hostile, Col. Masters and his wingman are shot down. Masters himself is captured and held prisoner by that country's Minister of Defense, Colonel Nakesh. Nakesh tortures Doug's father and proclaims him a rogue terrorist. He sentences him to death.Back at Master's base, the commander informs Doug about his father's capture and that the US State Department plans not to invade the rogue country to rescue his father. Doug is immediately angry, saying that the US government isn't doing enough to help his father, however the base commander tells Doug that their hands are tied but they are continuing to search for a diplomatic solution. Doug talks to an older pilot, a friend of his father's, Col. Charles 'Chappy' Sinclair, who tells Doug to let the government continue their efforts to secure Col. Masters' release. Doug asks Chappy if there's a possibility that a pair of F16s could fly into the hostile country and rescue his father. Chappy says it would be a long shot but also gravely warns Doug not to try it.Doug talks to his friends at their clubhouse -- an old, abandoned bunker on the base -- and asks them to help him gather intelligence information on the country and city where his father is being held as well as their military capabilities. Doug talks to Chappy again telling him that he can get more information for him to plot a mission to rescue his father. Chappy admires Doug's initiative and agrees to help him.Doug's friends begin to gather the info they need: at one point they set off firecrackers in a main command room, distracting the personnel long enough to gain access to a restricted computer. Chappy guides Doug's crew through the planning process and they formulate a mission to have two, fully-fueled and armed F16s for Doug and Chappy.Chappy decides to take Doug up for a test flight to see how well he can do in combat. While they're up, Doug uses a Walkman to play music he claims gives him the proper rhythm to hit his targets. Chappy harshly tells him to cut the music but Doug insists and proves that his method works and impresses Chappy. The night before they're supposed to leave, Chappy congratulates Doug's crew on a job well done & insists that Doug get some sleep. Doug is defiant but agrees when Chappy tells him that many pilots have died in combat under his command, but they still followed orders.Chappy and Doug fly out on the mission, refueling along the flight path. When they reach the coast of the nation where his father was shot down, the two engage in air-to-ground combat with the country's outer defenses. Chappy's plane is hit and crashes. Before he goes down, Chappy tells Doug to continue & play a tape he'd prepared for him. Doug listens to it: Chappy gives him encouragement and tells him to stay focused & he'll be fine.At Nakesh's base, Nakesh himself begins to beat Doug's father in retaliation.Doug reaches Nakesh's base and begins an air-to-ground attack that takes out missile and artillery installations. Doug contacts them by radio, bluffing that he's part of a larger force that has come to free his father. When Nakesh won't meet his demands, Doug drops bombs on a nearby oil refinery. Nakesh consents and releases Col. Masters, allowing him to drive to the end of a runway alone in a jeep. Doug is about to land to pick up his father, when a sniper shoots the Colonel in the shoulder. Doug destroys another oil refinery in retaliation, then firebombs the runway to cover his own landing. He meets his father, helps him into the plane and takes off. Low on ammunition, fuel and missiles, Doug engages Nakesh himself in the air. After a brief dogfight, Doug destroys his plane. A small squadron of Nakesh's pilots are waiting for him but bug out when a squadron of American F16s arrives and escorts Doug out of hostile territory. Doug asks the squadron to take up a missing man formation for Chappy, which they gladly do.Back in the United States, Doug's father is debriefed and Doug goes to a military hearing to answer for stealing his plane and taking on an unauthorized mission. The tribunal calls in a special witness, who turns out to be Chappy himself, having survived the crash. When Doug is admonished by the base commander, Doug asserts that no one else seemed to be willing to rescue his father. Chappy testifies, saying that he aided Doug and that Doug also needs to learn discipline and that an air academy would be the best place for him to learn. The commander agrees to endorse Doug's application. | cult | train | imdb | I have Iron Eagle on DVD and to me it was totally worth $9.99 at Best Buy. If you love laughing at dated, unrealistic action movies, this one is a must-see.
Oh yeah, and I think its plot was only marginally stupider than 1986's other fighter pilot action pic, Top Gun..
It was the best air combat movie I had seen at the time.
There is one scene where they young pilot asks for Chappy's help and he turns him down and Louis Gossett's acting skills become quite evident.
While I can't say that Iron Eagle is a masterpiece, it is one of my favorite movies of all time.
The film focuses a boy about eighteen-years-old (Jason Gedrick) ; when his father (Tim Thomerson) is taken prisoner by a dictator (David Suchet) from Middle East , he steals a F 16 fighter jet to rescue his daddy .
The movie contains a plethora of action scenes , explosion , blasts , aircraft battles with various jet-planes flying to sound-velocity and blown up .
The picture is a blend of typical films from the 80s , as ¨Top Gun¨and ¨Rambo¨ but starred by a teenager .The story provides entertainment and action with no sense but being sometimes a little bit boring and dull .
Back in 1986 I was a sixteen year old boy, when I first saw this film, I thought back then that this movie was one of the coolest I've ever seen.
It's not the worst "I-wanna-be-a-pilot" movies ever, but it has so many flaws in it that you can hardly overlook them.Queen's "One Vision" (along with the rest of the soundtrack) makes this film better than the average patriotic nonsense you usually get to see ;)[****------].
I think its just basically a lot of fun but maybe a little too unrealistic for some to buy into.Again, regardless, I loved it, people who I know saw it, loved it so its definitely worth seeing to make your own decisions about it.
The chemistry between Lou and Jason is great, believeable at times.Iron Eagle in my honest opinion is better than Top Gun, many say it isn't but I think it is...it certainly has the better action scenes and a cool thumping soundtrack.
This is exactly what this movie's about, a kid completely enthralled with flight simulations that he becomes a good pilot.They should have left it at that though.
This is exactly how you should watch the movie, otherwise, it will seem like a ridiculous plot that's out-of-touch with the real world..
and while it's not god-awful, it's not all that good, either.IRON EAGLE is the story of new high school grad Doug Masters (Jason Gedrick, whom you'd recognize from CROSSING THE BRIDGE and ONE EYED KING had you ever heard of those movies).
Iron Eagle has a great soundtrack, cool dog fighting sequences, and a good story line (whether it's realistic or not).
It's a story every young person who likes military fighter jets would love to live.
Or go glam like Hollywood and watch Top Gun. How many times have US and Russian planes flown inverted and given the other the bird from a few feet away.
Iron Eagle is a great movie.....check it out..
I love fighter jet movies, and this was the best one I've seen lately.
If you like watching U.S. F-16s blow the living daylights out of their enemies, this is a great movie for you..
A teen-age boy, who is not in the military and has not trained to be a jet pilot, takes off for a foreign country to rescue his dad.
The US government drags its feet in recovering him, leading the Pilot's son (Doug Masters) to attempt a rescue mission.The problem I have with the movie is that it depicts the US Air Force as one colossal joke.
In the movie you'll find that Doug and his friends on the air base manage to secure two F-16's, all the munitions, the fuel, the Intel for the mission, and so on.
Nobody seems to have a problem that a sixteen-year-old kid is fully qualified to pilot an F-16!If that wasn't enough, you would think the producers would at least attempt to get the munitions right, since people like to see things `blow up'.
Until Hollywood can come up with an Air Force movie on the lines of `Saving Private Ryan' or `A Few Good Men', we'll be forced to watch movies like the `Iron Eagle' series..
maybe make a good investment, donate, buy a few things, but the directors of this movie decided to make Iron Eagle...
It looks like Topgun but with a different plot and (a lot of people will disagree with me here) in my view it's better than Topgun.This film has some amazing dogfight scenes when the fighter jets are zooming through the air.
It also has the Queen song "One Vision" thumping in the background, which in my opinion is a fantastic song.To be honest, Iron Eagle was very good but it's sequels were rubbish..
Two Air Force Films Were Released in 1986: This Was The Bad One. After a young man's father is captured by an unidentified Middle Eastern country, the youth must suit up and save his father from a brutal execution.This film fails in almost every possible way.
I myself am a big fan of the Air Force and love to watch any movie where I can get a glimpse of an F-16 flying.
If you like Top Gun, then I guarantee you will love this movie also.
Without actually giving away my age, I saw this for the first time over 20 years ago when it first came out on video (maybe it was a beta tape??) and I was old enough to drink (barely) and perhaps I had had a few because I remember thinking how great this movie was!
There is one main difference – "Top gun" was made for teenagers (adults can watch it too) , while "Iron eagle" is aimed for kids.
A story about a young pilot that saves his father from bad guys and becomes a hero
A story of father-son relationship between Doug and Chappy
A story of friendship when Doug's friends help him any way they can
What's here not to love ?
Louis Gossett Jr stars as Chappy Sinclair an Air Force pilot who really gives a s--- about American POWs (His words exactly) so he helps a teenager (Who desperately wants to be a pilot and who is also played by Jason Gedrick) save his father (The always great Tim Thomerson) from the evil Arabs while Louis Gossett Jr teaches him how to really kick ass.
It is all as bad as what you would expect but yet it works so well, it is a guilty pleasure of the highest order when a movie like this could be made for teenage audiences giving them the fantasy that they could be one man armies who would make the world shutter at their heroics.
A loud, blatant and courageous 80s action adventure, which sees Louis Gossett Jr. as a veteran combat pilot who helps out a promising, if misguided young gun hatch up a plan to steal a couple of F-16 aircrafts in a daring raid to rescue his father who's held prisoner in the Middle East and it's a race against clock as he has be sentenced to death.
Maybe I'm biased because the F-16 is my favorite fighter aircraft - although the F-14 is probably second or third - but I liked this movie.
The sequels (Iron Eagle II and III) don't measure up acting and plot wise, but the first one - along with Top Gun - have excellent flying and music, along with reasonable plots and acting.
At times I thought this movie didn't make sense because how could some hot shot , high school kid be able to fly a military plane ?
We had a USN student in one class, and I was ragging on him pretty good about all the Hollywood BS that was in "Top Gun." After I mentioned that the Soviet tactic for defeating the F-14 was to get in front and catch it in your jetwash, he shut me up real good when he replied, "Sir, you keep this up and I'll bring up "Iron Eagle!" He sure had me there.Good flick if you know nothing about military flying or you're about 10 years old and dream of being 16 and flying jets.
Iron Eagle may not be the most believable film plot-wise, but the characters are well written and very well acted.
However, I think that using IAI Kfir as opponent planes was really good, far better than the F-5 shown in Top Gun (but this movie isn't as good as that masterpiece).A funny movie, I love planes and I've seen it more than 3 times..
The eighties sure were years of good ol' combat movies about a boy with a talent for F-16's and God-knows-how-many-fighter-jets, who goes on a hell of dangerous mission to save his father's life and survives - of course he does.
But on the other hand, there are MANY really great movies that totally lack logic, so why bother?I both like and dislike this film.
I guess it's not fair to wish for SOME sort of continuity, as it is hard to make a really good fighter film - but I also think there should be some sense of reason.And I have a question: do they fly from California to the Middle East in F-16s without air refueling?
This movie was okay, certainly nothing great, but it was a much more interesting film than "Top Gun".
I just saw this movie 24 years after its release,even though i was around when it was released,i had heard its so bad,i never got around to watch it.
The plot is a little far-fetched,a kid flying the Falcon to the middle east to save his father,i read its the reason the US Airforce refused to help the producers.But,the action scenes are pretty decent and even the plot is funny and not terribly unrealistic,considering this kid supposedly was trained by his pilot father.What i found incredibly cheesy and annoying is the use of the tape player every time he gets n the plane seat.
The plot for this movie is good: Doug Masters is a young pilot who's dad has been shot down over a middle eastern country.
You should also remember that this film is not a comedy!Even overlooking the preposterous plot (the idea that a 16-year-old could walk into a US Air Force base, steal an F-16, fly to the Middle East and kill about a thousand people without anyone noticing is beyond belief), the film is full of ridiculous action scenes that make little or no sense.
It's also improved by the awesome presence of David Suchet as the evil terrorist leader (maybe you'll recall him as mustachioed Belgian detective Poirot?) Overall, then, the film is a laugh and a light-hearted alternative to more serious fighter-plane movies like Top Gun. Even if it is just as subtly homo-erotic (check out the man-hug between Doug and Chappy.
A longing for the style of films they grew up with, flat out balls to the wall "we're good, your bad...now let's blow something up, and go home" While Rambo, Rocky, and for the most part Top Gun seemed more geared towards attracting an older crowd Iron Eagle went straight for the kids.
Iron Eagle succeeded for one reason...it was F.U.N - Fun. It's the type of movie you can turn on and sit back and enjoy every ridiculous totally 80's moment.
Well, Doug Masters, who lives on an Air Force base, his father is an air force pilot, yet he fails to get into the air force academy, conceives of a plot (with help from his retarded friends) to steal two jets and go rescue his father.
The film is typical 1980s junk as young Jason Gedrick wants to go to a radical Middle Eastern country and rescue his father who has been captured.
He enlists the help of one of his father's best friends (Louis Gossett, Jr.) to teach him how to be a top-notch fighter pilot as the two have plans to rescue the boy's father.
Furie directed this action-adventure that stars Jason Gedrick as Doug Masters, a willful young man whose father Col. Ted Masters(played by Tim Thomerson) is shot down by MIGs over a hostile Middle Eastern country, where he is taken hostage by the belligerent and ambitious leader(played by David Suchet) who loves sticking it the the U.S. Enraged at government inaction, Doug enlists the help of Air Force Col.
'Chappy' Sinclair(played by Louis Gossett Jr.) to train him to improve his piloting skills, then helps him "borrow" two fighter jets from the military to go into the country, battle the enemy in the air, rescue Ted, and make their escape.
Totally unbelievable, complete nonsense.But let's be honest, films like these aren't made for good story lines.
The acting is good, the aerial combat scenes are very nice (although probably not realistic), there's plenty of humor and the soundtrack is great!If you need/want to watch this film as a critic, continuously alert for errors or other weaknesses, DON'T.
It's a light-hearted, rocking, funny, feel-good movie with fighter jets in it and a great soundtrack to boot.One last word of advice though: be wary of the sequels!
That being said, and as much as I like Louis Gossett Jr. I think this movie was done in stereotypical cheesy 80's style.
The only one's I can think of off of the top of my head are "Iron Eagle", "Top Gun", "The Final Count Down" ,"Fire Birds" and more recently "Behind Enemy Lines".
I give Iron Eagle a 5 out of 10 (10 being the best) rating against the other Aerial Combat Military movies out there..
Iron Eagle is the story of a teenager (Jason Gedrick) who with the help of an experienced jet pilot (Louis Gossett Jr.) "borrows" a couple F16 fighters to rescue his father who is being held prisoner in a hostile Arabic country.
It is a cheesy movie, everything is pretty much totally improbable, if not impossible, but it is a good story of father-son affection.Jason Gedrick is Doug Masters, young Cessna pilot, high schooler, whose dad is a military fighter pilot.
Doug aspires to attend the Air Force Academy and become a fighter pilot also, and has made friends with some on the base who allow him ample fighter simulator time.The drama begins when Doug's dad is flying a routine training mission over the Mediterranian and is shot down.
So along with his friends, and retired fighter pilot Louis Gossett Jr. as Col. Charles 'Chappy' Sinclair, they hatch a plan to fly two armed fighter planes to rescue dad, re-fueling over the Atlantic.
The basic story is that a kid's father, who is a fighter pilot in the US air force, gets trapped in some generic Middle- Eastern country.
the military spends millions on each pilot to make them the best in the world and this movie makes the air force and all its members seem stupid at best.
Air Force brat Doug Masters (Jason Gedrick) finds out that his father has been shot down and captured by a brutal Middle Eastern regime and embarks on a crazy plan to rescue him, which involves stealing multi-million dollar jet fighters.I loved this movie as a kid and I still do.
There's some good action and chase sequences and the last 20 minutes were fantastic and make this movie worth watching.
It's about a sixteen-year-old named Doug Masters (Jason Gedrick) that decides to take matters into his own hands after his father (a Air Force colonel) is shot down and captured one day while on a reconnaissance mission.
We live "Iron Eagle" and "Top Gun" and "Platoon" and "Full Metal Jacket" every day of our service to you and our country.One of the three best days of my life was the day I was commissioned an Air Force officer in 1972 and one of the worst was the day I was informed that I had to retire from the reserve.
Only when one boy tells Doug Masters that his father was shot down after the Cessna planes landed in the "snake" race, forces us back to the time the conflict already started.
With the Air Force having futile attempts to save the man, Doug decides to pull his friends and Col. Sinclair (played by Louis Gossett Jr.) for a plan to rescue Masters.
Risking a high chance of facing a court martial and spending more than a year in a military stockade, he goes against Air Force policy and makes a plan to rescue Masters without consent of the U.S. government.Doug and his friends sneak into several classified areas of the base to get plenty of stuff on the area where Masters is held for the upcoming hanging, and the surrounding area around Bilyad (which turns out to be a fake Middle Eastern country for the movie).
He likes music when he fires the fighter ammunition.The last part of the conflict, the final dogfight action in "Iron Eagle" was better than Top Gun's climax of the hostile dogfight sequences.
I liked the way the final conflict unfolded, especially when Doug Masters faces off with an Middle-Eastern ace fighter pilot who actually ran the trial against Ted Masters.
I know its just a movie but see if this sounds plausible to you.THE PLOT- Airforce pilot crosses, unintentionally, over the boundary lines of some non discript middle eastern nation and gets shot down and convicted of espionage, he is sentenced to death in 3 days.
Worst of all, is when they are flying back with the rescued pilot and thats when the Air Force comes flying in to save the day. |
tt0847520 | Scar | The film begins with Joan Burrows (Angela Bettis) jogging home one day. She has flashbacks of her younger self as a little girl (Brittney Wilson) being tortured. The person torturing her cuts open her cheek, which has left a scar. Joan drives to her home town to see her older brother Jeff (Christopher Titus), who is the town sheriff. He phones her while she is on her way and tells her he will see her that night. After the call finishes, he catches his teenage daughter Olympia (Kirby Bliss Blanton) and her friend Sandra (Monika Mar-Lee) speeding and warns them.Joan drives up to a funeral home, and puts some flowers on a grave. She has a flashback to her younger self and her friend Susie (Tegan Moss) at the graveyard. They decide to go and spy on the undertaker, who they have a crush on. Later that night, Olympia is at a party, and goes to talk to Paul (Devon Graye), who she has a crush on. She is approached by her slutty friend April (Kristin Kowalski) and her boyfriend Howard (Brandon Jay MacLaren) who are looking for April. Paul offers Olympia drugs, and slips his hand into her pocket, taking her phone. He shows her the trick to how he does it.April and Howard decide to go to the lake and have sex, meanwhile Joan is at home drinking wine and talking to Jeff about his wife. In another flashback, young Joan is at the funeral home with Susie, and the undertaker, Bishop (Ben Cotton). She compliments Bishop's hat, and flirts with him. They are about to kiss, when he does a similar trick to Paul, before chloroforming her. At the lake, Howard strips to his underwear, but leaves April, claiming he cannot have sex with her. She takes off her top, but he walks into the lake instead, causing her to walk away and disappear.The next day, Olympia, Paul and Sandra are attending a party to see who will be crowned Homecoming queen. Olympia gets crowned, but excitement turns to fear when April's body is found floating in the lake. Later that night, Olympia decides to go to Paul's house and they bond over the fact that both of their mothers are dead. She shows him a scar she got on her leg and her bellybutton piercing. He tells her his dad is ill because he was in the Iraq war.Meanwhile, Sandra is cleaning her house, when she has an argument with her boyfriend Brian (Carey Feehan). She goes outside to her car, then re-enters the house to find him bleeding on the floor, before being abducted by the killer.Back at home, Joan has another flashback to how she got her scar. Susie is lying on a slab next to her, with her legs cut open, as Bishop pours a liquid all over her, causing her to scream. He asks Joan's permission to kill Susie, but she refuses. He gets a stapler and staples Joan's stomach, including her bellybutton. He goes back over to Susie and cuts her tongue out before asking Joan if she has had enough.The next day, Olympia goes to Sandra's house, but finds nobody home. She then discovers Howard's dead body, castrated on the bed. Later that night, Joan comforts her, and is convinced she sees something outside. She looks out, and has another flashback. She begs Bishop to kill Susie, and he breaks her neck.The next day, Joan is convinced that Bishop is back. She tells Sheriff Delgado (Al Sapienza) about this, and he tells her that Bishop is dead, and they have searched the funeral home from top to bottom. Joan breaks into the funeral home and finds out that it has been turned into a museum about Bishop. She freaks out and the owner calls the police about her. When the police arrive, the owner doesn't press charges on her.Back at Jeff's house, he tells Olympia that another policeman is outside and will be watching them. Joan goes into the kitchen and cuts some cheese, accidentally cutting her hand open. The blood reminds her of when Bishop cut her hand open. She has a dream where she finds Olympia being tortured by Bishop at the funeral home. She looks over and sees herself on the other slab. She wakes up when someone phones the house. It is Delgado, who tells her there has been no answer on the phone.Joan gets up to look for Jeff, and finds him with his throat cut in the bathroom. She hears a noise downstairs and grabs the knife used to kill Jeff. She runs outside and is convinced she sees Bishop across the street. She gives chase but the police arrive, and she tells them he is getting away. They see no one, and arrest her because she is covered in blood and holding the murder weapon.At the station, Joan tells Delgado that the person was wearing a trenchcoat and Bishop's hat. He tells her she saw Bishop because he was inside her head. He tells her she killed Jeff, and asks her where Olympia is. She tells him Olympia and Susie are being tortured. He is surprised at this and she corrects herself by saying she meant Sandra. She then tells him she doesn't know where Olympia is.He has no choice but to put her in a cell. While she is there, Paul comes to visit her, and is able to free her by doing the phone trick on a policeman and getting the keys to the cell. He believes her innocence and tells her that she needs to rescue Olympia. When Paul leaves, she asks the officer to get her a blanket, and she opens the cell. She opens the door and knocks him out, before escaping to the funeral home with his gun.Joan breaks in and makes her way down to the basement, where she sees the owner lying dead on the slab. She has another flashback, this time of her cutting herself free with a razor blade, and hitting Bishop with a glass jar. She then sucks out his blood with the embalming machine just to make sure he is dead.In the present day, Joan breaks into a barn and finds a trapdoor leading to the basement. She gets down there and sees Paul tied up on the floor, with Olympia and Sandra on slabs. When she goes to rescue Olympia, Paul stands up and shocks her with a cattle prod, knocking her out.Joan awakens, handcuffed to a pole, and sees Paul dressed in Bishop's clothes. He tells her he had respect for Bishop's game, and he tortures people because his father did it in the military. He says that there are only a handful of people at his school that he wouldn't kill. April was snivelling because she wanted extra credit, and he is so much smarter than her, and he wanted to torture her a lot, but Howard only went through one round of torture before he begged him to kill her. He then tells her Sandra is on a roll and got him to torture Howard until he cut his penis off, and she went through five rounds with Brian. When Joan calls him insane, he replies by saying she is the one who is insane because she thought he was Bishop.He breaks a bottle and uses the glass to cut her face open at her scar. He then slices down Olympia's foot with a razor blade. He reminds Sandra of when she bullied him on their first day of school, before cutting her head open and tearing a chunk of hair out of her head. Sandra tells Olympia to tell Paul to kill her, and she does. Paul puts some latex over her face and suffocates her.For the next game, its Joan and Olympia. Paul tells Joan that he wants people to believe she is the killer and he arrived and managed to kill her and become the town hero, like she did so many years ago, so he can only torture her using the cattle prod. When Olympia refuses to let him kill Joan, he tears out her bellybutton ring before threatening to drill into her teeth.Joan grabs a piece of glass and literally slices her thumb off so she can slip out of the handcuffs before grabbing the gun and shooting Paul twice. She gets Olympia free, but Paul sits up, and slices down Joan's leg with a scalpel, so Olympia grabs the drill and drills into his head, killing him.Later, the two women are at the hospital, where Joan tells Olympia it will all be okay. When Olympia lies down, she sees Paul standing over her. Olympia wakes up, revealing the hospital bit with Paul was a dream. Joan tells Olympia that Paul may be dead, but the pain of what happened to them never truly goes away. | murder, flashback | train | imdb | Some of the cast had been in much better genre film, Angela Bettis in the much superior "May" and Titus in the cult classic "Killer Klowns from Outer Space", both of which are much more worthy of your valuable time than this dreary number.
While driving to her hometown Ovid, Colorado, to visit her brother and local sheriff Jeff (Christopher Titus) and her niece Olympia (Kirby Bliss Blanton), Joan Burrows (Angela Bettis) recalls her traumatic experience with her best friend Susie (Tegan Moss) when they were teenagers.
Joan (Brittney Wilson) and Susie are smoking pot in the cemetery and decide to snoop the caretaker Bishop (Ben Cotton) in the funeral home.
Sooner they are sedated with chloroform and submitted to a cruel torture in a sick game where Bishop tells each girl to ask to kill the other to stop the suffering.
When a copycat killer kills Olympia's friends, Joan tells the police officers that Bishop is back but nobody believes in her words.
When Olympia is abducted, Officer Lucas (Chris Nannarone) actually believes that Joan has abducted her niece and might be the serial-killer."Scar" is an impressively gore and sadistic horror movie that follows the style of "Hostel" or "Saw".
The story is reasonably well developed through flashbacks, but it is not difficult to guess the identity of the killer; the predictability is due to the few numbers of characters.
Bad acting, poor plot ( clearly lifted from the likes of Saw, Hostel and Halloween and a whole load of others ) plot holes galore, diabolical script, the direction lacks originality and far too much use of colour filters in a desperate attempt to add " effect ".
Do not expect that much HORROR itself - there was gore, a god awful amount of gory torturing.
Angela Bettis was surprisingly not as good as she usually is (May; Girl, Interrupted), but she fit the character pretty well.
And, as I saw it in 3D, I was exited and pleased to see things actually look like they were in front of me, plus the titles and the cast in the intro flying right into your face is pretty spectacular - I found myself smiling as I didn't experience much of 3D action (Spy Kids were not as 3D as this one) and it was nice.
Do not expect much, expect a good 3D (no full presence, for Christ's sake, they didn't have an opportunity to suddenly bring three-dimensional to a new absolutely amazing level), expect a gore fest (I found myself turning away in a few scenes, it was gorier than the "Saw" series was") and you won't be disappointed.
The 2 rating should give you a hint of just how poorly this movie was done if I'm admitting that they had a good concept.In 1991 a man named Ernie Bishop (Ben Cotton) captured two girls, tied them up and forced them to play a game.
15 years later mutilated bodies are popping up in the small town of Ovid and Joan (Angela Bettis) believes it's Ernie Bishop again.But let's talk about the execution of this movie because I have many complaints--though I will limit them to a few.
Even as cheap as the production was I think they could've pulled it off with better acting (I know, I know, the acting is a byproduct of being low budget) and a tighter story.Throughout the movie we kept getting exposition through flashbacks from the main character, Joan.
It was more or less blood neatly placed or spattered around to give the effect of gore.Combine the low budget look and feel to the movie with the contrived methods used to push the story along and you get a low rating.
It says a lot about your movie when you can make "Friday the 13th" look believable..
Originally I would've given the movie a 5/10, but in the end (of the movie), I was more disappointed by the opportunities it missed, than the not so bad 3-D things it had (although once you watch a 3-D movie in an IMAX theater, there's nothing that can compare to that experience).The movie is standard horror fare, so to speak, with some nice actors (some beautiful, some talented).
I even liked the fact, that the movie didn't try to squeeze a big 3-D moment from every scene.
Lets just say I won't be leaping out of my seat and saying this is the most awesome movie ever, although I did like the movie and it did have a few unnerving scenes that were tough to look at especially if you're squeamish, what I mainly don't like is that its just another addition to the ever popular torture porn trend, if you look at films like SAW & HOSTEL, this will pretty much seem like a by the numbers gore fest, that doesn't offer anything new except a collection of gore and some painful torture scenes, which are painful actually.
The concept itself is pretty good, there was definitely a lot of potential there, and the acting was above par for a film of this standard.Its good because it certainly has the concept, but in fact its not that great because if you know SAW & HOSTEL, which I'm sure every horror fan knows, this one will feel pretty much by the numbers..
I saw the 3D version of this movie in a Belgian theater last week.
Anyway.The movie has some cool new gore effects.
The girls are nice to watch but unfortunately, this film is just another Hostel inspired teen movie.
Angela Bettis of "May" fame stars as a woman who returns home for her niece's graduation.There her haunted past resurfaces and the serial killer whom she thought she years ago killed once and for all is out to make her life living hell.This 3D/HD horror thriller is very bloody and gruesome.There are some graphic torture scenes of teenage girls that made me cringe.The script is utterly ridiculous and the film is clearly influenced by "Saw" and "Hostel".The identity of killer comes across as laughable.There are some huge lapses in logic and several young characters are downright annoying.Angela Bettis is pretty much wasted in this mediocre flick.5 out of 10..
This umpteenth entry in the successful trend of Torture Porn cinema definitely succeeds in being one of the most nauseating, stomach-upsetting and sickening pieces of trash I've ever seen, but as expected it's also very little else than that.
I presume the creators were so focused on surpassing the gore level of "Hostel" and "Saw" that they simply didn't have any time left to put some thoughts into the script.
Angela Bettis, the oddly attractive horror starlet of "May" and "Toolbox Murders", stars as a mentally and physically scarred woman who returns to her hometown to celebrate the graduation of her niece.
Now, all these years later, the little town is once again faced with a series of brutal murders and the police assume Joan's return isn't coincidental.
While the plot of the new serial killer unfolds, we gradually learn about Joan's grueling experience as a teenager through short but powerfully morbid flashbacks.
These flashbacks are undoubtedly the highlight sequences of the film, since they feature Ben Cotton as the lunatic mortician and a whole series of truly nasty & engrossing images of torture and mutilation.
Obviously this is a very derivative and highly unoriginal movie, as you've seen this at least two dozen times before in only the past five years or so, but that's hardly a reason why you should check "Scar" out to begin with.
For example, the present day teenage characters, most notably Joan's niece Olympia and her closest friends, are surprisingly likable and non-stereotypical girls that you don't like to see butchered..
Whoever initiated the irritating trend of desaturated colours in horror films should be strung up by their genitalia and flogged until dead by a rabid, hunchbacked dwarf: the muted palette, which has become a cliché in itself, seriously robs some films of their impact.Take Scar, for example, a 3D 'torture porn' film which revels in its gore and nastiness and yet reduces all that lovely blood to a colourless mess; how could any sane film-maker make such a dreadful decision?
(there are scenes that I would swear had been shot in black and white if it wasn't for the occasional almost subliminal watery hue).Other than this very noticeable and pointless absence of colour, Scar is actually a lot of fun; the theme might be derivative, the plot full of gaping holes and contrivance, and the benefit of an extra dimension questionable, but the likable cast and the relentless sadistic violence easily outweigh these negatives.Teenage honeys Kirby Bliss Blanton, Monika Mar-Lee, Brittney Wilson, and Tegan Moss, in particular, all deserve a special mention for their convincing performances as the victims of some exceptionally cringe-inducing torture, including razor blade slicing of the sole, stapling of the flesh, and tongue removal.
In the present, a woman named Joan with a nasty scar on her face visits her family.
The mortician is indeed twisted and has the girls play a nasty little torture game.
Because she keep investigating, she eventually finds herself yet again involved in the torture game.This movie is quite outstanding compared to most formulaic and sanitized horror flicks.
The story taking place in the past, which is also the more interesting one, is focused more on the horror and gore, and it's pretty horrific stuff.
The director is particularly good in portraying teenage dialogue and relationships.This movie does not look good though, the coloring, mostly yellow/brown, is gimmicky, distracting, and pointless- it makes things look unreal instead of making the torture seem real.
But when she's on screen, things become less interesting and watchable.This movie stands out because of a good and rich story, some great performances by attractive girls, realistic gore effects, and a welcome cruder and bloodier approach to horror.
A very gory serial killer movie along the lines of "Saw", equally as good as the later ones.
After finally returning to her hometown after escaping a serial killer, Joan (Bettis) notices things that are all too familiar.
As a teen Joan and her best friend are taken and brutally tortured by a sadistic man.
In order to get the torture to stop Joan must tell him to kill her friend.
This is not an edge-of-your-seat type movie, but it will keep you watching until the end, as well as keep you entertained.
While driving to her hometown Ovid, Colorado,to visit her brother and local sheriff Jeff and her niece Olympia, Joan Burrows recalls her experience with her best friend Susie when they were teenagers.
Joan and Susie are smoking pot in the cemetery and decide to look for the caretaker Bishop in the funeral home.
Soon they are sedated with chloroform and submitted to a cruel torture in a sick game where Bishop tells each girl to ask to kill the other to stop them suffering.
"Scar" is yet another low-budget version of the popular "Saw" and "Hostel" franchises.
The main reason I watched this was for Christopher Titus ( Who I found from comedy specials ) and was interested in seeing him in a horror movie let alone play a serious person.
Although I figured out the killer pretty early on I still enjoyed this movie.
I feel that is a cheap thing to do because it is like grading the film on what size TV you watched it on.
What a waste of a good movie-going experience.As far as the film goes, Scar 3D is not a remake, but is clearly inspired by the countless number of Saw films and, at the time, I believe the first of Eli Roth's Hostel series was out.
It's not as despicable as you would think, and most of the film does without it.The story focuses on Joan (Bettis), now an aunt, who was lured into an old funeral home and tortured with her friend by the owner.
But now, a copycat killer is on the loose since Joan killed the original one.
Researching a bit, I uncovered information from a review saying one person was "out cold" and another ran out of the theater and "threw up." My guess is they never attended one of the many torture porn films we have out today.
Most of the torture scenes were well crafted and amusing - in a totally non-satanic way.The film is what low budget is made of.
I hate to keep repeating myself, but one has to thank the producers for not remaking The Shining and at least coming up with their semi-own idea.While Scar 3D does pass on a few levels, the cliché ending and the lack of character development does drag this one down a little bit.
Gorehounds will be satisfied, but people looking for a very memorable horror film may be a little let down.
I have no idea why the comment was removed in the first place, this movie is horrendous at best and utterly laughable.In searching for a good horror movie, whether supernatural or just some nutcase running around with a chainsaw, I've pretty much seen about 85 % of the horror movies made during the last 15 yrs and this movie rates amongst the lowest.If anyone is familiar with the concept of Saw, this movie has taken a major chunk from that plot wise.Special effects were minimal to the point of boring.
I'm sure everyone watches trashy/candy movies once in a while, but this particular one was just a sad waste of my time and their money..
The filmmakers attempted to imitate Saw, Hostel, and countless other films in the HORROR genre, with not much success.
Scar is one of those movies that should have never been made.
Basically a cash-off on the Hostel styled torture-porn genre (considering the directors previous movies I wonder why he did this now) you get your every cliché...
a killer torturing 2 people until one gives him permission to kill the other (WAZ anyone??), he kills in a funeral home, he is introduced through flashbacks because guess what...
honestly I don't care if this movie is 3D because there was no scenes with a typical 3D shock-look anyway, so its just cheap marketing for a bad movie just like the whole torture-thing.
Its a shame to see Angela Bettis talent wasted in such a sub-par movie.
the movie doesn't even stop from letting the murder re-appear in the end, yet just in a "dream-sequence".
A deep scar of past slasher/gore films..
When i was looking round a local shop for a fun Saw or Friday the 13th style film,i spotted a very good looking Saw-style cover,that could be watched in 3-D!.And though it looked like a fun gory type of film,it ended up being an okay horror film,that is partly let down by being jaw-droopingly terrible in 3-D The plot:A woman goes back to her old town for the first time in sixteen years to visit her niece and brother.This is the first time the she has been back to the town since she and her best friend got kidnapped by a serial killer the got them to play a "game",the was that he would use very sharp blades to cut and scar each of them,until one of them tells him to kill the other one.But,even though she has done everything the she can to move on from this in her life,when she comes back to the town,friends of her niece start turning up dead,having been very badly scared,she decides that she has to face her troubles again,and try to find out how the killer has started up again.View on the film:The screenplay is by Zack Ford,although Ford keeps the torture set pieces that have now been done to death in these types of film,he is able to do slightly different things with the set up to the story.This is done by not having the main characters being in a group or with there boyfriends,instead they have the main two people in the film be girls that are on there own,the you feel really could be friends.The director is Jed Weintrob,and one of the main things that lets the film down is Weintrob doing Hostel/Saw style deaths with no creativity at all,the makes most of them very unrememberable.And i feel the i have to point out how disappointed i am with the shockingly bad 3-D version of the film,with almost the whole film being in black and white for no reason at all,and the bits of colour the are used in the film (such as a global map in someones bedroom being in colour)have no point at all of being the highlighted parts of the film,which end up making the film look like a very,very bad Sin City.Final view on the film:A horror film with a good set up,the is let down by some boring torture scenes and some terrible 3-D filming..
I usually check a films rating on IMDb out before deciding to watch it.
Luckily I'm an Angela Bettis fan or else I would have missed out on this sick little flick.The killer was obvious before anyone had even died and there were some all too familiar horror clichés, but I found many scenes in the film to be brutally disturbing and I'm far from squeamish.
I found the concept of being tortured until you give the word to kill a friend or family member to be sick and terrifying.I've seen this movie compared to Hostel, but besides the gore, which was much milder than Hostel, I can't see the similarity at all.
I felt Scar invested more time into its storyline and some, though not all, of its characters which made it even harder to watch when they were viciously tortured and killed.Bettis did a good job as usual and the film effectively disturbed me which is no easy task. |
tt1179904 | Paranormal Activity | Young couple Katie and Micah move to a new house in San Diego. Katie claims an evil presence has been haunting her since she was a child, so Micah sets up a camera in their bedroom to record any paranormal activity that occurs while they sleep. A famous psychic Dr. Fredrichs, who reveals that Katie is being haunted by a demon that feeds off of negative energy and is intent on tormenting Katie, advises them not to communicate with the demon and to contact demonologist Dr. Johann Averies if needed. Katie seems interested, but Micah does not take this seriously.
The camera manages to capture many strange occurrences, which are minor at first, such as noises, flickering lights, and doors moving on their own. However, Micah taunts and mocks the demon, worsening the situation. During the thirteenth night, the demon angrily screeches and there is a loud thud, causing the entire house to vibrate. Voice recorder tests are conducted by Micah the following morning, which reveal demonic grunting when Micah asks if it would like to use an Ouija Board. During the fifteenth night, Katie, in an apparent trance, stands beside the bed and stares at Micah for two hours before going outside. Micah tries to convince Katie to go back inside, but she refuses and appears to remember none of it the next day.
Micah brings home a Ouija board, which infuriates Katie. When they leave the house, the camera records an unseen force moving the planchette to form an unknown message on the Ouija board, which then spontaneously catches fire. Katie sees the video and pleads with Micah to contact the demonologist, but again he refuses. During the seventeenth night, Micah sprinkles baby powder in the hallway and bedroom. The couple are awakened by creaks, and find non-human footprints leading to the attic, where Micah finds a burnt photograph of a young Katie, previously thought to have been destroyed in an unexplained house fire. Katie finally calls the demonologist, Dr. Averies, but he is occupied.
The events of the seventeenth night have psychologically terrified the couple, which in turn has strengthened the demon. Over the next few nights, the paranormal activity is excessive and intense. They eventually call Dr. Fredrichs back to the house, but he is overwhelmed by the demonic energy upon entering. He apologetically leaves despite their pleas, stating that his presence only makes the demon angrier. The bleak reality causes the couple to lose all hope, which makes the demon strong enough to be able to pull Katie out of the bedroom and bite her, causing her to become fully possessed. Micah discovers the bite mark and deciding events are too out of control to remain in the house, he packs to head to a motel. Just as they are set to leave the possessed Katie insists they will be okay now.
The following night, Katie gets out of bed and stares at Micah for two hours before going downstairs. After a moment of silence, Katie screams for Micah, seemingly being attacked by the demonic presence; he abruptly rushes to help her. Suddenly, Micah exclaims in pain, Katie stops screaming, and then heavy footsteps are heard coming upstairs. Micah's body is violently hurled at the camera, which is knocked off the tripod, revealing Katie, now a demonic human, standing in the doorway. She slowly walks into the room, stained with blood. She crawls to Micah's body and then looks up at the camera with a grin. As she lunges toward the camera, her face takes on a demonic appearance just as the scene cuts to black. Epilogue text states that Micah's body was discovered by the police on October 11, 2006, and Katie's whereabouts remain unknown.
=== Alternate endings ===
Once Paramount acquired the film, the original ending was scrapped, and two new endings were developed for the film, one of them being the one seen in theaters (the scrapped ending was shown at only one public viewing).
==== Original ====
After going downstairs on the final night and waking Micah with a scream, only Katie is shown returning to the bedroom, covered in blood and holding a large bloody kitchen knife. She sits beside the bed, holding the knife and rocking herself for hours. The next day, her friend Amber calls and leaves a message, expressing concern. That night, Katie is still sitting and rocking by the bed, and Amber can be heard entering the house. During this short period, Katie stops rocking, but when Amber screams (presumably after finding Micah's body) and runs out of the house, she resumes her motion.
Half an hour later, police enter the home and discover Micah's body as well. They find Katie and call to her. She wakes from her catatonic state and seems confused. As she approaches them with the knife in hand, they ask her to drop the weapon, but then a nearby door slams shut, startling one of the policemen, who shoots and kills Katie. The police investigate the area and find nothing but the camera, still running. The screen fades to black, as a dedication to the deceased Katie and Micah is displayed.
==== Paramount alternate ending ====
In this ending, available as alternate ending on the home releases of the film, Katie gets out of bed and stands staring at Micah, as she did in the theatrical ending, except she does not move to Micah's side of the bed. After three hours, she goes downstairs and screams, waking Micah, who runs downstairs. The same screams and heavy footsteps are heard. After a moment of silence, Katie re-enters the room covered in blood with a kitchen knife. After closing and locking the bedroom door, she approaches the camera and promptly slits her own throat, before collapsing dead. The scene then fades to black.
==== Unfilmed alternate ending ====
A third alternate ending was written in which a possessed Katie would corner Micah and bludgeon him with his camera, while viewers watch from the camera's point of view. This version was deemed too complicated and too brutal to shoot. | dark, boring, psychological, murder, paranormal, horror, atmospheric, haunting, psychedelic, entertaining | train | wikipedia | Scenery - granted that the whole movie is filmed in or on the characters' house, the static viewpoint of the camera gets a little boring.
I'm not easily scared, but given the circumstances in which I watched PARANORMAL ACTIVITY I was quite tense.This film is a lot like Blair Witch, Cloverfield in the use of the home camera, but the way in which the characters in PARANORMAL approach their situation is rather realistic and believable.
The only thing I had a problem with (as far as believability) was the exorcism footage they looked at on the net.Maybe I would have been disappointed if I had driven half an hour to the closest English language cinema to see this film when it comes out in December.
A couple decide to document their nights while they sleep, after they hear strange noises that they believe to be a haunting.I respect this film, for the fact that it was shot for less than 20,000, had absolutely no marketing campaign and has become a huge success based on word of mouth and the audience demanding to see it.
Compared to The Blair Witch Project, where you couldn't see a damn thing to be scared of, and Cloverfield, which just made me nauseous from the jerking camera, this film at least has steady camera work most of the time.
So, while his stupidity starts to wear on you, its a slightly more plausible reason for the continual filming than say Blair Witch Projects "THE CAMERA IS ALL I HAVE LEFT!!!" moments.
The movie should have been scarier if I had had more empathy for the characters.Anayway I enjoyed watching this film, but the hype made me expect more..
Young couple Katie and Micah plan to film their home at night while sleeping in hopes of capturing evidence of a ghost that seems to haunting them, or more precisely Katie, since this is not the first time she has experienced these type of visitations.
It helps that Ms. Featherston is an unknown (it's difficult to imagine caring this way about a recognizable actor) but her ability to create a believable and sympathetic character is remarkable and turns an effective thriller into something extraordinary.It's not often that a movie will truly have me on the edge of my seat.
Watching it I was reminded of those days long ago when I first saw "The Exorcist", "Halloween" and "Alien"; movies that have stayed with me over time as moments spent in a theatre genuinely frightened.
Paranormal Activity is a creepy horror thriller with just the right amount of suspense from writer/director Oren Peli whose admirable in making this movie that doesn't rely on cheap scares and CGI effects to entertain the audience.
I enjoyed the fact that instead of relying on CGI and cheap thrills writer/director Oren Peli chose to use more practical effects like the sounds of footsteps, growls, a door closing shut, lights going on and off, and loud bangs to scare the audience.
However, Micah borrows an Ouija board endangering their lives.After the original "The Blair Witch Project", many low-budget movies made with hand-held camera have been released and the only exception that really worked is the Spanish "(REC)".
I cannot understand how a viewer can startle or fear with the awful scenes and noises, unless those that are easily influenced by the marketing of smart producers that releases a cheap crap wrapped in advertisements and fake reviews promoting the movie.
Dollar for dollar, you get about a zillion times more entertainment out of Paranormal Activity than you do out of even good blockbusters like Iron Man, let alone such overblown, overfrenetic, overloud crap as Transformers.The movie is set entirely in a single house and features only 2 actors, both nonentities, aside from fleeting appearances by a couple of equally unknown supporting actors.
It's all filmed with a consumer video camera, and much of the film is devoted to what that camera, mounted on a tripod in the young couple's bedroom, captures on its ultra-low-light setting as they sleep each night away for 2 weeks in late 2006.As we learn in the opening sequence, it's a pretty expensive camera, and Katie Featherston (playing a character of the same name) is fretting over the cost, but her boyfriend, Micah Sloat (ditto), assures her that he makes that much money in a single morning.
In fact, almost all the shots are long, fixed- camera, wide-angle perspectives, and you can see exactly what's going on at all times (including the time stamp in the lower right corner).All of which make this the kind of movie that I'm always hoping for — an original story, well told, effective, using believable characters and, at least in this case, not needing a huge budget to get the job done.Since I saw it the same day as Pandorum (3), with its seizure-inducing stroboscopic credits, I must also say a good word about the closing credits for Paranormal Activity: 3 minutes of total black screen.
In his review of "The Blair Witch Project," Roger Ebert said, "The noise in the dark is almost always scarier than what makes the noise in the dark." Indeed, that film terrified audiences 11 years ago by exploiting that fact.
This is now in my top 3 best movies of all time (If you don't have annoying people laughing in the theater while you watch it).
The only scary thing about this movie was the fact that today's youth actually seemed to believe that the footage was authentic.I cringed every time a "night scene" began.
I've been so disappointed with recent horror movies, (and yes I've read threads where people actually liked the Grudge)that I've begun to think that Americans couldn't make horror films anymore.
I cant tell you much without giving stuff away, so all I have to say is that this movie is a must watch once it is released worldwide.Just like Tubbx3 said, "What really makes this film shine above the rest, is the fact that the characters are really relatable (for anyone in a relationship) you find yourself feeling for the two.
PARANORMAL ACTIViTY is a very ordinary haunted house movie about a VERY ordinary couple who film spooky things when they sleep.
Yes it does and it is a far better film with seriously chilling exposures and a fantastic and real appearance of a very scary ghost....totally unlike PARANORMAL ACTIVITY.
I wanted to mention why I think this film has been so profitable - and it's not because of the movie itself, which I didn't find to be that great or that scary.
It's because of the marketing.The extremely limited pre-Halloween release combined with the TV ads and internet trailers showing people watching the film and apparently having a jump-out-of-their seat fright-after-fright sort of time, created a demand that will probably go unchallenged in the future as moviegoers are unlikely to fall for the tactic a second time.
But other people may find it enthralling - some reviewers have already said as much.I watched it on my own, and I think I'll sleep quite well, thanks.It's a shame, really: a scary movie without gore is something to strive for.
Then I made the mistake of actually watching the movie.My verdict: Bad enough to make the crowd laugh at the "scary" parts, and boo at the end.
Ten years ago, two guys, Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez, put together a scary little film on a peanut-shell budget and utilized the still-fledgling Internet to create a seemingly "paranormal" phenomenon which became known as The Blair Witch Project.
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY (2009) (zero stars!) Hugely overrated 'horror' film about an annoying young couple (egregiously acted by Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat) find they are being haunted and instead of leaving their apartment, decide to record the events on the ever-present video camera that acts as a surrogate for the audience since it cannot even begin to depict some truly scary moments (Not.One!) Novice filmmaker Oren Peli resorts to loud, thumping noises off-screen and grainy night-vision sub-par visuals that the end result is headache-inducing inanity.
I just didn't get it - it was like watching Big Brother Live in the middle of the night, but even more dull.Several reviewers have made comparisons to The Exorcist, but this wasn't even as funny as that old gem of horror comedy.
I found Blair Witch Project infinitely more interesting, and even a little scary - it did everything that this film failed at.The ending was a relief, to be perfectly honest.
Not only was it unbelievably boring, the characters were less interesting than Kraft American cheese(the individually wrapped ones) and the one scary scene was in the last 30 seconds of the 'film'.(which was a totally cheap, effortless and uncreative scare, at that.) I honestly believe that people are trying to seem film savvy by finding this movie unusual in some way because they can't admit what a total piece of s*** it is.
I forced myself to watch this movie till the end trying to realize what was all the hoopla about.It has been a long time that i had written comments but was again forced to write it.
There is very little by way of visual horror.The film opens with the viewer being introduced to the main character, the camera, as well as the main human participants, Kate and Micah.
At that point the familiar becomes hackneyed.One could argue that the entire execution of 'Paranormal Activity' has been done once before in the decade old 'The Blair Witch Project.' It may be the limitation of the "found footage" medium, but other than the considerably longer runtime of 'Paranormal Activity,' the pacing, style of tension built (sounds, character reactiveness, off camera action), and even the sequence of events including the finale are almost exact.When the camera goes live, we are slowly told the story of Kate and her life-long battle with disturbances around her.
There's no question that one must be able to suspend his disbelief to catch fright in a movie like 'Paranormal Activity.' I'm usually able to do that well enough to enjoy any film, but not this one.
However any joy that can be obtained from such visualization is shortly ruined by a movie plagued by obnoxious characters, horrible scripting, and, for the love of god, the closer to the end it gets the more ludicrous it seems especially went eh 'real' stuff starts happening , you continue to question why are these people so nonchalant about it, however freaking out every night.The movie, which seems to be self ego'd for realism (the whole real TV thing going on) I have to say misses the ball, and strikes out hard.
The film starts with the two main characters who are terrible at acting, they were trying too hard to be "normal" and seem like their relationship was real, which they fail at.
One part was scary when the girl is dragged from her bed, but even this wasn't all that amazing and happened around and hour and a half into the film by which time i just wanted to sleep.
Paranormal Activity provides an eerie atmosphere and it all felt very real; the main characters were incredibly relatable and I couldn't help but feel a great deal of empathy for both of them throughout the entire movie.
Understandably, it's kind of hard to sympathize with the somewhat annoying Micah, who keeps up a pretty cavalier attitude towards the whole thing, and he's one of those characters in these types of movies who keeps the camera going even when implored by another to stop.
A young couple decide to try & capture the paranormal activity that seems to follow Katie around on a new camcorder...Sitting down to watch this with an open mind, My GF & I were looking forward to this movie (after seeing the audience reactions in the trailers.
The actors spent so much time in bed, with us watching them, that it was making my girlfriend want to go to bed to sleep herself.We stayed until approximately 15 minutes from the end, which I have been told was the BEST bit.
Then, in the last 2 minutes, either the director or the film editor made a really bad decision on the final scene, threw away any shred of common sense and went for a contrived ending.What I really do not get is how anyone thinks any of this film is even slightly scary, or will stop them sleeping.
In fact if I was pressed into a movie comparison I'd choose Blair Witch 2 because at least the first had some originality upon its emergence, this stanky mess is more a poorly related sequel than any original horror.The story would have been better served up as a conventional horror instead of trying to steal some reality TV steam (which has long since lost itself) through a poor poor poor reasoning as to why so many mundane activities were being filmed; bad idea that crippled this film.Save yourself the effort; rent it when it comes out, skip the first hour and scan through the 'scary' bits..
I just wish they had a better movie to begin with.Anyone who has had to canvas a house knows you turn on every light in every room you pass as you explore the room.When a noise is heard he has the presence of mind to grab the camera turn on it's light but not bother to flip on the stair lights on his way down?When you exit the couples bedroom there is a room on the left that was NEVER entered.
It's funny how the "the scariest film in the history of cinema" formula works every single time, like throwing bits of food at a pack of hungry dogs, they're always gonna go for it, and it's really sad, specially how American audiences are apparently so amazed by this rubbish.This is the kind of film I would play on Halloween to a bunch of 9 year olds with no criteria, but all these young adults flinching and getting their knickers in a twist with the cheap thrills from P.Activity?
Not since The Blair Witch Project has a low budget film been so hyped up as Paranormal Activity.
From Night #1 in Paranormal Activity to the last night in the three weeks had me scared half to death and the ending that will stay with me for a long time.Micah and Katie who claims that since her youth, a ghostly entity has haunted her, are a young couple.
Micah buys a video camera in the hopes of capturing paranormal activity on film.
I went in expecting a lot from this movie based on user and critic reviews and I was very disappointed.The story is basic and makes little sense when trying to tie back to another storyline about a girl named "Diane." The entire movie is about a couple teasing a demon until they tick him off enough to kill and possess the people inhabiting the house.Cheaply made movie that looks and feels cheaply made with a corny, stereotypical storyline thats been done multiple times.
The plot sucked, the acting sucked, and the camera movement was exaggerated and made me want to throw up.Throughout the entire movie I was hoping and praying that there was going to be something scarier that would happen.
Something weird happening to the girl..the start recording themselves to see if they catch footage or weird things happening..they hear a noise..they go to sleep..the door opens...they go to sleep...something moves downstairs..they go to sleep..something bangs on the walls..they go to sleep..something breaths..they go to sleep..finally something a little bit scary happens..the movie ends...oh ya and at one point a demon with hooves leaves three footprints on the floor.
I didn't waste any money on the film =] for that reason and that reason alone I guess it deserves my 1 star.I've seriously come to the conclusion that all the positive comments left about this movie were made by family or friends of the people involved...
:)There is only one horror thing about this movie, and that is that it's a horrible waste of time and money.
The similar movies like Blair Witch project, Rec, Quarantine etc are hundred times scarier and better.
I honestly don't want to waste my time trying to eloquently put forth my problems with this movie, so I'll just present some highlights in bulleted form below:-Yes, this was very documentary-like, in that I have never been so bored watching a work of fiction before.-About a quarter of the way in, myself and several other theater-goers were laughing outright at the corniness of the acting, writing, and directing.-No, it's not immersive.
Not only is this gem-of-an-indie-film, 'Paranormal Activity' the scariest movie I have ever seen, it is the most horrifying experience I have ever been a part of.
If you think about, just seeing an empty, silent room does not seem scary at all, but there-in lies the genius of this film: That something that simple can scare you down to the deepest core of emotion.If you've read any of the other reviews for 'Paranormal Activity', you will notice almost all of them mention that a viewer will not be able to sleep after watching it.
I actually laughed more than once in the movie and felt like I wasted my money by even going to the film.
I looked at the time 40 minutes after the start of the film, NOTHING scary had happened.
I was completely bored throughout the movie.I was alone in my cellar room watching this film at night and was completely unmoved by it.I love good scary films.
I watched this film thinking it was going to be entirely scary and frightful and considering i am easily scared and jumpy i was expecting a lot more.
I am a horror fan, I like to watch B horror films too but when I see so much stupid and fake thing in the movies then I get very upset. |
tt2199711 | Vishwaroopam | The film opens in a rundown pigeon shop in New York City where an old man feeds them. He then sends one pigeon away. It flies high and lands in a skyscraper off the office window of a psychologist who is conducting a session with her client Nirupama (Pooja Kumar), a nuclear oncologist, who begins to confide that hers was a marriage of convenience that provided a safe haven for pursuing her PhD in the U.S.A. for past three years and that her husband Vishwanath alias Viz (Kamal Haasan) is a middle-aged Kathak teacher. She is also put off by Viz's effeminate bearing and is attracted to her boss, Deepankar (Samrat Chakrabarti). Doubting whether her husband has secrets of his own, she hires a private investigator to tail him to probe grounds for divorce. She learns from the private investigator that Viz is a Muslim. In a sudden turn of events, the investigator is killed in a sea-side warehouse by Farukh, a prominent member of the terrorist outfit led by Omar (Rahul Bose). A diary on him gives away Nirupama and the terror group led by Farukh nabs the couple. Deepankar is later killed by Farukh's men.
Viz surprises Nirupama by having a fight with the terrorists, kills Farukh and his men at the warehouse and escapes with Nirupama. Omar and Viz have a past, one that takes the story back to circa 2002, to the Al-Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Viz's real name was Wisam Ahmad Kashmiri. He claims to be a Tamil Jihadi in Kashmir, wanted by the Indian Army, with a reward of ₹ 500,000 on his head. Omar accepts him into his team and drives him off to Afghanistan. Wisam becomes a trainer to the Al-Qaeda Jihadi's and also a family friend to Omar. One day, Omar tells Wisam that American prisoners of war are still alive, incarcerated and shifted each fortnight. He orders his deputy Salim (Jaideep Ahlawat) to behead the Captain and capture it on video. The next day, Salim tells Wisam that a new tall guest is expected in the town. Wisam later that night sees Osama bin Laden (Naren Weiss) greeting the Al Qaeda chieftains in a cave. Then, a joint US-led air force begins bombing raid on the town. Omar begins to doubt that there is an informer in the team but mistakenly orders lynching of an innocent man. What follows is a maze of events that go back and forth in time, unraveling a plot where in the terrorists are scraping cesium from oncological equipment to build and trigger a Dirty bomb in New York City.
Nirupama is stunned to discover the true identity of Viz, his "uncle" (Shekhar Kapur), British "friend" Dr Dawkins (Miles Anderson) and the young "dancer" Ashmita (Andrea Jeremiah). Viz later reveals that he has a lot of emotional baggage and that he had executed many terrorists including Nassar (Nassar), Omar's boss. His mission is to bust the sleeper-cell of Al Qaeda in the US, which is planning to divert the attention through "capsules" capable of emitting mild nuclear radiation tied to pigeons while enabling Abbasi, a Nigerian suicide bomber to detonate the cesium dirty bomb in the city.
Together, the Wisam team try to counter the plans of Omar. In the ensuing events, Wisam is arrested by the FBI before being rescued by his "uncle" Colonel Jagannath and Dr Dawkins is murdered by Salim while picking up a video tape from an antique shop. The FBI later releases Wisam after a call from the Indian embassy and Prime Minister of India, where the true identity of Wizam is revealed as an agent of Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), India. Wisam along with the FBI, take down Abbasi and defuse the Cesium bomb with the help of Nirupama by using a microwave oven as Faraday cage to avoid incoming calls from any mobile phone. Omar and Salim try to escape in a plane. Omar tries to activate bomb through his phone, but fails. He then calls Abbasi, but call is answered by Wisam, who tells him that Abbasi is not alive. Omar is shocked to hear this but escapes with Salim in his plane. The film ends with Wisam indicating that he would now go after Omar, alluding to a sequel set in India. | violence | train | wikipedia | I would describe this as a film with technically great, with high production value, with a casting perfectly fit, with great direction - good example for great film-making.Much credit goes to Kamal Haasan.
Kamal Haasan once again makes sure that his creativity is beyond the imagination of Indian audiences and surprises you every moment.There is nothing controversial in the film as it just shows the two sides of coin.
This movie is a world class commercial thriller which tickles ur intellect a little bit and if you're up there going with the flow of the movie, you will love it if you're a cinema lover and not a Kamal fan.
I request the protesters to allow the movie to get released so that everyone could get a chance to enjoy this masterpiece and know the truth.Coming to the movie, this film will definitely go down in history as one of the best Indian Films.
WOW - being a Indian movie fan, i have seen lot of mass scenes , but when i was watching this TRANSFORMATION SCENE, the feeling i got is something i have never felt while watching a movie.Be it the bgm, scene, stunt, looks, action, song - all in that one scene makes it OUT OF THE WORLD.The movie on a whole is a TERRIFIC VISHWAROOPAM on its own.
It handles such a sensitive topic in such REALISTIC WAY...Its a 3 hr drive to a terrorist camp in afganishtan during the war and you all get a glimpse of Osamabinlaiden - VISHWAROOPAM BEST Indian MOVIE ..
After watching the movie I say proudly that kamal hassan is not only the best actor but also a best best director.
Felt like a Hollywood movie at starting, Good Camera work, averagely good Story(not a new one), nice casting.
Hats off to Kamal Haasan for well executing the role of Kathak Dance Trainer.But the movie has "Something is Missing" factor.Failed to keep the promise somewhere in the middle.
Technically can be the finest Indian movies made at international standards, great photography, editing, fantastic art direction, terrific special effects and stunts.A must watch for all Indian movie fans to enjoy the details of movie making.Music is good jelling well with movie, BGM is minimal.Watched in USA in Packed cinema house.
BGM is correctly placed with the movie...until the end I am unable predict the next scene........character of kamal is known at the end only.....before that he is playing the GOOD and the BAD....he is the hero and the villain....
Respect to Kamal Haasan- the actor, the director, everything.I am not giving away the story, its based on Terrorism but all you have to know is, ITS A MUST WATCH FOR ALL.
But i don't know why TN government keep on band the movie...After watching the movie I say proudly that kamal hassan is not only the best actor but also a best best director.Kamalahasan is the man who always thinks high about the technical standards of the movie, can did once again a fantastic technically high standard movie.
One of the best movies by Kamal Hassan and the Indian film industry on whole.
Watching it more than once will explain the plot in the movie.The best part of the movie is Kamal's effeminate Kathak dancer and his transformation into a fighter.On the whole this is a movie for action and Hollywood lovers and not for Desi movie lovers.*Shame on the Tamil Nadu govt for banning such a great movie..
Finally watched Vishwaroopam at rockline cinemas bangalore...........last few days hoopla had only raised the expectation of the movie ..............Movie starts of with humor filled scenes and Ulaganayagan's entry was too gud...super song..........the transformation scene i jumped out of my seat uhhhhhhhh mindblowing pa........Afghan scenes have been shot well bit dragging at times but thats alright........2nd half is where the movie shifts to a new level like the Jason bourne style movies ......the expression in heroine's face says it all when she watches Kamal in a new avatar....awesome.......climax looked bit forced mainly to get in Vishwa 2.........expecting lot more thrills ...........Don't miss it.
Hope this movie is just a buildup for the Vishwaroopam II and confusion clears in part II..Felt like he has forgotten about screenplay while attempting to show off that Indians are also capable of making a technical masterpiece with eye-catching special effects..
Viswaroopam is an extremely well made film which would definitely need multiple viewing to get a complete grasp...Kamal shows his brilliance as a director..there are couple of scenes in the movie which only a genius like him could have possibly thought of...screenplay is good...cinematography is outstanding and so is the computer graphic..music suits the mood of the film...art director is bound to win national award for his sensational work in recreating the terror camps..Now, coming to the performances, three actors steal the show...Kamal Haasan as the Kathak dancer, Kamal Haasan as the trainer of the terror camp and Kamal Haasan as the agent....Rest of the cast do a good job...Overall, Go watch Viswaroopam, its one of the sensible spy thrillers you would see..Eagerly waiting for Viswaroopam II now :).
I wouldn't even compare this with Kamal's other great work like Devar magan or Hey Ram. This movie created controversy in Tamil Nadu and it does not mean the movie is good.To compare with Hollywood?
I wish Kamal sticks to his original way of movie making where the movie has a good story line supported by his excellent acting.
very average film...not worth the hype...the only thing was it had the look of a Hollywood film..not the feel of one...kamal hassan was good and he did not overact..the actress sucked bad...forced expressions and dumb characterization...sometimes the cgi was pretty bad during the scenes in afghanistan...ending was dull and a bit stupid..there were many moments of bad filmaking and few scenes of good filmaking...music was OK..andrea's role and shekar kapur's roles were lame and did not provide any impact at all..cannot believe this got a 9.6 in imdb...80% of the ratings must have been kamal fans who might have just given it 10 without seeing it...its not exactly a bad film...just not worth the hype and disappointing because i am a fan of kamal's films back in the 80's and the 90's...its his third disappointing movie in row (manmadhan ambu and dasavatharam)...just hopes that next time he is in a movie he would just stick to the role of acting and not directing or writing..he has to still learn more about those fields more....
First let me Congratulate Mr Kamal Hassan for giving us Vishwaroop.I have been a great fan of spy thrillers and I believe after Vishwaroop we can match Hollywood films not only in terms of technique but content also.This is not a Tamil/Hindi bilingual but this is the first International Spy Thriller from India which can match any BIG BUDGET Hollywood THRILLERS.Everything in the movie was top notch Cinematography,Performances From The Cast,Story,Screenplay,Production Value.A lot of research has gone in depicting the plight of the Afghan People and the Psyche of Terrorists along with counter terrorism operations.This aspect of the film makes it truly special.Waiting for VISHWAROOP 2..
The best surprise is that it has a trailer/hint of what is going to happen in Vishwaroopam–II (India)
The only drawback that I realized was that the movie was a little bit slow at times, and the very few graphics of Kamal at Afghanistan.
We might expect better from Pooja and Andrea in the next part probably.Vishwaroopam – A Hollywood film in Tamil and a must watch for anyone who needs an intelligent cinema..
Kamal Haasan, India's best actor plays the lead role in vishwaroopam.
Excellent Movie, Exordinary Screenplay, World class Cinematography, Art work amazing, After seeing this film every tamilian should proud once again that we have a talent to compete with world class cinema.
Kamal as an actor,well everyone knows his prowess as an actor .What really startles is the panache in which carries his character .The first kathak dance is the best testimonial where he emotes exactly like a Radha yearning for lord krishna .The transition of his character is phenomenal and only an actor of his caliber can pull it of with such an elan .Rahul bose has done a neat job , but I wish his characterization was even more deeper as he is the next main guy in the film.There is nothing much to talk about the other character and I personally feel that Andrea's character was unnecessary but not sure about her role in the Sequel where she might have more scope.
The biggest point for this movie is the VFX or CGI and the brilliance can be stated to the fact that the viewer doesn't know about the scenes in which it is used .This is quite a difference form our regular movies unlike Hollywood ones .The back ground music is top notch which instills the seriousness of the movie in the readers mind from the beginning .Thankfully no unnecessary songs .The locale and cinematography is excellent on par with our western counterparts but Editing could have been little better ,which would have made this movie a pacey thriller.
A better screen play would have made this movie from a good one to a great one,Nevertheless its an commendable and applaudable effort from DR.Kamal Hassan .
Thats when the movie really starts and we ourselves will be confused at few places, but if you are a Kamal fan, you would better appreciate the reason behind and know that it is meant to be like that...He had various characters to play in the movie and every character, he had involved himself and performed very well...The Afghan sequence were really good, which people say is slow paced, but that is how it should be, as there can be no commercialism or entertainment which could have been added there.
But really Tamilnadu people missed a life time opportunity of seeing the world class (may be top) movie which is taken by our Peerless Universal Hero Kamal Haasan.Hats off Kamal Sir.Kamal is not young and energetic physically like Tony Jha to perform some part of stunts with liquid movement, after all, The Lion is always the Lion no matter wherever it goes and whatever it becomes.Actually, after the completion of film, while coming out of theater, I thought that that was the interval, as another one part has to be produced (expecting for Vishwaroopam II).
The movie is made with only one intention - to entertain, and entertain it does, with a top class technical team assembled and headed by Dr.Kamal haasan, the man who continues to be one of the few living pioneers, bringing in new filmmaking initiatives to Indian cinema.
Padma Shri Dr Kamal Haasan,has set a benchmark.The movie is technically awesome.No comments/complaints about cast and crew,they very well fit into roles.Sets,fight sequences,editing are one of the best.BGM could have been better.I would say "Vishwaroopam" IS A Hollywood movie(not "Hollywood-like" movies) made by an Indian.India can now boast of making Hollywood movies.The movie is worth more than the ticket cost.You would not mind shelling even Rs 1000/- INR for a single ticket to watch this movie,after watching it once.I have watched movie in Tamil,Telugu,Hindi(liked all three versions).Would love to watch movie in other language(s) as well.Finally,please do watch in theatre.Kill Piracy..
Though I am a fan of Shankar Ehsaan Loy and love their music, there were many sequences where the BG score was found a wee bit lacking.To make this kind of a movie takes lots of guts and needs the help of international film technicians.
This is another example (After Hey Ram and Virumaandi) why I rate Kamal Haasan along with Maniratnam as the best film maker available in India at present.
Try to make good movie next time .All the kamal assn's movie he doesn't know what to want to trying to say in the film..
Vishwaroopam is the best Spy Thriller movie ever in the Indian Cinema.
A film with all parameters being pitch perfect and that what makes it more than watchable one alongside there is just a song in the start that is irritating but that doesn't hamper it...Kamal Hassan is the heart of the whole movie and his performance is top class followed by Rahul Bose who reminded me of Thakshak, his first negative role, though he was menacing and his look was enough to either laugh and get scared...Another person worth mentioning is Jaideep Ahlawat who played the role of Salim and must say he has a bright future ahead as he had done some roles after this movie like Aakrosh, Gangs of Wasseypur, Gabbar is Back, Raazi etc where his acting talent is evitable...Screenplay is gripping and keep u involved throughout and direction is excellent...Mobidity and bloodshed is there which may not appeal to the female section that might come as the biggest flaw and it's a totally serious movie with lack of entertainment value which nowadays is the demand and once not seen then the audience dejects it...
A fare not to be missed for action lovers and Kamal Hassan's fans...A sure shot winner and don't care whether worked on the box office or not but it did hit me fully and I expect a film like this to create such an impression....
Movie : Vishwaroop (U/A)Rating : 4.5/5Kamal Haasan is an excellent actor, we know that.
And yes, the action sequences are excellently choreographed and executed, and they look a treat to watch.Kamal Haasan finally comes with a Hindi film after a long time.
Vishwaroopam is a must watch for those who seek classy, stylish and extra-strong entertainment.It is technically brilliant with world class making and a subject which is truly international on global terrorism.Technically it is one of the best films to emerge out of south.Coming to the technical aspects, screenplay is nonlinear, new, warrants focus from the viewers and engages for most of the running time.
Its an Tamil movie in Hollywood standards, not only in technical but the movie is also deals with international issue in a everyone,s view.this movie is not at all against to Muslims, even the hero of the movie portrayed as a Muslim.In real many Muslims were also acted.If the movie is against them then why should have been they acted?Ban on the movie is coz of political reasons only.Some of them have complained that kamal hassan supports Americans,but he doesn't.In many scenes he slapped Americans too.Finally the movie is worth to watch and i am waiting for the second part..
Every scene is predictable and the story lacks the depth.Having said all that this is a wonderful attempt by Kamal to create such a movie and you can always expect off-beat films from this Indian actor and i think this movie must have been by-far the best directorial brilliance from the actor.A combination of undercover agent transformation and a few world-class stunt scenes is all that the movie is to lookout for.
The movie is just Excellent, Intelligent, Visually breath-taking, Spell-binding performance by the legend "Kamal Haasan", Heart pumping BGM, Mind blowing action, Extraordinary and WOW.As a writer-director-producer and as well as playing a lead actor, Kamal had once again enthralled his fans by giving a worthy movie to watch for.
As other reviews say, the film doesn't look like an Indian movie at all.
The songs were good, however the BGM could have been better and enthralling.I wish Vishwaroop wins all awards in the technical category along with the best actor for Kamal in all film award forums.I can say with pride that Kamal Haasan has started a whole new era in India cinema.Looking forward to Vishwaroop II..
enormous route to explain today's dangerous world...a inside view of world terrorism from ground...Vishwaroopam not only show you violent truth of jihadi's life..where they trained to sacrifice their life on the name of Allah expecting to touch the stair of heaven....it also shows the depth of terrorism...In last few years we watched many movies based on Sleeper cells..vishwapooram will show you the power of them...how far they can go without making any noise...and how can you stop them....??and their comes our Hero...Kamal Hassan...a RAW agent and Indian Muslim..who went at to Afghanistan ..at the depth of AL- queeda...learn from them ..trained himself and destroyed them....A SUPER SLEEPER AGENT.....even his wife in new york never imagined what he is.....kamal hassan was true hero at the movie...the best moment of the movie came when he turn himself from a dance teacher to a fighter front of his wife by killing 10 people in 1 minute...amazing fight that was...and several other scene will catch your attention each and every second..rahul bose was pretty awesome..and even if you're not a kamal hassan fan..watch it for Auro 3D technology...amazing..it's really made the difference...and that's why it's the best Indian film till now..a truly great creation....Hat's off to kamal hassan and his effort....
Kamal Hassan has 3 roles to do in his film- A Kathak dancer, Terrorist trainer & A Spy. And he plays all characters brilliantly with his method acting but as a Spy, he looks aged.
Its a good movie and its a movie which might take Tamil cinema to the next level.Vishwaroopam- a movie, if u watch closely will show the hard work and the effort put in by the legendary actor Mr.Kamal Hassan.
People have seen worse than that.For those who have given rating 1 to 5, i can just say that u hate kamal or you are not a good movie fan!Watch it people!
The kind of movies they are making nowadays, the likes of A Wednesday, Kahaani, Talaash and now Vishwaroopam, with excellent storyline, brilliant direction and outstanding performance by the actors, Indian films may outshine Hollywood with their own distinctive ways in the upcoming years.
People will like this movie even you are Kamal Hassan fans.
Since this movie is acted and directed by a legend Kamal Hassan (one of the finest actors in the world), it will come to the spot light/ discussion for many viewers in India. |
tt0058997 | Bunny Lake Is Missing | Young ANN LAKE has just moved to England from America with her successful but controlling brother STEPHEN. The two are extremely close, with Stephen doting upon Ann. In a hurry the day she enrolls her child, BUNNY, in a private school, Ann leaves her with the school's female German COOK, then runs off to do errands.That late afternoon, Ann returns to the school to pick up Bunny. To her increasing dismay, however, no one at the school seems to know where Bunny is or even who she is. Ann interrogates one of the school's staff, ELIVRA, who hasn't a clue. When the arrogant Stephen arrives, he badgers Elvira further.Soon, SUPT. NEWHOUSE, an unflappable British police officer, arrives, looking into the matter. He talks with all parties involved, including ADA FORD, one of the school's elderly founders. The eccentric Ada resides in an upstairs room, where she's currently compiling a tome about childhood nightmares.Newhouse continues his investigation, tolerating the threats and barbs from Ann's increasingly accusatory brother, Stephen. But as Newhouse puts together Ann's profile, he begins to doubt her story in subtle ways. After all, since no one saw the child (the Cook has quit and has disappeared) he has to wonder if Ann even has a child. Is she delusional, perhaps?The insinuation infuriates Stephen, but he seems to back it up with references to Ann having had an imaginary playmate named Bunny as a child. Ann must now try to find clues that her child really existed. She must also fend off her creepy new landlord, WILSON, an aging homosexual actor who's always drunk and carting about his little dog. The POLICE interrogate him, as well. When Stephen comes across Newhouse talking to Ann in a pub, he blows up at the officer, threatening and accusing him.As police attempt to locate the Cook, Ann's nightmare intensifies. Desperate for evidence that will prove the existence of her child, she suddenly remembers the claim check for a store that's repairing Bunny's doll. In spite of the late hour, Ann goes off in a cab after telling Stephen where she's going. In the meantime, Newhouse and his MEN look into the travel records that brought Ann and Stephen to England.Ann finds the doll shop, which, although closed, has an unlocked door. She gets the doll from the PROPRIETOR. Stephen has followed her, however, and once Ann presents him with the doll and goes off to deal with the Proprietor, Stephen gets a crazed look in his eye and sets the doll afire. Ann is horrified.Ann follows Stephen to a remote location where he has Bunny hidden. Stephen is the kidnapper! Indeed, Stephen is so close to his sister Ann he found Bunny an intrusion in their relationship. Stephen has now lapsed into another identity - a more murderous one and likely an extension of their imaginary selves as children. He's now intent upon killing the child, so as to have sole access to his sister again.Ann tricks Bunny away from the demented Stephen by engaging him in a series of childlike games. Stephen chases Ann and Bunny, but Newhouse and Police soon arrive, arresting the demented young brother. They finally found the evidence they needed of the child's existence by way of travel records. | suspenseful, psychological | train | imdb | Preminger made a number of better films "Laura" and "Anatomy of a Murder" come to mind but I have a special fondness for "Bunny Lake" even though at times it drags and is overly talky.Among the merits of casting Carol Lynley and Keir Dullea, it can be successfully argued that they look like siblings often not the case in films which works very well for this film, as does their ethereal out-of-body quality.
Criticism has been made that the role of Ann Lake was written one dimensionally and therefore offered Lynley little to do but weep and whine; but this may have been Preminger's intention to support that part of the plot that suggests Ann may not have a daughter and that Ann herself may be more than a bit unbalanced.Dullea is an unusual looking actor who can photograph good looking or simply strange.
I especially liked the doll hospital cellar sequence with Lynley holding an oil lamp as she moves about, the high angle shot of the backyard the begins the final sequence, and several sequences when characters pass quickly from one room to another.The sexual subtext is not as hidden as it would have been in the 50s, but subtler, say, than after 1970; its ambiguity adds to the film's texture without getting in the way.
As the film began with the Saul Bass titles and Paul Glass's score, I felt a pleasurable sensation of awe which I used to feel more often when seeing a movie, and which reoccurred a number of times in "Bunny Lake".Try to see this film on a large theater screen to experience the full power of the black-and-white widescreen cinematography.
(The last 20 minutes of the film, maligned elsewhere in these IMDB comments, would probably have benefited greatly from a little more of his presence.)His every moment onscreen is fascinating and worthwhile, and the script gives him some fine moments of verbal eccentricity which he delivers with variety and brilliance -- we leave this film wanting to know even more about his character, because he just seems so interesting beneath the surface.Also a plus is that occupying nearly every small part in this film is a truly fine British character actor, with the old dotty schoolmistress Miss Ford (Anna Massey, I believe) a standout.
And then of course, there's Noel Coward....who gives a truly perverse performance in what amounts to only three scenes.The combination of black & white photography and widescreen, while not all that uncommon, would soon be all but extinct by the time this film was made (at least until our more recent era, when it's made a conspicuous comeback), but it makes for a very effective look and feel to the movie, often dark and noirish, with somes an almost documentary-like grittiness, but always very well-composed and a large part of the film's success.
Soon he begins to question whether Bunny Lake does exist or is Ann's imaginary daughter."Bunny Lake Is Missing" is an intriguing and mysterious thriller directed by Otto Preminger.
You just fall in love with beatific Carol Lynley, she is adorable in this and very brave, after all if we are having to watch this nightmare her character is actually living it.Supporting cast boasts kindly detective Sir Larry Olivier, leering neighbor Noel Coward and high-handed brother Keir Dullea.If you enjoy this one, you may also enjoy 'The Shuttered Room' another scary flick from 1960s Britain with Miss Lynley being threatened by dastardly Oliver Reed as an evil country lout.
As Lynley's brother whose feelings for his sister are almost incestuous, Kier Dullea does well walking a tightrope between normal brotherly concern and something darker, but occasionally overdoes his role.Unfortunately, Preminger can't help but indulge his desire to titillate and shock with the character played by Noel Coward.
1960s Brit Pop combo The Zombies also feature in the film.Ann Lake (Lynley) turns up at her daughter's school to collect her after her first day there, but nobody has any recollection of ever having seen the four year old...It was a film that irked Otto Preminger, he was never happy with the finished product, this even after changing the ending from the one in the novel and relocating the story from New York to London.
Sir Laurence Olivier, Carol Lynley, Keir Dullea and Noel Coward star in "Bunny Lake is Missing," a 1965 black and white British film directed by Otto Preminger.
A young woman, Ann Lake (Lynley) and her brother Steven (Dullea) report the woman's little girl, nicknamed Bunny, missing when she can't be found at her school on her first day of class.
Newhouse (Olivier) soon finds out that Bunny's things are disappearing from the new apartment where she, her mother and uncle live, and Newhouse begins to wonder if Bunny ever existed at all.This is a dark, atmospheric film that takes the viewer into an adult world where a child's fantasy life is explored and often accepted - the cofounder of the school on its top floor listening to children's dreams on tape as she writes a book about children's fantasies; the man who runs the doll hospital; and Ann herself, who had an imaginary friend as a child called Bunny, named after a character in a book.
Noted director Otto Preminger directs Carol Lynley as Ann Lake and Keir Dullea as her brother Stephen who have recently moved to London from the United States.
Very good cast gives perfect interpretation such as Laurence Olivier as an obstinate cop , Carol Lynley at her best , as an unsettling mother , though Columbia Pictures wanted Otto Preminger to cast Jane Fonda as Ann Lake, who was eager to play the role, but Preminger insisted upon using Carol Lynley ; furthermore , Keir Dullea as the suspect brother .
Enjoyed this film directed by Otto Preminger which features a great actor Laurence Olivier, (Supt.
Carol Lynley, (Ann Lake) and Keir Dullea, (Stephen Lake) are a brother and sister and Ann has a little girl which is illegitimate and they have just arrived in England from the United States and have entered her in a British private school and she cannot be found anywhere.
Brother and sister Keir Dullea and Carol Lynley arrive in Great Britain along with her daughter and even before Lynley and the little girl have moved into their apartment, she takes young Bunny Lake to daycare from whence she vanishes.
Of course that leaves a rather distraught young mother in Lynley who summons Scotland Yard with the cry that Bunny Lake Is Missing.Of course Scotland Yard is more than a little concerned when all the child's toys and any record of her existence is seemingly obliterated.
Still Otto Preminger got some good performances out of a cast who might have thought they had signed for a Hitchcock film.Laurence Olivier recalled that he was not a happy camper on the set of Bunny Lake Is Missing.
Here he does a wonderful job of playing a psychotic brother to poor, long-suffering Carol Lynley, whose daughter, Bunny Lake, is missing by the way.
"Bunny Lake is Missing" is a very good mystery thriller that deals with the desperate search of a young single mother for her 4 year old daughter (Bunny Lake) disappeared when left early at school in her very first day and no one seems having seen her (viewers don't either).
The woman has just arrived in London to live with her brother and it comes the time when even the police doubts that the little girl really exists since all her things have also disappeared from her new home (or so says the mom).Otto Preminger makes a fine job with a black and white photography that helps to create a most adequate sordid and gray atmosphere all along and a simple and intelligent direction that keeps a permanent interest on what is happening.
Always reliable Finlay Currie is also there in a small appearance as a doll maker.In my opinion "Bunny Lake is Missing" is not a classic or perhaps not even a great film (in such range that will depend on each one's particular preferences), but no doubt it stands as a very good and enjoyable product in its genre far deserving more attention and recognition that those it received when it was first shown in theatres in the middle 60's.
But when she and her brother call the police, the investigation appears to focus more on whether the young girl ever existed in the first place, when Superintendent Newhouse (Laurence Olivier, wasted in this movie alongside Noel Coward) discovers no one at the school remembers seeing the girl.
Since then I have gone out of my way to see it wherever and whenever possible, chasing it through video stores on both sides of the Atlantic.Although it may sound like a cliche, "Bunny Lake" is truly a film that you should know as little as possible about going into -- if you possibly can, seek it out, petition the Preminger estate and the studio to release it on video or DVD.
Carol Lynley plays Ann Lake, the mother, who does an excellent job especially towards the end of the film.
BUNNY LAKE IS MISSING is a psychological thriller film as a puzzling mystery about a little girl who disappears without a trace in her first day in a nursery school.
"Bunny Lake is missing" is a first rate psychological thriller which keeps its viewers guessing until the very end about the real motives of a crime and the person behind a horrible crime.As the knots are untied only till the very end,Otto Preminger has been able to direct a taut thriller which is able to reveal itself as a rewarding experience only for those viewers who watch this film as a mental exercise of catching innocent looking criminals whose identities betray their real motives.
Under Preminger's surefooted direction and craftsmanship, the lead actors Laurence Olivier, Carol Lynley and Keir Dullea put down stupendous performances.
While Keir Dullea (as Stephen Lake) gets her things in order, sister Carol Lynley (as Ann Lake) arranges for a local school cook to look after her daughter "Bunny Lake", telling the woman she has left the unseen four-year-old in the "First Day room".
Soon, sleuthing Laurence Olivier (as Inspector Newhouse) arrives to investigate the disappearing child; but, unexpectedly, he has trouble finding evidence "Bunny Lake" has ever existed.Director Otto Preminger artfully holds interest, as his psychological thriller gets creepy on you.
******** Bunny Lake Is Missing (10/3/65) Otto Preminger ~ Carol Lynley, Keir Dullea, Laurence Olivier.
Dullea, Lynley's brother calls in Detective Olivier who starts to question whether the child actually exists.Solid enough thriller, but it is by the numbers offering a pretty linear experience with limited mystery and when the outcome is revealed it's not much of a surprise.
Well elements of this plot was used in the Jodie Foster film Flightplan where a girl goes missing on a plane but apart from the mother no one believes she ever existed.Yet Bunny Lake is Missing also borrows from Hitchcock's The Thirty Nine Steps and the German cook in this film also appeared in the Hitchcock classic.This suspense thriller directed by Otto Preminger has a newly arrived American woman (Carol Lynley) whose daughter has gone missing on the first day at nursery.
Apart from her brother (Keir Dullea) no one seems to believe that Bunny Lake existed but the film throws in enough eccentrics or strange people as suspects to keep you guessing such as Noel Coward playing a creepy landlord.Laurence Olivier plays the inspector who has to find Bunny Lake but also needs to ascertain whether she existed.
This might be the first time I recall seeing Olivier playing a policeman in a mystery thriller and he seems to have a bit more cunning to him.The film has a strange final act which takes a left turn.
Superintendent Newhouse (Laurence Olivier) investigates but soon wonders if she has made the whole thing up.This movie starts off with such a powerful compelling sequence as Ann Lake try to find her daughter at the school.
If "Bunny Lake Is Missing" isn't one of Otto Preminger's masterpieces it is, nevertheless, a terrifically entertaining psychological thriller, beautifully directed, written and acted.
There's Laurence Olivier as a pragmatic policeman, that fine and underrated actress Carol Lynley as the distraught mother, Noel Coward and Martita Hunt as eccentrics and Dullea, surprisingly good, as Lynley's over-possessive brother while there are several very neat cameos from a host of well-known British character actors.
However, there are some very good actors here giving fine performances: Laurence Olivier as Superintendent NewhouseKeir Dullea (also in 2001: A Space Odyssey) as Steven LakeCarol Lynley as Ann Lakeand Noël Coward as Wilson the creepy landlord.
Playing against Carol Lynley and Keir Dullea as the Lake siblings, it is interesting to watch Laurence Olivier, Martita Hunt (in an excellent performance), Noel Coward and Anna Massey, taking good advantage of their roles, which in the end are little more than marionettes used to illustrate the emotional disorder of the central characters.
Wasn't she mentally ill?Helped by her brother and a police who are more and more skeptical,she begins to search.The old schoolteacher is very clear-sighted when she says "This boy does not care for his niece but he does care for his sister".Laurence Olivier was praised for his part (the actor said that he was not interested in it)but actually the movie belongs to Keir Dullea.
He appears as a well -respected good -looking polite young man,with future prospects ,in his grey flannel suit.His relationship with his sister (Carol Lynley) is mysterious.They shared lots of things during their childhood.He insists she had an imaginary companion they killed and buried (first step).Then she got pregnant by one of her high school 's boyfriend and he wanted her to have an abortion (second step).The two final steps are in the movie: in front of the doll-maker's shop,he tramples on the toy which cries "mummy";then he digs a hole in the garden ...gradually we feel that that man is irrational.The atmosphere Preminger builds is astonishing.Most of the places recall childhood because Stephen (and probably Ann too) are still big children.When Stephen looks for Bunny in the school,he seems to play hide-and-seek ,which predates the extraordinary finale when everything becomes a game .The story itself is a giant hide-and -seek in London .The only flaw of this absorbing psychological thriller is the wrong tracks the writers felt compelled to disseminate all along the film:the landlord,with his whip which may or may not have belonged to Sade (a character Keir Dullea would portray later in his career),provides the low point of the work.This is minor quibble:"Bunny Lake is missing" masterfully renewed the Freudian movies of the forties ("Cat People" "Secret Beyond the Door" "Spellbound" "Dark mirror" etc)and should not be missed .Like this?try this...."The forgotten" Joseph Ruben 2004.
There's something undeniably perverse about the behaviours of many of the story's characters and this not only complicates the investigation but also increases the number of potential suspects.After arriving in London from the United States, single mother Ann Lake (Carol Lynley) takes her 4-year-old daughter, Bunny, to be enrolled at a local nursery.
And no matter what you do with it, it still tastes like swill and swallows like slime." This exchange is one of the many pleasures of Otto Preminger's Bunny Lake Is Missing...a movie made up of a collection of eccentric and creepy performances, dialogue by John and Penelope Mortimer which is unexpectedly witty, an atmosphere of foreboding and dread, photography that keeps us in the mood for the worst to happen, and a steady performance at the heart of the film by Lawrence Olivier as Superintendent Newhouse, Ann Lake (Carol Lynley) has arrived in London to join her older brother, Stephen (Keir Dullea).
Mostly he pumped out overwrought epics like "Exodus"; bloated biopics like "Saint Joan"; slick trash like "River of No Return" and "Hurry Sundown" (remember THAT mess?); and let's not forget 1963 when he crammed all his skills into one overwrought, bloated, slick, trashy epic, "The Cardinal," which reveals less about the Roman Catholic church than "The Sound of Music" does about the Anschluss."Bunny" shows early flickers of promise-- eccentric Brits, missing kid, anticipation of Olivier, Noel Coward and the Zombies-- but it quickly bogs down, and so badly that even the climax is boring.There are a few good scenes-- creepy moments as when brother Dullea takes a bath while sister Lynley is perched on the edge of the tub.
Bearing all the hallmarks of an Otto Preminger production — long takes, admirably fluid camera movement and stand-out performances, both good (Dullea, Olivier, Hunt, Massey, Currie) and bad (Lynley, Coward) — this psychological thriller rates as first-class entertainment.
Here,overtones of incest and masochism are added to his already extensive sexual palette.Mr K.Dullea and Miss C.Lynley are actually rather good as the siblings whose relationship may be a little too close for comfort.When her daughter disappears,the police - in the person of Mr L.Olivier are called in.Now here we have an actor only too willing to emote furiously and assume funny accents in the hope that it might be confused with great acting but Mr Preminger keeps firmly in control of him,teasing from him one of his more convincing movie performances, probably his best of the 60s apart from "Term of Trial".
On the other hand Laurence Olivier is very subdued and convincing as Police Superintendent investigating the crime and Noel Coward relishes his role as the nosy and somewhat unsettling landlord.Produced and Directed by Otto Preminger who seemed at his most effective in the Mystery/Thriller Genre's and also worked well in the Black and White medium.The film also features a classic Saul Bass title sequence and an effective score from composer Paul Glass.
Ann Lake (Carol Lynley), newly-arrived in London, goes to pick up her daughter, Bunny, from school, but no one there seems to know the girl. |
tt0091374 | Lady Jane | Somerset has lost the power struggle with Northumberland and is executed. Northumberland, ruler of the realm due to Edward VI's minority, sees that the succession is key as Edward is unmarried. He will call on his friend Suffolk, Henry Grey, as Suffolk's wife, Frances Brandon, granddaughter of Henry VII, and their daughter Jane Grey, follow Henry VIII's daughters in the line of succession.
Jane's great scholarship is made evident in a scene in which she interacts with and debates a priest who is a classical scholar. In the next scene, Edward notes "her learning is an example to us all."Northumberland advises Frances that Edward is dying and their plotting to deny Mary and Elizabeth the throne begins. The plan is to get Edward to modify the line of succession to exclude his sisters and to have Frances defer the throne to Jane. To consolidate power, Suffolk agrees to have Jane Grey marry Guilford Dudley, Northumberland's son. Jane is cold on the idea, suggesting Edward would disapprove. Jane is beaten by her mother for this remark. Northumberland convinces Edward that the marriage is necessary for the Reformation. Jane is convinced by Edward to marry Guilford "for me."Edward's health grows much worse. Northumberland asks the doctor to give Edward arsenic to keep him alive for a few extra days, which will buy Northumberland time to convince Edward to sign the document modifying the line of succession.Guilford is found in a pub and advised he is to be married. In his first meeting with Jane, she makes it clear that her priorities are study and prayer and he notes that he is the type that likes pubs and prostitutes. Their wedding night is absurd, as Guilford falls asleep just moments after Jane enters the bedroom.On a journey together, Guilford and Jane see commoners. Guilford offers one of them coins as alms. The commoner throws the money back, displaying that he wears the brand of a beggar, and yells "give us back our land," which could be a reference to the actions of Henry VIII, but more likely refers to enclosure. It makes little sense to Jane., but when they are next alone, Guilford explains what they had seen. He recounts a) confiscation of land during the dissolution of the monasteries, b) enclosure (fencing in) of common grazing land by landlords that ruined the livelihood of small landowners, c) and the inflation of the English currency. He notes that begging has been made illegal, and that those found begging were forced to wear a brand of disgrace. Jane, it seems, is learning that her quiet piety may not be enough to save the poor and transform England.Northumberland attends to Edward, who is on his deathbed. He proposes the change to the line of succession, noting that Mary's succession would hurt England. Edward notes "but she's my sister." Northumberland cleverly replies "it's the duty of a Christian king to set aside the prejudices of the blood in favor of the greater good of God and country." Edward is sold on the necessity of modifying the line of succession and signs Northumberland's document.
Back at home, the newlyweds have another chat. "What do you wish for?", Guilford asks. When she replies with an idea that would improve England, he drops a glass full of wine, destroying it, and says "then it is done." She asks the same of him, gets a similar response, and similarly, but unexpectedly, destroys a wine glass. The game continues, to the delight of both. Jane has come out of her shell, daring to dream with Guilford of a better England. She is no longer a quiet, pious girl too busy with study and prayer to consider the plight of England, but a woman in touch with things a queen might dwell upon, though unaware of the plot to make her queen.Northumberland now seeks the Privy Seal for the document proposing change to the line of succession. Some council members argue that, given Edward's infirmity, ratification might be treasonous, but they acquiesce when reminded that many English lands would revert to Rome if Mary became queen.Northumberland's plot has nearly succeeded, but he is not able to apprehend Mary and Elizabeth. Edward dies and Northumberland fears to proclaim Jane queen with Mary and Elizabeth still at large. However, he decides that he must do so and calls a meeting, insisting that Jane and Guilford attend, but not telling them why their presence is required. Northumberland announces Edward's death and then proclaims that Jane is the new queen.Jane's rejects the crown, shouting "no, it is not mine!" She learns that Guilford will be crowned king, and accuses him of having been in on the plot, but he convinces her this is not so. She accepts the crown. Her ascension is announced publicly, but meets more with confusion than joy. In a letter the privy council receives, Mary proclaims herself queen. Northumberland asks Suffolk to assemble an army to repel Mary. Queen Jane, unannounced, walks in on the meeting and changes the subject, demanding social reforms. Northumberland interrupts to request her signature on the document proposing the raising of an army by her father. Queen Jane refuses to sign unless Northumberland himself agrees to lead the troops that will defend her realm. He agrees and she signs. He proceeds to capture several supporters of Mary, but Jane has them all released. She hears that the campaign against Mary is failing. When Suffolk barges in on her and Guilford to advise them that Northumberland has been declared a traitor and that Mary has been named queen, ending Jane's nine day reign, things are clarified. Most unexpectedly, Jane's remark is "What a relief. Father, can we go home?" Predictably, though, Jane and Guilford are arrested, separated, and imprisoned in the Tower, as is Northumberland.Mary rides triumphantly into England, and her first act is to free those incarcerated in the Tower for having opposed the Reformation, an ominous sign. Queen Mary speaks to Jane and makes it clear that, although a death sentence is near certain when Jane is tried, she intends to grant a reprieve. As Jane exits, the imperial ambassador enters, and Queen Mary advises him that she does not plan to execute Jane. The imperial ambassador notes that Phillip, with whom Queen Mary is in love, will not visit while Jane lives. Learning that her marriage appears to hinge on this execution grieves Queen Mary, who has suffered greatly from loneliness.Suffolk advises his wife that he will join a revolt (which came to be known as Wyatt's rebellion) against Queen Mary. Jane learns that this revolt, with which she was unfamiliar, failed, and that Suffolk, who was one of its leaders, has been arrested. Jane and Guilford are tried, convicted and sentenced to beheading. Jane learns that Queen Mary, due to Suffolk's treason, will no longer grant a reprieve unless Jane embraces the doctrines of Catholicism, Predictably, Jane refuses.Jane learns that Guilford has been executed on Tower Hill, and then she, herself, is led to the scaffold on Tower Green, where she is beheaded. Though still grievous of having had to execute Jane, Queen Mary is seen leaving the Tower, proclaiming "I am going to meet my husband."A priest, the same one that had debated with Jane in the movie's opening minutes, looks to the heavens, reflects on Jane's life and quotes Plato in the movie's final line: "The soul takes flight to the world that is invisible but there arriving she is sure of bliss and forever dwells in paradise." | intrigue | train | imdb | The most famous of the Tudors are King Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I, but this film offers up a look at the intrigues within the court in the period between Henry's death and Elizabeth's accession, as Catholic Princess Mary strives to gain the throne after the death of her Protestant brother King Edward VI.
The religious divisions caused by Henry VIII's embrace of the Reformation are well documented and believably portrayed.Helena Bonham Carter plays the title role - Lady Jane Grey - cousin of the young King Edward and a fanatical Protestant who is manouvered into taking the throne after Edward's death at the age of 15.
Cary Elwes also offered up a strong performance as Guilford Dudley, whom Jane is forced to marry against her will, but whom she falls passionately in love with.
The supporting cast included performances - all of them quite good - by Sara Kestelman as Jane's mother Frances, Patrick Stewart as her father Henry, John Wood as the Duke of Northumberland (Guilford's father), Warren Saire as the young King Edward, and - playing this role absolutely perfectly - Michael Hordern as Dr. Feckenham, confessor to Princess Mary.
Many historians think that neither Jane nor Edward were as innocent in the plot to keep Mary from the throne as the movie portrays them, and the love story between Jane and Guilford is, as I understand it, largely fictional.
Helena Bonham Carter and Cary Elwes play superbly off each other as Lady Jane Grey and Guilford Dudley, bringing out nuances in each other's performance that cement the core of this beautiful story..
After watching it, I felt like I had to know more about Lady Jane Grey's real story.
It's hard for me to be objective about this film as I find both the main actors so divine, but I thought the portrayal of the developing romance extremely moving, by the time the film ended I was sobbing, and I say that about almost NO movie.The cinematography was stunning, both indoor and outdoor shots were beautifully visualised and captured.
This is definitely a tissue box movie girls, so keep a full box handy.I first met this young couple, Lady Jane and Guildford, in 1990 and watched it over and over until I had my favourite quotes down pat, like all those mentioned on this site.The music and drama draw you into the movie, from the opening scenes with the pounding horse hooves to the passion and love found in the closing scenes.Seeing the movie 15 years later renewed old emotions, dreams and memories of the past.
Comparing this with history, I believe this was also very well written; from what I've read on Jane Grey (I have done extensive Tudor period research) I know she was very Protestant and, unlike the later Queen Elizabeth, very willing to argue on the topic of religion.
It doesn't quite succeed at either, but for viewers of LADY JANE, the pleasure is in the details, and there are plenty of those.To first dispense with the glaring historical inaccuracy that lies at the film's center, Lady Jane Grey, the Nine-Day Queen of England in 1553, did not in truth have a passionate love match in her husband, Guilford Dudley.
It's a tossup whether Wood is better at the threats or at two points of emotional breakdown - one, when he must cast the die and order the agonising prolongation of Edward's death to complete his plans, or when, mud-pelted and dishevelled following his defeat by Mary's army, he ends up in the Tower, where all he can offer to his sons and followers is a weary, `I'm sorry.' It's the rare film where Wood's comic instincts don't get the better of his serious performance - this is one of them.As Jane's equally controlling parents, Patrick Stewart and Sara Kestelman are almost as good.
Interesting Costumer describes the turbulent and brief ascension to the throne of Lady Jane Grey and Guilford Dudley.
A dramatization of Lady Jane Grey's short life ,as the death of King Henry VIII throws his kingdom into chaos because of succession disputes .
It deals with Jane Grey (a very young Helena Bonham Carter) from her forced marriage , which she resisted at the beginning , though after falling in love for Guilford Dudley (Gary Elwes, director Trevor Nunn personally chose him to star this role , Nunn later offered Elwes to join the Royal Shakespeare Company) to her brief reign as monarch of England , his early downfall and finally , to her ultimate beheading .
Anxious to keep England true to the Anglican Reformation, a scheming minister John Dudley , the Duke of Nothumberland (John Wood) marries off his son to Lady Jane Grey, whom he places on the throne after Edward VI dies .
Jane Grey is rarely referred to as Queen Jane and is more commonly known as Lady Jane .This is a correct portrayal about political intrigue , lovers and war during Edward VI , Henry VIII's weak son , is on his deathbed .
It deals with a wonderful love story between Lady Jane Grey and Lord Guilford ; at first hostile to each other, but later they fall in love .
The tale had been filmed twice before for the big screen, the most recent at the time was half a century earlier in 1936, as The Tudor Rose , and before that, the first time in 1923, about sixty-three years earlier, as Lady Jane Grey ; or, The Court of Intrigue.Colorful as well as glowing cinematography , being final British film shot by veteran English cinematographer Douglas Slocombe , the picture was also the penultimate film overall lensed by Slocombe, whose final film was Indiana Jones and the last crusade about three years later .
Lady Jane Grey, the "Nine Days' Wonder", is a controversial figure in English history, one of a small group of English "monarchs" whose right to that title is accepted by some historians and denied by others.
Edward, as he lay dying, had executed a will excluding Mary and Elizabeth from the succession and naming his cousin Jane as his successor, although, because this will had not yet been ratified by Parliament at the time of his death, Mary's supporters argued that it carried less weight than Henry's Act. Jane was proclaimed Queen by the Privy Council, who then promptly abandoned her when they realised that Mary enjoyed more popular support and that attempts to prevent her accession were doomed to failure.
In the film, however, Jane and Guilford quickly fall deeply in love, although the historical evidence suggests that they disliked one another intensely throughout their marriage.
At times I thought I was watching an alternate history fantasy about how England, under the enlightened rule of Queen Jane the Good, became the world's first socialist welfare state nearly four centuries before such ideas caught on in the rest of the world.
Helena Bonham Carter, in her second major film role, was not as good as she had been in "A Room with a View" the previous year, making Jane perhaps rather too priggish.
Cary Elwes, however, is good, playing as Guilford as that familiar figure from coming-of-age dramas, the truculent, rebellious teenager who matures into a sensitive, caring young man when he finds true love.
Other good performances come from Patrick Stewart and Sara Kestelman as Jane's overbearing parents, John Wood as her devious, scheming father-in-law the Duke of Northumberland, Warren Saire as the tormented King Edward and Michael Hordern as Doctor Feckenham, the elderly Catholic theologian who vainly tries to convert Jane to his faith.
Lady Jane had much going for it, including a talented cast, that it had Trevor Nunn directing and that it was covering an interesting but not-quite-as-well-known part of Tudor history.
There is also one unbelievable scene which was when Jane swore that her husband would never be given the title of king, that would have made sense if the film had maintained that Jane and Guildford hated each other but instead it makes them madly in love which was rather conflicting.However, there is much to recommend.
If you're wondering how accurate Lady Jane is to history, in places it does play fast and loose(the romance being the biggest one) but most of the time it is accurate(especially with Jane's execution), at least it didn't feel grossly distorted and gratuitous like Henry VIII with Ray Winstone did.
Unlike other dramas depicting the tumultuous period reigned over by the House of Tudor, "Lady Jane" has a fanciful script which makes Lady Jane into a dedicated reformer who falls quickly in love with the young man she is forced to marry, and their personal tragedy is elevated into something grander than it really was.
Lady Jane, in real life, was "a brief candle" quickly extinguished in the struggle between the Catholic Church in the person of her cousin Mary, Henry VIII's eldest daughter, and the Church of England which subsequently triumphed when Elizabeth, Henry VIII's younger daughter, succeeded Mary as queen.
Elizabeth is never seen in this film and more is made of the "love affair" between Lady Jane and her consort than of the intrigues which were at the center of this episode in British history.
Jane's true faith, her ability to express it, her intense love for her young husband and her quest for justice make this movie worth watching again and again.
The main characters, Helena Bonham Carter and Cary Elwes brilliantly portrayed an innocent carefree love that is often shared by two young people.
I would love to know the truth: did John Dudley and Lady Jane's father ALSO die?
I loved the movie because it was simple, romantic and historical.Full of sorrow and mystery, it makes me want to watch it again or go back to Tower of London to see the marks left behind..
Lady jane is an excellent historical movie.
Helena Bonham Carter , played this role well.Lady Jane was well educated, and great granddaughter of Henry vii England, also great granddaughter of of Thomas grey,1st marquess of Dorset, a son to late queen consort Elizabeth Woodville, by her first marriageto John of Groby.Very sad tale of young girl who was victim of others political ambitions.
Edward likes his cousin Lady Jane Grey (Helena Bonham Carter) and minister John Dudley Duke of Nothumberland (John Wood) sees the young reformer as a perfect match.
In 1553 with Edward dying, John Dudley (John Wood) schemes with Frances Grey to put her daughter Jane on the throne and marry her off to his youngest irresponsible son Guildford Dudley (Cary Elwes).
Helena Bonham Carter plays 15-year old Lady Jane Grey, who is pushed into the throne by royal ministers after the death of King Henry the VIII.
His son Edward is dying, and the reform-minded ministers do not want the Princess Mary as queen, because she is catholic, and Jane is protestant.
Jane is forced to marry Guilford Dudley(played by Cary Elwes) to be Queen, but they do eventually fall in love, and decide to institute further reforms, which alarms the ministers, and seals their fates, as Princess Mary is leading her forces to usurp Jane...
But from a cinematic standpoint, I found Tudor Rose better than this film in terms of Jane Grey movies..
Given that the actual true story of Lady Jane Grey is a fascinating example of political intrigue in Tudor England, it is all the more inexplicable that Nunn opts for a Woman's Own version of the tale complete with syrupy music that lurches in style from faux 16th century to 1980s muzak.Historical accuracy goes out the window and suddenly the 15 year old Jane and her slightly older husband Guildford Dudley are transformed into young lovers cast in the 'Romeo & Juliet' mould.
Helena Bonham Carter is crowned Queen for the first time in her movie history.
This time playing the teenage nine days Tudor Queen Lady Jane Grey When Henry VIII wanted to marry Anne Boleyn (who would later become his second wife) he split from the Catholic Church and converted to the protestant faith.
A powerful official of England John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland played by John Wood is determined that the rightful but Catholic heir Mary (Jane Lapotaire), Henrys oldestdaughter will not succeed him.
To make sure his pathto power would not be hindered, Northumberland arranges a marriage for Lady Jane to his own son Guilford Dudley (Cary Elwes).
To see the real story of where Lady Jane Grey's tragic life had it start one might look at the Disney film, The Sword and the Rose.
Their grand daughter was Lady Jane Grey who for a brief nine days was recognized by some as the Queen of England.
In fact Lady Jane Grey opens with Edward Seymour's execution and the Duke of Northumberland assuming guardianship.But he knows he's got a sickly dying king and to preserve the newly formed Anglican church that will go by the boards if the Catholic Mary Tudor inherits the throne, he needs a Protestant on the throne.
Cary Elwes as Guilford and Helena Bonham Carter as Jane are one appealing pair.
He so wanted to live and secure a Tudor succession.Lady Jane isn't accurate history, but it's still a fine film with a good cast and thoroughly enjoyable..
The film stars Helena Bonham Carter, John Wood, Cary Elwes, Michael Hordern, Patrick Stewart, Sara Kestleman, Jill Bennett, Warren Saire and Jane Lapotaire.This film tells the story of one of Britain's most tragic monarchs, Lady Jane Grey, who was known as the nine day Queen.
Watch the minor characters, one moment they are loyal to King Edward and then to Jane and at the end of the film they show up again now loyal to Queen Mary.
Dudley decides the throne will go to the great niece of King Henry VIII Lady Jane Grey(Helena Bonham Carter).
Jane's father Henry Grey, the Duke of Suffolk(Patrick Stewart)goes along with the plan, but only to a certain point and he doesn't abandon his daughter in her time of need.Jane is crowned but will only reign as Queen for nine days.
Unfortunately, I'm not an expert either on the history of its title character, nicknamed the Nine Days Queen, so am going somewhat by others' comments on the historical accuracy.The film chronicles the succession chaos following the death of Henry VIII.
When the new king, Henry's sickly teenage son, Edward VI is dying, a scheming minister, John Dudley (Duke of Northumberland), concocts a scheme to ensure a Protestant succession by marrying off his own son, Guildford, to the young king's royal cousin, Lady Jane Grey, a devout Protestant.
Henry VIII's daughter, Mary, claims the crown for herself and must therefore eliminate the young usurper, resulting in the execution of both Jane and Guildford.This is an interesting tale of Tudor court intrigue, with the period costumes, castles, and scenes all beautifully done.Helena Bonham Carter, a very young actress herself, brings a sympathetic portrayal of the 15 year old bookish, devout Lady Jane, coerced by her parents into an unwanted marriage.
I remember being quite touched by Jane's genuine friendship with her cousin, the sickly young King Edward, which is perhaps more historically based.Lady Jane's claim to the throne was indeed a weak one, and the crown went to Henry VIII's closer kin, his two daughters, first Mary and then Elizabeth.
Lady Jane Grey's story is indeed a tragic one, but she was merely Henry VIII's great niece, a much more distant relative than his daughters..
I really like Helena Bonham Carter, she is one from my list of favorite actresses, and I really looked forward to watch an old movie of her when she was young and at the beginning.
Lady Jane (Bonham-Carter) is forced to marry Guildford Dudley (Elwes) as part of the Duke of Northumberland's plans to keep England protestant and make his son king.
I never thought it would be this good.I wasn't familiar with the story of Jane Grey before watching the movie which was a good thing.
Somewhere I missed the Nine Days Queen and like I said, that was a plus for the movie.Lady Jane (Helena Bonham Carter) is a young girl who embraced the new Protestant religion in a primarily Catholic world.
As a result, the exiled Princess Mary is returned to London and Jane and Guilford are imprisoned for usurping the throne, and eventually executed.Helena Bonham Carter is brilliant in the title role.
There you are, quite happy reading books, living a quiet privileged life because you are closely related to the king of England your name is Jane and you are 15 years old.Then one day the scheming lord of Northumberland has a cunning plan, the young king is dieing, next in line to the throne is Mary who is a Catholic and we can't have that, too much blood has been spilt moving away from this religion.
Only when Jane is called to London do they realise what has been planned all along, this sends them into a frenzy of planning for the future to make it a better world for all.Sadly with only nine days as Queen she doesn't get much done and is soon carted off to the tower with Guilford, tried and finally executed.So that's the story in a nutshell, the cast do a fine job of the acting, especially Helena Bonham Carter for whom this was a break out movie.
Though I doubt a child of 15 would have been able to overcome all the Lords in her council and change anything, but it's interesting to wonder.I do remember from my history lessons at school that Guilford and Jane never liked each other, as the film portrays, but that does not take away from the fact that these two young people, he was only 17, were pawns in a plan to take the crown of England.
They wanted to make Lady Jane Grey the next queen even though she was only Edward's cousin.
In the movie, she was supposed to be only 16 (though Helena Bonham Carter was about 19 when she made the film). |
tt0117038 | Michael | Michael (John Travolta) is not a stereotypical archangel. He epitomizes the freedom that an angel might command if living among mere mortals. As the tagline says, "He's an angel, not a saint."Two reporters, Frank Quinlan (William Hurt) and Huey Driscoll (Robert Pastorelli), one cynical and the other innocent, work for a tabloid newspaper in Chicago. ("Quinlan" is a nod to one of the writers of the same name.) They travel to a sleepy hamlet in Iowa because Quinlan has received a letter from a woman, Pansy Milbank, (Jean Stapleton) who has an angel for tenant and he is able to convince his editor (Bob Hoskins) that they should visit her at the Milk Bottle Motel. She dies before their very eyes, and they "persuade" Michael to accompany them to Chicago. Traveling with them is an alleged angel expert, Dorothy Winters (Andie MacDowell) with whom they were saddled by their editor.Michael is in control of the entire trip. They stop when he says so because he causes their tire to go flat. He leads them in a fight in a bar for which they are jailed one night. And he resurrects the dog, Sparky, after it is runover by a truck.Throughout the story, there is romantic tension between the angel expert and Quinlan, the cynical reporter and Michael engineers their romance to the very end.The movie's climax comes when they finally arrive in Chicago and Michael breathes his last looking up at the Sears Tower. (Michael has a fascination for the biggest and tallest things in the world.) Michael wasn't dying; but he was exiting earth for his last time. Meanwhile, the angel expert is exposed as a spy for the manipulative editor, and she confesses that she was after Huey's job. In truth, she is a dog expert who was sent on the trip to befriend Sparky. Quinlan, who at one point was moving out of his cynicism, regresses and the story almost ends with the three traveling companions going their separate ways, knowing they had journeyed with an angel, but not understanding exactly what it meant.Finally, one night, Quinlan spots a figure that he thinks is Michael (who was lying about it being his last visit), and begins following him rapidly through the streets. He rounds one corner and careens into Dorothy, who apparently was following a Michael-clone herself. Their faith is restored, and their love blossoms once more. "Marry me, Dorothy," says Quinlan. "Yes," she replies. Then the scene freezes, and out pop Michael and Pansy Milbank -- we're left to ponder whether she became an angel when she died earlier, or that she was an angel all along -- and they dance through the frozen people until they merge with the light emanating from a car's headlights. | romantic | train | imdb | How even the little things that we take for granted, like pie, are fantastic and how we should enjoy every minute like it was our last.For a much more detailed and well written review see the fine work of jhclues who echoes my feelings about the movie so much that I feel it would be redundant of me to restate, probably poorly, all that they have already committed to page.It is also interesting that so many people really hated it.
I really enjoyed this movie for what it is: A funny little film that doesn't take itself too seriously.
It just builds on a great premise and takes the viewer on a wonderful road trip.John Travolta's performance as a chain-smoking, lady-loving, bar-brawling, pie-eating angel is just perfect.
1996's MICHAEL is warm and winning comedy-fantasy that features one of my favorite performances from the John Travolta library.
Travolta gives one of his breeziest and most likable performances as Michael, an archangel whose quiet existence at the home of a lonely innkeeper named Pansy (Jean Stapleton) is disrupted when Pansy reports Michael's presence in her home to a "National Enquirer"-like newspaper and the editor (Bob Hoskins) sends reporters (William Hurt, Andie McDowell, Robert Pastorelli) to the motel to check it out.
Hurt, McDowell, and Pastorelli are quite good as the jaded news staffers who have a hard time accepting they've met an angel but this is Travolta's show and he rules as the pot-bellied, sugar-eating, cookie-smelling, pie-loving, Aretha-loving, bull-chasing Michael, an angel who just isn't what you think you of when you think of angels.
I love this movie more and more every time I watch it and it's mainly because of the completely winning performance from John Travolta..
The plot involves a group of reporters/experts going to examine the mysterious appearance of an angel (John Travolta) in the midwest.
The romantic side of this film involves Michael the angel trying to get Andie MacDowell and William Hurt together.
They are the messengers of God, and also the arc angels are great warriors (Lucifer being the toughest and best looking until he was kicked out of heaven).So what happens if you don't believe in anything, let alone angels and you are sent to investigate an angel story, only to meet one with wings and less than angelic attitude.Maybe that is what America needs, being a puritan is different from being good.
Michael is a rude, obnoxious, womanizing messenger of heaven who will fulfill your wishes, and make you care enough about the world that you will be touched.Funny, but not greatly so, touching but not overly sentimental, intelligent without being clever...it is just a good simple, small comedy.
John Travolta was excellent as "Michael" in the movie by the same name.
Warm hearted flic depicting arch-angel Michael as a brawling, overweight, cigarette smoking slob who loves to dance and cavort with the opposite sex.
The surprisingly negative comments (IMHO) reflect a level of expectation that professional film critics have led us to think must be a part of every movie.Others have described Travolta's role (it's the reason you'll watch the movie over and over) and the excellent supporting cast (including Sparky!).Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar; sometimes a movie is just fun.Enjoy!.
A possible answer lies in Ephron's entertaining and ultimately touching film, `Michael,' in which she asks you to be a believer; and if you can, it'll loose the magic upon the screen and you'll be treated to a satisfying cinematic experience, courtesy of Ephron's insights into human nature and a guy who just may or may not be one of those most ecclesiastical of creatures, an angel.
When Frank Quinlan (William Hurt), a reporter for a national tabloid based in Chicago, gets a letter from a woman in Iowa named Pansy Milbank (Jean Stapleton), who claims that an angel has been living with her for the past six months, Frank's editor, Vartan Malt (Bob Hoskins), dispatches him forthwith to the woman's residence, the Milk Bottle Inn (which she owns), to check it out.
What they expect to find when they get there is anybody's guess, but if it's someone with a halo and the proverbial `inner light,' they are about to be sorely disappointed; because when they finally meet Michael (John Travolta, complete with wings-- but are they real?), he's, well, as Michael tells them right off, himself, `I'm not that kind of angel--' And for Frank, Dorothy and Huey, it's the beginning of a journey of sorts, as they endeavor to take Michael back to Chicago with them, hoping to learn all they can about him along the way.
And, as embodied by Travolta, this is Michael, the warrior, who exists to do battle with any enemy and put matters to right-- and Travolta makes it work by creating an `angel' like none you've ever seen before.
It's a solid performance by the charismatic Travolta, who makes Michael a truly memorable character, and in turn, a memorable film.
In the end, whether or not this film makes you believe in angels is a moot point, because `Michael' is an engaging film that reaffirms the indomitability of the human spirit.
The story is the usual earthbound angel stuff that Hollywood seems to quite like and it meanders along rather aimlessly, turning into a very vague road movie of sorts.
Lumbered with the promise of romance, Hurt is not that good but is nicely cynical for the majority of the movie; MacDowell is painfully lame at times and her character is pretty poor, she is a big part of the reason why it is hard to really care about the romance in the story.
Both Pastorelli and Hoskins seem to have fun and share a handful of good lines throughout the movie while little roles for other well known faces vary between the effective (Joey Lauren Adams) and the simply pointless (did Richard Schiff really need work this badly?).Anyway, the film is not great but it is not awful either.
All told it is maybe worth a watch once but it is far from being a good film and, if you don't like John Travolta's performance then there isn't a great deal else to watch it for..
This was more of a love story than one about an angel who comes down here to earth, although both angles of that story are given a good share of the movie.If I took this movie to heart, as someone who knows and believes the Bible, I would have canned it pretty quick, but I don't think the general atmosphere was either mean-spirited or blasphemous.
It starts out with Jean Stapleton and a Randy Newman song in Iowa (Northwest Iowa, I guess), reminiscent of Norman Lear's Cold Turkey, which was one of the best movies ever made, according to people on IMDb. So far, so good.
But Michael does things that an angel not fallen would never do, and that completely blows any credibility the movie might have had.
Travolta plays a not so perfect angel, and I think what this movie showes is that who are we to tell how angels look like.
John Travolta did a great job as being the angel "Michael".
It's sweet and entertaining, and I really enjoy the scene where he eats breakfast and the one where he tells the dog "Now remember, Sparky, no matter what they tell you, you can never eat too much sugar" -- this being a maxim that I live by...It is a fairly typical Nora Ephron movie.
She's not an very good director, more of an accomplished hack I think, but she does a workmanlike job and the movie has a much better cast than the script deserves.
One knows that the story is not real life like, yet the depiction is superb.Lyrics are really good and John Travolta in his usual style.
If I had kids, I would let them watch Deep Throat before Michael!A sold-out John Travolta, a washed-up and balding William Hurt, and an about to die any time now Jean Stapleton highlight this turd of a film.But wait...you'll get to hear Andie McDowell sing!
While this film provides some cockeyed entertainment, mainly from John Travolta's portrayal of a less-than-traditional angel, it is a pretty weak entry.
and nora ephron is in my "ok" list of directors.it's nice to see John Travolta as a pot-bellied angel.
Andie MacDowell gets more appealing with every movie; her sweet scene in a honky-tonk is this film's highlight.
In rural Iowa, Pansy Milbank (Jean Stapleton) has been boarding the angel Michael (John Travolta) and he isn't what the newspaper crew expected.
He isn't imaginary, has wings, not very angelic, and a real ladies man.This Nora Ephron movie seems to have a better premise than the eventual execution.
While I can't really claim to be much of a fan of John Travolta, then I will say that "Michael" from 1996 is still a movie that is fair enough for entertainment purposes.
Especially so because it takes the traditional view of angels and turn it into something else.The story in "Michael" is quite straight forward and very simple to follow, the point of it being predictable actually.
I did like the approach that they had opted for with the angel Michael, as it did spice up the movie quite well.
However, I did feel like Frank Quinlan (played by William Hurt) and Dorothy Winters (played by Andie MacDowell) weren't really brought out to their full potential, as these two characters seemed to have much more to offer.What is the most impressive about the movie is the ensemble of talents on the cast list, which includes William Hurt, Andie MacDowell, Bob Hoskins, Robert Pastorelli and John Travolta."Michael" is a good enough drama movie spiced up with comedy elements, and I dare say fairly generic for the mid 1990's in terms of what was produced back then.It is also the type of movie that can sustain more than a single viewing, albeit with several years in between each viewing.
And that's exactly where I was when I recently saw the film "Michael" again on a cable broadcast.I'll also say that I've never been a big Travolta fan; perhaps owing to the inability to ever fully erase the "Fever" persona from mind.But how could one not enjoy this little comic fantasy?
True, neither John Hurt nor Andie MacDowell or others really have to stretch very far in this lighthearted fare; but it's a good cast with all-too brief appearances by Jean Stapleton and Terri Garr.Anyway, as said, this isn't a deep or thought-provoking film; though Michael's hedonistic tendencies while an earth-bound human could well test the more religiously uptight.
Andie MacDowell is splendid as a song-writing, many-times married fellow skeptic of the fact that Michael is, indeed, an angel.
Liked the scene were you seen travolta for the first time (an angel with a belly, dressed only in a boxer and wanting a cigarette), but that does not make a movie.Hated it.
Michael, excellently portrayed by John Travolta, is an unorthodox Archangel enjoying his last mission (vacation?) to Earth.
A supermarket tabloid from Chicago sends a team to Iowa to get a story and pictures; after discovering that he's a real angel they naturally want to bring him back to the big city.What works best is that the story is essentially a fun-spirited road movie.
William Hurt, Andie MacDowell and Robert Pastorelli have an exceptional time meeting Michael and trying to escort him back to Chicago.
Performance-Wise: John Travolta as the Archangel Michael, is lively.
I watch it about once a year and am always pleased anew with the film and especially the stellar performances by entire cast.I've always wondered whether Jean Stapleton actually did the ending dance with Travolta????
John Travolta shines as Michael (his dance and every move), angel that can hardly be related to this word.
Michael even helped dear old Pansy Milbank (Jean Stapleton) - that last scene is beautiful when they dance on the street.Travolta had great help in other actors.
Jean Stapleton and Teri Garr are also good, but my favorite supporting actor in this movie is Bob Hoskins as the tabloid owner.So we've got here a solid movie about people with a warm story also and attractive cast.
Michael is probably too cutesy for most action movie fans and too Hollywood for the intellectual crowd but I found it both extremely funny and very touching, despite it being both cutesy and formulaic.When three skeptics are sent to investigate a man claiming to be an angel they end up escorting him on a grand tour of the mid-western country side only to find that it is each of their own hearts that need investigation.When taking this film apart, as with most films today, there isn't a lot of new material but when taken as a whole it has a refreshingly original approach and is off-beat enough to entertain one all the way through.While not being a "Family" film it is suitable for all ages and a good film to share with the whole family or that special someone."Michael" isn't a great film but it certainly is a good film, a touching film, and well worth seeing.KWC.
I love John Travolta but only when he plays the good guy not the bad guy.
John Travolta is an excellent actor and I think that movies like Michael should be made more often and actors and actresses should think about films that make you sit up and watch and cause you to cry a bit and laugh a bit and just make you think..
Travolta is very good in this film and the later third of the movie shows exactly why.
In other words, Travolta is no Superman here (his angelic wings don't fly him around Metropolis to save the world), but he gets the message of the movie across in the end.
The cast was well selected and John Travolta was great, playing the fun loving arch-angel Michael, who simply wanted to enjoy the simple things in life (whether it be eating cereal with about 2 cups of sugar or going to see the "Worlds largest ball of twine") before he returns to heaven.William Hurt played a very good non-caring businessman and Andie MacDowell was great, playing a Dog Trainer who pretends to be an expert on angels.
All the actors did well with their roles, and this is my favorite performance by John Travolta.The movie had plenty of room for some drama acting, and the comedy never seemed to interfere with the drama.
One of the most wonderful movies John Travolta did.
And this angel, Michael, knows his time in the physical is short and so he "lives it up".
I think this movie is excellent, and unique for one thing especially: The character Michael and the way Travolta plays him.
This movie was pretty good, but people now view angels differently.
Michael's a real coarse kind of angel (it's his last trip to earth and he's eager to enjoy the pleasures earth has to offer while he still has time), and there's little to no sense of what most folks think of as biblical values.
(Reporters who routinely let the story of a lifetime an apparent angel living on Earth out of their sight?) Someone forgot to tell romantic comedy maestro Ephron that William Hurt, brilliant in so many other films, is no Tom Hanks.
Decent sentimental goo about a cross-country road trip led by William Hurt and Andie McDowell, two reporters hoping to investigate into an old woman's claim that a winged angel is living in her house.
When it turns out she's not lying, and that the archangel Michael (John Travolta) is a smoking, drinking, fighting, unconventional supernatural being, they decide to transport him back to their office so that the boss (Bob Hoskins) can check out the angel for himself and see if they've got a good story.If that sounds contrived, it is.
This movie made quite an upset when it was released because it portrayed one of the most famous angels of the Bible as a smoking sarcastic idiot who slept with women...but if you can get past all the spiritual problems, this film is quite entertaining on its own merits.A good Nora Ephron story with a few flaws, but still a worthy one-time viewing for a late Friday or Saturday night.3/5 stars.John Ulmer.
'Michael' is a bad movie with a heart in the right place and some nice moments from John Travolta.
The story, sort of, is about an angel named Michael, played by John Travolta.
Frank Quinlan (William Hurt), Huey Driscoll (Robert Pastorelli) and Dorothy Winters (Andie MacDowell) are surprised to see that they really have to deal with an angel.
MacDowell is sweet but Dorothy seems like a character a bit too simple, although her singing is a nice extra to the movie.
"Michael" is a pleasant film about a lazy, chain smoking, sugar engorged, womanizing angel who loves bar-room brawls.
John Travolta plays archangel Michael; although charming, he is also untidy, a little over weight, seedy and womanizing.
The name Travolta did very little magic for this project.This movie has a lot of stars, but giving below par performances: William Hurt, Bob Hoskins and Jean Stapleton.
Continuing his comeback, John Travolta played a mildly twisted angel in "Michael".
The music contributes a lot to the mood of the movie.The acting is none the less impressive (especially the dog he he!) with John Travolta taking the lead of the fun-troublesome-loving Michael.
Very pedestrian effort about a trio of tabloid reporters (Andie MacDowell, William Hurt and Robert Pastorelli) who go to Iowa to investigate an old woman (Jean Stapleton) who claims that she is living with a real live angel (John Travolta in the titled role).
Michael (1996): Dir: Nora Ephron / Cast: John Travolta, Andie MacDowell, William Hurt, Robert Pastorelli, Jean Stapleton: Biblically speaking angels do exist but it says nothing about them smoking, boozing, swearing, fighting, and having sex. |
tt0061534 | The Crucible | === Act One ===
Betty Parris, the ten-year-old daughter of Salem preacher Reverend Samuel Parris, lies motionless. The previous evening, Reverend Parris discovered Betty, some other girls, and his Barbadian slave, Tituba, engaged in some sort of ritual in the woods. The village is rife with rumors of witchcraft and a crowd gathers outside Rev. Parris' house. The Reverend questions the girls' apparent ringleader, his niece Abigail Williams, who denies they were engaged in witchcraft. Parris decides to invite Reverend John Hale, an expert in witchcraft and demonology, to investigate and leaves to address the crowd.
The other girls involved in the incident join Abigail and a briefly roused Betty. Abigail coerces and threatens the others to "stick to their story" of merely dancing in the woods. The other girls are frightened of the truth being revealed (that in actuality, they tried to conjure a curse) and being labelled witches, so they go along with Abigail. Betty then faints back into unconsciousness.
John Proctor, a local farmer and husband of Elizabeth, enters. He sends the other girls out (including Mary Warren, his family's maid) and confronts Abigail, who tells him that she and the girls were not performing witchcraft. It is revealed that Abigail once worked as a servant for the Proctors, and that she and John had an affair, for which she was fired. Abigail still harbors feelings for John and believes he does as well, but John says he does not. Abigail angrily mocks John for denying his true feelings for her. As they argue, Betty bolts upright and begins screaming.
Rev. Parris runs back into the bedroom and various villagers arrive: the wealthy and influential Thomas and his wife, Ann Putnam, respected local woman Rebecca Nurse, and the Putnam's neighbor, farmer Giles Corey. Tensions between them soon emerge. Mrs. Putnam is a bereaved parent seven times over; she blames witchcraft for her losses and Betty's ailment. Rebecca is rational and suggests a doctor be called instead. Mr. Putnam and Corey have been feuding over land ownership. Parris is unhappy with his salary and living conditions as minister, and accuses Proctor of heading a conspiracy to oust him from the church. Abigail, standing quietly in a corner, witnesses all of this.
Reverend Hale arrives and begins his investigation. Before leaving, Giles fatefully remarks that he has noticed his wife reading unknown books and asks Hale to look into it. Hale questions Rev. Parris, Abigail and Tituba closely over the girls' activities in the woods. As the facts emerge, Abigail claims Tituba forced her to drink blood. Tituba counters that Abigail begged her to conjure a deadly curse. Parris threatens to whip Tituba to death if she doesn't confess to witchcraft. Tituba breaks down and falsely claims that the devil is bewitching her and others in town. With prompting from Hale and Putnam, Tituba accuses Sarah Osborne and Sarah Good of witchcraft. Mrs. Putnam identifies Osborne as her former midwife and asserts that she must have killed her children. Abigail leaps up, begins contorting wildly, and names Osborne and Good, as well as Bridget Bishop as having been "dancing with the devil". Betty suddenly rises and begins mimicking Abigail’s movements and words, and accuses George Jacobs. Hale orders the arrest of the named people and sends for judges to try them.
=== Act Two ===
Act Two is set in the Proctor's home. John and Elizabeth are incredulous that nearly forty people have been arrested for witchcraft based on the pronouncements of Abigail and the other girls. John knows their apparent possession and accusations of witchcraft are untrue, as Abigail told him when they were alone together in the first act. Elizabeth is disconcerted to learn her husband was alone with Abigail. She believes John still lusts after Abigail and tells him that as long as he does, he will never redeem himself.
Mary Warren enters and gives Elizabeth a 'poppet' (doll-like puppet) that she made in court that day while sitting as a witness. Angered that Mary is neglecting her duties, John threatens to beat her. Mary retorts that she saved Elizabeth's life that day, as Elizabeth was accused of witchcraft and was to be arrested until Mary spoke in her defense. Mary refuses to identify Elizabeth's accuser, but Elizabeth surmises accurately that it must have been Abigail. She implores John to go to court and tell the judges that Abigail and the rest of the girls are pretending. John is reluctant, fearing that doing so will require him to publicly reveal his past adultery.
Reverend Hale arrives, stating that he is interviewing all the people named in the proceedings, including Elizabeth. He mentions that Rebecca Nurse was also named, but admits that she is too pious to be a witch. Hale is skeptical about the Proctors' devotion to Christianity, noting that they do not attend church regularly and that their second child has not yet been baptized; John replies that this is because he has no respect for Parris. Challenged to recite the Ten Commandments, John fatefully forgets "thou shalt not commit adultery". When Hale questions her, Elizabeth is angered that he doesn't question Abigail first. Unsure of how to proceed, Hale prepares to take his leave. At Elizabeth's urging, John tells Hale he knows that the girl's afflictions are fake. When Hale responds that many of the accused have confessed, John points out that they were bound to be hanged if they didn’t: Hale reluctantly acknowledges this point.
Suddenly, Giles Corey and Francis Nurse enter the house and inform John and Hale that both of their wives have been arrested on charges of witchcraft; Martha Corey for reading suspicious books and Rebecca Nurse on charges of sacrificing children. A posse led by clerk Ezekiel Cheever and town marshal George Herrick arrive soon afterwards and present a warrant for Elizabeth's arrest, much to Hale's surprise. Cheever picks up the poppet on Elizabeth's table and finds a needle inside. He informs John that Abigail had a pain-induced fit earlier that evening and a needle was found stuck into her stomach; Abigail claimed that Elizabeth stabbed her with the needle through witchcraft, using a poppet as a conduit. John brings Mary into the room to tell the truth; Mary asserts that she made the doll and stuck the needle into it, and that Abigail saw her do so. Cheever is unconvinced and prepares to arrest Elizabeth.
John becomes greatly angered, tearing the arrest warrant to shreds and threatening Herrick and Cheever with a musket until Elizabeth calms him down and surrenders herself. He calls Hale a coward and asks him why the accusers' every utterance goes unchallenged. Hale is conflicted, but suggests that perhaps this misfortune has befallen Salem because of a great, secret crime that must be brought to light. Taking this to heart, John orders Mary to go to court with him and expose the other girls' lies, but she refuses. Aware of John's affair, she warns him that Abigail is willing to expose it if necessary. John is shocked but determines the truth must prevail, whatever the personal cost.
=== Act Three ===
The third act takes place thirty-seven days later in the General Court of Salem, during the trial of Martha Corey. Francis and Giles desperately interrupt the proceedings, demanding to be heard. The court is recessed and the men thrown out of the main room, reconvening in an adjacent room. John Proctor arrives with Mary Warren and they inform Deputy Governor Danforth and Judge Hathorne about the girls' lies. Danforth then informs an unaware John that Elizabeth is pregnant, and promises to spare her from execution until the child is born, hoping to persuade John to withdraw his case. John refuses to back down and submits a deposition signed by ninety-one locals attesting to the good character of Elizabeth, Rebecca Nurse and Martha Corey. Herrick also attests to John's truthfulness as well.
The deposition is dismissed by Parris and Hathorne as illegal. Rev. Hale criticizes the decision and demands to know why the accused are forbidden to defend themselves. Danforth replies that given the "invisible nature" of witchcraft, the word of the accused and their advocates cannot be trusted. He then orders that all ninety-one persons named in the deposition be arrested for questioning. Giles Corey submits his own deposition, accusing Thomas Putnam of forcing his daughter to accuse George Jacobs in order to buy up his land (as convicted witches have to forfeit all of their property.) When asked to reveal the source of his information, Giles refuses, fearing that he or she will also be arrested. When Danforth threatens him with arrest for contempt, Giles argues that he cannot be arrested for "contempt of a hearing." Danforth then declares the court in session and Giles is arrested.
John submits Mary's deposition, which declares that she was coerced to accuse people by Abigail. Abigail denies Mary's assertions that they are pretending, and stands by her story about the poppet. When challenged by Parris and Hathorne to 'pretend to be possessed', Mary is too afraid to comply. John attacks Abigail's character, revealing that she and the other girls were caught dancing naked in the woods by Rev. Parris on the night of Betty Parris' alleged 'bewitchment'. When Danforth begins to questions Abigail, she claims that Mary has begun to bewitch her with a cold wind and John loses his temper, calling Abigail a whore. He confesses their affair, says Abigail was fired from his household over it and that Abigail is trying to murder Elizabeth so that she may "dance with me on my wife's grave."
Danforth brings Elizabeth in to confirm this story, beforehand forbidding anyone to tell her about John's testimony. Unaware of John's public confession, Elizabeth fears that Abigail has revealed the affair in order to discredit John and lies, saying that there was no affair, and that she fired Abigail out of wild suspicion. Hale begs Danforth to reconsider his judgement, now agreeing Abigail is "false", but to no avail; Danforth throws out this testimony based solely upon John's earlier assertion that Elizabeth would never tell a lie.
Confusion and hysteria begin to overtake the room. Abigail and the girls run about screaming, claiming Mary's spirit is attacking them in the form of a yellow bird, which nobody else is able to see. When Danforth tells the increasingly distraught Mary that he will sentence her to hang, she joins with the other girls and recants all her allegations against them, claiming John Proctor forced her to turn her against the others and that he harbors the devil. John, in despair and having given up all hope, declares that "God is dead", and is arrested. Furious, Reverend Hale denounces the proceedings and quits the court.
=== Act Four ===
Act Four takes place three months later in the town jail, early in the morning. Tituba, sharing a cell with Sarah Good, has gone insane from all of the hysteria, hearing voices and now actually claiming to talk to Satan. Marshal Herrick, depressed at having arrested so many of his neighbors, has turned to alcoholism. Many villagers have been charged with witchcraft; most have confessed and been given lengthy prison terms and their property seized by the government; twelve have been hanged; seven more are to be hanged at sunrise for refusing to confess, including John Proctor, Rebecca Nurse and Martha Corey. Giles Corey was tortured to death by pressing as the court tried in vain to extract a plea; by holding out, Giles ensured that his sons would not be disinherited. The village has become dysfunctional with so many people in prison or dead, and with the arrival of news of rebellion against the courts in nearby Andover, whispers abound of an uprising in Salem.
Danforth and Hathorne have returned to Salem to meet with Parris, and are surprised to learn that Hale has returned and is meeting with the condemned. Parris reports that Abigail and Mercy Lewis stole his life's savings from his house and have disappeared, and that he has received death threats. He begs Danforth to postpone the executions in order to secure confessions, hoping to avoid executing some of Salem's most well-regarded citizens. Hale, blaming himself for the hysteria, has returned to counsel the condemned to falsely confess and avoid execution. He presses Danforth to pardon the remaining seven and put the entire affair behind them. Danforth refuses, stating that pardons or postponement would cast doubt on the veracity of previous confessions, not to mention the hangings.
Danforth and Hale summon Elizabeth and ask her to persuade John to confess. She is bitter towards Hale, both for doubting her earlier and for wanting John to give in and ruin his good name, but agrees to speak with her husband, if only to say goodbye. She and John have a lengthy discussion, during which she commends him for holding out and not confessing. John says he is refusing to confess not out of religious conviction but through contempt for his accusers and the court. The two finally reconcile, with Elizabeth forgiving John and saddened by the thought that he cannot forgive himself and see his own goodness. Knowing in his heart that it is the wrong thing for him to do, John agrees to falsely confess to engaging in witchcraft, deciding that he has no desire or right to be a martyr.
Danforth, Hathorne, and a relieved Parris ask John to testify to the guilt of the other hold-outs and the executed. John refuses, saying he can only report on his own sins. Danforth is disappointed by this reluctance, but at the urging of Hale and Parris, allows John to sign a written confession, to be displayed on the church door as an example. John is wary, thinking his verbal confession is sufficient. As they press him further John eventually signs, but refuses to hand the paper over, stating he does not want his family and especially his three sons to be stigmatized by the public confession. The men argue until Proctor renounces his confession entirely, ripping up the signed document. Danforth calls for the sheriff and John is led away, to be hanged. Hale pleads with Elizabeth to talk John around but she refuses, stating John has "found his goodness". | allegory | train | wikipedia | A Dream Cast for a Great Play. I saw this as a teenager and was deeply impressed by it; it was my first Arthur Miller play. It had a dream cast! It would be wonderful to see it again. This and the sixties Hallmark Hall of Fame version of Saint Joan starring Genevieve Bujold are two old TV broadcasts I would really like to find. I wonder if it still exists in archives somewhere? (I did find Saint Joan online -- but only the audio of the original broadcast!) I particularly remember the confrontation between Tuesday Weld (whom I remember as being quite good) as Abigail and George C. Scott as Proctor. Fritz Weaver was a terrific, tormented Hale! This production is what led me to research the Salem witchcraft trials (and ultimately the European witch craze) as well as to read the rest of Miller's plays! I do remember that it had a spoken "epilogue" as the credits were running that warned us that the cry of "witch" could still arise in times of conflict. (I think this may have been a line added to Miller"s "echoes down the corridor" notes at the end of the script in which he reveals what happened to his characters.). pioneer effort. I saw this dramatization of the Salem Witch Trials on TV as a high school junior - just familiar with the Trials and McCarthy. A very good rendering of the play, a great treat at the time - i would love to see it again. By the way, I grew up in the north, there is something intriguing in the idea of these bored teenaged girls sitting around in the cabin while it is cold and snowy outside and cooking up a witch scare.. Another crucial loss. Saw this version of THE CRUCIBLE when it was first broadcast: it made a big impression on me. But haven't seen it since (so far as of 2013 not available on DVD), but the acting was astounding. I remember details of Coleen Dewhurst's performance, her rich, deep voice quivering with disbelief as the accusations mount. Most of all, Tuesday Weld gave the finest performance of Abigail i've ever seen. She was able to bring so much depth to the part, and such ferocity! I've seen several stage versions of the play, as well as the 1957 French film and the 1996 film version: no one has ever been better than Tuesday Weld. One thing: who played Tituba? I can't remember, and i can find no listing (anywhere) as to who played that part in this TV production. (I know that Jacqueline Andre played the part in the 1953 Broadway production, and Vinette Carroll went to France in 1957 to play the part in the film starring Yves Montand and Simone Signoret, but who played the part in 1967?) Of all the Abigails, Tuesday Weld is the only one to really bring out the sexual assertiveness, and how the thwarting of sexual expression can become "demonic". (Another thing i remember is how the married women were addressed as "Goody"; the sound of Melvyn Douglas's voice and Fritz Weaver's voice saying "Goody" to Coleen Dewhurst is a vivid memory.) |
tt0073012 | The Four Musketeers | (Sequel to The Three Musketeers)Porthos (Frank Finlay) recaps the events leading to D'Artagnan (Michael York) becoming a musketeer. The original trio, including Porthos' companions Aramis (Richard Chamberlain) and Athos (Oliver Reed) find themselves on a rescue mission behind enemy lines during the battle of La Rochelle. D'Artagnan's enemy Rochefort (Christopher Lee) was caught spying and is enduring a wait before an amateur firing squad learning to load their rifles on the job. While they figure out how to blindfold a condemned man who has only one eye, Athos and Aramis prepare to launch a smoke bomb as cover while Porthos brings the horses for their escape, but the fuse goes out just as the order is given to fire. Fortunately the entire firing squad misses their target, and while they reload the trio manages to extract the spy. He is returned to his master, Cardinal Richelieu (Charlton Heston), then is sent to obtain D'Artagnan's lover Constance (Raquel Welsh). She is the dressmaker and confidante to Queen Anne (Geraldine Chapman) and a valued hostage if they are to deal with Anne's affair with the Protestant sympathizer, the Duke of Buckingham (Simon Ward).Rochefort and his men find D'Artagnan and Constance shopping in the public market. When she picks a melon from a basket, a hand appears from within and seizes her. While she is taken away, D'Artagnan engages his enemy in a duel and manages to deliver a slicing blow to Rochefort's hand; Rochefort upsets a cart of potatoes, which spills and buries D'Artagnan. He is rescued by the mysterious and beautiful spy Milady DeWinter (Faye Dunaway) and taken to her private home. He regains consciousness in her bedroom where she is attending him while attired in revealing lingerie, but despite her charms he departs hastily, promising to come back and "thank her properly." When he leaves, Milady undresses and prepares to step into her bath, but recoils when she sees the water is tinged red. Rochefort was hiding there, letting his injured hand bleed into her bathwater. As they embrace, they agree to deal with D'Artagnan later.Back at the musketeers' training facility, D'Artagnan ponders his problems while Porthos demonstrates a new sword technique. He flings the sword from its scabbard to sail through the air and hit its mark. Aramis is unimpressed and shows him that the sword could easily be deflected, and they leave arguing the finer points of disarming oneself.An inebriated Athos appears to question D'Artagnan about his new lover. He replies the he loves Milady with his head and Constance with his heart. When asked if he has not ever lost his heart, Athos grows reflective and relates a love story about a man who, unlike him, did lose his heart. It becomes apparent that he is speaking of himself in his life before he became a musketeer. As a nobleman he was a man of honor who fell in love with a mysterious woman and married her, bestowing his title and wealth on her. One day when she fell from her horse, the garter she always wore on her upper arm slipped to reveal the brand of the fleur de lis, identifying her as a criminal. In that moment he lost his honor. Though he had throttled her in his anger, he never knew whether or not she had died. He warns D'Artagnan that such women cause trouble, and the young musketeer agrees that he should stay faithful to Constance.Still needing to repay his debt, D'Artagnan returns to Milady's home and is admitted by her attendant Kitty (Nicole Calfan). Her mistress is away and Kitty has her own interests, so they slip into her bedroom. When Milady returns, Kitty stalls for time and D'Artagnan overhears Milady talking to Kitty about Constance while donning her jewels for the evening; D'Artagnan slips out and re-enters by the front door to pay his proper visit to Milady in her bedroom. Afterward, he calmly asks her where she has taken Constance, and when he grabs her arm the garter there pulls away from a brand of the fleur de lis, and Milady produces two glass daggers filled with acid to attack him. He manages to grab his sword and hold her at bay while he leaves the bedroom, clad only in the sheet, and locks the door. Kitty hands him a cloak and he jumps out the window to escape, finding he has Milady's necklace in his hand. Kitty finally releases her mistress from the bedroom and endures her frustrated blows.Later at the bar, Porthos asks D'Artagnan for money and the necklace slips from his pocket. Athos recognizes it at once, confirming that his wife is still alive. D'Artagnan promises to keep it a secret from the others. Later he goes to the palace to see if the Queen can help find Constance, and is instead captured by the Cardinal's men and taken to his private office. Richelieu remarks upon D'Artagnan's continued good luck and offers friendship in return for the musketeer becoming one of his men, but D'Artagnan refuses and Richelieu warns him that his journey into the battlefront at La Rochelle will be a perilous one.Milady and Rochefort discuss Constance, whom the spy has sent to a private estate. Kitty dutifully gives the information to the musketeers, who agree to help rescue her while D'Artagnan goes ahead toward the battlefront. Constance is fettered in an upstairs room but manages to land a kick on one of the guards when he brings her food; once she has freed herself she runs to the window and finds the courtyard is filled with vicious attack dogs, preventing her escape. The next time a guard comes, she kicks him in the groin before realizing it is Aramis in disguise and she is being rescued. Porthos uses stilts to cross the courtyard with Constance perched on his shoulders to avoid the dogs. The three take her to the convent at Armentieres.D'Artagnan stops at an inn where he plans to meet his friends and finds a note that they were thrown in jail for drunken behavior and sent on a few bottles of wine to drink their health. He declines, saying they will share the wine when they're together again.On the road D'Artagnan is set upon by Rochefort and his hired men, and when the other three musketeers hear dueling in the frigid weather, they join the fray, fighting on an icy lake with unpredictable footing. Still they manage to defeat the gang and take one with them to the inn to question him. He reveals that a meeting is planned at the Red Dove Cote Inn, begs for a drink and is poured some of the wine. Before the others join him, Aramis holds them back as the man quickly goes into convulsions and dies. Sniffing the wine, Aramis says it has been poisoned, probably by Milady.At the Red Dove Cote Inn, Milady meets with the Cardinal and discusses her agenda to rid herself and Rochefort of D'Artagnan and Constance after she does her duty in handling Buckingham, but the Cardinal is unconcerned with her private affairs. She asks for no money for dealing with the duke; she asks instead for carte blanche to deal with her enemies in her own way, and Richelieu produces a vague and craftily written note with his authorization but no words which can be used against him. She tucks it away after he leaves, but suddenly Athos appears and confronts her for the first time since the fateful day when she robbed him of his honor. He asks her for the note, threatening to shoot her if she refuses. Knowing he is capable of it, she surrenders the note.On the battlefield the musketeers have been sent to lend support and see that La Rochelle falls. Athos makes a bet that the four of them can breach the enemy lines and have breakfast atop the bastion--a place where they can discuss matters without the Cardinal's spies within earshot--and they assign Planchet (Roy Kinnear) to bring the ammunition and provisions. They dodge bullets and manage to set up their meal, and Athos gives the note to D'Artagnan and tells them all of the plot to kill Buckingham. Planchet will be assigned to go warn Buckingham, and when the rebels charge the battlement, Athos finds the wall is weak enough that they can push it over to send its stones toppling down on the charging rebels.Milady travels to England to meet Buckingham but fails to convince him to cease aiding the rebels. Outside she prepares a concealed pistol but is caught and sent to the dungeon under the care of his servant Felton (Michael Gothard), a Puritan whose unbreakable faith and detached demeanor the duke trusts. During one visit to check on his prisoner, Milady asks Felton for a Bible, and during his duties he hears her reciting scripture nonstop. Finally she collapses and tells him that she is being persecuted by the Antichrist--Buckingham--and he yields to his doubts and her passions, and later he helps her escape. He proceeds to purchase a knife, meets Buckingham on the docks and uses the weapon to attack his master, who dies from his wounds while Planchet arrives moments too late to warn him.The battle of La Rochelle ends and Rochefort and Milady race the musketeers to Armentieres to claim Constance. The musketeers reach the town nearby just steps ahead of Rochefort, and when they stop for a rest, he gains the lead. The four men remount and give chase, enter the convent by another route but are met by Rochefort and his men. While D'Artagnan and the others battle, the barn next to the convent catches fire, adding to the urgency. Porthos manages to use his new sword technique to dispatch an opponent but catches fire himself; Athos sustains another arm injury and Rochefort escapes.Milady enters the convent disguised as a nun and goes into Constance's room to sit with her. Constance doesn't recognize her in the vestments, continues praying and starts to cry. Milady tells her she should look her best when D'Artagnan arrives, then throws a rosary around Constance's neck and draws it tight.As D'Artagnan finishes dispatching his enemies, Milady leaves Constance's room and attempts to make her escape but is caught by Athos before she can reach her carriage. D'Artagnan bursts into Constance's room to find her strangled body on the floor. He leaves in profound grief and comes upon Rochefort; assuming him the killer, he charges his arch enemy, attacking violently and taking out his anger and misery on him. Again, they are equally matched swordsmen. Aramis and Porthos see them dueling, but Aramis prevents his partner from interfering; it is D'Artagnan's fight alone.By the time the fighting reaches the church, both men have exhausted each other and neither will yield. Rochefort injures D'Artagnan's hand and deals a blow which takes the point off his sword. Desperate, D'Artagnan makes a final lunge and drives his sword home, pinning the spy to the lectern before he falls and dies, and the young musketeer collapses from exhaustion.Later the musketeers gather with their prisoner at a riverbank, standing in judgment of Milady's crimes. They decide the punishment should be death. Athos uses his privileges as a nobleman to hire a headsman and order the execution at the cost of five pistoles. She defiantly demands a trial by a proper court and, when nobody speaks up, she turns to D'Artagnan for help. When he steps forward Athos tells him, in no uncertain terms, that if he moves further the two of them will cross swords and Athos will kill him, so he resumes his place. They watch as the headsman takes Milady in a boat to a small jut of land on the other side of the lake and does his duty; when he returns they grant his request to be paid two pistoles extra for oarsman duties.The musketeers are then rounded up and D'Artagnan finds himself in Cardinal Richelieu's office again. Richelieu reminds him that he refused an offer of friendship and now stands accused of a serious crime. D'Artagnan then produces the Cardinal's own document granting the bearer the privilege to do "what has been done." Knowing he has been defeated, the Cardinal casually burns the note and offers his foe a commission as a lieutenant in the musketeers with the name left blank, saying he and his friends are free to go. Perplexed, D'Artagnan leaves and offers the document to all three of his friends, who politely refuse. He worries that as an officer he will lose his friends, but Porthos assures him that they will always remain "All for one and one for all." | humor, action, murder, historical fiction | train | imdb | Videos and DVDs should be released only in a double-box.Most "Musketeer" movies are travesties loosely based on Dumas.
It uses little more than the names of characters, and it's woefully inadequate.The script-writer in Lester's "Musketeers" movies was George MacDonald Fraser, author of the "Flashman" series.
Even Cardinal Richelieu, who wasn't really evil, comes off as three-dimensional (compare Heston's subtle performance to Tim Curry's bizarre, anti-historical, one-dimensional inquisitor and fool in the 1993 version).Being "The Three (Four) Musketeers", there are many sword-fights; Lester somehow is not a great action director, but he somehow manages to make each duel unique, and funny.
Fraser's brief script for that movie (about 100 minutes) gives us the gist of "Twenty Years After", and is quite amusing and a good coda for the series (it's a shame Lester didn't get a chance to do "The Man in the Iron Mask" with a G.
I was forced to wait 6 months between watching "The Three Musketeers" and getting an opportunity to watch this "sequel" (shot at the same time) and it was agony, though I was somewhat afraid that the second one would not live up to its predecessor.
The action is just as fast and the characters as endearing (because, as we learn, only Porthos could find "a new way to disarm himself" - and then make it work when it counted!) But comedy aside (such as our heroes eating breakfast in the middle of a battle), the serious turns that had to be taken in order to stay true to Dumas' novel were very well done also.
Oliver Reed imparts his loathing for Milady DeWinter not only with his words, but also with the expression in his [gorgeous] eyes and when he holds her at gunpoint in order to get the Cardinal's warrant, several seconds go by in which you as a viewer actually believe that he will kill her right there in cold blood.
Kudos also have to go to Faye Dunaway as Milady - she is truly evil and charming at the same time and you can see how her character manages to be so good at what she does.
(And side note to my fellow students - if you don't have time to read the book "The Three Musketeers," rent these two movies and you'll get the gist of what you need to know.).
Not quite as fun as the first movie but true to the classic story writen by Dumas back in 1850.(additional comments are duplicate comments made about the Three Musketeers)This set of films (3 and 4 Musketeers were filmed at the same time and released 8 months apart) ranks right up there with "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "Robin Hood" (with Erol Flynn) as one of the best in its genre (action/adventure).
The two films are quite faithful to the classic book by Alexander Dumas given some small and reasonable changes.The sword-play in the film is the greatest!
The battle that takes place early in the second film is hysterically funny as our heroes try to eat lunch in the middle of a war.The actors and actresses are all wonderful, especially Michael York, Oliver Reed, Faye Dunaway, and Charlton Heston.
This led to much litigation and the creation of the "Salkind clause" in movie contracts.Spoliers-The film takes up where the first part left off; D'Artagnan and the Musketeers have saved the Queen from embarassment and confounded the evil Cardinal Richelieu.
D'Artagnan is now a full fledged Musketeer (although, in the novel, he was still just a guardsman).Now the Cardinal hatches a new plot to persuade the Duke of Buckingham from joining the protestant Huguenot rebels at the city of La Rochelle.
He learns the true identity of Milady and the mystery behind Athos' melancholy.The Musketeers are sent to fight at La Rochelle and uncover the Cardinal's plot to kill Buckingham.
FINALLY...a DVD release called 'The Complete Musketeers' that does justice to a proper transfer, in widescreen and looking better than when I saw it in the theater.Watching 'The Three Musketeers' without seeing the 'The Four...' is like reading the Alexander Dumas novel; and stopping halfway through.
While Welch was the female focus in the first film, this one belongs to Dunaway, who is excellent as the evil Milady..
The Four Musketeers, along with the first movie, are the only movie versions that are remotely accurate to Alexandre Dumas's masterpiece novel, The Three Musketeers.The action and sword fighting in this film are great.
However, if you hate reading, then you should watch this movie, along with the Three Musketeers, because they are the closest to the book.
Alexandre Dumas's source for his novel was a book by 19th-century writer Courtils Sandraz, which was purporting to be D'Artagnan's biography ; the Musketeers were actually real people, not fictional characters created by Dumas .
This is a luxurious recounting of the Dumas's novel with a fine cast headed by handsome Michael York as hot-headed D'Artagnan in a brave role as a young and handsome soldier of fortune , a dashing , audacious lover and nimble athlete .
This delightful adaptation based on Alexandre Dumas classic novel deals with the youngster D'Artagnan and his three friends , the three two-fisted Musketeers , rollicking adventurers , fighting to live and living to love .
All of them join in their objective to struggle against guards of Cardinal Richelieu well performed by Charlton Heston and the astute Milady De Winter , Faye Dunaway , who is lovely as a jewel, deadly as a dagger the wickedest woman in all Christendom .
Straightforward as well as gallant D'Artagnan and the three musketeers scheme a plan to save her , clashing against a malicious Milady De Winter .It's a nice rendition from the immortal novel with pretty budget and attractive scenarios .
Raquel Welch, Richard Chamberlain, Michael York, Geraldine Chaplin, Faye Dunaway, Charlton Heston, boy oh boy what a shining list of major stars of the 70's.
THE THREE MUSKETEERS and THE FOUR MUSKETEERS: MILADY'S REVENGE were shot back-to-back by Richard Lester and I think this is the better film of the two.
Michael York has gone from a dumb rookie to a slightly-less-dumb newcomer to the Musketeers and is all the better for it.The entire cast return for a story that somehow feels fresher and more dangerous, with the stakes raised considerably.
What makes it a 10 is Oliver Reed's heartbreakingly good performance as Athos--particularly two scenes: first, when he tells D'Artagnan "a love story to cure you of love", then his confrontation with Milady DeWinter ("Since when has it been possible to insult YOU, Madame!").
I had the good fortune to see this film and Three Musketeers on a double bill back in 1976 (how many of us are old enough to remember double bills at the movies?) when I was 16.
I've never read the novel, so I don't know how faithful Richard Lester's movies are, but I can say that they're really fun.
Why Tyrone Power, Errol Flynn, or Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. did not play D'Artagnan in The Three Musketeers is a mystery to me.The Four Musketeers is the second of the film that Richard Lester originally shot.
But the second half of Alexander Dumas novel gets down to some serious business with the deaths of several of the characters.
Heston is a pleasantly malevolent Richelieu, Christopher Lee is a scheming blackguard (perhaps the role he was born to play), and Michael York is the seminal Luke Skywalker, three years too early.Though some consider the storyline misogynistic, and I am somewhat inclined to agree, the story is after all a product of the time it was written in, and makes no excuses for its policies, correct or incorrect.See it for the action, romance and swordplay.
A distinct lack of coverage cuts into this film's otherwise fine pedigree, and instead of a fun, adventurous and humorous swashbuckler with dramatic overtones, we're given a film that, in spite of its great technical achievements, feels like it came out of the oven too soon.Most of us know the story of why, so I won't repeat it here in this review, but it's regrettable that the short sighted economics dictated the final cut of a film.
A lack of cutaways, a new music director whose style is distinctly different from the original score, and some uncorrected shots, leaves "The Four Musketeers" falling a notch or two below its older brother.But, even so, the film is still entertaining.
The action scenes are what they are; good in some areas, adequate in others.Anchor Bay's DVD, for some reason, doesn't include the French opening credits, but the extras and color corrected and digitally mastered DVD for both musketeer films is a welcome addition to anyone's library.In short, the second film is not quite as good as the first film, but is still very entertaining, and, in this way, still a very magnificent piece of cinema.
Under Richard Lester's direction, the mood is darker now that the wicked plans of Cardinal Richileu and Lady de Winter (CHARLTON HESTON and FAYE DUNAWAY) are about to be executed.The plot thickens as the lives of D'Artagnan (MICHAEL YORK) and Constance (RAQUEL WELCH) become affected by the scheming Heston and Dunaway.
Meanwhile, York and OLIVER REED, RICHARD CHAMBERLAIN and FRANK FINLEY, as The Three Musketeers, get caught up in a number of fast moving, boisterous and action-filled adventures that follow the Dumas tale pretty accurately.Even so, watching this film I still have fond memories of the LANA TURNER, VAN HEFLIN, GENE KELLY version of "The Three Musketeers" when I see the plot zooming in on Lady de Winter and her plans for D'Artagnan and Constance.
This continuation of the Musketeers saga from "The Three Musketeers"(73) brings back essentially all the characters (tho they never really left, as this was filmed at the same time) and piles up the intrigue.
Plots combine with counter plots as the puppeteer Cardinal (Heston) sends his two emissaries of evil, Milady & Rochefort (Lee, good casting if ever there was), against the heroes, who defend the queen's honor.
The Milady character (Dunaway) becomes the central focus of the story; she proves to be so dangerous that dashing D'Artagnan (York) barely escapes her deadly designs on a couple of occasions despite his abilities.
Reed lends a pathos to the character of Athos, heh.Though this continues Director Lester's penchant for comical timing and near-slapstick action, the story itself has a more plot-driven narrative and, by necessity, more dramatic, even tragic, elements.
Since this was filmed at the same time, the film has none of the apparent weaknesses of the usual sequels.Many years later, in '89, most of the cast and the director returned for another sequel, "Return of the Musketeers." Some of the magic wasn't there, but it was interesting to see them all again, older and perhaps wiser.
'The Four Musketeers-The Revenge Of Milady' Is a cracking sequel to the 1973 Classic The Queen's Diamond's) This Picks up where the predecessor left off, The seductive but evil Milday De Winter,(Faye Dunaway, is out for revenge,After her elaborate plot was foiled by the Swashbuckling Foursome, Aided by her equally evil lover, and accomplice Rochfort (Christopher Lee) The pair plot to murder the duke of Buckingham,Charlton Heston,Returns As the menacing Cardinal, who gives the pair his full blessing to carry out their wicked vendetta's The Four who are now blades for hire, soon get wind of this wicked plot and together seek out to stop the villainous pair, 'The Four Musketeer's) is a superb companion piece to the original, Lalo Schifrin, who fills in for Michel Le Grand,contributes a excellent And rousing score,.
The only chance of advancement, fortune and glory most younger sons had was to hang it all out and prove their worthiness in battle.Please note that this is the only Musketeer film that ever showed Athos, Aramis, D'Artagnan and Porthos exercising their trade as soldiers.
Oliver Reed and Faye Dunaway play their story out quite remarkably, and the transformation Michael York goes through from head-strong foolishly brave farm boy with a broken sword to the battle weary Musketeer who is strong enough to stand up to Richelieu and beat him at his own game is really a delight to watch.
Lester brings most of the wonderful cast back, but this time Dumas' story ("Twenty Years After") just isn't as fun, and unfortunately Lester is only given 100 minutes to tell it this time, where he falls into the same cram-it-all-in traps as other filmmakers adapting "The Three Musketeers".
The script is witty, the story is compelling and maintains the 1973 film's spirit and the sword-play and action while slightly more slapsticky is exciting.
The cast also give it their all- Michael York is spirited and likable, Oliver Reed once again comes very close to stealing the film, Fay Dunnaway is still beautiful and haunting, Charlton Heston is calculated and imposing and Christopher Lee is simply brilliant as Rochefort.
Watched The Four Musketeers:Milady's Revenge an amazing Performance by Michael York(Romeo And Juliet) as d'Artagnan, Oliver Reed(Revolver) as Athos , Frank Finlay(Othello) as Porthos,Richard Chamberlain(Dr.Kildare) as Aramis, Simon Ward(Young Winston) as The Duke Of Buckingham , Raquel Welch(One Million Years B.C.
)as Constance Bonacieux ,Faye Dunaway(Bonnie And Clyde) as Milady De Winter, Christopher Lee(Dracula) as Count De Rochefort and Oscar Winner Charlton Heston(Ben-Hur) as Cardinal Richelieu .
I really enjoyed The Characters this time around as they where also this was much Darker than the first and certain characters bit it but it was good higher stakes.Great Costume Design By Yvonne Blake(The Last Valley) , Score By Lalo Schifrin( Charley Varrick),Cinematography By David Watkin(The Homecoming) and Direction By Richard Lester(The Mouse On The Moon) A Great but Darker Sequel The Musketeers 8/10.
I just love Lester's Musketeers movies - they were so very original when first released in his treatment and the way the swordplay was executed.
I would have liked to have seen a 3 or four hour movie telling the whole story as I could never get enough of the films as they are.
THE FOUR MUSKETEERS, the second half of Richard Lester's brilliant adaptation of Dumas' THE THREE MUSKETEERS, carries on the manic adventures of D'Artagnan (Michael York), and his comrades (Oliver Reed, Richard Chamberlain, and Frank Finley), and offers deliriously comic moments (a picnic in the midst of a siege is a comic highlight), but in being faithful to the novel, a necessary but tragic thread runs through the plot, with the deaths of key characters tempering the joy of the ultimate resolution.Because the film wasn't intended to 'stand on it's own', certain elements had to be added, to make the story more cohesive.
The choice of Finley is a wise one, as he was the most accessible of the characters in the first film, and his "blissfully ignorant" attitude keeps his opening and closing monologues a 'tongue-in-cheek' joy.Politics and intrigue are the order of the day, as Cardinal Richelieu (Charlton Heston, still sleekly villainous) continues his machinations to eliminate French Protestants, and his major opponent, England's Prime Minister, the Duke of Buckingham (Simon Ward).
A key player in 'the game' is Milady de Winter (Faye Dunaway, in one of her best roles), who agrees to eliminate Buckingham, if Richelieu will pardon 'in advance' her plans to murder D'Artagnan and his ladylove, Constance (Raquel Welch).
The news of de Winter's brand exposes Athos' aristocratic past, and reason for his alcoholism.Just as Van Heflin's interpretation of Athos during this key scene in the 1948 THREE MUSKETEERS was the film highlight, the flashback to a younger, clean-shaven, and dashing Oliver Reed, and his betrayal by Faye Dunaway, who would be branded for her crime, is a high point in the 1974 production.
THE THREE and FOUR MUSKETEERS are a crowning achievement in Richard Lester's remarkable career, capturing a 'feel' that no other Dumas' adaptation has ever come close to.
This "sequel" (actually filmed along with "The Three Musketeers" but released separately later--much to the consternation of its cast who had intended to do one film and were paid for one, but who later sued for compensation!
Still, this is quite effective and a more thorough fleshing out of the second tier of the story than what has ever been shown before (even though many elements and even characters have been eliminated.) Rising to the forefront this time around is the fiendish, dangerous, glamorous Dunaway as Milady de Winter.
Producers Alexander and Ilya Salkind and director Richard Lester originally intended to turn Alexandre Dumas's "The Three Musketeers" into a single epic lasting well over three hours, but this option was rejected as impractical and the filmed material was eventually turned into two separate films (much to the surprise and displeasure of many of the cast and crew, who had only been paid for one film).
The title "The Four Musketeers" was not a particularly original one as it had already been used for other filmed sequels to the novel; it reflects the fact that D'Artagnan is not actually a musketeer to begin with and fights alongside Athos, Porthos, and Aramis out of friendship, not because he is a member of the same military unit."The Four Musketeers" takes up the story where "The Three Musketeers" left off.
Cardinal Richelieu continues with his scheming and orders his sidekick the Count de Rochefort to kidnap the lovely Constance Bonacieux, the Queen's dressmaker and D'Artagnan's mistress.
Rochefort and the Cardinal's other sidekick, the beautiful but evil Milady de Winter- a splendidly poisonous Faye Dunaway- both play a rather larger part in this film than they did in its predecessor.
(The film is also known as "The Four Musketeers: Milady's Revenge").
Keeping Dumas' ending in which Milady murders Constance and is then herself executed by the Musketeers does not fit with the generally comic, light-hearted tone of this particular adaptation.
The result is a film which is faithful to the letter of Dumas's novel but not to its spirit. |
tt2305051 | Wild | In the opening scene (set in the year 1995), a young woman named Cheryl Strayed (Reese Witherspoon) is seen reaching the top of a cliff while carrying a big pack. She is exhausted and takes a seat, where she removes one of her boots. She peels off the sock to reveal that one of her toenails is about to fall off from all the pressure on her feet. She peels the toenail off, but then accidentally knocks the boot off the cliff edge and watches helplessly as it tumbles down the cliff face. She removes the other boot and hurls it over the edge, screaming in frustration.In a flashback, the movie goes back to the first day of her journey where she checks in to a motel room with an enormous backpack. The motel clerk tells her that there will be an extra charge if a man stays with her, and though Cheryl insists she is by herself, the clerk keeps repeating there will be an extra charge. The clerk also asks for a home address. Cheryl explains that she's hiking the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) and doesn't have an address, so the clerk tells her to put her parents' address down. Cheryl hesitates but eventually puts an address down.She goes to her room and makes a phone call to a man. She tells the man that she had to put an address down for her motel and she provided his. The man, Paul (Thomas Sadoski), confirms that it's fine and she should feel free to put his address down. Cheryl says she was also looking for her brother, even though she's not sure he will even care. Paul tells her that he will pass along a message to her brother and asks how she's feeling about the hike. They have a strained conversation and eventually Paul tells her that he has company and he's making dinner so he will need to get off the phone. Cheryl seems to be uncomfortable with this information but Paul tells her that she's the one who felt she had to hike 1,000 miles.As Cheryl goes through her prep, we see flashes of memories, Cheryl having sex with someone, her mother dancing, Cheryl using heroin, Cheryl fighting with a man in a car. These flashes happen repeatedly throughout the movie. Her pack is enormous and she can barely get it on her back and stand up with it. She goes outside to a gas station to find someone to approach for a ride. She sees an older man traveling with a woman in a minivan, and they agree to give her a ride to the beginning of the trail. The man plays oldies on his radio, which Cheryl sings along to and remembers singing along with her mother as a child.The couple drops Cheryl off at the beginning of the trail, which is marked by a signpost as well as a notebook log for travelers to sign (Day 1). She leaves quotes and song lyrics along the path, attributing them to both the original speaker as well as herself. She looks ahead with uncertainty, but forges ahead. She only makes it a few miles before stopping to set up a camp. She is clearly a novice hiker and camper. During her first stop, she struggles to put up her tent. When she gets out her camping stove, she realizes that she purchased the wrong kind of gas. She adds water to her grains and just eats the mush. She continues for several days, at a slow pace, eating nothing but mush. She comes to a literal crossroad, and she can continue on the trail or take the paved road back to a town. She decides to keep going.One afternoon (Day 5) she finally comes upon a truck and someone riding a tractor. She runs up to catch the rider before he rides away to beg for a ride back to town. As she approaches, she sees it's a man by himself. She asks if he could give her a ride somewhere she can get a hot meal. The man seems suspicious of her and says he's working, and she says she can wait for him to be done. He says by the time he's done, no restaurant in town will be open. She responds that she can camp somewhere near the restaurant and wait for it to open. Realizing that she won't be put off, the man agrees to take her when he's done and tells her to wait in his truck.Cheryl waits in the truck and pokes around while waiting for the man. She finds a gun in the glove compartment, which she puts back. The man gets in the truck when he's done, sitting and starring at her. Cheryl starts to feel uncomfortable. The man tells her that he's decided that she can go to his house where she can have a hot meal and a shower. Cheryl tells him that he doesn't have to do that, he can just take her into town, but he insists. He also swigs from a flask and hands it to her. She takes it and feeling more and more uncomfortable, she tries to casually tell him that her husband had hiked on ahead of her and they had planned to regroup in a few days. The man stares at her and then tells her he likes to relax after a hard day's work. The man reaches under his dashboard and yanks something out, revealing it to be red licorice. He grins and hands Cheryl a piece, telling her not to tell his wife as she doesn't allow him to have candy. Cheryl laughs and the man drives her to his home. The man and his wife welcome Cheryl into their home, serving her a hot home-cooked meal, though the wife puts down newspapers on Cheryl's chair as she's been hiking for many days. The man remarks that if he wouldn't allow his wife to go on such a difficult hike on her own and his wife warmly teases him. Despite their rough appearance, they are clearly kind, decent people.In the morning, the man drives Cheryl into town so she can buy the right kind of gas for her stove and takes her back to the trail. Cheryl confesses that she made up the story about her husband because she was nervous, but the man tells her that he understands. He asks her if she ever thinks about quitting, and she tells him that it only occurs to her every two minutes. He tells her that he's quit many things in life, marriages, jobs, but he never felt he had a choice.Cheryl continues on the trail slowly. As she walks in solitude, there are multiple flashbacks which unfold out of order. She remembers her mother, Bobbi (Laura Dern), dancing with her and her younger brother Leif (Keene McRae) as children. She remembers her mother rushing them out of their childhood home to escape her abusive father. She remembers the rural farmhouse they moved to in rural Minnesota, where they lived in poverty as her mother tried to make their childhoods happy and full of love.Cheryl reads a book in her tent at night, and in a flashback we see that she derided her mother for reading the same book, dismissing the author and his writing style. Apparently Bobbi decided to go back to college late in life and attended the same college as Cheryl, at the same time. Cheryl remembers being embarrassed of her mother, barely acknowledging her in a hallway, but then apologizing to her for it later that night. Bobbi tells her she understands that it's weird, and it's fine. Leif arrives home with a friend, and Bobbi immediately stops her homework to fix them something to eat. Cheryl is annoyed by this and tells Bobbi and Leif is old enough to get himself something to eat and that Bobbi should be focused on her schoolwork, but Bobbi tells her that being a mother is the most important thing in her life.Cheryl continues to hike (Day 10), struggling with her large pack and encounters a rattlesnake, rainstorms and other struggles. On Day 12, she eventually comes upon another hiker bathing in a stream named Greg (Kevin Rankin). They have a brief, friendly chat about the hike and how it's going. Greg tells her that he's been averaging over 20 miles a day, and Cheryl is embarrassed to admit how slowly she's been going. Greg also tells her that a section of the trail was hit by snow and that most hikers will be taking a bus to bypass the section. They make plans to meet at Kennedy Meadows, a major stopping and resupply point on the trail, which Greg will reach in just a few days.Cheryl continues on the hike, finally reaching Kennedy Meadows (on Day 14), where she is greeted enthusiastically with applause by Greg and several other hikers, who are all men. Greg offers to buy Cheryl a drink, and she tells him that she's been dreaming of Snapple lemonade and potato chips for days. The hikers are all impressed with Cheryl, but they tease her about her enormous pack, which they've nicknamed Monster. Cheryl picks up a package that was sent by her friend Aimee (Gaby Hoffmann) with fresh clothes and more supplies. A man named Ed, who works at the campsite, offers to help Cheryl repack her gear to lighten the load. He gently teases her about the many items she's packed that she realizes she's never used like heavy camera equipment, condoms and other items. He also advises her to stop carrying so many books, but she refuses to dump them. He tells her that she should rip out the pages of a book after she's read that section to lighten the weight. When she mentions that she's been losing toenails, he advises her that it means her shoes are too small and she should call REI who will send a new pair to the next pick up station where they will be waiting for her. Greg again advises her to bypass the snow covered section and take a bus, but Cheryl insists she wants to hit her 1,000 mile goal. He simply tells her to add extra distance to her originally planned ending point and finish up at the Bridge of the Gods in Oregon instead.Cheryl is next seen taking a bus from Kennedy Meadows to a point around the mountains near Reno, Nevada to continue the hike. One day (Day 25), while hitchhiking along a road, she has an encounter with a man driving by who introduces himself as Jimmy Carter who asks her some questions saying that he works for a magazine called Hobo Times, and assumes that she is a hobo. Despite telling him that she is just hiking the PCT, be becomes pushy and asks her questions such as her current place of residence as well as job status. Cheryl becomes annoyed with him and tells him to leave, and he drives off.After hitching another ride with a hippie family, Cheryl continues on the hike, struggling with the difficult path and bad conditions. She has to cross rivers and hike through snow up in the Sierra Mountains, but perseveres on. She has an encounter with two snowboarders whom she asks for directions. One of them tells her that she is current in Plumas County, California. They ask if she is lost, but she tells them 'no' and continues on. While making camp, she sees a red fox looking at her. It runs off when she approaches it.She reaches the point shown in the opening scene, where she loses her boots down a cliff face. She straps on her sandals, duct taping them to her feet for extra support, and continues on.On Day 49, when she reaches the next stopping point on the trail, she is relieved to find her new boots waiting for her. She is also overjoyed to meet another woman hiking the trail, as there are so few of them. The woman, named Stacey Johnson, tells her that she met Greg along the way who ultimately had to quit the hike before completing it. Cheryl is astonished to hear that she is still hiking when Greg, the experienced hiker, had to quit.In a flashback, Cheryl remembers complaining to Bobbi about the state of their lives. They both work full time as waitresses and live in a dump of a house. She asks Bobbi if she's not unhappy with her life, having been married to "an abusive asshole". Bobbi tells her that she doesn't regret being married to an abusive man because it brought her children into her life.More flashbacks show that Bobbi is diagnosed with a late stage spinal cancer. She succumbs much more quickly than expected in March 1991 at age 47, and it sends Cheryl into a tailspin. She and Leif are further traumatized by having to put her mother's beloved horse down by shooting it. Cheryl begins to withdraw from life; she begins having sex with random strangers.... in a hotel room... in the alley behind the diner where she works... while still going home to her husband Paul. She also sleeps with a man who introduces her to heroin. Paul finds her in a drug den one day, sleeping naked with the man. He brings her home where after an argument about her current status, they agree to divorce.As Cheryl hikes across the deserts of northern California, she reaches a water station (on Day 56), desperate to refill her bottles. However, the water has run out and Cheryl is left with nothing to drink. She hikes along and finds a puddle of stagnant water filled with mosquitoes. She gets out her water filtration pump, fills it, adds iodine and waits for the water to be treated and safe to drink. As she sits, two hunters come upon her who are also looking for water. She explains that she's waiting for her water to be treated, but they are free to use her pump. One of the hunters makes sexually suggestive comments to her and leers at her, so Cheryl says that she will be on her way. She packs up her things, and the hunters say they will be leaving as well and head back the way they came. Cheryl walks off for a bit, but then returns to the site when the hunters are out of view. She changes her clothes and starts to set up her tent for the night when one of the hunters suddenly reappears. It is the same creep who leered at her, and he tells her that he likes her new clothes better because they show off her figure. He asks her why she came back and if she had been lying to them about leaving to get rid of them. She nervously tells him no, she just changed her mind. The tense moment is broken up when the other hunter calls for the man to hurry up and get back. The creepy hunter leaves and Cheryl quickly packs up and runs away as fast as she can.In another set of flashbacks, we see Cheryl getting matching tattoos with Paul. The tattoo artist asks what the occasion is, and Paul casually says that they are getting divorced but wanted to commemorate their journey together. The tattoo artist seems surprised, particularly when Cheryl blurts out that she cheated, a lot. The tattoo artists says that Cheryl seems sorry, and she responds that she is, nearly in tears. Paul soothes her. As they are about to mail their divorce papers, Paul asks how Cheryl's feeling about the new name she's chosen for herself, Strayed. Cheryl says it feels appropriate, given what's happened in her life. They mail the papers, embrace and separate.On the trail again, (on Day 62) Cheryl crosses the Oregon state like comes to the small town of Ashland which filled with hikers and many hippie types. She goes into a makeup store and samples products when the saleswoman tells her that no matter how much lipstick she puts on, she must take care of her personal hygiene first. Cheryl leaves the store and encounters an attractive man who is handling out flyers for a concert. He approaches Cheryl, who tries to maintain her distance. He gives her a flyer and tells her that he will put her name on the guest list for the event.Cheryl goes to a motel for the night, showers and makes herself up, heading to the show. The man brings her a drink and teases her about being unrecognizable now that she's all cleaned up. She goes home with him and sleeps with him. In the morning, she makes a phone call to Paul, leaving him a message. She tells him that she wrote his name in the sand on a beach that morning, as she does every time she's on a beach, but she won't do it anymore.Another few days later, Cheryl hikes through the rain to reach another supply station at Mount Hood State Park, but the man who works there is closing up for the day. She begs him to reopen so she can get her package which will contain fresh clothes and more supplies. The man says he will reopen for her, if she promises to have a drink with him. She hesitantly agrees, and he reopens the mail office. As he is inside getting her package, three young men hikers also enter the building. They recognize Cheryl as being the only woman who has been signing the mile marker logs and repeat back many of the quotes and lyrics she has left behind. The man comes out with Cheryl's package but tells the young men that he's already reopened once, and he won't do it again. Cheryl points out that he's not reopening because it's still open, and that given the miserable weather conditions, the packages will bring a little bit of relief. The man begrudgingly retrieves the other packages. Cheryl's package contains a letter from Paul who tells her that he's so proud of her for making it this far and he hopes she finds what she's looking for.Cheryl enjoys hanging out with the young hikers that night as they all camp out. In the morning, the man brings Cheryl a cup of coffee and a doughnut, which she gratefully accepts and the young men tease her over.In another flashback, Cheryl thinks of her friend Aimee who has been sending the packages for her. Cheryl meets Aimee for coffee who tells her she's disappointed in her for her behavior, using heroin and sleeping around. Cheryl defiantly tells her that she will try anything once and she's not ashamed of it. However, she breaks down when she confesses to Aimee that she thinks she's pregnant and unsure of who the father is. Aimee forces her to go to a store to buy a pregnancy test, and as they wait in line to purchase it, Cheryl sees a book about the Pacific Crest Trail. She takes the test, which confirms she is pregnant. She breaks down and tells Aimee that she can't be somebody's mother and decides to get an abortion right away. She grieves for her own mother and decides that she will go on a solitary hike on the PCT to walk herself back into the woman her mother raised her to be rather than the mess of a woman she's become.On Day 80, Cheryl is hiking through the woods when she encounters a lama, and an older woman and a young boy running up to her after their pack lama ran way. The little boy asks Cheryl about herself and she tells him about her father who left her and her mother who recently died. The boy sings Cheryl a song which makes her cry.She continues on the trail and finally reaches the Bridge of the Gods (on Day 94). In a final voice-over, as she walks across the bridge, Cheryl talks about finally finishing the hike, and ultimately remarrying and having two children of her own. She ponders whether she actually regrets the mistakes she's made, as it brought her to the place she is in her life now.Over the closing credits, there are photos of the real Cheryl Strayed taken during her real-life hiking journey. | flashback | train | imdb | A wonderful performance from Reese Witherspoon anchors this very good film about a troubled young woman who embarks on a miles-long hike as a sort of personal therapy to deal with the downward spiral of her life in the wake of her mother's (Laura Dern) death.
The movie's editor deftly integrates flashbacks of Dern and Witherspoon together with the character's hike through the wild, and avoids the monotony that usually plagues films when structured this way.One of the minor miracles of "Wild" is how subtly it explores not just the trials and dangers one would encounter in such a hike, but specifically how those trials and dangers are heightened, or at least are of a different nature, for a woman.
At the same time, the film restores one's faith a little bit in humanity, suggesting that most people are decent and kind and willing to help, no strings attached.Witherspoon and Dern were both justly Oscar nominated for their performances, and the gorgeous Pacific West scenery deserved an award of its own.Grade: A.
It is a constant struggle to not give up and give into self destruction and I am very thankful that the protagonist captured this feeling very well.Like the life of a lot of people, this movie is about the journey we take.
But as Cheryl is struggling on her hike flashbacks of her life before the Pacific Crest Trails are peppered throughout the movie and like anyone you're getting to know she starts to make sense.
I was surprised at how well the film managed to capture the essential elements of the book.The key was not the Pacific Coast Trail, but Cheryl Strayed's journey into self-discovery.
Your life will most likely determine whether or not you like this film, whether or not it moves you.I read the book and was not sure how they were going to make such an introspective novel into a movie but they did a pretty good job.
But the movie doesn't always have to be tough, whenever it stops into places with people, there is a real pleasant feeling around, especially when she is just expressing her thoughts to whoever she just met.There are a some flaws that are worth mentioning, specifically when it occasionally takes turn to a far different direction later on, somewhat abandoning the consistent emotion it accomplished.
The film had its interesting moments but Witherspoon's horrible character she portrayed and the many flashbacks got in the way and interrupted the movie's flow.
Wild tells the story of Cheryl, a drug fueled binge drinker who lost her mother and feels lost on the path to life so she decides to pick up and walk the Pacific coast trail.
Directed by Jean Marc Valèe of last year's Dallas Buyers Club, I was going into this hoping for a brilliant film, instead I came away with great cinematography, an unbelievable Reese Witherspoon and misguided story that wants to be something more than "a woman and the wilderness" movie.
As far as the screenplay is concerned...well, what screenplay, it is mostly Reese Witherspoon trekking across the Pacific trail while reminiscing about past times and discovering dead end relationships along the way.
Through flashbacks and less-than-one-second clips of film, we learn that Cheryl Strayed is recently divorced and grieving the death of her mother, a woman who was the "love of Strayed's life." Between the death and the divorce, Strayed has intercourse with anyone who asks, including her restaurant customers (sometimes more than one at a time) and bar patrons, but she no longer is intimate with her husband.
Wild was by far the worst movie I saw this year.In this movie Witherspoon bends from type to portray Cheryl Strayed, a woman dealing with sex and drug addiction and the premature loss of her mother who decides to hike the entirety of the Pacific Crest Trail.
Witherspoon is a sniveling, Flickian, narcissistic bitch, and therefore this so-called story of redemption—Woman Goes on 1,000-Mile Hike to Cleanse Herself of Sins and Find Herself—comes across not as real or raw or uplifting but just another tale of easy blonde triumph.I'm one of three people I know who liked Eat, Pray, Love.
I wanted a stronger realization.Pros: Great acting, deep characters, compelling story, some emotional impact, and amazing sceneryCons: Some needless nudity and needed a stronger sense of realization Overall Rating: 8.3/10P.S. If you enjoyed this film, you might also enjoy Into The Wild.
Here something blooms; from out of a silent crevice, an unknowing weed emerges singing into existence." That unknowing weed sings loud and clear in Jean Marc Vallée's (Dallas Buyer's Club) Wild, the story of 26-year-old Cheryl Strayed's 1,000 mile hike along the Pacific Crest Trail in 1995 in an attempt to redeem a troubled past.
Unlike John Curran's Tracks which documented naturalist Robyn Davidson's grueling nine-month journey through the Australian outback, Wild is more of an inward-looking psychological drama than a physical adventure, but it has enough of both to keep us focused.Based on a best-selling memoir, Wild stars Reese Witherspoon as Strayed, who hikes through deserts and mountains from California to Washington, pushing herself to the limit of her physical and mental strength.
The film is also not well served by a pointless meeting with a black reporter from the Hobo Times, and by shameless commercial tie-ins with Snapple and REI, (which Cheryl praises as the best corporation ever).In spite of its flaws, however, Vallée keeps the clichés manageable while the richly expressive performances of Witherspoon and Dern, the poetic sounds of Simon and Garfunkel's El Condor Pasa, and a memorable rendition of Red River Valley from a most unlikely source, combine to rescue Wild from its flirtation with banality and turn Cheryl's dark journey into an empowering transformation..
When Cheryl Strayed's (Reese Witherspoon) life has a good go at crashing and burning, largely due to her own poor decisions, she packs a rucksack and takes a 1,000 mile walk along the Pacific Crest Trail to, as she puts it, "find out how to become the girl my mother loved." Alone and woefully ill prepared for the trek, both physically and emotionally, hers is a journey through an unforgiving landscape of discovery, pain and hope.Adapted by Nick Hornby from Cheryl Strayed's own biographical account of her journey, Wild: From Lost to Found On the Pacific Crest Trail, and directed my Jean-Marc Vallée (Dallas Buyers Club), Wild is the darker sibling of 2010's The Way. But whereas The Way was a gentle, almost spiritual journey of a man making a conscious decision to complete his son's failed trek, Wild is a desperate attempt by a floundering woman to claw back something resembling life and peace.Though Reese Witherspoon won her Oscar for Walk the Line, I don't believe she has ever been better than here, stripped bare, exposed and raw.
This film tells the story of a woman who goes onto a one thousand mile hike along the mountain trails, in order to find herself after being hurt by major life events.I had high hopes for "Wild" because it was directed by the same person who directed "Dallas Buyers Club", which I thought was brilliant.
I wish pay-for-view had a refund policyReese plays a woman who in 1995 decides to walk 94 days from Mexico to Washington State because well....she's depressed, which you will be after seeing this film.Unlike Tom Hank's character in Castaway, the viewer will have little sympathy or empathy for Reese's character, Cheryl--yeah sure Cheryl's mother died young but then Cheryl becomes loose, does drugs,gets pregnant, doesn't know who the father is,lands on skid row etc.
And how this is done is a mystery to me and probably every one else as well.It is interesting to see this man (woman) against nature and self real life story develop and play it self out against the scenic backdrop of the "Pacific Crest Trail" that becomes an intricate part of the story as much as the different characters mostly the main character who I could not help but identify with on more than one level.If Ms. Witherspoon and the director can communicate this much than a very good job indeed has been done making this film well worth the admission price.I checked the Oscar nominations today as I wrote the above yesterday and indeed the performance of one Reese Witherspoon is nominated for best actressGood idea as I think she will win again!Hope she does.Still don't get that fox thing though..
Could have been titled "Horny Head Case Ex-Heroin Addict Adulterer With Foul Attitude and Potty Mouth Takes Time to Process Painful Memories That Many People Experience - While Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail", but I suppose "Wild" fits the marquee better.
I really like Wild, because it's a good story well played by Reese Witherspoon.
It's based on the memoir written by the real life Cheryl Strayed which I suspect would be a very interesting read.The movie really is more about the character than the actual hike itself and the events that take place.
I felt Reese Witherspoon did a fantastic job portraying this woman's story and really takes you through her journey with was very emotional and hard to watch at times!
Wild can be fondly compared to Jean-Marc Vallée's 2013 film Dallas Buyers Club in so many ways: both follow troubled drug/sex addicts on the road to self-discovery (whether they know it or not); both are poignant, intelligently visceral, funny, and undeniably realistic; both feature a great soundtrack of classic songs; and both are boosted by incredible performances by their lead actors.
In Wild, Reese Witherspoon's character does it quite literally and walks an incredible 1,100 miles...With its screenplay adapted by Nick Hornby, and under the direction of Jean-Marc Vallee (Dallas Buyers Club), Wild collates the account of author Cheryl Strayed's true-life, played by Witherspoon.
It's not merely a woman walking for two hours on the screen
it's a great mix of beauty, pain, courage, fear and something all of us struggle with, forgiveness.While I was suspect of the movie, I was not worried about Reese Witherspoon giving us a great performance.
-Wild follows the real life story of Cheryl Strayed, who takes a 1000 mile journey to be the best she can be, let go of the past, and start living afterwards.
Reese Witherspoon and the makers of this film adeptly bring Cheryl's story to life.
Therefore I was looking forward to "Wild", since I read it was about the journey of discovery of a single woman.Turns out, the "single" woman was a promiscuous divorcée and her discovery boiled down to "whatever I did wrong, I would do it again".The story is based on Cheryl Strayed real-life1100 miles hike on the PCT, fueled by the death of her beloved mother and her descent into despair and debauchery.
It seems like there is no better way of finding yourself, than by losing yourself completely.Such is the case with Reese Witherspoon's newest feature Wild, based on the widely popular New York Times Best Seller and Oprah's Book Club 2.0 favourite "Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail" written by Cheryl Strayed.
Many of these questions aren't really answered by the film's end or in the countless flashbacks (that easily takes up an alarming amount the film's runtime) of Strayed highly traumatizing and delicate life, which poses some of the many problems of the film as a whole.Quebecois filmmaker and go-to Oscar caliber actors-director Jean Marc-Vallée, who helped Matthew McConaughey complete his A-List status as Ronald Woodruff in the highly appreciated Dallas Buyers Club, helms Witherspoon in a highly clichéd and simple narrative where a woman's only choice and answer for change, is nature.
'WILD': Four Stars (Out of Five)Biographical drama flick about a woman who decides to hike 1,100 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail, alone, as a way of getting over her mother's death and a recent divorce.
I absolutely loved the scenery and local imagery (being from Oregon) and thought the movie itself was pretty interesting and well made too.The film is set in 1995, right after Cheryl Strayed (Witherspoon) lost her mother (Dern), suddenly and tragically, to a fatal illness.
Witherspoon did get a lot of help (though) from a great story, as well as on set support from Cheryl Strayed (for shoots in Oregon) and great direction from Jean-Marc Vallee (who directed two Oscar winning performances just last year, in 'DALLAS BUYERS CLUB').
I guess that explains her penance: hiking the beautiful but sometimes dangerous Pacific Crest Trail, alone, as a cleanse.I like Reese Witherspoon and believe her characterizations in all (oops; now only "most") of her films, but in the end I think she's better suited to comedy than drama.
After consummating "McConaissance" in DALLAS BUYERS CLUB (2013), Jean-Marc Vallée's next step is another star-vehicle biography, Reese Witherspoon plays Cheryl Strayed, a young woman embarked on a 2,650-mile hike of Pacific Crest Trail from Minneapolis, Minnesota to the Bridge of the Gods connecting Oregon and Washington in 1995.
It's a movie that screams "Oscar" for its female lead and a film based around a redemptive true story but for all the good Wild does (which is largely in its use of its natural scenery) it never threatens to become something truly special that its very much like minded and similarly titled Into the Wild did back in 2007.Directed by Dallas Buyers Club's Jean-Marc Vallee, Wild is a step up in cinematic posturing from that solid drama in many aspects yet where Buyers Club found a soul in amongst all of the larger than life events Wild never hits high notes on its emotional payoffs due to a strange flashback structure, some unengaging inner monologues and sense we never really get to know Reese Witherspoon's Cheryl Strayed despite the fact we've spent the time with her on her months long journey walking the Pacific Crest Trail.
It would've also had been nice to get more of a feel for Cheryl and her relationship with estranged ex-husband Paul played by Thomas Sadoski and also her time with the undeservedly Oscar nominated Laura Dern as her caring mother Bobbi but Vallee marks his intention often that the trail is where his focus is on.With some great cinematography and a committed turn by the Oscar nominated Witherspoon, Wild is worthy of your time, yet one can't help but feel deep down there was a more emotionally resonate drama to be explored in the tale of lost soul finding redemption out in the great wilds of the American landscape that makes Wild feel like somewhat of a missed opportunity when it had the story, the actress and the lands to make something truly special.
In the movie Wild (2014), Reese Witherspoon plays the real life Cheryl Strayed, a woman tortured by personal demons who makes a 1,100 mile hike from Mexico to Canada.
It's as though she's starting a new life with this trek.I hope to see more movies like this, and I hope that Reese Witherspoon sticks more to serious roles.
Based on the true story of Cheryl Strayed and her emotional 1100 mile hike along the Pacific Crest Trail after an emotional catastrophe, Reese Witherspoon brings some of her best work to date.From director Jean-Marc Vallee, who shot to the directors A-list last year with "Dallas Buyers Club", he again is able to bring out the best in his central character, while at times leaving the rest of the movie behind.
This is a powerful journey to experience about a woman determined to become a better person.Full Review:With Oscar buzz and nomination of Reese Witherspoon, it's fair to say that I had some high expectations for the movie.
"I could feel it unspooling behind me-the old thread I'd lost, the new one I was spinning as I hiked." Reese Witherspoon has never been better, I said I don't see her in a lot of films but I hope she can keep getting leads like this I hope to see more of her in the future but I don't think she will be able to top her performance in this at least for quite a while.
Interesting and moving, but requires a bit of patience.The (true) story of Cheryl Strayed (played by Reese Witherspoon) who, in 1995, hiked the 1,700 km Pacific Crest Trail alone.
Director Jean-Marc Vallée captures the sights and sounds of nature as we travel the distance with an emotionally distraught heroine (Reese Witherspoon) on her way to recovery.Sex, drugs and more sex, this is the life that Cheryl Strayed is trying to leave behind.
Directed by Jean-Marc Vallee, this movie follows the true story of Cheryl Strayed (played by Reese Witherspoon), a twenty-something year old woman strained by her rocky marriage with her husband Paul (played by Thomas Sadoski) and troubled by her dark past including the death of her mother (played by Laura Dern).
The movie is very good as well, with Reese Witherspoon doing a good job portraying this woman who decides to hike 1100 miles in order to come to terms with her grief and put her life in order.
Reese Witherspoon plays Cheryl Strayed in a role based on Strayed's "Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail." Laura Dern plays Strayed's mother, Bobbi.In general, I don't like acts of physical daring that are considered heroic.
Given what I've just written, it may be surprising that I enjoyed this movie and would recommend it.The reason I liked this film is the acting by Witherspoon and Dern.
As Into The Wild was, this movie is also a true story based lone character centered journey of hiking a long path, running away and seeking an atonement for his/her self- perceived dark past of relationships with others and life mistakes.
WILD, based on a memoir "Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail" written by Cheryl Strayedgives a profound view on her experiences.WILD tells about the story of woman's journey in past and present during her 1,100 miles hike to heal herself from a consequences of her life. |
tt0050147 | Attack of the Crab Monsters | We open with a montage of drawings depicting underwater scenes and the credits. A launch from a seaplane approaches a beach on a Pacific Island. The first to step ashore is Dr. Karl Weigand (Leslie Bradley) the leader of the second expeditionary team to visit the island. Next is Dr. James Carson (Richard Cutting), he is the geologist. Sporting the French accent is Jules Deveroux (Mel Welles). The only female member of the team is Martha Hunter (Pamela Duncan) and last is her fiancé, Dale Drewer (Richard Garland). The seaplane pilot, Ensign Quinlan (Ed Nelson) is anxious to leave as there is an approaching storm. He was on the island once before to rescue the first group of scientists sent to study the island. No trace of the first group was ever found. The group walks up to the house the Navy built. Quinlan supervises the second launch loaded with supplies. Seaman Tate (Charles B. Griffith) loses his footing and falls overboard. He screams underwater and by the time he is brought back on board his head is missing. Seaman Ron Fellows (Tony Miller) and Sam Sommers (Beach Dickerson) are left to assist the scientists. (Note: the characters and actors are reversed in the credits, and Sommers is identified as Jack, even though he is addressed as Sam.) They pitch a tent on the beach. They have a large supply of dynamite and hand grenades to assist the geologist with his work.Quinlan meets the scientists at the house and confirms that Tate's head was gone from his body. Hank Chapman (Russell Johnson) is a radio operator and technician. While the scientists unpack, Hank returns a box of dynamite back to the beach. Weigand questions Quinlan prior to his departure. He wants to confirm there was no trace of the first scientific group to survey the island. Only a journal was found, no other physical evidence is the reply. Quinlan speculates that they were out at sea when a hurricane swept the island; a very common occurrence.Everyone meets down on the beach to see Quinlan off. Along the way, the island is rocked by explosions and earthquakes. A rock slide comes close to the sailors. Mac (Maitland Stuart) is anxious to leave. He fires up the launch and takes Quinlan back to the seaplane. The scientists walk up to the cliffs to watch the seaplane depart. Hank explains to Fellows and Sommers what brought everyone to the island. The H-Bomb test on Bikini left a huge amount of fallout on this island. Weigand's group is here to study fallout effects. Carson is a geologist and he will be studying the soil. Deveroux is a botanist and will study the plant life for radiation poisoning. Hunter and Drewer are biologists, he concentrates on land animals; she studies sea life. Weigand is a nuclear physicist. He will collect his team's findings and relate them to current theories on effects of radiation. They wave to the departing seaplane, but just as it lifts off it explodes.Hank rushes back to the house to radio the accident. A tropical storm hits the island. The scientists decide to let Hank continue trying to contact the Navy while they start work--reviewing the journal left by the previous expedition leader, McLane. Weigand reads the journal. He covers the passage about a worm that is very large and seemingly indestructible. The journal ends abruptly, with no more detail about the giant worm-like creature. After Hank asks about the giant worm the house is rocked by an earthquake.Weigand and Dr. Dale Drewer stay up and talk. Drewer notes that he hasn't seen any insect life. They are interrupted by a ticking or crackling sound from outside. They go outside, but only discover a wire brushing against the house.The next morning, Dr. Martha Hunter puts on scuba equipment and begins her exploration of the sea. She examines some seaweed and a giant clam. Dale joins her on the bottom. They continue to explore. She collects a seaweed sample. He directs her back to the beach. They walk ashore and she complains, "You nearly frightened me to death. I was scared, and lost too. I was using a large black rock as a landmark, but when I returned it was gone." Weigand and Carson call to the couple on the beach. They are told to take the path. They warn them about recent geological activity that opened a large pit along the path. Carson wants to explore, but Weigand forbids it. Carson notes that the rocks are unusual, like they were fired in a kiln.That night Martha is awakened from a sound sleep by the voice of McLane. He calls to her specifically and by name and beckons her to come to him. She dresses and goes outside. She again hears his voice and pleas for help. She is startled by Dr. Jim Carson outside too. He tells her he heard the same voice call to him. The two walk to the pit. Carson ropes up and repels down into the pit. Another earthquake strikes and Martha falls over striking her head on a pick axe. We hear Carson scream. The rest of the team arrives and asks about Dr. Carson. Martha tells them, "He's in the pit; I saw the rope go slack." They call him and he replies, "My leg, it is broken."Weigand suggests a rescue attempt via the beach and cave system. The rest feel he is hiding something from them. The two sailors join the rescue mission and report that whole sections of the island are crashing into the ocean. They enter the cave system.Dale and Martha are in the house, reviewing the journal about the cave formations only happening at night. They hear the boom of an earthquake and a curious ticking sound. Dale grabs a pistol and they go to the front door. They hear the sound of wood splintering from a room in the house. As Dale enters, a giant crab claw strikes out at him. Disarmed of his gun, he retreats back to the living room.In the caves, Weigand, Deveroux, Hank and the two sailors call out to Dr. Carson. He replies and asks them to come quickly.In the house, Dale and Martha are left in the dark when a fuse pops and they hear a roar. The ticking sound fades.The rescue party arrives at the place where Carson was lost. The rope is still hanging from above the pit opening. They discover blood on the cave floor. Not finding Carson they decide to return in the morning. Weigand insists they exit the cave via the rope. When the sailors object, as their tent is on the beach and closer using the cave, Weigand orders them up the rope.Dale enters the room to find it a shambles. The radio has been damaged and the lab rats missing. The next morning the scientists examine the room more carefully. There is a hole in the wall to the outside. Deveroux asks Hank if he can fix the radio; Hank isn't sure. Dale asks Weigand if electricity may be a defense. Martha looking outside notices an entire mountain is now gone. They leave the house for another rescue attempt for Dr. Carson. Another earthquake rattles the cave and they try to seek shelter against the cave walls. Deveroux falls and a large boulder severs his hand at the wrist. They hastily improvise a tourniquet as Fellows and Sommers enter the cave. They report that most of the island has now fallen into the ocean. They also report having heard Carson's voice.In the house, Martha gives Deveroux a shot to help him sleep. He mumbles in French as she wipes his brow; He falls off to sleep. On the beach, the two sailors play cards using sticks of dynamite as currency. They hear a peculiar ticking sound getting louder. Fellows describes it as the sound of "a kid dragging a stick over a picket fence." Sommers grabs the kerosene lamp to explore and comes face to face with it. He screams and falls back, collapsing the tent.Deveroux is awakened by the voices of the two sailors. They tell him they found Dr. Carson. They tell him to come to the pit. When he exits the house and gets near the pit he is attacked by a giant crab claw. It latches on to his neck. Martha is awakened by his screams. The rest join her in the living room. They hear the voice of Deveroux from his room, despite it being empty. Weigand notices the voice is coming from a metal ash tray on the nightstand next to the bed. Deveroux promises to return the next night. They speculate on how Deveroux can be dead and why they still hear him.The remaining party meets on the beach. They examine the remains of the sailor's tent and notice most of the dynamite is missing. Hank gathers up the remaining pieces and returns to the house to work on rebuilding the radio. That evening, Deveroux talks to them via a pistol. When they ask about Carson, Carson replies in his voice. The two voices tell them to come to the pit. Weigand, Hank and Dale go to the pit. They hear the ticking and are attacked by a giant land crab. It approaches and is impervious to bullets and hand grenades. But a stalactite that is dislodged from the cave ceiling imbeds itself in the crabs brain and it stops. They are not sure if it is dead. Weigand separates the claw from its arm and they take the specimen back to the house. They hear a second crab approaching. They photograph both and set a charge of dynamite to destroy the cave. The voice of Deveroux tells them they have destroyed McLane and all of his party.As Hank works on the radio, Weigand performs tests on the claw. He concludes radiation poisoning caused a freak. It is explained that since electricity is the flow of free electrons, the crab is composed of free atoms. Like a liquid with a permanent shape. The crab eats the brains of its victims and absorbs their minds and memories. Martha, looking at the photographs, notices that one of the crabs is about to reproduce. Hank hooks the claw up to a battery and it glows, and then is reduced to ashes. They create an electrical device to destroy the crab. They place it in the cave. Weigand's plan is to disable the crab so they can dissect and study it. The earthquakes continue. Hank and Martha enter the cave and set the devices. The crab chases the two out of the cave and into the ocean. They swim for shore with the crab right behind them. The crab comes ashore. Dale shoots it with his rifle but that only annoys it. The crab continues to destroy the island leaving the humans a smaller space to occupy. They return to the house. Hank tries to get someone on the radio. He picks up a station from Hawaii, but tells Martha only the receiver works, not the transmitter. Weigand and Dale Drewer explore what little island remains. Weigand finds oil and wants to trace the origin. He traces it to the cave and trips the electronic trap set earlier. He is paralyzed. The crab attacks and consumes him. Dale, Martha, and Hank witness his death and exit the cave.They return to the house and send an S.O.S. with a telegraph key, but the crab blocks the transmission. The island is struck by another earthquake that destroys the house. They make their way to a rocky outcropping where their transmitter antenna is located. The crab walks towards them. They try explosives but they are of no use. Dale fights it off with a hatchet, but Hank has a better idea. He pulls the transmitter on to the crab and electrocutes the creature. We close with Dale and Martha embracing. | cult | train | imdb | How can anyone who reads the title or the plot, about a research team on a lonely island being stalked by giant crabs that eat the brains of their victims and then can then talk like them, and expect it to be anything other than it is?
The visual effects, the destruction of the island and the crabs themselves are a cut above the typical 1950's horror/sci-fi monster, there is something ominous about them, even if they don't movie all that well.A great popcorn film..
With this in mind, no doubt, CRAB MONSTERS gives us on screen fun within its first couple minutes
What is there to analyze about a classic Corman film?
From the beginning, we all knew that the bad guys (In this case, the gigantic via radiation Crabs) would all get theirs in the end and the world would be safe
until the next Roger Corman film was released a couple months later!....Ah
.Those were the days, right?
Campy, creepy, bizarre, for it's time quite shocking (a decapitation) and a favorite of 10 year to 14 year old boys watching Chiller Theatre showings of this Corman classic in the mid 60's.Originally released with another classic Corman, Not of this Earth in 1957, this is one of the strangest horror films ever made.Scientists are held captive on an Island by a gang of atomic mutated giant paper-mache crabs.
I've seen Attack of the Crab Monsters just the once and this is one of Roger Corman's better movies.A group of people on a remote island come under attack from rather hungry giant crabs which are the result of an A-bomb test and to make matters worse, the island is sinking.
I'm sure there are better prints of it out there.The cast includes Richard Garland, Pamela Duncan and and Russell Johnson.A good movie, just a pity about the bad print.Rating: 3 and a half stars out of 5..
Remember now, it has been almost 20 years since I saw this feature and while I was expecting to look at this work with nostolgic dismay, I was very surprised that it was so much fun to watch.Forget logic, decent special effects or good acting, you won't find any of those things here.
Any movie that passes off a 1950s' home in the Hollywood Hills as a research center located atop a shrinking Pacific atoll, a well-foliaged hillside as a fresh landslide, Griffith Park's Bronson Caves as a passage to the sea, a dyed-blonde Mel Welles as a "French" scientist, and a rolling and flopping papier-mache model with humanesque eyes as a terrifying monster crab is MY kind of movie!
Still, it's not the worst film ever made and will pass the time moderately well for bad movie lovers, and the best thing is that it's admirably short.The strange storyline and ridiculous plot elements (the island on which our cast are stranded is shrinking all the while) make for one weird film which plays like a bad nightmare.
Attack Of The Crab Monsters is one of the fabulous drive-in flicks of the Fifties, the kind of film it's still a pleasure to watch today.Actually producer/director Roger Corman came up with a novel idea for a monster in this one.
The last guy the thing absorbed was a nuclear scientist, so the sky was literally the limit if this thing got into civilization.Some familiar folks in this are Ed Nelson from Peyton Place and Russell Johnson the old professor from Gilligan's Island.Even though there's only one crab monster because I'm sure Roger Corman's limited budget only could afford one, it's still a fun bad science fiction film..
The cast of characters are the usual assortment we get in movies like this--a bunch of scientists (including Russell Johnson years before he played a scientist on "Gilligan's Island"), a muscular hero type (Richard Garland) and a hot woman (Pamela Duncan).
Originally on a double bill with the equally fun Not of the Earth, Crab Monsters tells the story of a group of scientists on an isolated island studying the effects of atomic fall out.Hiding in coastal caves are giant, mutated, paper mache crabs.
They are able to psychically use the departed's voice to lure more victims to their lair.It's a short, claustrophobic, low budget, campy film that I highly recommend to people who like fifties horror films and Corman's Bucket of Blood, and Little Shop of Horrors..
Roger Corman's Attack of the Crab Monsters is just one of many cheapo monster movies from the 50s to blame nuclear fallout for messing up nature, and features lots of the elements one might quite rightly expect from the genre—a team of brave US scientists (including the obligatory pretty female doctor), wooden acting, unconvincing locations, and crummy effects.
However, it also manages to present a few unique ideas that elevate it above many of the standard 'mutated monster on the loose' creature features of the era.The critters that grow to massive proportions in this film are land crabs that have been exposed to radiation from A-bomb tests, but rather than simply being scaled-up versions of regular crustaceans, these guys possess an atomic structure consisting of liquid in a permanent form, making them extremely hard to destroy; they also have the ability to assimilate their victims, absorb their knowledge, and lure further victims to their death by talking to them telepathically.
Pretty far-fetched I know, but very creepy, the crabs eerie, echoey, disembodied voices being surprisingly effective.Of course, given the movie's low low budget, the monsters themselves are pretty rubbish—awkwardly moving lumps of papier-mâché with gangly legs dangling uncontrollably, coat-hanger antennae, and massive human-like eyes that look really daft—but I wouldn't have it any other way: a badly designed, poorly constructed monster is half the charm of a B-movie like this.6.5 out of 10, rounded up to 7 for a couple of surprisingly nasty moments (a decapitated body and a severed hand—in black and white, but still pretty gruesome) and the somewhat unnecessary but enjoyable underwater swim by Pamela Duncan..
This is undoubtedly one of Roger Corman's finest works and despite its limited budget, it still works as a compelling science-fiction film with human feelings.The story is quite simple: A group of scientists investigate another group of scientists' disappearance on a Pacific atoll used for atomic testing.
Mysterious voices of the missing scientists haunt the group and eventually, they discover a group of giant crabs that have gained intelligence by absorbing the brains of the people they eat.The crabs are effective enough for a Corman movie and the acting is excellent by all.
It's up to the remaining characters to figure it all out and steer clear of those strange hypnotic voices of the undead (really just the nasty crabs who, after nipping off a head or two have the ability to use the dead scientists' voices.)It's the atmosphere in this movie I like, that and the trapped feeling like in Night of the Shrews or Zero Year.Great late Saturday night Creature Feature fun!.
At the end of this movie (Attack of the Crab Monsters) he gave his life to save others trapped on the island.
This, Attack of the Crab Monsters, is part of the minor boom in the B-movie world of the GIANT THING THAT WILL KILL YOU craze, where anything that could be done to capitalize on the threat of *the* bomb (remember, kids, by the way, duck and cover!) could be marketable for a short time, as long as not much real solid thought or questions were raised.
Charles Griffith's script posits a group of scientists- off to seek out another expedition that went missing, on some small island out in the middle of A-Bomb-nowhere's-ville, and encounter a super-atomic species of land-crab that get possessed by those that they kill.
I am, however, a big fan of Roger Corman - and even though this silly flick isn't anything near as good as films such as his 'Edgar Allen Poe series', The Attack of the Giant Crab Monsters is a worthwhile B-movie.
Roger Corman directed this cult favorite about a group of scientists(played by Richard Garland, Pamela Duncan, and Russell Johnson) and soldiers who are investigating a remote island that had been used for atomic bomb testing.
Directed by the King of Schlock, Roger Corman, "Attack of the Crab Monsters" is about a group of soldiers and scientists who journey to a distant "uncharted" atoll to try to determine what happened to a group of US Marines who disappeared on the island some time before.
It has Russell Johnson, better known as the Professor on "Gilligan's Island" some 12 years later, and we have some preposterous monsters, in this case talking giant crabs.
Of course, it's only a matter of time before one them goes outside after dark to investigate a strange noise - enter the "unspeakable terror" that lurks within the shadows.Trivia buffs will note the prophetic casting of Russell Johnson (later to become famous as "The Professor" on the TV sitcom "Gilligan's Island") as one of the team members.Shot at Leo Carrillo State Beach in Southern California, "Attack of the Crab Monsters" cost just $70,000 to make and raked in a cool million according to Roger Corman in his autobiography "How I Made a Hundred Movies in Hoillywood and Never Lost a Dime".Although it lacks much of the zany sense of humor that made "Creature from the Haunted Sea" so appealing, this picture does have its redeeming features.
People are trapped on a shrinking island by intelligent, brain-eating giant crabs...The film was written by Charles B.
But then we stray a bit -- there are not just mutated giant crabs, but ones who have gained intelligence by absorbing the minds of their victims.Interestingly, because the film is set on an island, one of the stars is Russell Johnson, best known for his role as the Professor on "Gilligan's Island".
It's hard to believe that just three years before Roger Corman would begin his Edgar Allen Poe cycle of films that would bring him international acclaim, he made this - a dirt-cheap black-and-white radiation movie about giant crabs who can communicate telepathically with humans (yes, you read that right).
Griffin is on writing duties (who also worked with Corman on B-movie classics It Conquered the World (1956), Not of This Earth (1957) and A Bucket of Blood (1959)) and he delivers a humour-laden script that is well aware of just how ridiculous it is.After the Bikini Atoll nuclear tests, a group of scientists are sent to a remote island to investigate the disappearance of a former party and further there research into the effects of nuclear testing on plants and wildlife.
With the island collapsing before their eyes and with one of their group missing, they must destroy the crabs and escape.Corman manages to make the film just about as entertaining as it can be, given the budget limitations and the bunch of cornball actors (apart from Russell Johnson of Gilligan's Island fame).
Richard Garland(Beverly's husband), Richard Cutting, Leslie Bradley, Pamela Duncan, and Mel Welles(Mr. Muscnick in Corman's Little Shop of Horrors) play the scientists out to discover what is causing all of the life on the island save gulls and crabs to disappear, huge pits form that were not there a day before, and eventually race against time to defeat the killer giant crabs with the minds of their fallen friends.
It's just the quality you would expect from a Roger Corman but it at least still has got some entertainment value, which is mainly thanks to its clumsiness but also due to its entertaining concept of giant brain eating crab monsters.The crabs themselves are not too bad looking.
Unfortunately for the crew, one of the effects was creating a giant crab monster (not a spoiler, it's basically the name of the film.) But one of the real mysteries is what happens to those who are attacked by the monster, which by the way is pretty well done in comparison to other early Corman creatures.Fair acting, Pamela Duncan is lovely but seems to have to cook for the others due to being the only female & despite being a doctor.
ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS is Roger Corman's best rubber monster movie.
After the first team go missing without trace a second team of scientist visit a Pacific island, investigating the effects of nuclear radiation, but encounter giant, intelligent, speaking (yes, I did say speaking!) crabs!
The film's budget was $70.000 and it made a whole million back at the box office, thus making 'Attack of the Crab Monsters' most profitable film Roger Corman ever directed.It's title is classical 'That Monster From There' type they made tons in the fifties, but very few could get close in the department of originality.
Sadly, this is the best Roger Corman movie I have seen.It has all the things a normal Corman movie has like terrible acting, a worse plot and no budget but somehow it's not as bad as usual.Black and white was Corman's best friend, I bet he was mad when he had to start using color.So scientists with guns go to an island where they know other scientists have disappeared and then they all split up.You can guess what happens next.Of course Corman adds in some scuba diving, it seems to be in all of his movies.The Professor from Gilligan's Island is in this and he's by far the best actor.I really believe that never seeing a Corman film is the way to go but if you must see one, make it this one..
Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957) ** (out of 4)Early Roger Corman film is a major disappointment for me especially since I've been trying to track it down for years now.
When i was a kid in jersey i remember watching this on creature features on channel 5,i thought it was cool.giant crabs attacking scientists on a small pacific island that keeps getting smaller.however turner classics cut about 5 minutes of the intro out,there's a forward and a tidal wave earthquake at the beginning.i have the VHS and its all there uncut.i wonder why it was cut out.this is one of Roger Cormans better films although now the crab does look silly,the legs don't move,the claws do.but that was back before cg.and monster maker Paul Blaisdell did'nt have a lot of money to make a better crab monster,Russell Johnson did this a few years before Gilligan's island.Pam Duncan and Richard Garland went on to star in Cormans;the undead.and Mel Welles in little shop of horrors as mushnik.as for my monster memories,it was more entertaining back then before VHS,DVD,and cable.there was always creature features every Saturday,and chiller theater on the rival station.I'm giving this 7 out of 10..
When the plane that brought them to the island goes down in a freak accident, their only contact with the outside world severed, the team of botanists, biologists and nuclear physicists attempt to discover the fate of their predecessors, missing in similar fashion, presumed dead.Short-lived leading man Garland is the passive hero, essentially standing far enough back to survive myriad calamities while his more intrepid colleagues run afoul the mutated crab monsters and their audible echoes of the past.
While the talking crab aspect is absurd to say the least, the dialogue they utter is certainly wry and witty (after one of the crew substitutes for his hand lost to the crabs in a cave-in, a rather facetious crab projects "very clever, will you grow a new body too when I take it?" Widely regarded as one of the penultimate B-grade sci-fi flicks of its era, "Attack of the Crab Monsters" remains one of the more memorable, and quirky nature run amok movies to have emerged and has no doubt inspired the sub-genre (notably "Island Claws") despite its low budget origins..
The cause of it all is the title crab monsters -- huge telepathic creatures of the deep!A memorable cast including Russell Johnson ("the professor" of TV's "Gilligan's Island") and Mel Welles as a frenchman.Within the space of its 60 or so minute running time, it manages to introduce a love melodrama (the "star" trio) and some nice monster/human confrontations.
Plus, because the movie is so bad, I suggest you don't ignore this film but look at this as a great party movie--you know, one you watch with friends so you can make fun of it because of its ineptitude and silly "scary" monsters.By the way, even though it was several years before he became a regular on "Gilligan's Island", Russell Johnson ("the Professor") is playing pretty much the role he played on the show.
Drewer together with the last two remaining members of his expedition his fellow biologist the shapely Martha Hunter, Pamela Duncan,and electronic expert Hank Chapman, Russell Johnson, are left to either take out the rampaging crabs or end up dead, with their minds becoming part of the crabs mental makeup, trying.Like many movies made in the 1950's "Attack of the Crab Monsters" had to really do with man screwing up the environment by testing atomic and hydrogen bombs both in the atmosphere as well as underground.
The answer comes soon enough when giant crabs are discovered that have a taste for human flesh.For a movie made on a budget of about what I would spend on a ham sandwich at lunch, Attack of the Crab Monsters is actually quite good.
The ending will blow your mind, more then how the island gets blown up throughout the film.Watch this classic piece if you are a fan of black-in-white B or even Z monster movies.
Attack of the Crab Monsters starts as a team of scientists are dropped off on an island where a previous team of scientists studying the effects of H-Bomb testing in the area mysteriously disappeared.
I'm still partial to IT CONQUERED THE WORLD and NOT OF THIS EARTH, but this is still lots of fun and competently made on a very low-budget by B-movie master Roger Corman, with a breezy running time of only 62 minutes.
Roger Corman directs and produces this horror/Sci-Fi flick about brain eating giant crabs. |
tt0295700 | Wrong Turn | Chris Finn (Desmond Harrington) is on his way to a job interview and is driving through the mountains of West Virginia. There is then a chemical spill on the road, so being short on time, he decides to take a different route, an abandoned dirt road in the middle of nowhere. He then by accident crashes into a car sitting in the middle of the road. He then meets a group of five friends on a hiking trip who include Jessie (Eliza Dushku) whom are stranded on the road. Two people stay at the car, and another group goes for help, only to find a sinister cabin nestled in the West Virgina woods, that is home to a trio of cannibalistic mountain men horribly disfigured from years of in-breeding. They then make a mad dash for their lives through out the woods, only hoping to make it out alive.**************************************************************************************************************************************************************The movie begins with two college students, Halley (Yvonne Gaudry) and Rich (Joel Harris), who are rock climbing in the West Virginia Forest. Rich reaches the top, and looks at the view, while Halley continues to climb. Halley starts to struggle and falls, but her climbing line catches her. She calls for Rich to pull her up to the top of the cliff, but he doesn't respond. She sees Rich, lying dead, and then his body is thrown off the cliff. Then, someone starts to pull Halley up the cliff by her climbing line. She cuts the line and falls, landing on Rich's dead body. She manages to escape, and sees the trees moving and eerie laughs are heard. Halley almost reaches her car, but she trips over a piece of barbed wire, and is pulled back into the woods by an unseen force, screaming.Chris Flynn (Desmond Harrington), a medical student, is driving through the mountains of West Virginia on his way to a job interview. Due to a chemical spill in the road ahead, he is forced to take a different route. He stops at an old rundown gas station and meets an old man. The old man gives him directions to the other route, then shows Chris a map detailing where to go. Chris takes the dirt road and drives off. As Chris is driving, his car begins to lose control and crashes into a Range Rover stranded in the middle of the road. The car belongs to a group of friends on a hiking trip: Jessie (Eliza Dushku), Carly (Emmanuelle Chriqui), her fiancé Scott (Jeremy Sisto), and a couple, Evan and Francine (Kevin Zegers and Lindy Booth). Jessie find a piece of barbed wire in the woods that was tied to a tree across the road after their tires were punctured. Jessie, Carly, and Scott go to the woods to find help. Chris joins them, while Evan and Francine stay with the cars. After Evan and Francine partake in a round of oral sex, Evan starts to fix their car, while Francine gets in Chris' car. While Evan is fixing the car, he hears a sound from the woods and goes to investigate.After a while, Francine notices that he is missing, and she goes into the woods to look for him. As Francine ventures further into the woods, she finds his sneaker and gasps as she finds Evan's severed ear. As Francine stumbles back, a figure wraps barbed wire around her mouth, tearing it open. As Chris, Jessie, Carly and Scott try to find help, they find an isolated cabin. They go into the cabin and discover miscellaneous objects: barbed wire, car keys, odds and ends, and human body parts on the refrigerator and in the bathroom. They are horrified and try to escape, but they hear the occupants coming back and are forced to hide. Three cannibalistic mountain men, all whom are disfigured, enter the cabin and bring in Francine's dead body. Chris, Jessie, Carly and Scott silently watch in horror, as her body is butchered and partially eaten.As the cannibals fall asleep, the friends walk silently and reach the door. Chris holds the door open so Jessie, Carly and Scott can get out safely. As Chris keeps the door open, he checks the cannibals to make sure they are still sleeping. Unfortunately, "Saw-Tooth" (Gary Robbins) awakes and Chris runs. Jessie notices this, and she, Carly, and Scott run quickly with him. "Saw-Tooth" alerts the other cannibals and begins to chase them. The group hides in a clearing with many cars, which they realize are the cars of the mutants' victims. Chris makes a diversion and is shot in the leg with a shotgun. Scott saves him by using himself as a decoy, allowing Jessie and Carly to steal one of the cannibals' trucks. Chris gets into the truck, and they try to find Scott. Carly sees Scott in the forest. As Scott starts to get in the truck, he is shot three times in the back with arrows. The arrow almost hits the others, and Chris forces Jessie to drive and escape fast. The cannibals pick up Scott's dead body and take it back to their cabin.Chris, Jessie and Carly hit a dead end in the road and have to continue on foot, but Carly stays and is still depressed from Scott's loss. Jessie and Chris comfort her and they continue to walk. They find an old watchtower and begin to climb up, and find a radio and use it to call for help, but do not get a response. They see the cannibals, who are armed with torches and reaching the foot of the watchtower. The radio starts responding their call, alerting the cannibals. The cannibals shoot and destroy the radio through the window. After the cannibals climb the ladder and get into the watchtower, they set it on fire. Chris, Carly and Jessie escape by jumping out of the window into a nearby tree. They begin to climb up, but "Three Finger" (Julian Richings) has already climbed up the tree before them. Chris and Jessie begin to climb higher as Carly rests. Chris and Jessie make it to the other tree, but unfortunately "Three Finger" sneaks up behind Carly and slices her head in half with an axe and her body falls through the trees, as Chris and Jessie watch in horror. They escape from the cannibals and hide in a cave near a waterfall until the next morning. Jessie wakes up from a nightmare, as Chris comforts her. Just as they find a road out of the woods, the mountain men find them and push Chris down the hill and capture Jessie and take her back to their cabin. Chris survives the fall and meets a sheriff, but before he is able to convince the Sheriff of what is happening, the Sheriff is killed by an arrow in his eye from the woods. Chris jumps into the police truck and tries to drive away, but cannot find the keys. Chris hides and watches as the cannibal loads up the Sheriff's body into the truck and drives it back to the cabin. Chris hitches along by hanging onto the underside of their truck.When the cannibals arrive at the cabin, Jessie is tied to a bed and gagged with a dog leash, crying. As she is about to get killed, Chris, driving the police truck, drives through the cabin and into "One-Eye". Chris unties Jessie, and Jessie shoots "Saw-Tooth" in the back with an arrow. She and Chris also fight "Three Finger", and finish him off by hitting him with an axe. Chris and Jessie notice that the cannibals are still alive, and they quickly go outside. Chris has only one shotgun shell left, which he shoots at the truck, blowing up the cabin with the cannibals still inside. Chris and Jessie, driving the cannibals' truck, stop back at the gas station. Chris, badly injured, gets out of the truck and destroys the map to the cannibals' cabin, so no one will ever go into the woods again. Chris gets back into the truck, as Jessie drives for the woods, and the credits roll.The credits are interrupted by a scene showing a deputy sheriff investigating and picking over the remains of the destroyed cabin. Unfortunately, "Three Finger", who survived from the explosion, comes up behind the deputy and kills him. The scene fades to black and insane laughter is heard, as the credits continue to roll. | comedy, suspenseful, murder, cult, violence, horror, insanity, humor, revenge, prank | train | imdb | But if you love horror films then you probably have an ear to ear grin as well.I really liked some of the early editing of this film by director Rob Schmidt, who allows the scares and shocks to come with brilliant accuracy.
But come on, this isn't exactly an intelligently written and detailed drama.I liked `Wrong Turn' purely because of its shock value and its no holds barred return to classic horror.
There's a big difference between the version shown in theatres and the unrated version: as usual, the theatre version is cut a lot, leaving out some pretty gruesome scenes that are not for the squeamish or faint-at-heart.The premise for the movie may be a little cliché (mutated, possibly inbred, group of people living in the remote countryside, wreaking havoc on innocent tourists), but, oh, the way it's carried out!
I liked it more than the original The Hills Have Eyes (haven't seen the new one yet).If you're into horror, I highly recommend the unrated version of Wrong Turn..
I decided to see this movie mainly out of boredom plus an eye-friendly cast was promised, so i basically thought it'd turn out to be another standard popcorn horror flick.
I of course will refrain from elaborating on these details so as not to spoil the viewing for those who have yet to see it.What I really liked about this film was that it didn't try what so many other horror movies as of the last seven years or so haave tried- and that is to be ironic.
Several scenes prove to be quite graphic.In this respect, I would have to admit that Wrong Turn doesn't have the makings of changing the world of movies as we know it, but it does however, have the capacity to push you to the edge of your seat.
The acting in this movie was pretty good, especially considering it was a horror movie.The movie borrowed a little bit from a lot of different movies, most notably Deliverance, which one of the characters even mentions by name, but in todays day and age, when we have seen it all, it was a pretty good effort.
Good actors, a solid storyline that doesn't drag, great make-up and visual affects, and fast paced directing make this movie a must see for the serious horror fan.
:-) Wrong turn is a truly scary and very creepy horror film.
The scene in which she is taken back to the cabin and tied to the bed.....well, it's a great piece of acting just as good as any of our beloved scream queens from years past.The rest of the cast also delivers consistently throughout the film.
In hopes of getting to his final destination in time, Chris takes a back road through the woods of West Virginia to avoid the traffic jam and accidentally crashes into a car which belongs to a group of friends led by the somewhat bitchy heroine, Jessie Burlingame (Eliza Dushku).
Having two wrecked cars, the group decides to wander through the woods in hopes of getting help, unaware that they are about to get stalked and killed off one-by-one by a group of hideously deformed inbred family who has been living and feeding with human flesh in that area for more than 30 years.Having seen the film countless times before, I was always strangely fascinated by it, but I never truly understood why.
Having seen the film again now, I've finally realized what, and the reason is very simple - the film is just a very well-done homage to all those bad-ass 70s Horror films, and just combines the highlights of those flicks in one simple and highly-enjoyable Slasher film.Another reason why I probably like this movie so much is because of its fantastic and unique eerie atmosphere.
The other cast members, Jeremy Sisto, Lindy Booth and Kevin Zegers, are all great actors, but they don't have really much to work with here since their characters are basically wasted, though Emanuelle Chriqui really stands out and plays the supporting female lead role very good and convincing.
Even though you already know from the start who is going to survive, there's still plenty of tension and scares present throughout the whole movie, so if you think this is just another typical, gory Slasher flick - think again.One thing I'm very impressed with here is the directing.
Some of the dialog is a bit cheesy in parts, and the ending is really predictable, clichéd, and a bit rushed if you ask me, but the film still really impressed me and is definitely one of my favorite movies now.So in short - Wrong Turn is a movie you either love or hate.
I definitely belong to the first group for a couple of reasons, and even though I do realize Wrong Turn is not the best film ever, I love every second of it for one simple reason - it's a simple, highly enjoyable and scary no-brain throwback to 70s Horror movies, so if you're just looking for a fun and gory Horror film, Wrong Turn is then definitely a right turn, and an amazing film you should definitely not miss!
But the two differ crucially, the earlier film comes from a critical eye, a director who has watched society and sentenced it, while Wrong Turn is simply a fun horror film.
Acting is generally reasonable, a stone faced Desmond Harrington bears little charisma, but Emmanuelle Chriqui emotes to good effect, Kevin Zegers and Lindy Booth make for amusing stoners and in the best written part Jeremy Sisto has chilled out but ultimately heroic ball.
I rented 'Wrong Turn 1 & 2' a couple of nights ago as I am a huge fan of horror films, and I thought that it wouldn't hurt to watch this even though I didn't know anything about the films.
Rating: ** out of ****Wrong Turn seemingly has all the ingredients necessary for an effective slasher: a good setting and decent premise, a very attractive and likable cast, memorable make-up and gore effect, and a refreshingly unironic tone that reminds us of the days when old-fashioned horror didn't rely on self-conscious humor to pass for entertainment value.
In that manner, Wrong Turn is actually a little nostalgic, not unlike the rest of the recent batch of backwoods horror flicks (Cabin Fever, House of 1000 Corpses, and the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake).But aside from two solid setpieces, the movie rarely fulfills its (admittedly limited) potential.
This is about twenty-five minutes into the film, after we've already dispensed with the obligatory character intros (basically: 3 hot chicks and 3 hunky, but also surprisingly personable guys) and whatever reasons they have for being stranded in the middle of nowhere, West Virginia.Everything after that is typical cat-and-mouse filler, the killers (three inbred, cannibalistic hillbillies) searching for their prey while our protagonists run and hide behind trees.
And because the cast is so small, you can't even enjoy a particularly large body count (half the main cast is killed off less than forty minutes into the picture).Wrong Turn is also missing much of what makes slasher movies fun to watch: explicit nudity and the occasional bit of gratuitous sex.
With a potentially excellent setting at his disposal, director Rob Schmidt fails to generate any creepy atmosphere in an environment where you'd think atmosphere would almost come naturally (to be fair, a lot of horror movies also seem to have this problem; the last time I saw a forest setting utilized perfectly was in 2003's terrifically frightening Dead End).
But as it stands, Wrong Turn is tolerable horror-fare and brutally honest Mapquest-motivation.Starring: Desmond Harrington, Eliza Dushku, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Jeremy Sisto, and Kevin Zegers.
"Wrong Turn" is a pretty good recreation of the slasher-horror movies of the early '80, though this time around we have better production values (fancier camera moves, for one thing.) It's very predictable, but then again, what slasher isn't?
Speaking Of I Can See A Theme That Is Similar To Normal '70's Horror Movies.There Are Also Bad Points Like Emmanuelle Chriqui's Character Was A Whiny Idiot.
"Wrong Turn" had the right elements to make a great slasher film, the premise was good, even had a decent setting and the killers are down right creepy.
The mountain men prove to be some of the scariest movie killers that I've seen in a long time, probably because the film wastes no time in showing us exactly what they plan to do with their victims (we see this about a half-hour into the movie in a scene that is guaranteed to make at least half of the people who watch it really, really sick).
They also manage to be more relentless and even more beyond reason than most horror movie killers; they behave more like wild animals than people.The acting is considerably better than most movies in this genre.
I didn't find myself feeling much sympathy for the rest of the cast (they often act like typical slasher movie fodder, especially the two kids who get high and have sex shortly before being murdered), but they're at least more believable than the characters who usually appear in these movies.Overall, I would have to say that this movie was better than most of the horror movies that have come out lately.
Boy the Texas Chainsaw Massacre was an entertaining movie, but if you want to see a cheap, poorly made, imitation that sucks as much as the female actress breasts bounce in their t-shirts, then by all means, get this movie, because it blows.So this young stud, Chris, played by Desmond Harrington (We Were Soldiers,) is late for a meeting and there is a huge accident on the highway, so he back tracks and goes down this dirt road in bum-f*cked West Virginia where he runs into, literally, a van full of young adults, led by the unexplainable single Jessie, played by Eliza Dushku (True Lies,) looking for sex and fun.
"Almost heaven, West Virginia Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River Life is old there, older than the trees Younger than the mountains, blowing like a breeze"Whatever positive effect the above lyrics from the late John Denver's ode to West Virginia may or may not have had on tourism, it is totally negated by director Rob Schmidt's nasty little horror film, Wrong Turn.
Those who make films like Wrong Turn see this as a way to make up for the lack of any true suspense, the ineptitude of the characters being lined up for slaughter, and the total idiocy of the whole scenario.
One of the earlier films that would usher modern horror back to it's old school days was this fun and frightening little shocker.Car wreck leaves young people stranded in the West Virginia wilderness, and in the hands of a trio of murderous inbreds.Wrong Turn is an updating of the old fish-out-of-water horror theme that falls in the category of such films as Deliverance (1972), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), The Hills Have Eyes (1977), and Just Before Dawn (1981) and while Wrong Turn isn't quite as good as those horror classics it does have its own entertaining life.
Entertaining and nicely done all the way, Wrong Turn is a movie that won't disappoint genre fans.*** out of ****.
Scary, gory and more or less completely RELENTLESS, Wrong Turn marks a return to the true HORROR movie.
"Wrong Turn" is truly one of the worst horror films I have yet seen - and if you're interested in the fun of bad movies, this one is so bad it's just bad.
It's just nice to have a group of people you can care about and root for, rather than a bunch of unappealing and crude punks, if you know what I mean.Another good thing about the film is it only runs an hour and 20 minutes before the credits role.
Getting stranded in the Virginia backwoods, a man and a group of campers slowly come to realize they're being hunted and killed one- by-one by a family of deranged cannibalistic killers and must find a way of stopping them and get out of the woods alive.This here was quite the fun and highly enjoyable efforts.
Yes, there is a large degree of sticking to a formula but it does take turns you don't expect and is not that predictable - it does keep you in suspense, at least.One other indication that this is better than your average horror movie is the cast.
Wrong Turn has three actors - Eliza Dushku, Emmanuelle Chriqui and Desmond Harrington - who went on to bigger and better things.
Wrong Turn was a surprise horror-what-happens-next thriller that kept me engrossed through out with few scenes giving me some chilling moments.Chris is running late for his job interview as he travels through highway to reach the destination.
You often see horror movies these days with melodramatic/stereotypical teen acting which generally makes me cringe but all the acting was passable.The tension and general design of this film is great and some very jumpy moments - but I think the key ingredient to this film is that is wasn't over-done to the point where it was believable.Good job, though I must at this point say that, wrong turn 2 and 3 are a big disappointment in my opinion; like with a good with/idea people tend to milk it and often destroy it, shame..
well I'm pretty sure it wasn't even planned to do one sequel to this, but the success of the first one spawned two other movies (at the time of writing, because I'm pretty sure there will be more "Wrong Turns" to take ...) The WT movies as such don't have that much in common actually, even the villains being exchangeable (sort of, like another day another "killer" kind of).
Wrong Turn is the film from when I started to love Eliza Dushku.
All she could do was complain and criticize everything, just like a certain friend of mine who just happened to recommend this title to me.The rest of the cast was pretty good, Desmond Harrington and Eliza Dushku, especially, both put forth really solid performances and even helped to make up for some of the movie's shortfalls.
It was hard to accept this as a really good horror because the cannibals sounded like a bunch of drunken retards on and off throughout the movie.If they had kept it more serious, it would have made for a better effect.
Dushku was so good in Wrong Turn that the DVD has a special feature solely on her, and maybe a little on her looks too.
In "Wrong Turn," a group of young people (probably a '90s influence) get stuck in the back woods of West Virginia, and get attacked by a family of cannibals.I love horror movies like "The Hills Have Eyes" and "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," so "Wrong Turn" was a pleasure to watch.
This movie isn't playing in my little backwoods part of Tennessee, which is shocking because I am sure there are people around here that would think that their family WAS apart of film.
I liked the fact that you never got a really good look at the "family" for a long period of time.I have seen better horror movies and I have seen much worse.
Wrong Turn was a horrible movie, it was a great waste of time and money.
For a horror fan, when a movie like 'Wrong Turn' is released, I have to be there regardless of what I fear is going to happen.
This movie is doomed to join the likes of Jeepers Creepers and Texas Chainsaw Massacre, cheap thrills of no value which deserve to be obliterated from the human psyche.The acting is poor, the plot is pointless, unchallenging and predictable and you can guess 90% of the time who is going to be killed next.
'Wrong Turn' is by no means any kind of horror masterpiece but it's entertaining, especially if you are a fan of 70s/80s slasher movies..
So if you like the story of some nice and beautiful young guys and gals getting in trouble with a bunch of a blood-thirsty and hungry degenerate family, this one may be your choice.Not outstanding but regarding the usual standards of the genre one of the good ones, and maybe the best of the whole Wrong Turn movies - to my knowing some unlucky people already took six times the wrong turn ;).
A nice budget & a studio fully behind this film helped create something very special & definitely not just another typical slasher.There's plenty of blood & guts splatter throughout this fast paced Horror Thriller that's not on long at all but that adds to the urgency of the situation of the surviving characters & the hunt is on fast & furious!!!Wrong Turn is a BRILLIANT Survival Slasher Horror that's full of suspense & action that is lovingly crafted from the old school mould of Horror a 10/10 exciting Horror & one I've been watching since video & now onto dvd!!!
Plus have seen my fair share of horror franchises where at least one film has been good.Found myself surprisingly enjoying 'Wrong Turn' when slowly working my way through the films.
I personally haven't seen that at all within survival horror and I think it was a good little plot point that I know I enjoyed.It's also refreshing to see that some of the characters – namely Jessie and Chris.
Compared to a lot of dumb horror films that were released during this era, Wrong Turn very much feels like a trip back to the 70's with it's style.
Wrong Turn is a American horror film directed by Rob Schmidt.
It IS, however, (or it was to me), rather funny that the story revolves around inbred cannibals in the mountains of Virginia, of all places...Anyway, if you're looking for an "Eh" B-film, this is a pretty good one. |
tt0045229 | Thief of Damascus | The Thief of Damascus
Paul Herneid plays The General Abu Amdar
John Sutton plays Khalid
Helen Gilbert plays the Caliphs daughter Princess Zafir
Jeff Donnell plays Sheherazade
Lon Chaney Jr. plays Sinbad
Robert Clary plays Aladdin
Elena Verdugo plays the lady barber NeelaThe movie opens with scenes of Middle Age Soldiers attacking a Middle Age Battlements. Then an introduction to Khalid, the Iron Man who is sweeping across the land and conquering all in his path. An argument about the tactics between Khalid and General ensues. It is learned here that Khalid is only interested in destroying the city. Khalid agrees to his Generals plan. The attack is put into action. At this time another Middle age battle is inserted. The Caliph of Damascus surrenders by sending his daughter to the Generals camp with a flag of truce. At this time we start to see characters from the Arabian Nights Ali Baba, Sinbad, Scheherazade, Aladdin. When the truce is signed by the General and the Caliphs daughter, the General falls in love with the Caliphs daughter. Khalid doe not like the idea of Damascus surrendering because he want to destroy the city. He has the General arrested but the General gets away as Sinbad and Aladdin watch. Khalid sends soldiers after the General. The General having lost his weapon steals one from a sword makes shop. The sword is miraculous, it breaks every other sword. While this is happening Khalid imprisons the Caliph and his daughter. The General breaks into the castle and into the Caliphs daughters room. No one can find the General except for Sinbad and Aladdin. The general, Sinbad and Aladdin make instant friends and conspirators they steal horses and leave the city. The daughter of the Caliph still believes the General has betrayed her. When Khalid arrives at the harem and informs the Caliphs daughter that she is to be Khalids bride.
The General, Sinbad and Aladdin are riding in the desert when they are captured by the Less Than Forty Thieves and are taken to Ali Baba. The General and Ali Baba make plans to arm a force with the Miracle Blade sword. At Ali Babas cave the General runs into an old friend a female barber.
Back in Damascus the General, now shaven, returns and are immediately assailed by the merchant that they stole the horses they are riding from. They scare him into silence and return the horses but making plans to re-steal them later.
The General goes to the sword maker, that make the Miracle Blade, and arranges to have weapons made for the revolt. At the same time the General learns that the Caliphs daughter is to be married to Khalid. He makes plans to steal money from the treasury to pay for the swords. Scheherazade goes to dine with Khalid while the General goes through the kitchen to get to the main palace. This is when the Caliphs daughter and the General fall in love. She gives the General her jewels to finance the rebellion and a secret passage out of the castle.
The General, Sinbad and Aladdin re-steal the horses and head to Ali Babas cave. He decides to let the soldiers following him let him know where they are going and about how to open Ali Babas cave. The guards that were following the General, Sinbad and Aladdin find out the secret to Ali Babas cave.
The female barber then tries to get the General to cross Ali Baba and his men so that she and the General can rule Damascus but the General refuses.
Khalid wakes up the next morning with Scheherazade when the Guards come in and tell Khalid about the cave. Khalid does not believe the guards but decides to go and find out. This is where the Female Barber decides to turn traitor since the General rejects her but is caught by the General and returned to Ali Babas cave. Khalid and his soldiers arrive at Ali Babas cave and makes preparation to wipe out the General, Ali Baba, Sinbad, Aladdin and the less than forty thieves. They open the cave door and enter the cave, then Ali Baba closes the cave for ever.
Khalid then sentences the Caliphs daughter to death in two days and lays a trap to capture the General, Ali Baba, Sinbad, Aladdin, and the less than forty thieves. The general decides to use the Old Wives Tale about hiding in olive oil jars to enter the city.
The day of the execution arrives and Khalid has the trap set. The General, Ali Baba, Sinbad, Aladdin and the less than forty thieves get the new swords and head to the town square for the execution. The Caliphs daughter is brought to the execution platform after several others are beheaded and the General enters the city. She is about to be executed when the people are aroused. Then the General, Sinbad, Ali Baba, Aladdin and the less than forty thieves attack.
Khalid gets a Miracle Blade Sword and heads into the castle. The female Barber has relented and is in the fight but Khalid shoots her with an arrow. The General and Khalid have a sword fight and Khalid is killed.
The General gets the daughter and Aladdin finds his lamp and they live happily ever after | violence | train | imdb | null |
tt2361317 | Live by Night | Set in the 1920s, the film starts with the voice of Joe Coughlin (Ben Affleck) discussing his time fighting in France back in 1918 during World War I, and how he witnessed many good men die for nothing. In the years since he returned home to Boston, he had tried to do good, but he would eventually go down a different path.Joe and two of his partners rob a gangster and pretend to take a woman, Emma Gould (Sienna Miller), as a hostage. In reality, Emma was Joe's "inside man", but he is head-over-heels in love with her. Emma is already the girlfriend of the Irish gang boss Albert White (Robert Glenister), but she and Joe see each other whenever Albert is out of town.Joe and Emma have dinner together and are met by Joe's father Thomas (Brendan Gleeson), a police captain. Thomas makes a comment regarding one of Emma's relatives, indicating he disapproves of her. Emma is clearly upset by Thomas's behavior with her over dinner, but Joe tries to assure her that Thomas doesn't have a problem with her.Joe meets Maso Pescatore (Remo Girone), an Italian gangster who is Albert's rival. He wants Joe to take Albert out, otherwise he will let Albert know about Joe's affair with Emma.Joe and his partner Dion Bartolo (Chris Messina) pull off a bank robbery. They are immediately pursued by cops as Joe cannot get the hang of the getaway car, crashing into a civilian car before speeding away. Dion and their other partner make it to another car while Joe stays in the first getaway car. The cops pursue both cars, leading to a chase down the street that ends up causing the cop cars to crash and burn, along with Joe being ejected from his car. When he comes to, he sees the burning cop car in the river and he flees.Joe rushes over to a casino to meet with Emma so they can skip town. They hop inside an elevator and kiss passionately before Emma regretfully reveals it was a trap. One of Albert's large thugs pulls Joe out and starts beating him mercilessly, even kicking Joe in the groin hard enough to make him puke. He is pulled outside where Albert and his goons plan to kill him, but Thomas and his squad arrive, forcing Albert and his men to leave. The cops then arrest Joe.Chief Inspector Calvin Bondurant (Clark Gregg) wants to put Joe in prison for life for the death of the officers, but Thomas blackmails him into giving Joe only three years. Two weeks before Joe is set to be released, Thomas passes away. Joe attends his funeral.With nothing and nobody left for him, Joe goes to Maso and asks for work in getting revenge against Albert. Maso has Joe relocate to Ybor City in Tampa, Florida to be the strongman for Maso's rum business. Joe reunites with Dion and heads down to Ybor to start working. They meet a Cuban businessman named Esteban Suarez (Miguel) to help them out. Joe becomes smitten with Esteban's sister Graciella (Zoe Saldana).Joe and Dion kill Albert's men in Tampa as they horn in on the rum business, much to the gangster's rage. Joe later meets with Chief Irving Figgis (Chris Cooper) to help set up a gambling hotel in collaboration with the Ritz after Maso has asked Joe to get in on the gambling business. The men also meet Irving's daughter Loretta (Elle Fanning), who is heading off to Hollywood with ambitions of becoming an actress.Joe's speakeasy clubs and businesses are attracting a lot of business, and he is personally attracting the attention of Graciella. Although she tells him they will not be lovers, they quickly head into a room to make love.One evening, one of Joe's clubs is disturbed by the KKK putting up a burning cross outside. One of the Klan's member, RD Pruitt (Matthew Maher), terrorizes and robs from the establishments. He also happens to be Irving's brother-in-law. Joe has Irving arrange a meeting with RD. Despite RD being a dimwitted bigot, Joe calmly attempts to negotiate a 15% cut in order for RD to stop harassing people and killing business. RD agrees.Despite the deal, RD starts going around killing Joe's customers out of his racist agenda. Joe and Dion go to meet with the Grand Wizard of the KKK, Gary L. Smith (Anthony Michael Hall), who runs an establishment of his own. Gary informs the men that many Klan members work in the community, including police officers. Since Gary has less power than any of them, Dion shoots Gary dead in front of a bunch of his employees.Joe goes to Irving's house. Irving states that there were 70 witnesses to the murder but nobody is stepping forward to testify. He tells Joe about how Loretta has turned to drugs and prostitution in Hollywood. Joe wants Irving to take care of RD, but Irving can't bring himself to give RD up. He tells Joe to be man enough to kill RD himself.Joe meets with RD outside the Ritz, which is under construction. RD brings two of his goons outside with guns. RD declares he won't stop what he's doing, and he threatens to kill Graciella to Joe's face. Joe takes out his gun and shoots RD dead while Dion and a couple other guys come out of hiding and kill RD's guys. Joe gets shot in the side as a result but he survives. Soon, Joe and his men start fighting back against the Klan, causing them to retreat from Tampa.Loretta returns home and suffers abusive punishment from her father. She begins preaching to the masses in a tent about repenting and making herself an example of the result of sinful living. Because of this, Joe is unable to receive government funding for the Ritz sine Loretta's sermons have put people off from gambling and drugs. This also causes Maso and his gang to distance themselves from Joe and his business.Joe encounters Loretta in a restaurant by herself. She expresses her true feelings over God and her sins, and how she thinks Heaven is already here on Earth. Joe then asks why it feels like Hell. Loretta responds, "Because we fucked up."Dion approaches Joe the next day with a newspaper reporting on Loretta's death, as she slit her throat in her father's bed the previous night. Joe is visibly distraught by the news.Joe visits Esteban and sees a picture he took in a casino, and he sees Emma in the picture after believing her to be dead. Knowing she is in Miami, he decides to go looking for her. He discloses this with Graciella first.Maso and his gang are in Tampa. Joe meets with him in his home, and Maso wants to get rid of Joe despite the expansion of his business, but mainly because of his failure with the gambling venture and for not killing Loretta for bringing it down. He gives Joe the option of working under his son Digger (Max Casella) or to "clean the shit out of his toilet". Joe says he will work under Digger. To Joe's surprise, he learns that Maso is now working with Albert, who is there with a Tommy gun to kill Joe. Joe pulls out the picture of Emma, and he finds out that even Albert didn't know she was still alive. Soon, Joe's men start coming in from the tunnels, which Maso figures out is how they have been getting rum and drugs through. Joe's men start killing Maso's men while Joe fights Albert. Dion and a few other guys go in with their guns and shoot Maso's guys and throw them over the staircase. Joe kills Albert by shooting him through the wall. He waits for Maso as he goes to fix himself a drink. After telling Maso that Digger is dead, Joe shoots Maso in the chest, killing him. Afterwards, Joe hands his business over to Dion, who takes the men under his wing. Joe's voiceover states that Dion ran the business for eight years and did not live to see old age as he had predicted.Joe finds Emma working outside a brothel. She explains how she faked her death by having her driver run their car into the river, and she took refuge with a fisherman. Emma says she loves the feeling of being free. Joe asks if she ever loved him the way he loved her. She makes it clear that she didn't feel the same way. Joe leaves her for good.Joe and Graciella move to Miami and start their own business building houses for the poor. They have a son,Tomas (Gabriel L. Silva), named after Joe's father.One afternoon, Irving, who has now gone mad after Loretta's death, goes over to the Coughlin house and starts shooting while yelling "Repent! Repent!" Graciella rushes to protect Tomas as Joe goes outside and shoots Irving dead. Unfortunately, Graciella was shot and killed. Joe cries over her body. She is later buried in her native home of Cuba.Joe continues to do right by his son. He takes him to the movies and sees that his brother wrote the film. Joe's voiceover states that Tomas wants to grow up to be a police officer. He talks about wanting to see his mother in Heaven. Joe says he tells his son what Loretta told him - Heaven is already there on Earth. | revenge, violence, romantic | train | imdb | In both directing and writing the screenplay (based on a novel by Dennis Lehane), Affleck has aimed for a "Godfather" style gangster epic and missed: not missed by a country mile, but missed nonetheless.Morally bankrupted by his experiences in the trenches, Joe Coughlin (Affleck) returns to Boston to pick and choose which social rules he wants to follow.
In my experience it's never a good sign when the writer considers it necessary to add a voice-over to the soundtrack, and here Affleck mutters truisms about his thoughts and motives that irritate more than illuminate.The sheer volume of players in the piece (there are about three film's worth in here) and the resulting minimal screen time given to each allows no time for character development.
Unfortunately the result is that you really care very little about whether people live or die and big plot developments land as rather an "oh" than an "OH!".Affleck puts in a great turn as the autistic central character whose condition results in a cold, calculating demeanor and a complete lack of emotion reflecting on his face.
"Live By Night" sees star Ben Affleck back in the director's chair for the 4th time, his previous directorial offerings being "Gone Baby Gone", "The Town", and best picture winner "Argo", and sadly, it's easily his worst.
"Live By Night" boasts a wonderful cast, stunning cinematography, and enthralling action set pieces but lacks any emotional weight or an interesting story, it's your usual by the numbers gangster flick about tough guys in over-sized suits blasting each other with Tommy guns and stabbing each other in the back.
Like Affleck, the film is listless except when Tommy Guns take charge.As Joe navigates from a low-rent lover, Emma (Sienna Miller), to a classy love, Graciella (Zoe Saldana), director Affleck spends too much time on their embraces and too little on what makes him love them so passionately.
The movie also touches upon the more political/racial/religious aspects of the era, such as where police captain Chris Cooper tells Affleck he will turn a blind eye as long as he keeps his business to the bad (read: non-white) part of town (and of course there's the KKK as already mentioned above).
Live By Night is a gangster epic which follows the rise to power of Joe Coughlin, a young Boston criminal who ends up running an empire in Florida for the Italian mob.
As with The Town and Argo, Affleck casts himself in the leading role and is joined by an impressive supporting cast including Sienna Miller, Zoe Saldana, Elle Fanning, Robert Glenister, Chris Cooper and Brendan Gleeson.The film begins with Coughlin, as the narrator, introducing himself as a veteran who has returned disillusioned from WW1 to the extent that he refuses to follow rules or take orders from anybody.
Combined with Affleck being so prominent in his leading role, his decision as the director to use so many facial close-ups and lingering shots of Coughlin means that Live By Night essentially feels like a self indulgence piece.
In a nutshell, this movie sucked!!!Ben Affleck is an assured director with a some good films under his belt such as "Gone Baby Gone," "The Town," and the academy award winner "Argo." "Live By Night" had great potential but squandered it with an uninvolved, overstuffed, boring, rushed, lackluster and turd-infested flop.
Actor/writer/director Ben Affleck tries his hand at a period piece in this ambitious crime saga beginning in the 1920s Prohibition Era. Joe Coughlin—the son of a renowned Boston police officer—is a small-time crook looking to make a name for himself in the ruthless underworld of organized crime.
2016's "Live by Night" (R, 2:09) is based on the 2012 novel of the same name by Dennis Lehane (whose earlier books "Gone, Baby, Gone", "Mystic River" and "Shutter Island" also made it to the big screen) features a main character similar to that of Michael Corleone in "The Godfather", but isn't as interesting.Joe Coughlin (Ben Affleck, who also adapted Lehane's novel and directs) is the son of a Boston police captain (Brendan Gleeson) and a veteran of World War I, an experience which definitively shaped Joe's outlook on life.
Joe rises to the challenge as he has to battle the local Ku Klux Klan (embodied by Matthew Maher and Anthony Michael Hall) for business and personal reasons, but also shows his underlying humanity as he helps free a young woman named Loretta (Elle Fanning), the daughter of local Sheriff Irving Figgis (Chris Cooper), from being exploited while trying to become an actress in L.A. Joe has to confront a new set of challenges when Loretta emerges from her personal turmoil as a popular revivalist and preaches loudly about the evils of gambling, just as Joe is building a casino."Live by Night" is a half-way decent but forgettable gangster movie.
Granted Affleck thinks he is his own God, like most of the liberal actors today in Hollywood, and parts of the critics comments have valid points, but what everyone seems to be missing is that 'Live by Night' is just a damn good movie to watch...period.
I haven't seen Gone Baby Gone for many years but when I did see it I don't remember being to fond of it but since then I have been consistently blown away by his work as a director so I was incredibly excited for Live By Night and while it was far from what I hoped I didn't find the nearly as poor as some critics.Like all Affleck's movies this film looks stunning, the production design is immaculate and definitely took inspiration from other films of its type in the best possible way.
Zoe Saldana is fine but didn't have a lot of to her and I didn't like her romance with Affleck.This film has a lot of flaws however, most of them come from the second act, it is very dull, I didn't care for most of the new characters who were introduced, the setting wasn't nearly as interesting as it was in the first act and as I said the romance that blooms between Affleck and Saldanas characters didn't do much for me.Another big issue with this movie was that it relied to heavily on dialogue to tell its story, I'm not opposed to a film that's dialogue driven but in a gangster film you need to back words up with actions and this film rarely did that doing more telling than showing.
Written, directed and produced by the lead himself, a run-of-the-mill, roaring '20's gangster flick lacking in imagination; a quickly-forgotten, unremarkable tale.Our story begins in a glamorized 1920's Boston; Joe Coughlin (Affleck) is a WWI-veteran and small-time hoodlum with a nepotistic bail-out and a forbidden love-affair.
I found myself almost wanting to take a well-deserved nap during the screening, for I felt that I wouldn't miss much and if I had would have woken up more than capable of still keeping up with the films' 'plot'.Ben Affleck seemed a weak link in an already weak chain - his dry performance only made worse by his failure to direct the rest of the notably irritating cast (namely, Elle Fanning and Sienna Miller, although Zoe Saldana was disappointingly bland).
There are times when I say you must see a film on the big screen at the movie theater.The new Ben Affleck film, LIVE BY NIGHT, is one that is perfect for viewing at home on a cold, Saturday afternoon, curled up on the couch with a pillow and a blanket, for it will help you fall asleep and you can take a wonderful nap.This move is D-U-L-L and B-O-R-I-N-G.Written, directed and starring Affleck from a novel by Dennis LeHane (GONE BABY GONE, MYSTIC RIVER), LIVE BY NIGHT tells the tale of a Gangster, Joe Coughlin (played by Affleck) in the 1930's.
It might have worked had Affleck fleshed out the other characters, but casting strong actors like Chris Cooper, Brendan Gleeson, Elle Fanning, Sienna Miller and Zoe Saldana does not a character make.
Each of these are in the film fleetingly and only serve as vessels for Affleck's character to bounce off of, so, in the end we don't care about any of them - it is a waste of these talents and a waste of our time.Affleck does try to make something of Chris Messina's character as Coughlin's best pal and right hand man, but Messina just isn't strong enough to overcome the weak script and character development delivered to him.Affleck's script and direction are also dull, lifeless and clinical - professionally made, but with no heart, soul or emotion and in the end it left me cold and uncaring about the events unfolding.There is a good movie in this idea, this wasn't it.Letter Grade: "C"4 stars and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis).
But although his actions during the two hour runtime certainly make him seem like an asshole, the film constantly tries to market him as the good guy and desperately tries to give him a moral profile.Aside from that, Ben Affleck generally felt miscast and at times even completely out of place.
There are four things wrong with this movie, and all of them are named Ben Affleck.As lead actor, writer, director, producer, sorry but he has to take the blame for this snooze-fest.In all fairness, the music also sucks..More than anything, although the basic story is good the script is somewhat lackluster and fails to spark any passion, but also Ben Affleck is terribly out of his acting range in the lead role and never really conveys the essence of a person from the time period.Visually, the movie looks pretty great and the action sequences are very well done.This could have been another great crime movie with a different musical score and more appropriate lead actor and a little harsher editing..
It's hard for Affleck who produced, directed, and stars in Live By Night as he is the son of a police chief in Boston.He gets caught up in a turf war between rival gangsters Remo Girone and Robert Glenister after a narrow escape from death and a prison term goes to work for Girone who asks him to organize in Florida and he chooses Tampa as his base.
Ben Affleck is a master class, having done a great job with Gone Baby Gone, The Town (my personal favorite of his), and Argo, and so I was looking forward to seeing what he did with "Live By Night." Having missed out on it in theaters, I picked up the blu-ray and I have to say that though I do think that out of this group of films listed above this is his weakest effort, this is a very underrated film.
This was one of the major, crushing disappointments of the year and, if anything, this may be more of a misfire than Batman v Superman; at least with Zack Snyder, you know that it's a crap-shoot for it to be any good and the odds are not in one's favor (and, actually, Affleck was the best part of that movie, with terrific charisma and personality and anger built well for that character, poorly written as it was at times).But with Affleck he's shown with three directed feature films that he has a terrific control of tone, engaging and entertaining characters, stories that carry at least a modicum of moral complexity (Gone, Baby, Gone, which was my least favorite of those, seems to be leaps and bounds stronger than this when it comes to that), and some solid sense of humor and pathos (at least through Argo).
I question what was going through his head when he got behind and in front of the camera.Another critic, I think on Birth-Movies-Death, said that this feels more like what one might expect a directorial debut to be like: a vanity project where its writer-director-producer-star is playing one of those seemingly amazing gangster bad-asses (oh, did I say gangster, sorry, his character doesn't want to be called a 'gangster' for some reason), while also being, at least eventually, a Great White Hope character because...
I love the films that ben affleck has directed and I think he has been giving great performances consistently for the past few years so I was interested to see live by night but unfortunately it was a pretty big disappointment.
It so happens that when some of the characters start exhibiting a fair bit of promise, they're quickly written off/killed (like Sienna Miller's Emma Gould or Elle Fanning's Loretta, the daughter of Chief Figgis).The first half revolves around events that take place in Boston while the second frantically moves on to Tampa, a transition that implies enhancement in Joe's activities as a gangster but never as a captivating movie character.
The story was also involving - at running time 2 hours i wasn't bored for a second.Overall, "Live by Night" is a good movie overall, but not as good as previous films created by Ben Affleck.
Live by night - a very good movie "gangsters / mafia" with a superb Ben Affleck..
If I don't care about who lives or who dies in your movie, then you've got a serious problem on your hands.Ben Affleck is a great director, but is he a good actor?
At the time of writing it's been reported that Ben Affleck's gangster passion project Live by Night will lose its studio Warner Brothers an estimated $75 million dollars upon initial release, with the films only hopes of delivering on its hyped potential the chance it finds an audience once it enters the home video market.2016 surely will be a year Ben Affleck would rather forget.After personnel issues played out in the public spotlight, the increasingly mocked release of Batman V Superman, the good not outstanding The Accountant (which at least performed quite well on a limited budget) and sad Affleck memes, Live by Night felt like a chance for Affleck to end his forgettable year on a high but this visually impressive yet emotionally lacking adaptation of Dennis Lehane's novel of the same name just never does enough to become the film Affleck so clearly wanted it to be, even if the final product is far from the out and out failure many critics have unfairly labelled it to be.The weakest directional outing yet for Affleck, on the back of 3 previous impressive films, Live by Night sees the filmmaker, screenwriter and actor try so very hard to make the "big" crime epic that lay within his grasp but Affleck seems unable to find the foundation of what was needed to do so stemming from tonal issues, undeveloped side characters and plot lines and the feeling that Affleck miscast himself in a lead role he feels out of place playing.Playing solider turned outlaw Joe Coughlin in the prohibition era of America, Joe is a rather cold central figure in proceedings and while the film try's to find reasons for us to like Joe, whether it's his relationship with fellow Irish girl Emma Gould (played by the underused Sienna Miller) or the films underplayed romance with Zoe Saldana's Cuban Graciela, it's hard to get to invested in Joe's rather slow way of enacting out revenge on those that have wronged him, even if many of the films various components and sideplot's provide evidence of the film Live by Night could've been.From the meddling Ku Klux Klan (scenes involving Matthew Maher's redneck Klan's member RD Pruitt are a highlight), Chris Cooper's brilliant turn as kind hearted local police Chief Figgis or Elle Fanning's scene stealing appearance's as drug addled wannabe actress turned local town religious preacher Loretta Figgis, a turn that makes a great double bill for the young actress when you count her impressive work in the future cult classic The Neon Demon, Live by Night certainly covers a lot of ground (perhaps too much for a mere feature film) and while there's little fault to be found in the films set design and production, without that emotional investment, Live by Night was only ever going to achieve a certain level of mid-tier success.A disappointing experience when all at hand is given due consideration, Live by Night still showcases glimpses of Affleck's talents as a director (again he shows the ability to draw out terrific acting turns) that make Live by Night a polished feature but a cold experience made worse by the films failure to ever really get the blood pumping (gangster film fans should lower their expectations when it comes to the thrills and spills stakes).Not a bad film but a film that time will likely forget, Live by Night is the work of a filmmaker whose previous works have so far been anything but and therefore a rather unfortunate product of bad timing and an appearance in a public's frame of mind where it has once again become the "it" thing to kick Ben Affleck while he is down but if history has shown us anything, we can expect a turnaround from Mr. Affleck in the not too distant future.3 ½ convenient tunnels out of 5.
Ben Affleck might not be the best actor ever but he did a good job directing and playing in this movie.
Americans really know how to put together stuff like this, and they have done so many times, which doesn't work for Affleck's favor.On the other hand, if you haven't seen enough of this kind of stuff, "Live by Night" offers everything the genre fan needs: good story, exciting action, convincing characters, really good cast of actors...
Live By Night tells the story of gangster Joe Coughlin (Ben Affleck) as he rises, falls then rises again through the criminal underworlds of Boston and Miami. |
tt0044081 | A Streetcar Named Desire | After the loss of her family home, Belle Reve, to creditors, Blanche DuBois travels from the small town of Laurel, Mississippi, to the New Orleans French Quarter to live with her younger, married sister, Stella, and brother-in-law, Stanley Kowalski. Blanche is in her thirties and, with no money, she has nowhere else to go.
Blanche tells Stella that she has taken a leave of absence from her English-teaching position because of her nerves (which is later revealed to be a lie). Blanche laments the shabbiness of her sister’s two-room flat. She finds Stanley loud and rough, eventually referring to him as "common". Stanley, in return, does not care for Blanche's manners and dislikes her presence.
Stanley later questions Blanche about her earlier marriage. Blanche had married when she was very young, but her husband died, leaving her widowed and alone. The memory of her dead husband causes Blanche some obvious distress. Stanley, worried that he has been cheated out of an inheritance, demands to know what happened to Belle Reve, once a large plantation and the DuBois family home. Blanche hands over all the documents pertaining to Belle Reve. While looking at the papers, Stanley notices a bundle of letters that Blanche emotionally proclaims are personal love letters from her dead husband. For a moment, Stanley seems caught off guard over her proclaimed feelings. Afterwards, he informs Blanche that Stella is going to have a baby.
The night after Blanche’s arrival, during one of Stanley’s poker parties, Blanche meets Mitch, one of Stanley’s poker player buddies. His courteous manner sets him apart from the other men. Their chat becomes flirtatious and friendly, and Blanche easily charms him; they like each other. Suddenly becoming upset over multiple interruptions, Stanley explodes in a drunken rage and strikes Stella. Blanche and Stella take refuge with the upstairs neighbor, Eunice. When Stanley recovers, he cries out from the courtyard below for Stella to come back by repeatedly calling her name until she comes down and allows herself to be carried off to bed. After Stella returns to Stanley, Blanche and Mitch sit at the bottom of the steps in the courtyard, where Mitch apologizes for Stanley's coarse behavior.
Blanche is bewildered that Stella would go back with him after such violence. The next morning, Blanche rushes to Stella and describes Stanley as a subhuman animal, though Stella assures Blanche that she and Stanley are fine. Stanley overhears the conversation but keeps silent. When Stanley comes in, Stella hugs and kisses him, letting Blanche know that her low opinion of Stanley does not matter.
As the weeks pass, Blanche and Stanley continue to not get along. Blanche has hope in Mitch, and tells Stella that she wants to go away with him and not be anyone’s problem. During a meeting between the two, Blanche confesses to Mitch that once she was married to a young man, Allan Grey, whom she later discovered in a sexual encounter with an older man. Grey later committed suicide when Blanche told him she was disgusted with him. The story touches Mitch, who tells Blanche that they need each other. It seems certain that they will get married.
Later on, Stanley repeats gossip to Stella that he has gathered on Blanche, telling her that Blanche was fired from her teaching job for having sex with a student and that she lived at a hotel known for prostitution (the Flamingo). Stella erupts in anger over Stanley’s cruelty after he states that he has also told Mitch about the rumors, but the fight is cut short as she goes into labor and is sent to the hospital.
As Blanche waits at home alone, Mitch arrives and confronts Blanche with the stories that Stanley has told him. At first she denies everything, but eventually confesses that the stories are true. She pleads for forgiveness, but an angry and humiliated Mitch rejects her. He then advances toward her as though to rape her; in response, Blanche screams "fire", and he runs away in fright.
When Stella has the baby, Stanley and Blanche are left alone in the apartment. In their final confrontation, it is strongly implied that Stanley rapes Blanche, imminently resulting in her psychotic crisis.
Weeks later, at another poker game at the Kowalski apartment, Stella and her neighbor, Eunice, are packing Blanche's belongings. Blanche has suffered a complete mental breakdown and is to be committed to a mental hospital. Although Blanche has told Stella about Stanley's assault, Stella cannot bring herself to believe her sister's story. When a doctor and a matron arrive to take Blanche to the hospital, she initially resists them and collapses on the floor in confusion. Mitch, present at the poker game, breaks down in tears. When the doctor helps Blanche up, she goes willingly with him, saying: "Whoever you are, I have always depended upon the kindness of strangers." The play ends with Stanley continuing to comfort Stella while the poker game continues uninterrupted, as Steve says: "This game is seven-card stud". | tragedy, insanity, romantic, atmospheric | train | wikipedia | It's the clash between Blanche's stately delusions and Stanley's gritty realism that soups up the drama in this Tennessee Williams play, converted to film classic by director Elia Kazan.The drama is absorbing.
But the performances of Marlon Brando and Vivien Leigh, as Stanley and Blanche, are what make the film the cinematic powerhouse that it is.
Tennessee Williams himself wrote of Vivien Leigh"s performance in "Streetcar Named Desire": "She brought everything I intended to the role and even much more than I had dared dream of".Brando is wonderful as Stanley Kowalski, but the new viewers to the film seem to come away with the haunting greatness of Vivien Leigh in what is one of the most harrowing and shattering pieces of acting ever committed to film.Although some have expressed regret that Jessica Tandy did not repeat her stage performance, it is probably good to note that her husband Hume Cronyn and Elia Kazan (the director of the film and play) both never felt that Tandy quite got the character right.
He agrees that she plays this Hamlet of female roles better than anyone because he felt she was quite like the character...sadly.If anyone is interested in great acting check out "Streetcar" for Vivien Leigh's Academy Award winning performance.
Stanley Kowalski, played by Marlon Brando in perhaps one of the greatest performances ever to project off the big screen, is a young Polish American living in a cozy apartment with his quasi-newlywed bride.
I just read one user review here that completely misinterpreted the character of Blanche Dubois to the point of my utter exasperation, another one that had absolutely nothing to do with this film, and a third that expressed total boredom with it, so pardon me while I take a deep breath and count to ten so that I don't write what I might regret, even if it does pass the IMDb censors."Streetcar Named Desire" is an exceptionally good film due to (1) the superb acting ability of its two leads, Vivien Leigh and Marlon Brando, as well as the few members of its outstanding supporting cast, (2) an excellent screenplay by the original playwright, Tennessee Williams, that is packed from beginning to end with explosive, conflict driven dialogue, and (3) the brilliant direction of Elia Kazan.From the very start, the central character, Blanche DuBois (Vivien Leigh), is helped onto a streetcar by a perfect stranger, a sailor, in a simple act that neatly ties the film's beginning to her final, heartbreaking line, "I have always depended upon the kindness of strangers".
Blanche is lost in the big city, and she becomes more and more hopelessly adrift in the world as the film approaches its very tragic end.Broke and friendless, Blanche lands in New Orleans where her sister, Stella (Kim Hunter) lives with her coarse, crude husband, Stanley Kowalski (Brando).
I just couldn't help myself.While Brando was beaten out of the Oscar by Humphrey Bogart in "African Queen" (not my favorite Bogey movie by a long shot), Leigh, Malden, and Hunter swept these awards for their performances here and deservedly so.
A goodly number of cast and production people from the hit play directed by Elia Kazan were engaged by the director for the film version, and they were not at all enthusiastic about risking a "clash" of acting styles in the leading, pivotal role of Blanche.
Brando was not a movie name yet and the decision was made to recast the female lead with Vivien Leigh instead of Jessica Tandy who played Blanche Dubois on Broadway.In doing so this gave Vivien Leigh the very unique position of having played opposite the two men who are held up as male acting icons for the last century, Marlon Brando and Leigh's husband at the time Laurence Olivier.
But he proves to be something less than meets the eye in his dealings with Leigh.A Streetcar Named Desire won all kinds of Awards, the three acting Oscars, one for Elia Kazan as Best Director and a whole bunch of technical ones.
But An American In Paris won for Best Picture and Hollywood decided young Brando could wait for his and they gave it that year to Humphrey Bogart for The African Queen.This film is still the best adaption to the screen of a Tennessee Williams play and is an absolute must to see..
With a screenplay by Tennessee Williams, direction from Elia Kazan and quite possibly the greatest performance ever in Vivien Leigh's Blanche DuBois- you can't go wrong.
Every time I watch this film I notice a new nuance in her performance, whether it's a look in her eye that I hadn't noticed before or a change in her voice as Blanche lets her mask slip- never has there been such a true embodiment of a character.So all this considered, with Kazan's brilliant direction, great cinematography and the unique "jazzy" score, is why I consider 'A Streetcar Named Desire' one of the greatest films ever made.
Favorite movie-quote - (Blanche speaking to Stella behind Stanley's back) - "There's even something subhuman about him." Now, I would never, ever say that A Streetcar Named Desire is a film that can be appreciated by everyone, but, regardless, it is still certainly well-worth a view for anyone who's at all interested in seeing top-notch film-making, early 1950's-style.If you ask me - This film is the absolute epitome of powerhouse movie-making from a very specific era in Hollywood history.Being someone, like myself, who can often be quite bluntly critical about films, I'm really very surprised and, yes, quite pleased to see how well this film actually holds up today, 64 years later.Containing some very well-defined characters - A Streetcar Named Desire certainly delivers, in aces, equal helpings of insensitive brutality, heartless viciousness, and despairing mental instability.
Believe me, this is not a happy story.When it comes to that old, familiar saying - "They don't make movies like this anymore." - A Streetcar Named Desire certainly packs a powerful punch and lives up to its stellar reputation very satisfactorily..
The story has a woman, Blanche DuBois, played by Vivien Leigh, who moves in with her sister, played by Kim Hunter, and her brother in law, Marlon Brando.
Imagining/fantasizing about being a character in the film, I'd love to inhabit the talked about role of Blanche's former boyfriend Shep Huntleigh, reconnecting with her while visiting New Orleans (one night when she sneaks off to a high class Mardi Gras ball), sweep her off her feet again (better than Malden managed to!) and rescue her from Stanley's sexual wrath!
Judging by Brando's performance in the film version, he must have gone down just as well when he was cast as the bullying, controlling, vulgar and brutal Stanley Kowalski in the theatre production that ran on Broadway for something like 2 years.
The movie feels very old....black and white films by nature feel less lively, the poor and inappropriate soundtrack that should have been used for a high school play, the cheezy directional effects (like the rinings of voices in Blanche's head), and the EXTREMELY theatrical writing ("my, in all heavens, daylight has never exposed such a lie").....who talks like that, really?
Stanley in turn does not like Blanche and not approve of her as he thinks she will come in between his happy marriage.This movie introduced me to the young Marlon Brando after his idolizing performance in The Godfather, And Boy!!!
A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) **** (out of 4) Diva Blanche DuBois (Vivian Leigh) moves to New Orleasns to live with her younger sister Stella (Kim Hunter) but it doesn't take long for the sister's husband Stanley (Marlon Brando) to aim his brutish ways on her.A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE was a landmark play and it carried over to the big screen thanks in large part to the terrific performances as well as the frank sexuality.
As a rather newcomer at the time, Marlon Brando (his second screen role) and already a great star Vivien Leigh appear to stand out among the best character portrayals ever.
Just a note: famous actor Jack Palance here began his acting career as Brando's understudy.SUPPORTING CHARACTERS: Crowther rightly notes that others from the cast "fill out the human pattern within a sleazy environment that is so fitly and graphically created that you can almost sense its sweatiness and smells." A note, of course, must be made of Kim Hunter as Stella, Blanche's sister and Stanley's wife and Karl Malden as Mitch, "more of a sap" (Ebert), a typical mom's boy who seems to do anything for his mother and, yet, appears to hate her deep down.
(In addition to "Streetcar Named Desire" "Glass Menagerie" is another excellent example of such a venue!!) From the offset, Stanley Kowalski (Marlon Brando's character) was a man who was socially ostracized !!
Every time I watch this it is so clear that Blanche De Bois is one of the great tragic heroines of modern drama, and Vivien Leigh, halfway through her own real-life crack-up, plays her brilliantly, with more insight than most Method actresses could summon up.
The young Marlon Brando exploded onto the stage, and then into the cinema, with his performance as Stanley Kowalski in Tennessee Williams' play 'A Streetcar Named Desire'.
I know, I know, two different styles, but the pretty same bad taste.A Streetcar Named Desire, has histrionic characters, plain progression, bad sound effects, not the best photography (which explores always shadows in the exactly same way), bad romance, disconnected scenes and at last, poor speeches.All that Brando does throughout the entire movie is either to shout or say incomprehensible words, as if he had marbles in his mouth.
The viewing medium becomes all too two-dimensional when he is not on screen.On the other hand, Vivien Leigh's acting style, though lauded by film aficionados as a symbiotic, diametric marriage of intensity with Brando's, is just plain hard to watch and truthfully quite embarrassing at points.For modern viewers, she cannot seem to "convince" with her old-school Presentational/Theatrical style, clashing irreconcilably with Brando's Method.The icy romance between Leigh and Karl Malden's character only serves to pound home the truth that sexual morés have moved too far from filmic 50s etiquette, to be in any way considered vital or even interesting to modern viewers, even though, for its day, much censorship was brought down upon "Streetcar".
Elia Kazan doesn't let you out of your small corner while you await each confrontation, yet this would have boiled over early if not for our married sister caught in the middle.Marlon Brando was absolutely brilliant and Vivien Leigh, in the later stages of her "Scarlett" genre was completely terrifying in her cover up acting inside of the characters she floated willingly down the Denial River.
Focusing on the film as a whole, A Streetcar Named Desire is a film that plays similar instruments to a melodrama or even a soap opera, concerning three main characters, one of them Blanche DuBois (Vivian Leigh), a Southern belle worrying about her deteriorating beauty as she enters old age.
She loves clinging to the materialistic thought that possessions such as jewelry and clothes are all she'll ever need to be happy and to attract a man to her presence.Blanche visits New Orleans all the way from Missouri to see her sister Stella Kowalski (Kim Hunter), presumably to catch up, but really to mooch off of her and her husband Stanley (Marlon Brando) for as long as she possibly can.
Brando gives a knockout performance here, naturally cycling from abnormally aggressive and frightening to tender, likable, and even somewhat sensual in certain scenes.The likes of Leigh and Hunter only add to the wealth of talent on display here, playing characters that also carry unlikable traits with them like albatrosses but each one resulting in an interesting and wildly human portrayal of the how marriage and love can destroy a person in the weirdest ways.
Kazan's persistency and desire to etch incredible performances in the zeitgeist of America goes criminally unnoticed, but when one chooses to pay mind to his works, they realize they are watching the true building blocks and outstanding features of cinema.A Streetcar Named Desire may need some nudging when it comes to mentions in the list of greatest films of all time, but its trio of performances by three exceptional actors shows it may be one of the best acted dramas to ever come out.Starring: Marlon Brando, Vivian Leigh, and Kim Hunter.
In Blanche and Stanley, Tennessee Williams created two of the stage's truly great characters, and the translation to film by director Elia Kazan is fantastic, aided considerably by some legendary performances from a cast which included Marlon Brando, Vivien Leigh, Kim Hunter, and Karl Malden.Blanche (Leigh) faces alcoholism, faded beauty, and lost status; she tries to cover up past scandals both as a teacher and in her marriage, all while desperately trying to keep up her appearance and the illusion that she's a proper Southern belle.
(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.)'I've always relied on the kindness of strangers,' Blanche DuBois tells us near the end of this mesmerizing adaptation of the Tennessee Williams play; but what we have found out is that she has often relied on the warmth of strangers, very often, and now with her looks faded and her charm gone, she has become a sad, neurotic creature desperate for any sort of attention.Vivian Leigh's portrayal of Tennessee Williams's languished southern rose is one of the most memorable and haunting performances of the American cinema.
'A Streetcar Named Desire' also launched the Hollywood career of one of the all-time great actors, Marlon Brando, whose mesmerising performance as Stanley Kowalski (and especially his inimitable cry of "Stella!" at the foot of the apartment stairway) continues to resonate even with those who have never seen the film in its entirety.Blanche DuBois is an intriguing character because she is a tragic victim despite bringing much of her fate upon herself.
Though Marlon Brando had previously performed the role on Broadway to great acclaim, the studio-appointed casting of Vivien Leigh provoked some consternation among the crew, who feared a clash of "classical" and "method" acting styles.
Director Elia Kazan, fragile leading actress Vivien Leigh (as Blanche DuBois), muscular leading actor Marlon Brando (as Stanley Kowalski), writer Tennessee Williams, photographer Harry Stradling, composer Alex North, supporting actress Kim Hunter (as Stella Kowalski), supporting actor Karl Malden (as Harold "Mitch" Mitchell), art director Richard Day, and producer Charles K.
With this film, you get both.********** A Streetcar Named Desire (9/18/51) Elia Kazan ~ Vivien Leigh, Marlon Brando, Kim Hunter, Karl Malden.
Disturbed Blanche DuBois (Vivien Leigh) moves in with her sister Stella (Kim Hunter) in New Orleans and is tormented by her brutish brother-in-law Stanley (Marlon Brando) while her reality crumbles around her.Karl Malden (as Mitch) is always nice to see, and his story of the cigarette case is delightful.
In the classic play by Tennessee Williams, brought to the screen by Elia Kazan, faded Southern belle Blanche DuBois (Vivien Leigh) comes to visit her pregnant sister, Stella (Kim Hunter), in a seedy section of New Orleans.
Brando lost out to Humphrey Bogart for the 1951 Best Actor Oscar, but Leigh, Hunter, and Malden all won Oscars.A Streetcar Named Desire is another one of those must see films for film buffs.
The Elia Kazan-directed film version of Tennessee Williams' "A Streetcar Named Desire," with Marlon Brando and Vivien Leigh, is the best big-screen adaptation I have seen of any classic American play.
Amazingly, in "Streetcar" Vivien Leigh (as Stella's sister Blanche) and Kim Hunter hold their own against him.A lot of thought went into how to film this.
Here, director Elia Kazan captures the steamy New Orleans atmosphere with polish, meaning that few who board this 'Streetcar' can be disappointed.At the height of his powers as an actor, Marlon Brando commands the screen with a stirring performance as the fiery Stanley Kowalski, whose modern man persona juxtaposes dramatically with that of his incongruous and deluded sister-in-law, Blanche DuBois (Vivien Leigh), who symbolises the mannerisms of yesteryear with a strong sense of irony.
the story is about Blanche DeBois a faded southern belle who arrives in New Orleans and travels on the streetcar named desire to stay with her sister Stella and her husband Stanley Kowalski a brutish but needy man.
Released in late 1951 and directed by Elia Kazan based on Tennessee Williams play, "A Streetcar Named Desire" stars Vivien Leigh as the neurotic Blanche DuBois, who moves in with her sister (Kim Hunter) in the French Quarter of New Orleans where she is antagonized by her brutish brother-in-law, Stanley (Marlon Brando).
Brando is the one who gave a best performance in this movie, a classical one.Overall, "A Streetcar Named Desire" is a disappointment for my.
Everything is great in this movie, but especially the performances by Marlon Brando, and especially again by Vivien Leigh, are awesome.
Streetcar named Desire is a classic movie because of very fine acting performances done by Marlon Brando, Vivien Leigh, and Kim Hunter.
Vivien Leigh is Blanche Stella's sister who has come to live with her and Stanley.
There are several strong points in this adaptation of Tennessee Williams's "A Streetcar Named Desire", but what stands out most of all is the pair of impressive leading performances by Vivien Leigh and Marlon Brando.
Based on a classical Tennessee Williams play, 'A Streetcar Named Desire' follows Blanche DuBois (Vivien Leigh), an emotionally frail and disturbed woman, who goes to live with her pregnant sister Stella (Kim Hunter).
Marlon Brando (in his breakthrough performance, and still one of his best) and Vivien Leigh (as good as, if not better than in 'Gone with the Wind') are perfect in their roles, truly making their characters real and making it impossible not to feel towards them; maybe that is what was missing from the other versions I watched. |
tt0093693 | Overboard | The initial scenes establish that Joanna Stayton (Goldie Hawn), is a spoiled brat who always gets her way, the ultimate rich bitch, and the pampered wife of pretentious socialite Grant Stayton III (Edward Herrmann).Using Roman numerals after your name is Hollywood shorthand for "pretentious snob", and Grant is that, and self centered to boot, however, Joanna is far worse. She is not only snobbish but also idle, pampered, sharp-tongued, impossible to please and unfailingly rude to anyone she considers her social inferior, which is virtually all of the human race. To describe Joanna as unsympathetic is a huge understatement, a better description would be "prize bitch".When Grant's luxury yacht develops engine trouble, Grant is forced to put into the small Oregon coastal town of Elk Snout for repairs.While the huge yacht is in port, Joanna hires Dean Proffitt (Kurt Russell), a poor carpenter who has just moved to Oregon, to build better shoe storage for her closet in the yacht. Dean is a skilled craftsman, rather picky about what he uses, such as the wood that should be used to protect the leather from salt spray in a ship. Joanna is also not impressed by his taking so long, as he designed intricate shelves that confuse and annoy her.An early funny scene in the movie has Joanna lecturing Andrew the butler ( Roddy McDowall), on why the caviar he had just delivered her was no good, while Dean, standing in the background, has his tape measure pointing suggestively skyward.When the work is complete she refuses to pay him in a dispute over the quality of his workmanship,
claiming that the closet is not up to her standards. In the ensuing argument Joanna loses her temper, pushes Dean overboard and throws his tools after him.The yacht crew has long ago gotten used to keep quiet and accept the guff from Joanna and Grant, despite that they have been treated like dirt, particularly family butler Andrew.After a typically stormy dinner that night, Joanna drops her wedding ring behind a seat on the deck. In reaching for it she loses her balance and falls overboard.A garbage boat rescues her but there is a problem: she is suffering from amnesia and cannot remember anything of her former identity. This we learn as Joanna is interviewed as she is wheeled into a psychiatric hospital.The following morning Grant returns to port, and finds Joanna is safe in a hospital but she has lost her memory, while her personality remains as nasty as ever.Grant, who is weary of Joanna, pretends that he does not recognize her, seeing his chance to be rid of her and to lead a playboy bachelor lifestyle on the yacht.When news of the unidentified amnesiac is televised throughout the city, a still angry Dean recognizes her picture and believes his opportunity for revenge has come. In a stroke of retributive genius, Dean shows up at the hospital audaciously posing as her husband and identifies Joanna as his wife "Annie". He tells her that she's his wife and the mother of his four unruly boys.His motive is not only payback for the way in which Joanna treated him but also his need for someone to do all the housework, as Dean is skilled as a craftsman but less accomplished in parenting and housekeeping. He is a widower with four young sons and finds it difficult to cope. The kids have missed a woman's touch in their home for nearly five years since their Mom died. Since the death of their mother his attitude towards his children and his household has been one of benign neglect. The boys have become undisciplined and badly behaved and the house looks like a war zone.Dean's intention is to get compensation for his unpaid work from Joanna being the household maid for a while. He figures on crediting her for 25 dollars a day. He assumes she'll be good for cleaning up around the house and looking after his four sons. The sons agree to the hoax, so Dean brings Joanna into his highly unkempt home and gets her to do all the chores.Although Joanna cannot recall her previous life with Grant, she is not convinced that she really is Dean's wife, especially as she turns out to be totally unskilled at cleaning and cooking. There isnt any sexual attraction on either side, so she sleeps on the couch in the living room and he keeps his bed.She asks Dean questions like where did we meet, what jobs did I have, and his answers are pretty low class redneck, so the muses to herself, I was a short, fat, slut? Whatever her questions, Dean manages a cover up with some silly story.When she gets curious about why there arent any pictures of her anywhere, Dean arranges for one of his buddies to modify Deans original wedding pictures by inserting Joannas face replacing his first wife.Later on, when Joanna discovers that she is fluent in French, Dean has to make up a tall tale to explain why.Joanna, finally believing she is Annie, struggles to become a good housewife and mother. She accepts her role as the woman of the house. Gradually, however, she gets used to her situation, she gets good at it, Dean even begins to fall in love, as Joanna's hidden talents come out.While overwhelmed at first by having to do unfamiliar work, including cooking, while struggling to remember this family, Joanna slowly works things out. Joanna brings some discipline back into the lives of father and sons.She is able to moderate the wild, "bachelor's hall" lifestyle that Dean has set up for himself and his sons. The boys accept a curtailment of their freedom, which at first they resent but slowly appreciate. A breakthrough with the kids comes when she sticks up for them against a bullying school teacher. A breakthrough with Dean comes when she finds he is earning extra money at a menial moonlighting job on a night that he says he goes out bowling with the guys.Joanna gradually comes to appreciate Dean's good qualities and to sympathize with little people she had previously dismissed as worthless.Dean finds he's got a dilemma to solve, as he too begins to appreciate her. He first feels he truly cares for her when she gets a poison ivy rash and he does everything a loving husband would do to make his wife feel better.She is crucial help to him in landing a construction job for a miniature golf park, she suggests a theme of famous world landmarks, and prepares sketches that sell the concept to the investors. He's missed having a female companion with intelligence. He decides to tell her the truth, but he doesnt get his confession out fast enough, she jumps the gun to tell him she knows the secret. So once again he lies, he apologizes for forgetting her birthday instead, and takes her out on a fun birthday date with lots of music and singing.As they come back home that night, Joanna realizes she is truly happy with him, and they have their first passionate all night encounter as part of the birthday celebration.Of course the situation remains tricky, since it is endangered if Joanna recovers her memories.Meantime, Joannas mother (Catherine Helmond) has been hounding Grant on why she has not heard in weeks from her daughter, makes credible threats, and flies out to stay at the yacht.So Grant, who left her at the hospital originally, is pressured by his mother in law to retrieve her.
Grant finds her easily, drives in his limousine to the house she shares with Dean, and waits.Joanna comes towards house, sees Grant, and her memory functions well enough that she says, Hi, Grant. With that trigger, her memories rapidly return to her and she leaves Dean to rejoin Grant and her old life of material privilege on the yacht.However, Joanna is no longer the woman she once was and she misses Dean and the children. She hates the wealthy snobbishness represented by Grant, her own mother, and the psychiatrist. Her mother (Kathleen Helmond) is constantly using the advice of a fashionable psychiatrist (Henry Alan Miller) on how to treat her daughter. She asks for beer when she is offered champagne, and she spends time in conversations with the cook, the crew, and the butler.The film is clearly intended as a satire on the ways of the ultra-rich. There is a sharp contrast between Joanna's idle, pointless existence before her transformation and her fulfilling, useful life as a blue collar housewife after it.Soon after the yacht departs Elk Snout, Joanna finds out that Grant knew where she was all along, and had abandoned her in the hospital. Furious, she commands the skipper to reverse course and return towards Elk Snout. Meantime, Dean and his kids are unhappy at doing nothing to get her back, and decide together to give it their all in one last grand effort. They pull some favors from buddies and get a Coast Guard boat to chase after the yacht, as long as there isnt any actual call for the Coast Guard boat to chase anyone else.As the two vessels approach each other, the Coast Guard receives an emergency call, and Grant on his yacht fights for control of the bridge, overpowering both the skipper and the butler, and the boats start to veer away from each other. Dean jumps off the ship, Joanna jumps off hers, and naval protocol requires both ships to circle back to pick up the men overboard.Needless to say, there are hugs and kisses and reunions all around. Joanna leaves Grant, and begins a happy life with Dean and the boys, only now on her yacht, instead of Dean's shack.In the last scene, Christmas lists are being prepared. One of the boys asks how does one spell Porsche. Dean asks, What can I give you? You already have everything!.Her answer is You could give me a little girl. | revenge, romantic | train | imdb | null |
tt0061089 | This Property Is Condemned | The film is a frame story in which an unkempt girl, Willie Starr (Mary Badham), tells the story of her dead sister Alva (Natalie Wood) to Tom, a boy who she meets on the abandoned railroad tracks of Dodson, Mississippi in the 1930s. The viewer sees this story in flashback.
A stranger, Owen Legate (Redford), arrives in the small town of Dodson, and makes his way to the Starr Boarding House, where a loud birthday party is in progress for the landlady, Mrs "Mama" Starr (Kate Reid). He meets Willie, the youngest daughter of the house, and rents a room for the week, while remaining mysterious about his motives for being in town. It soon emerges that the eldest daughter, Alva, is the "main attraction" at the party. Mr. Johnson, the oldest and richest worker for the railroad station, is anxiously waiting for her to show up. When she finally arrives, many men greet her and try to attract her attention or dance with her, including Mama's boyfriend, J.J. (Bronson). Alva and Owen first meet in the kitchen, where the girl tells a fanciful story about one of the workers taking her dancing at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis. Willie is entranced, but Owen suspects the story to be make-believe. It becomes obvious that Alva is anxious to leave Dodson, and dreams of going to New Orleans, where Owen has come from. Later, Alva enters Owen's room on a false pretense and begins confiding in him. He discourages her, suggesting that she is no more than a prostitute, and the girl leaves in tears. Mama explains to Alva she must be kind to Mr Johnson, who has promised to look after her.
The next day Willie, who is skipping Vacation Bible School, sees Owen on his way to work. He has in fact come to town to lay off several railroad employees due to cutbacks made necessary by the depression. In the evening, Mr. Johnson is waiting again for Alva to get ready for their date, but she is avoiding it. She makes an excuse to get him to go inside, then leads Owen into the garden to show him her father's red-headed scarecrow. Owen confronts Alva about her arrangement with her Mama, which Alva doesn't want to face and won't admit to. She runs back angrily to Mr. Johnson and invites everyone in the house to go skinny-dipping. J.J. manages to get Alva alone and comes on to her. He tells her Owen has come to lay off most of the town. The workers grow increasingly hostile towards Legate, but Owen and Alva become closer. They visit an abandoned train car decorated by Alva's father and the girl tells once again of her dreams of departure. When Owen is beaten up by the laid-off men she takes care of him and the two spend the night together. Meanwhile, Mama has arranged for the family to accompany Mr. Johnson to Memphis, where he will take care of them. She won't let Alva go to New Orleans with Owen. When the girl protests, she gets Owen to believe he has been deceived, and Alva was planning to go to Memphis all along. Mama, J.J., Alva, and Mr. Johnson go out to "celebrate" their new arrangement. Drunk and angered, Alva confronts J.J. and gets him to admit that he stays with Mrs Starr to be with her. That night Alva marries J.J., but the next morning she steals his money and their marriage license and runs away to New Orleans.
In New Orleans, Alva eventually finds Owen, and they share happy days together. When Owen is offered a job in Chicago, he proposes to Alva to marry him and to send for Willie. But one day the two come home to find Mama, who wants to take Alva back, and involve her in some new scheme. She reveals to Owen that Alva had married J.J., something that Owen finds hard to believe. Alva runs out into the rain, crying.
The film cuts back to Willie and Tom on the railroad tracks. Willie, who now wears her sister's clothes and jewelry, explains that Alva died of the "lung affliction" (probably tuberculosis), which has been alluded to several times earlier in the film. Mama has gone away with some man and Willie lives on her own in the abandoned boarding house. | melodrama, revenge, depressing, flashback | train | wikipedia | null |
tt0084237 | The Last Unicorn | Two hunters (Jack Lester, Kenneth Jennings) ride through the forest searching for game when they come to a quiet part of the forest. One hunter announces that the forest is magical; hence why there is no snow that falls and it always seems like spring, and that there must be a unicorn living there. The other hunter is skeptical and claims that there are no more unicorns left in the world. The other argues that there must be just one left and, while she exists, there will be no game to hunt in this forest. They turn around, watched by a unicorn (Mia Farrow) who wonders if she is indeed the last. She is approached by a butterfly (Robert Klein) who sings to her and quotes poetry; a typical trait of most butterflies. She asks him if, in all his travels, he's ever seen another unicorn. He taunts her, at first, with riddles and nonsensical lyrics before announcing that all the other unicorns were taken away by a Red Bull that covered their tracks long ago. He then flies away, singing. The unicorn, though hesitant, resolves to leave the safety of her forest and search for the others.She travels over hundreds of miles before coming to a series of farmlands. One elderly farmer (Jack Lester) tries to tame her, mistaking her for a white mare; a mistake which infuriates the unicorn. She cannot believe that all the man sees her as is but a horse and she runs off. However, she comes to realize that if man has forgotten what a unicorn looks like, there may very well be unicorns left in the world hiding in plain sight. One night, while she's sleeping, a side-show caravan led by the witch Mommy Fortuna (Angela Lansbury) comes along. Fortuna places a spell on the unicorn to keep her sleeping before putting her in a cage. The next evening, Fortuna's lackey, Ruhk (Brother Theodore), entertains a group of spectators, introducing them one by one to Fortuna's freaks of nature. He finally shows them the unicorn who has a fake horn placed on her head so that they may actually see it. She is approached by Fortuna's magician, Schmendrick (Alan Arkin), who can see her for what she is and asks her to point out the other captives of the side-show. The unicorn reveals most of them to be normal animals with illusions placed on them, all but the harpy, Celaeno (Keenan Wynn), who is real and as immortal as the unicorn.That night, Schmendrick uses his somewhat faulty magic to free the unicorn who then, in turn, frees all the other captives. However, when she frees the harpy, it turns and attacks her. Mommy Fortuna comes outside with Ruhk to investigate the ruckus and they are both killed by the vengeful harpy while the unicorn and Schmendrick escape. Though Fortuna predicted her death by the claws of the harpy, she dies deliriously happy that the harpy will always know that Fortuna was the one to cage her. Schmendrick accompanies the unicorn on her quest to find the other unicorns and tells her that he knows of a Red Bull that is owned by a king named Haggard (Christopher Lee), though his very existence is shrouded in mystery. Before very long, a group of bandits ride down the road and, while the unicorn hides, Schmendrick is taken captive. He's brought back to their camp where he's welcomed by their leader, Captain Cully (Keenan Wynn) and the scullery maid, Molly Grue (Tammy Grimes). Schmendrick surprises them all, and himself, with a bout of successful magic in which he procures images of the legendary Robin Hood and his merry men. Irritated and frightened by Schmendrick's abilities, Captain Cully ties him to a nearby tree. Schmendrick tries to free himself with magic but accidentally brings the tree to life. The tree (Nellie Bellflower) falls in love with him and nearly smothers him until the unicorn arrives and uses her magic to free Schmendrick. They are then joined by Molly Grue who can also see the unicorn for what she is and weeps at the sight of her, cursing her for coming to her as an older woman rather than a young maid. Molly joins the group as they continue on their journey, much to Schmendrick's disapproval.When they finally have Haggard's castle in sight, the group is suddenly attacked by the Red Bull which ignores Schmendrick and Molly and attempts to herd the unicorn towards the castle. Urged by Molly to do something, Schmendrick uses a great deal of magic to transform the unicorn into a human girl. Confused by the unicorn's different form, the Red Bull leaves. Molly criticizes Schmendrick for turning the unicorn into a mortal and the unicorn is equally upset, crying out that she can 'feel this body dying all around me.' Nevertheless, they continue to the dreary castle and are welcomed into Haggard's decrepit hall, introducing themselves as Haggard's new magician and cook accompanied by the Lady Amalthea. Intrigued by Schmendrick's potential to please him, Haggard dismisses his current magician, Mabruk (Paul Frees), who laughs at Haggard's ill judgement, claiming that he's let his doom walk right through the front door. Lady Amalthea catches the eye of both Haggard and his adopted son, Lir, (Jeff Bridges), though she ignores the advances of both and spends her days wandering the castle, slowly losing memory of who she was or what she was looking for.Realizing that they are losing time and Amalthea is becoming more and more human, Schmendrick and Molly do their best to discover where the lair of the Red Bull is while performing daily tasks to keep Haggard entertained. Finally, Molly receives word from the resident cat (Don Messick) that the lair is located at the base of an old clock, but will only grant entry at the right 'time'. Molly scorns the cat for speaking only in riddles, but the cat merely admits that no cat ever gave a straight answer. Meanwhile, Amalthea and Lir fall in love while Haggard suspects her of her true nature. He tells her that he once saw a unicorn and that it gave him such joy that he sought to keep it for himself. So he commissioned the Red Bull to gather up all the unicorns of the world and drive them into the sea below his castle so that he may look upon them every day.Molly tells Schmendrick that she knows where the entrance to the Bull's lair is and they gather Amalthea and head to the old clock in the main hall. Across from the clock, upon a bureau, lies a crowned skeleton who speaks to them but can only giggle and laugh at their frustration. Per instructions from the cat, Molly produces a bottle of water; the best she can do in lieu of the wine she was supposed to get. When Schmendrick feigns turning the water into wine, the skeleton's interest peaks and he agrees to tell them the secret of entering the lair if they give him the 'wine', now an empty bottle. The skeleton tells them that all they have to do is walk through the clock before gulping down the invisible liquid. However, when he catches sight of Amalthea, he recognizes her as a unicorn and cries out to Haggar. Haggar runs down to the hall and swings his sword at Schmendrick just as Molly and Amalthea enter the realm between the clock and the lair. Schmendrick soon follows just as Haggar destroys the clock portal, trapping them inside. Lir appears, stating that he saw where Amalthea went and he followed.All together, they walk down the lair in search of the exit. Schmendrick explains their plight to Lir who reveals that he doesn't care who or what Amalthea is; he loves whom he loves. Amalthea is inspired by his words and claims that she wants to remain human and die with him, but Lir objects. He tells her that, as a hero, he knows when things should happen, and what should happen is that Amalthea continue her quest and save the unicorns, even if it means that she must become one again and therefore be unable to return Lir's love. The Red Bull suddenly appears and recognizes Amalthea for what she really is. Schmendrick manages to transform her back into a unicorn and she leads the Bull out of its lair onto the beach. With Schmendrick unable to do anything, Lir steps forward but is trampled by the Bull. Enraged, the unicorn turns to face the Bull and intimidates it into the sea where a large wave appears, unicorns emerging from the foam. They envelope the Bull in sea water before storming the beach. They all run upwards towards the castle, releasing it from its rocky base. Before he tumbles to his death in the sea, Haggar shouts out to the unicorn, "I knew you were the last!"The unicorn returns to Molly and Schmendrick and revives Lir before saying her farewells and departing. The remaining trio returns to the countryside where Lir says his goodbyes before leaving to find his own way. Schmendrick asks Molly to go with him and she agrees. Later the next evening, as they sleep at their camp, the unicorn returns to Schmendrick and expresses her thanks, even if she is the first unicorn ever to feel the sting of mortality and the pain of regret. Schmendrick apologizes but the unicorn tells him that she also learned love, and there are unicorns in the world again thanks to him. For that, she is grateful even if she must feel regret for leaving. She returns home to her forest as Molly and Schmendrick look on after her; at the last unicorn. | fantasy, cult, cute, flashback, good versus evil, romantic | train | imdb | null |
tt0280590 | Mr. Deeds | Multibillionaire Preston Blake freezes to death while on a mountain climbing expedition. With no widow or legitimate children, it is initially unclear who would earn the right to Blake's massive fortune.
It is found that Blake has a living grandnephew named Longfellow Deeds (Adam Sandler), who runs a pizzeria in New Hampshire and also writes greeting cards in the hopes that Hallmark may be interested in one. Deeds is contacted and flown to New York City by businessman Chuck Cedar (Peter Gallagher), who is temporarily in control of Blake Media. Deeds' unorthodox helicopter trip includes a stop at a Wendy's for a Frosty as well as a singing of David Bowie's Space Oddity. Once Deeds arrives in New York, plans are made for him to sell his shares in the company to Cedar and return home $40 billion richer, but he must remain in New York for a few days while all the legal details are worked out.
The story is major news, and reporter Babe Bennett (Winona Ryder), who works for a tabloid show called Inside Access, has a co-worker pretend to steal her purse in sight of Deeds, because their research indicated that Deeds wanted to meet a girl by "rescuing" her, the same way his father had met his mother. Deeds does so, and beats up her "robber", and Babe goes out with him under the disguise of Pam Dawson, a school nurse from a made-up town called Winchestertonfieldville, Iowa (which later turns out to be a real town, which Babe is flabbergasted to find out).
Though Babe initially hopes to just get a good story on the new heir, she eventually falls for the unfailingly kind-hearted Deeds, and decides to tell him that she is not who she says she is, but Inside Access, in concert with Cedar (who was fed the truth by the fake robber and was smitten with Babe) reveals it to Deeds first. Heartbroken and upset, Deeds decides to return home to Mandrake Falls and makes plans to donate his $40 billion inheritance to the United Negro College Fund. After returning to Mandrake Falls, he learns from Crazy Eyes (Steve Buscemi) that Cedar intends to sell off the company, which will cause thousands of people to lose their jobs (Cedar had convinced Longfellow to sell his shares by lying that he will work commanding the company in honor of Preston's lifetime of work). Babe follows Deeds to Mandrake Falls to win him back, but after saving her life when she falls through the ice over a lake, he rejects her, saying he does not really know who she is.
At a shareholders meeting, Cedar has everyone convinced to sell the company, until Deeds (who has bought a single share) arrives and manages to convince everyone not to sell. But Cedar claims control of a majority of the shares and the sale is approved. Bennett arrives and reveals that Emilio Lopez, Preston Blake's longtime butler is his illegitimate son and the true heir as a result of a younger Preston having an amorous affair with his maid in 1958 (at one point he had told Deeds that Blake treated him "like a son"). Realizing Emilio is his cousin, Deeds convinces him they must stop Cedar and that he is the rightful CEO. As a result of Emilio supplanting Longfellow as the heir, Deeds' sale of shares are retracted and Cedar is fired.
Emilio immediately takes control of Blake Media. Babe then reconciles with and kisses Deeds after professing her love for him. As they leave the meeting, Emilio thanks Deeds for his support and offers him a billion dollars, some of which Deeds spends on red Corvettes for everyone in Mandrake Falls. When he returns to the pizzeria with Babe, he learns that Hallmark is interested in buying one of his greeting cards: the one he wrote for Babe when he professed his love for her. They both share a kiss as the movie ends with Crazy Eyes crashing his Corvette and coming out unharmed. | fantasy, entertaining | train | wikipedia | I keep hearing Sandler is a major Hollywood player these days with an equal footing as producer as he is actor (he has produced a considerable amount with fellow actor Rob Schneider - the similarly inane but funny - mostly in spite of yourself - Hot Chick being the most recent example, in which he has a cameo role and indeed, Schneider helps Sandler out in Mr Deeds) so it's hard to prove that Sandler is now typecast as a lovable fool, because it's fairly likely he chose the part himself, possibly aware that Hamlet might be a little out of his league.
The story - we all know it's a remake of the classic depression-era propaganda film starring Gary Cooper, designed to lift spirits and foster a sense of community - centres around a picturesque New England town and its perenially-cheerful, smalltown inhabitants, chiefly Longfellow Deeds (Sandler), who inherits a fortune from an uncle he never knew, finds himself at the helm of a media empire and heads to the Big Apple to find out more.
There are some hilarious, laugh-out-loud moments that counter the film's message perfectly - the helicopter ride to Manhattan where the crew and Deeds are singing 'A Space Oddity' complete with air-guitar springs to mind here - and there is the usual dose of slapstick you'd expect from a Sandler picture.
The latter is fine - I want the good guys to prevail - but they way they go about it is stupid.I did think this movie had a little softer edge than most other blatantly-low class "Something About Mary/American Pie"-type comedies of today however.
I guess what I am saying is this isn't as in-your-face type offensive most of the rest are.Of course, Adam Sandler is playing the low-key Gary Cooper role of Mr. Deeds from the 1940s, so he's not the high-strung Happy Gilmore type here, although he does get violent at times.
He's funny in about every scene he's in and he's a guy everyone roots for here.In summary, it's a pretty nice film, with a number of laugh-out-loud scenes, but it's still a long way from the Gary Cooper-Barabara Stanwyck classic film version, at least in terms of an aw-shucks wholesome hero.
This movie is about a guy named LongFellow Deeds(Adam Sandler) who inherits 40 billion dollars from his late uncle.
This movie was at times painful to watch--as I do like Winona Ryder and most all the actors involved in this.
But it almost seemed like stunt casting (let's get some great actors from independent movies [inexpensive] and give them nothing to do but act out poorly devised stereotypical roles that are supposed to hark back to Capra films)--none of the actors seemed comfortable, especially Winona...
Longfellow Deeds (Adam Sandler) is a small town guy who is taken to the big city when he learns he has an inheritance of $40 billion from a long lost uncle.
He has to adjust to life in a Palatial Mansion with a personal butler, and he meets a beautiful school nurse (Winona Ryder); but its not long before the money begins to change everything, and he learns things are not what they seem.This remake is not without plenty of laughs, but it never quite manages to do anything thats truly hilarious or new.
This movie is a dud.Winona Ryder and John Turturro talents are surely wasted in this movie.As for Adam Sandler acting it is more like non acting.He also seems to be in need of an anger management course.
This Adam Sandler vehicle is a re-make of a classic Frank Capra movie which originally starred Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur.
As in many of Capra's films, Cooper's character, guided by a genuine moral center and sense of compassion for those struggling through difficult economic times (the Great Depression), fights against the shallow, the insincere, and the corrupt.This 2002 version of Mr. Deeds, directed by Steven Brill, possesses none of the charm or drama of the original.
Herlihy, who received his professional break as a staff writer on "Saturday Night Live." The Oscar-winning Riskin also authored such acclaimed screenplays as "Lost Horizon," "It Happened One Night," "You Can't Take It With You," and "The Strange Love of Martha Ivers." In contrast, Herlihy has no non-Adam Sandler big-screen credits, having penned or co-authored the screenplays for "Billy Madison," "Happy Gilmour," "The Wedding Singer," "The Waterboy," "Little Nicky," and "Big Daddy." Herlihy's unfunny adaptation of the original script is therefore not surprising.
So far I have seen Happy Gilmore, Mr. Deeds, The Wedding Singer, The Waterboy and Big Daddy and found them all funny but my favourites are ranked:1.
Ryder plays a tv producer after the inheritance story who happens to fall in love with the Sandler character, something which pushes this flick from romantic-comedy into the realm of fantasy or sci-fi.
In spite of its hard-to-swallow romantic side plot, the film offers nonstop in-your-face silliness and nonsense which should make it a fun watch for fans into Sandler's brand of deadpan kookie comedy.
DEEDS: when your remake of a film from the 1930s is not as fresh or funny as the original still is today, it might not be a good project.
It's not that the man hasn't made me laugh in the past (I enjoyed BILLY MADISON and HAPPY GILMORE), but this movie is more reminiscent of THE WATERBOY; it tries too hard and fails miserably.
Not only was the plot crappy and predictable, as is expected from an Adam Sandler movie, but there was no real comedy in it at all.
I have enjoyed most of Sandler's movies and therefore expected to like this one, too, especially since the word of mouth was good.However, I found it so bad that I stopped watching in the middle.Although every movie takes liberties with reality, some of them go too far.
(Like three stories high in the case of the apartment fire.)And it defies credibility that Sandler's character doesn't figure out after the first incident that Winona Ryder's character did the taping defies credibility.This movie is a real stinker.
This is the movie that Adam Sandler did the worst(the ones that I seen) and I still liked this film enough to write a positive review.
Deeds is perhaps a bit out of his depth but determined to keep his small town roots and morals even as company execs and media vultures try to take advantage of him.If you are making a feel good film and have a script that relies on you feeling for the little guy then it is probably a bit of a risk to cast Adam Sadler in the lead role considering how he tends to, well, polarise opinion in his audience.
In this completely unnecessary and pathetic remake of the classic "Mr. Deeds goes to Town", Adam Sandler stars as Longfellow Deeds a small time business owner who after inheriting a huge sum of money heads for the big city, where Winona Ryder, kleptomaniac that she is, steals his heart as a two-faced reporter..
My verdict on this film is it's the worst adam sandler movie I've seen so far.
Sandler's performance sucks big time (is he trying to be some sort of not-funny Forrest Gump?) and I'm really sorry for Winona that she agreed to play in this movie, she can do a lot better (just give her a LOT better script).
A great premise for a simple movie with lots of laughs, this film had so many weak moments, I actually cringed at one point thinking about how the production team must have been scratching their heads, wondering why their names would have to be associated with this film.When he's not making stupid voices, Sandler is talented and there were probably 2 times in this movie that I laughed out loud.
Adam Sandler stars as Longfellow Deeds, a tenderhearted hick who unexpectedly inherits his late uncle's $40 billion media empire, while Winona Ryder is a reporter for a tabloid TV show bent on destroying his name.
Adam Sandler can't act (or at least can't change characters between films) and Winona Ryder is simply horrendous as his love interest.
I am normally an Adam Sandler fan, and I like most of his movies, but this fell far short of the comedy I was expecting and as I saw in his other movies.
Bad acting, cheesy comics, and childish antics make this movie completely rotten and was a waste of a good hour and a half.Completely predictable storyline that tries to play on the pathos of the viewer to get them to sympathize with Sandler, combined with futile attempts to raise the movie's value with big names and cameos, makes this movie a complete loser.Not having seen it in theaters, I am sure the only audience members that did laugh were the 10-year-olds that accompanied their poor unsuspecting parents..
I have yet to see a comedy(the weakest of all genres)so painfully obvious in every way as Mr. Deeds.Every "punchline" clunked so totally,I was compelled to watch it all the way through.Perverse thing to do,I'll grant you,but this was so consistently un-funny that I hung tough just to make sure NOTHING WHATSOEVER was worth laughing at,so that I could confidently state that this film sucked real bad.I recall everyone railing on Billy Madison and Little Nicky-they're masterpieces compared to Mr. Deeds.Also,I had the misfortune of watching Anger Management the same night,and it was also quite bad.Nicholson is not a comic-actor.Dark humour-he's a master.Over-the-top comedy:he sucks..
Every last gag or (punch)line,or "wacky" character fell flat on its ass in this movie.I wonder at how a top-notch cast like this would be involved in a piece of vacuous shyte like Mr. Deeds?This is,by a sad margin,Sandler's worst work ever.I predict that whoever directed this will not work for awhile.Oh,right-I HAVE to write ten lines.Why?I do not know.How 'bout a chant?"Mr. Deeds,weak indeed!" Oh,I neglected to mention how adolescently stunted the script was!Maybe it was one of the new,untalented,staff writers from SNL.God,it's weak just like Deeds.Right-and Winona ryder is not funny.She's a fantastic-looking woman,but she's best advised to stick to straight drama.Hey-you think my ten lines are done?!.
There is not a single funny part in the entire so-called "comedy." Adam Sandler is suppose to play Jesus in this movie, I think.
How many times can one person laugh at Adam Sandler doing stupid things?
His last three films, Big Daddy, Little Nicky, and Mr. Deeds, are just terrible movies.
The only good thing in this movie is the delightfully goofy performance by John Turturro, for most of the film, although in the final, supposedly tear-jerking scenes, he's pretty bad too.
Adam Sandler is his usual unbearable self, and all the other fine character actors in the movie are thankfully forgettable (for their sakes.) And even John McEnroe is bad!!!.
I am quite a big fan of Adam Sandler and was let down by his lack of Everything (besides good actors) in this movie.
Longfellow Deeds (Adam Sandler) lives in the small town of Mandrake Falls, New Hampshire, where he runs the local pizza parlor.
Mr Deeds is another Adam Sandler movie that is meant to be watched but taken too literally.
Overall you should watch this film as it is good and please people do not think too hard about Adam Sandler films from now on.
But what it strikes the most is why the big studios in Hollywood are producing films with Adam Sandler as the main character.
But the loss of a few words is the least of this film's problems, since `Mr. Deeds' has also jettisoned the subtlety, wit and depth of the earlier film and replaced them with broad slapstick, endless pratfalls and wheezy plot mechanics that better jibe with the undemanding tastes of modern movie audiences.The earlier film featured Gary Cooper as the naïve country bumpkin who, upon inheriting the fortune of an uncle he never knew he had, journeys to the Big Bad City and shows the people there a thing or two about old fashioned, small town values.
Sandler conveys a certain tone of befuddled charm at times and Winona Ryder does a nice turn as the somewhat ditzy reporter who first deceives, then eventually falls in love with this strange man from an alien world, but one only needs to see Cooper and Jean Arthur in the original roles to see how ADULTS would behave in the same circumstances.
When approaching an Adam Sandler movie, I know what to expect: a load of cheap, silly gags, some of which make hardly a shred of sense.
I'm used to Sandler's low-brow humor, and I'm in no way judging this movie on parallel with "Citizen Kane," but I laughed half as many times as I expected and yes, I was quite disappointed.
While Most Adam Sandler films have annoyed me, he is once again trying to portray an actual character as opposed to himself.
Mr. Deeds is only even remotely funny because of Adam Sandler.
Without him, this movie would have been worthless.Adam plays Longfellow Deeds, yet another character with the IQ of a kid who's been held back a few grades.
Since the movies are structurally very similar (despite several sources stating it was only "loosely based" on "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town"), but it's clear that Steven Brill is more interested in making his "Deeds" a broad comedy, while Capra's version also boasts a good love story, a family-friendly lesson about sharing, and, well, heart.
Mr. Deeds is very similar to many other Adam Sandler films.
Many have considered Mr. Deeds to be one of Adam Sandler's more underrated films, and in several ways it is.
This is a movie you definitely want to catch on TV for FREE, and not pay for.It was funny at times, but there was something that was missing, i think the story wasn't that bad it just kinda needed to be funnier If you want cheap laughs and a bit of Romance this is your movie If your and Adam Sander fan i worth seeing.
He is funny at times and kind of liked his nice attitude, but he still had his edge, never understand him and beating up people in movies.
The frequent "appearing/disappearing act" of the butler character at first is spooky, but works well with the surprise at the end.The final scene (I won't give it away) is a cute way of showing how much Deeds wants to help out the little people.
Longfellow Deeds, as played by The Wedding Singer star Adam Sandler, comes to find that money truly has the power to change things, but it doesn't necessarily need to change him.
As far as Adam Sandler he is still mega funny, i first watched this actor in two movies (Happy Gilmore and Bulletproof ) on video and they where funny !Now lets return to Deeds, the story has been consumed in cinema once to many, the story of the nice guy who comes from the country to the city and clashes with greed.I found John Turturro role very funny, sneaking on people !My concern is with Winona Ryder, she is one of the loveliest actresses i have seen in my life, ever since Heather and Beatle Juice.
The movie is funny but its not Adam Sandler best work yet..
An Adam Sandler film as we've come to know them.
The biggest flaw with Adam Sandler's latest film 'Mr. Deeds' is the romance factor.
Though this movie did have typical Adam Sandler humor, it wasn't as funny as his previous works.
To see a real good Sandler movie though, I recommend watching 'Billy Madison' or 'Happy Gilmore'..
Adam Sandler's movies are supposed to be hilarious.
Sandler plays a naïve country boy in the film, instead of the bad boy advertisers have made his character out to be, and was, if this movie had to be made at all, miscast.However, I award this film with a "7" and suggest you see it (perhaps on video) for one reason; it is, unfortunately, one of John Turturro's funniest performances.
Sometimes I wonder what Sandler was thinking during many of the bits in "Mr. Deeds." Yet despite the misfires and half-assed zings, the movie as a whole still left me happy.John Turturro was actually a better scene-stealer than I expected, especially when conveying the zeal his charater had in being sneaky (of course, his ability to appear instantly next to others was classic).
Because what they give is what the core of most Adam Sandler movies give: good-heartedness.
If you have seen Adam Sandler in the past then you know what to expect in Mr. Deeds.
it wasn't as funny as some other adam sandler movies...which is kind of what i want to talk about.
many people said this was a typical adam sandler movie, and i have to disagree.
Adam Sandler sticks to his recipe of creating happy, and funny movies.
Every character in the movie is original and funny, and the love story mixes with the plot and comedy very well.
This is, by far, Adam Sandler's best film.
I am Adam Sandler's biggest fan, so I may be a bit biased, but I just loved this movie.
It's funny, and romantic, and just an overall good time.Adam Sandler is one of the greats in comedy, we know that.
But the main story is like this: LongFellow Deeds (Adam Sandler) inherits $40 billion dollars from his great uncle he never knew he had.
Adam Sandler had better chemistry with Drew Barrymore in The Wedding Singer, then he did with Winona Ryder in this movie.
There are several laugh out loud parts in the movie, and although Sandler is the main character in the movie, John Turturro actually holds the movie togeather with his "Sneakiness".It might be two sappy for some of the Happy Gilmore/Billy Madison fans, but if you enjoyed Big Daddy or if you were the one person to like The Wedding Singer than Mr. Deeds could be right up your alley. |
tt0056993 | Diary of a Madman | DIARY OF A MADMAN aka THE HORLA The film begins with this quote: the vulture has eaten the pigeon; the wolf has eaten the lamb; the lion has devoured the sharp-tongued buffalo; man has killed the lion with an arrow, with a spear, with gunpowder; but the HORLA will make of man what man has made of the horse and of the ox; his chattel, his slave and his food by the mere power of his will. Woe to us!Guy de Maupassant.A graveside service is being held for Magistrate Simon Cordier (Vincent Price). After it is over, each member of the assembled pitches in a bit of dirt. Andre DArville (Edward Colmans) tells Police Captain Robert Rennedon (Stephen Roberts) that the deceased gave a wish for those involved to meet after the funeral. He tells him that they are willing to do so. Jeanne DArville (Elaine Devry) expresses her disgust for Cordier but agrees to meet.At the Galerie DArville Andre takes charge of the meeting, citing that Cordier gave the house to the DArvilles, even though they were known for disliking him. A letter is produced, said to be written by Cordier to be read after his passing. It states that in the event of his death that night, the chest was not to be opened except after the funeral. Father Raymonde (Lewis Martin) wonders why Cordier would think he might die that night. Capt. Rennedon tells him that his investigation proves it was not accidental.Inside the chest is a diary belonging to Cordier and a letter explaining why he could not tell what he is telling now after his death. His servants Pierre (Ian Wolfe) and Louise (Mary Adams) state that they knew nothing about this or about a diary. Rennedon is impatient for the diary to be read.[FROM THE DIARY] Beginning on the day of the execution of Louis Girot (Harvey Stephens), Rennedon visits Cordier in his office. He informs Cordier that Girot wants to see him in his cell. They both leave to go to the jail.Girot claims that an evil force within him caused him to kill his victims. Cordier doesnt believe any of it. Girot tells him that he wants to die to be free of the possession. His eyes glowing green, he attacks Cordier, but falls to his death. Rennedon has the cell opened and has the guard go for a doctor.At his residence, Cordier asks Pierre to bring a cognac into the study. Entering the study, he admires his caged bird who sings. Suddenly he is shocked to see a framed photograph of his late wife and child on the wall. He pulls the servant cord and asks Pierre how the picture got back onto the wall. Pierre swears that no one has been in the house except himself and Louise and that they didnt have anything to do with this. Cordier returns the photo to the chest in his attic and notices written in the dust on the front of a bust of his late wife the words Hatred is Evil. Pierre enters and Cordier tells him about the writing, which has disappeared when they look for it.Pierre and Louise discuss what the matter with Cordier might be. They are puzzled.In the study, Cordier sips his cognac and asks Pierre whether or not Cordier ever sleepwalks. Pierre replies that he doesnt know since his quarters are in another part of the house. Cordier speculates that maybe memories of his late wife and child have returned to cause these things.The next morning in his office, Cordier asks his assistant Martin (Dick Wilson) to bring him a certain file. On his desk, Cordier is surprised to see the file of Girot. He questions Martin about it. Martin says the office was locked and suggests that maybe Cordier left it there the night before.Looking at the Girot testimony from the trial, Cordier asks Martin to summon the building superintendant to see if anyone could have moved the file. When he turns back to his desk, a bottle of ink has spilled, ruining the testimony papers. As he blots the ink, a mans laughter is heard. Cordier asks if someone is there. He sits down and hears more laughter, followed by a voice (the Horla) (Joseph Ruskin) telling him that since Girot is dead he wont be needing the testimony. He also hears that since Girot is dead that the voice will inhabit the body of Cordier. There is a gust of wind and the French doors close.When Cordier tries to hold court, he is unable to focus and has to postpone court proceedings. Back in his office, he writes in his diary about the impending fear of oncoming madness. The voice is heard again, telling him that their association has just begun. Cordiers eyes are shown with the green tint. He is told to rise and kill the bird. When he comes back to himself, he looks for the bird and finds it dead on the floor.Visiting Dr. Borman (Nelson Olmsted), Cordier confesses to hearing the voice and being unable to resist what he is told to do. Borman tells him that it is all in his mind and that he should change his lifebecome a sculptor againsomething he did when he was younger. Borman says that science doesnt believe in ghosts and spirits and that only Cordier can cure himself.Out on the street, Cordier sees a painting of a woman by Paul Duclasse (Chris Warfield) and is immediately approached by the subject, Odette Malotte (Nancy Kovack), who suggests he sculpt her. He agrees and gives her his card.Odette goes into the gallery and asks Andre and Jeanne how the sales are going. She is told that Paul is a new artist and it takes time for popularity to grow. Odette tells Jeanne that they both have Pauls interests at heart. Jeanne is very uncomfortable with this personal insinuation and tells Odette that Paul is in the office. Odette goes upstairs.In the office, Odette speaks to her husband, Paul, who tells her one painting sold for thirty francs, which she scoffs at. She tells him she has a job as a model, posing for ten francs an hour. She convinces him that they need the money and that she will return with a bottle of wine to celebrate.That night Odette knocks on the door and Pierre answers. He invites her and tells her he will inform Cordier that she has arrived. Cordier greets her and takes her upstairs to the studio. Pierre and Louise watch and comment on how long it has been since a woman came to the house.In the attic (which has been cleaned up to be a studio) Odette poses on a chair and Cordier suggests she achieve a look of gaiety. She lowers her dress below her shoulders and releases her hair. Cordier likes the pose and begins sketching.Next we hear Cordiers voice explaining that time passes quickly and that the voices are not heard during this period. He presents the bust as completed and they look at it. She remarks how he kept a bust of his late wife up in the attic. He tells her that she died by suicide and was not buried in the churchyard. He suggests that he might want to do a full sculpture of her and that he will contact her at that time.The Horla speaks after she leaves, telling Cordier that his reflection in the mirror is blocked by the body of the Horla. Cordier throws a case of artists tools at the mirror but still sees no reflection. Only when the Horla steps aside does Cordier see his own reflection. He is told that he is a murderer and that that evil drew the Horla to him forever. It is said that he drove his wife to suicide, blaming her for the death of his son. He denies this. The Horla tells him that Odette was not who she seemed to be. As he is directed to look at the clay sculpture, he sees it change to an evil expression. The Horla leaves by a window. Calling Pierre upstairs, Cordier gets him to witness that the sculpture has changed.Lying in his bed later, Cordier sees the French doors open and the Horla enters. He is told to pursue the woman and pretend there is love. He refuses but the Horla insists that he will force him to do what he says.Pierre and Louise are seen looking at the portrait of Odette, which now hangs in the spot where Cordiers late wife was displayed. The carriage arrives and Cordier escorts Odette into the house. He tells Pierre to tell Louise to prepare the finest dinner and wine from 1881.In the study, Odette sees the portrait and admires it. Cordier confesses his love and suggests that they will begin seeing each other. He proposes marriage and she confesses that it was she who was enamored with him during the sessions. He puts a cameo around her neck, telling her that it once belonged to his wife. She seems impressed.Paul is seen talking to Jeanne (who is also interested in Paul) about his troubles with his wife Odette. He tells her that Odette is no longer interested in him and has moved out into a new apartment. He shows Jeanne a card from Cordier, which Odette had given him. When she left, she told Paul that Cordier could give her all the things she always wanted and Paul could never give. He reminds Jeanne that they are still married.Cordier toasts Odette and tells her that they will honeymoon in his house in Lucerne. She tells him she has one thing she needs to take care of before announcing the wedding. Pierre comes and tells Cordier that he has a visitor: Paul. When she hears Pauls name, she turns away. Cordier asks what Paul means to her and she admits they are married.Paul is invited into the study, where he immediately sees the painting. Cordier tells him he is a great admirer of Odette. Paul remarks how Odette is his wife and he wants Cordier to leave her alone. Cordier tells him that he loves Odette and that nothing will prevent them from marrying. Paul suggests that the public would be surprised to know about their affair and leaves.Immediately the Horla tells Cordier to kill Paul. He refuses. As Paul nears the front door, a large vase falls, nearly hitting him. Cordier comes and apologizes for the accident. Pierre and Louise look on. Paul remarks that it would have been a convenient accident and leaves. Cordier tells Pierre to clean it up in the morning.In the study, the Horla tells Cordier that the time for killing is not yet. This was done to show how simple killing can be. Cordier argues that he will never kill a human as long as there is a shred of his own will left in him. The Horla leaves and Cordier remembers Odette is waiting outside. He tells her that they must leave right away for Lucerne and gets her promise to come with him.Packing his suitcase, he notices the lamp being turned down. He addresses the Horla, who tells him that he cannot run away from it. Cordier is told to kill Odette. He refuses, but the Horla shows by killing a rose that it is able to manipulate him into doing anything. Cordier fires two shots from his derringer to no avail. He speculates that the Horla must be limited as humans are. The Horla tells him that even a distance away he will be able to kill Paul. Later that night Cordier takes a walk over to Odettes place.Paul shows up at Odettes apartment and beats on the door. She reluctantly lets him in. Seeing the suitcase, he says that she is going away with Cordier. He angrily knocks the suitcase over onto the floor. He tells her that she will bleed the Magistrate dry and then go on to another rich man. She agrees and Paul says he is a fool and that Cordier is a bigger fool. He leaves and Cordier approaches from the shadows.Odette opens the door and is surprised to see Cordier. His facial expression is one of evil. She notices and becomes alarmed. He pulls out a knife and stabs her repeatedly. Returning home to his study, we see the green light go out of his eyes.The next morning Marcel the Postman (Don Brodie) delivers the mail to Cordier, who tells him to forward all mail to Lucerne. A spot of blood is seen on the stairs. Looking at the newspaper, he sees that Odette has been murdered and decapitated. The trail of blood drops goes upstairs. He follows the trail to his studio in the attic. Looking at the sculpture, he pulls away clay from one side to reveal Odettes head beneath.The Horla comes in, telling Cordier that he left last night and killed Odette. He denies this, saying he never left the house. The Horla reminds him that Girot never thought he murdered anyone either.Jeanne goes to the gallery, weeping and telling Andre that Paul has been arrested for the murder of Odette. A witness remembers Paul arguing with Odette that night. Andre promises they will pay for a defense attorney.Cordier speaks to the bust of his late wife, wishing he could bring her back from the dead. Suddenly the Horla bursts in, telling him that he is talking only to his conscience. Cordier insists that his heart is in communication with Helen. The Horla laughs and smashes the sculpture of his late wife. He then tells Cordier to wrap Odettes head in a blue towel and take it to the grave. Directed to the back of his garden, he finds a hole dug in which he places the head. The Horla fills in the dirt, telling him that once the body is buried all traces of the woman will have been removed from his life. He tells Cordier that Paul will die for the murder because he is in control of his life.The Horla tells Cordier to burn the painting and finally gets him to place it in the fire. Capt. Rennedon knocks at the door. The Horla tells Cordier to tell him only what he wants. Rennedon is escorted into the study. He tells Cordier that Paul wants to speak to him. After mentioning how Cordier is a man of justice, Rennedon agrees to bring Paul to the Magistrates chambers the next day at noon.Paul is brought into Cordiers chambers with Rennedon present. Cordier states that he doesnt know Paul and that he didnt know his wife. Paul angrily accuses him of wanting to marry Odette. Cordier tells Paul as the guards lead him away that this stunt will not affect the court into believing that he is insane.Paul and Jeanne discuss what happened. He is surprised that Cordier can deny even knowing Odette. Jeanne tells him that Cordier would not let an innocent man be executed just to save his own reputation. Paul remarks how totally cold and inhuman Cordier seemed and how he showed no grief for the death of Odette. He thanks Jeanne and her father for their help. She tells him they dont want to lose him. He kisses her and says he wanted to when they were children. She kisses him again. He says there must be some way to prove that Cordier knew Odette.Cordier writes in his diary that he is scheduled to preside over the trial of Paul. He cannot in good conscience send an innocent man to the guillotine. He plans suicide and loads his gun. The Horla comes in and takes away the gun. When Cordier tries to retrieve it, the Horla pushes it away. He says he wont allow Cordier to kill himself. There is a knock on the door and Cordier is told to answer it.Jeanne tells Cordier that he bought a painting from her at her fathers gallery. He seems not to remember but invites her in. She insists that she has a good memory and asks why he lied about knowing Odette and Paul. She asks for the servants, saying they know Odette was in the house. He tells her they are in Switzerland. She threatens to tell the police, who will be interested in questioning them.After Jeanne leaves, the Horla tells Cordier that he must kill her. He refuses, but his eyes are seen green-tinted.Jeanne discusses her plans with Andre, who advises her not to accuse the magistrate. She insists that she will go through with it to save Paul.Cordier follows Jeanne on her way home from the gallery. Waiting in the shadows, he pulls out a knife to stab her. Suddenly the reflection of a cross from a store window reflects on the shiny blade. His eyes show green for a moment. When he comes to his right mind, he notices the cross and the knife and throws it away.Standing in front of the church, Father Raymonde comes out and questions Cordier. He asks for sanctuary and wants to confess. Suddenly both of them are almost run down by a wagon. The driver (George Sawaya) finds the reins taken out of his hands, but finally the wagon stops. He runs back to see if the Reverend is all right. Cordier tells Raymonde to tell Jeanne to come see him later at his house.Cordier writes that the Horla is now trying to kill him. There is a knock at the door. Cordier answers and gives the box with his diary in it and the letter of explanation to Jeanne. He tells the Father to take her away safely and pray for him.In the study, Cordier extinguishes all lamps but one on his desk and waits for the Horla. When it comes in through the window, it stumbles around. Cordier tells it that he knows that it fears fire (since it would not cast the painting into the fire itself). He throws the lamp against the curtains and the fire ignites and spreads through the room. The Horla runs around in panic, trying to escape the room. He is unable to open the study door which has been locked by Cordier. With screams the Horla is shown burning to death. Cordier tries to unlock the door to escape but drops the key. He tries a couple of times to retrieve it, but unsuccessfully. The house is shown completely burning.At this point we rejoin the earlier scene where the diary was being read by Andre. Jeanne presses Rennedon about Pauls innocence. He agrees that the diary clears Paul. Andre suggests that the Horla was only in the mind of Cordier, but Father Raymonde cannot deny the presence of evil in the world. He says Cordier wanted everyone to know that as long as evil exists in the heart of man, the Horla lives. | murder | train | imdb | null |
tt0327850 | The Rundown | Beck (Dwayne Johnson) is a "retrieval expert", a bounty hunter who collects debts for a man named Billy Walker (William Lucking). He is dispatched to a nightclub to retrieve a championship ring from a football player, and after doing so is assaulted by one of Walker's other collectors. Angry, he confronts Walker and tells him that he wants out of the business. Walker talks him into one last bounty - retrieve Walker's son Travis (Seann William Scott) from a small mining town in Brazil and Walker will give him enough money to open his own restaurant. Beck accepts and leaves for Brazil. When Beck arrives in the town of El Dorado he meets with the man running the mining operation, Mr. Hatcher (Christopher Walken). Hatcher gives Beck his blessing to grab Travis, but reneges when he finds out that Travis has discovered a missing golden artifact called "El Gato do Diabo". Beck confronts Hatcher and his men in the local bar and leaves with Travis. On the way back to the airfield, Travis forces their Jeep off the road and into the jungle. There he tries to escape but is re-captured by Beck. After an unfortunate encounter with some local monkeys, the two find themselves in the camp of the local resistance movement.
At the resistance encampment, Travis convinces the rebels that Beck works for Hatcher and was sent to kill them all. After a prolonged fight, Beck gains the upper hand before the rebel leader Mariana (Rosario Dawson) intervenes. She wants Travis, as the Gato can be used to ensure the locals can free themselves from Hatcher. Hatcher suddenly attacks the camp, killing many rebels. Beck, Travis, and Mariana escape the camp and Beck makes Mariana a deal: she helps him get Travis to the airfield in exchange for the Gato. After some searching, Travis leads them to a cave behind a waterfall where the Gato is located. They retrieve it and begin the journey back.
On the way back, Mariana chastises Travis for wanting to sell the artifact, but Travis argues that he actually did want to give it to a museum. Mariana gives the two men Konlobos, a toxic fruit that paralyzes the eater. As she tells Beck which direction the airfield is, she leaves them with the fire to keep the animals away. After waking up able to move, Beck hauls Travis to the airfield. The local pilot, Declan (Ewen Bremner), tells Beck that Mariana was captured earlier by Hatcher and will probably be killed. Travis pleads with Beck to help, and the two head into town to rescue her. Using a cow stampede for cover, the two begin their assault on Hatcher's goons. Travis becomes trapped by gunfire in a bus, and Beck saves him before the bus explodes. Hatcher tells his brother to take Mariana and the Gato and flee, but they are stopped by Travis. Hatcher confronts Beck, who offers him the chance to leave town still. Hatcher refuses, and is confronted by the townspeople who shoot him before he can leave. Travis gives the Gato to Mariana before leaving with Beck, who tells him that despite all they've been through he must still return Travis to the U.S. Travis is delivered to his dad who begins to verbally and physically abuse him. Beck asks to celebrate with them and gives Walker and his men Konlobos. As they are paralyzed, Beck uncuffs Travis and the duo leave together, with Travis continuing to jokingly annoy Beck. | cult, comedy, entertaining, violence | train | wikipedia | This movie proved me wrong and has rapidly moved up into my list of favorite films.Beck (The Rock) is somebody who chases down people that have irritated the mob, be it financially or socially.
The man makes a perfect psychopath and I always brighten up when I see him on screen."The Rundown" is an excellent film which I would recommend to anyone who loves kinda-brainless (in a good way) action films.
Yup, this is way hokey and one of the dumbest movies I own in my collection, yet it's very likable and mostly a fun film with great style and scenery.An adventure story, played strictly for entertainment value, it mostly succeeds because Dwayne Johnson, better known as "The Rock," is a very likable hero.
Supposedly this film was supposed to be The Rock grabbing the action mantle, so to speak, from the king - Arnold Schwarzenegger - who will no longer make movies.
That was a good touch.Meanwhile, Rock's cohort in this film, Seann William Scott, gets by with his sense of humor.
And fun The Rock will certainly have as the next BIG action hero.Keep a lookout for Scottish actor Ewan Bremner (a zillion times the 'star' Ewan MacGregor is) in a funny role as a slob pilot..
The Rock does seem the ideal new action man, with his only real competition from wooden pretty boy Paul Walker and the now seemingly cursed to do crap movies, Vin Diesel (who in truth would be best as a baddie, like in Pitch Black.).
Throughout the mid to late 90's as audiences got tired of that, and a lot of seeming re-hashes and Sly and co doing movies very similar to ones they had done before, meant that producers tried to give characters to these guys with more depth, without getting someone to write it decently and of course in the case of Schwarzenegger, trying to give a 3 dimensional person to someone who can't act.
I am glad we could see a reinvention of 80's action movies, Jackie Chan breathed new life ot the martial arts genre throughout the late 90's and the first years of this decade, but they seem to be wearing thin now so it seems some good old fashioned superhuman carnage could be on the cards, there's even the possibility of a new Die Hard, Rambo, True Lies and some new films like Spy Hunter.
Christopher Walken in this case and your ready, you have the basis for a good fun action movie.
Combination action, adventure, broad comedy, and buddy movie has The Rock well-cast as a 'retrieval expert' fed up with his occupation and looking for a way out.
The job finds himself traveling to Brazil to a small town called El Dorado in order find his bosses son Travis (Sean William Scott of American Pie) and bring him home, not an easy task as the duo quickly develop a strong love/hate relationship.
Schliessler, also disserves great credit for his masterfully filmed action sequences, that at times may also seem like too much, but when this degree of care and technique is put into something, its a strong tendency not to be bothered with such small criticism.
One of the ideal popcorn movies of recent years has been Peter Berg's "The Rundown" a highly humorous 2003 action-adventure flick starring Dwayne Johnson (back when he was billed as The Rock) and Seann William Scott.
When Johnson gets there, he not only has trouble restraining the rebellious and persistent Scott, but also faces opposition from a cruel land-owner played by Christopher Walken and freedom-fighters led by Rosario Dawson, all of whom want to get their hands on a priceless artifact hidden in the jungle.Nothing new in terms of plot.
Sure, anybody from Sly Stallone to Gov. Schwarzenegger or even a new face could have been cast as Mr. Beck, but Johnson not only has the buff and cynical looks, but an enormous amount of on-screen charisma that we seem to be lacking in a lot of movie stars these days.
The Rundown is a pretty good action adventure with equally impressive performances by Dwayne Johnson and Seann William Scott.
Overall despite some flaws The Rundown is still an entertaining action adventure comedy thats definitely worth seeing because of the impressive performances by Johnson and Scott..
Exciting adventures and fight movie with two sympathetic starring , The Rock and Sean William Scott.
They are chasing an extraordinary treasure , the two team up in pursuit of riches stored in a mine , facing off revolutionaries , jungle's monkeys and nasty enemies.In the film there is action pace , noisy adventures , struggles , beautiful landscapes and a little bit of humor concerning the starring couple , making a ¨Buddy movie¨ type .
Daylight Run. One-sentence summary: "Midnight Run" meets the classic Arnie formula in this excellent, surprising action movie.Review:There's a scene very late into "The Rundown" where the lead hero decides to go against his short-standing morals and pick up guns in order to fight for his friends, despite arguing that he never would earlier in the movie.
That's when we realize we're about to have a fun time, and it only gets better from there.Beck's newest assignment is to locate Travis (Seann William Scott), a young man who is residing in the Amazon and is worth a lot of money to his estranged father, who wants his son back--for unspecified reasons.
This is pure action stuff, delivered with great expertise, and its effect is startlingly powerful.All in all, I absolutely loved it.Prior to seeing "The Rundown," I wasn't sure if I wanted The Rock to be the next Arnold Schwarzenegger.
But as far as they go, The Rock is one of his better imitators, which says something."The Rundown" is rated PG-13 but plays like a good R-rated action movie.
In a blink-and-miss-it cameo during the opening scene of Welcome to the Jungle (AKA The Rundown), Arnold Schwarzenegger hands over his action hero mantle to the only star capable of filling his shoes: Duane 'The Rock' Johnson.
While this movie isn't anywhere near on a par with Arnie at his best, it certainly sets Johnson on the right path, delivering just enough OTT action infused with comedy to make it a mindlessly entertaining slice of slam-bang fun.The former WWF star plays retrieval expert Beck, who accepts one last job before becoming a restaurant owner: bring troublesome treasure hunter Travis (Seann William Scott) back from the Brazilian jungle to face his father in Los Angeles.
Of course, doing so isn't as easy as it sounds, with unscrupulous gold-mine owner Hatcher (Christopher Walken) refusing to let Travis leave, believing that he knows the whereabouts of a priceless artifact.What follows is a whole load of knockabout silliness, Scott playing comic relief to Johnson's hero, as the guys evade Hatcher's army of hired killers, come face-to-ass with some angry baboons, locate the valuable statuette (in an Indiana Jones style scene complete with booby-trapped cave), and return to the gold-mine to rescue sexy rebel Mariana (Rosario Dawson), who has been trying to free her people from Hatcher's oppression.At 104 minutes, the film is perhaps 15 minutes or so too long, and the ballistic mayhem in the finale—where Beck finally breaks his 'no guns' rule—is of the 'A-Team' variety (i.e., lots of goons getting gunned down, but no blood), but as an introduction to Arnie's successor, Welcome to the Jungle does just fine.6.5 out of 10, rounded up to 7 for IMDb..
From the jungle!Starring Seann William Scott, Dwayne Johnson ( The Rock ) and Christopher Walken.
Dwayne Johnson AKA The Rock plays Beck/a bounty hunter/retrieval expert who owes a debt to a mobster.his final job to clear his debt is to go to the Amazon and bring back the mobster's son(Sean William Scott).but that may not be easy as it seems.what follows is plenty of action adventure comedy and thrills.Scott and The Rock have good comedic chemistry.their back and forth banter is very funny.this is The Rock's first feature film and he is very good here.he has great screen presence.Sean Willliam Scott is also good.both are likable,as are their characters.Rosario Dawson is good as well.and lets not forget Christopher Walker who plays the villain.this was a fun film,which i'd recommend if you like action adventure and comedy.for me,The Rundown is an 8/10.
All Beck has to do is bring him back, the debt is settled and he'll even through in a restaurant.When it comes to the action sequences, director Peter Berg moves things along with blazing quick cuts and intense close-ups that rattle bones and get the adrenalin pumping as Beck and Scott face everything from Tarzan ju jitsu with Eddie Reyes, who sets The Rock flying like a big beefy whirligig, to a pack of scrappy monkeys with really, really bad attitudes, not to mention a grudge.
Along the way things don't go according to plan and the two of them have to fight for their lives.After his brief cameo in The Mummy Returns and the lead role in the forgettable The Scorpion King, it seemed that The Rundown would be his first true chance at taking over the action franchise from the likes of Arnold, who coincidentally has a cameo in this film.
The Rundown does just that, shows The Rock in a lighthearted, action oriented funny film that showcases his talent as an actor.
But Beck soon discovers that the job is a lot harder than it appears due to the reluctance of Travis to go back and the determination of gold-mining Hatcher (Christopher Walken), who employs most of the locals as slaves and who wants to get his hands on the artifact as well.Given that this is The Rock's movie (as he himself might say), it's no surprise that he runs rampant through "Welcome To The Jungle" (or "The Rundown" for viewers in the US).
It's been said that casting is the most important decision in making a movie, and this film looks like good evidence.The ending seems quite problematical to me, but up to that point, it all flows very well.
2003's The Rundown is a thrilling action fest with all the ingredients required from an Amazon jungle adventure in the vein of Indiana Jones, and to a lesser extent Romancing the Stone.The Rock plays a tough guy who finds himself at odds with a local mobster, which sends him to the jungle in search of his long lost son as a payment for his debts.
Funnier than most alleged comedies these days, great over-the-top action sequences, and a star-making performance by The Rock make this one of my all time personal favorites..
The one thing this movie does is prove to the world that the Rock is a legitamite star, who is capable of making great movies (and a MUCH better actor than Vin Diesel.) The way that he and Seann William Scott play off each other in this movie is something that all people will be able to appreciate.
"The Rundown" is basically one of those movie that have all brawn but no brains and Christopher Walken seriously needs to stop trying to play the bad guy because he sucks at it, and he sucked in "A View to a Kill", you can check that movie out yourself, because from then until 2003 he gave the most faceless performance of his career in that and in "The Rundown" he sucked even more and it looks to me that "Balls of Fury" will be even worse.The dialogue and the story was hilariously stupid.
Not only was the script really retarded but it was very repetitive, too many lines were being repeated too much, and I HATED that stupid "Option A or Option B" line and the "You Like thunderstorms big boy?" The plot was really gay, these guys were actually trying to copy the Indiana Jones movies with them getting that stupid artifact just made a story that COULD happen into something ridiculous.The only thing that I liked about the movie was the action, it was great there's no denying that, but something I don't get is that throughout the movie he doesn't use guns and all of the sudden uses them toward the end.
Yes, this was ARNOLD'S way of saying "The Rock is here to replace ME as the action star".The movie was ok.
I do not know what possessed me to stand nearly two hours worth of bad acting and shoddy stunts but since I took the time to watch "The Rundown" so I may as well review it.The Rock, (Dwayne Johnson,) stars in 'The Rundown' as Beck.
One would be deemed as correct for describing the movie (which IMDb describes to be as an 'Action/Adventurous/Comedy' flick) as a waste of time, money and effort.Johnson struts around in a tough guy attitude as Beck.
I'm not saying he is a great actor but he is a solid action movie star and I would like to see him with better material in a better film.
However for me the film is worth seeing because of the solid presence, good physical work, easy delivery and natural charisma of The Rock and trust me, I'm the last person who I thought would ever admit something like that!.
They also run afoul of a guy who pretty much runs things in this town and soon they will be pursued as they make their way through the jungles in search of the treasure.The Rock does a pretty good job in his first leading role not associated with The Scorpion King and shows glimpses of the star he will become as he is able to do the action thing good and do well in the humor department too.
Dwayne Johnson, in an early role where he is still solely credited as 'The Rock', shows that he has what it takes to lead an action film; not surprisingly he is great in the action scenes but he is also humorous and makes his character likable.
Oh yes, Arnold even plays a short cameo role!Most of these Dwayne Johnson muscle action movies I cant stand to watch.
The Rock and Scott make a good team for this comedy action buddy movie.
It has just enough self-aware comedy to keep it from being the typical boring "action film".Rosario Dawson looks good sweaty, by the way, and should remain so in all her roles for years to come..
He does the best he can with a thinner comic script than he might be accustom to, but his charm comes through nonetheless.The cast is rounded out by the very sexy and talented Rosario Dawson, as well as the legendary Christopher Walken...a man so creepy in real life that his role as the villain is sublimely convincing.What director Peter Berg gives us is a buddy picture a very traditional blend of fight scenes and one liners, not to mention an ending that you could guess without the benefit of a frontal lobe.
Berg must have treated Rock like an actor, not a movie star, and it shows in the film.
Christopher Walken is his usual decent self and The Rock's acting seems to be getting better with each movie.
Rosario Dawson really looks HOT here, enjoyable dialogue between her and The Rock.Major drawback to the film was Seann William Scott's character, what an empty-headed blabbermouth that just WOULD NOT SHUT UP!
the problem with film critiques is just that they are critical about filmsalthough the rundown is not a great film it is a fun film and easy to watch without any brain power needed the rock is good in this film and this is a good introduction into the action genre for him.sean william scott is also ok although he is very well known for stiffler in the american pie films he does manage to do this film without being to much like stifflersome of the fight scenes are incredible (if not a little unbelievable)
The Rock was very fun to watch in this movie, he did a good acting job and had a few sides showing you wouldn't expect from the big wrestler type.
The movie is not the best movie I have every seen but it watchable and enjoyable.The action fight scenes where very good with some original stuff you have never seen before and all done in way that it's believable.I do think that Christopher Walken's part was really played down and his portrayal of a villain was just like a hundred others you have seen before.Seann William Scott's part was decent and he played it well, although it is hard to think of him as anything but stickler from American Pie. He did his part well adding in some humor.Like I said its not the best movie I have ever seen but it is very enjoyable and watchable..
Sean William Scott is just a bad enough actor to make Rock look good, well, better.
He's not tough enough, and for this type of film, there should be a final showdown between The Rock and the bad guy, not the weak anticlimactic scene that fills up the last 5 minutes of the movie..
Why, you get Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in his most enjoyable role to date...hamming it up in the Jungle with Sean William "STIFLER" Scott!This movie was so much better than I expected.
A damn good action flick too.The Rock is electrifying in his role as Beck, and he takes on a memorable performance this time.
Beck (The Rock) is sent on one final mission to go to the Amazon to find his boss's son Travis played by the annoying Sean William Scott.
Matrix like action scenes, humping monkeys, and way to much of Sean William Scott ensues
First the Acting, I don't really know much about the Rock but I liked him in this movie.
"The Rundown" pairs The Rock with the equally likable, gifted comic actor Seann William Scott and the sexy, sultry Rosario Dawson for some wacky, "Indiana Jones"-style action/adventure in the jungle. |
tt0416212 | The Secret Life of Bees | The film begins with Lily having a flashback to the day her mother died. Her mother is packing when T-Ray enters the room and grabs her. She grabs a gun but drops it. Lily appears to pick it up. Then, a gunshot is heard and Lily states that she accidentally killed her mother.
In the night, Lily sees many bees in her room and tells her father but T-Ray yells at her to go back to bed. The next night, Lily runs into their peach orchard and digs up a box containing several of her mother's possessions. Lily lies down, staring at the stars and talking to her mother's spirit, but she hears her father calling. He accosts her, and takes her home and punishes her.
The next morning, the housekeeper Rosaleen surprises Lily with a cake for her 14th birthday. As T-Ray enters, Rosaleen states that she is going to take Lily into town. Lily asks him to tell her about her mother as her birthday gift but he doesn't. When Rosaleen and Lily leave, they are confronted by three racist men who insult Rosaleen. She spits on them, gets beaten up, and is taken off to a hospital. After T-Ray and Lily get home, T-Ray punishes Lily by sending her to her bedroom and he and Lily argue. After he exits, Lily packs up, leaves and note, and leaves the house to save Rosaleen from the hospital she was put in.
After saving her, they run away to a town, Tiburon, that was written on one of her mother's items Lily had. They find a honey jar with the same picture as that item. When they ask who made the honey, they are led to the house of August Boatwright and her sisters, May and June. May has a condition that gives her emotional breakdowns any time something bad happens to someone. Lily lies and says that she is an orphan, that Rosaleen is a nanny, and that they have no place to stay. August offers to let them help with the honey in exchange for shelter.
Lily experiences growing up in their household. Lily questions August as to why she uses "black" Mary pictures. She claims that she was sent by God to help African Americans have peace and equality. She discovers a wall outside of the house that has little pieces of paper stuffed between the holes. It was built for May to help her deal with her emotions. She would write down all the things that troubled her and put them into the wall.
Lily becomes friends with Zach, a teenage beekeeper at August's. Soon after, Lily rides to town with Zach to deliver honey, she confides in him the truth of their situation and the reason why she came to August. He gives her a notebook because she claimed to want to be a writer. They decide to watch a movie together but Lily sits in the "colored" section. This incites a racist mob who kidnap Zach and call Lily names for choosing to associate with him. Zach's mother and the Boatwright family are very worried and concerned. June and August decide not to tell May of Zach's disappearance, for fear of what it would do to her fragile mental state.
Zach's mother comes to the house to pray before the statue of the Black Madonna in the living room and runs into May afterwards. She confides in an unknowing May who subsequently goes into shock. The others grow worried after May disappears to the wall for an unusual amount of time. They go out to look for her only to discover that May killed herself, by placing a large rock upon her chest and lying down in a shallow section of a river. She writes a suicide note to August and June, claiming that she was too tired of carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders and that she would be much happier with her sister and parents in Heaven. Soon after May's death, Zach returns. After May's funeral, August and June slowly begin to recover from their loss, with June even finally agreeing to marry Neil, her boyfriend, whom she had broken up with in a fit of anger. Realizing the sisterly bond they have formed with Rosaleen, August and June embrace her as their new sister and decide to call her "July".
Meanwhile, Lily shows August the picture of her mother and August admits that she knew all along. Lily confesses that she, while trying to help her mother, wound up killing her. She also confesses her belief that Zach's disappearance was all her fault, as well, so she needs to leave, convinced it is best for everyone that she leave since she is unlovable and destroys all that she comes across. Lily breaks down crying and runs to the honey house, where she breaks several jars. August finds her and gives over the things that her mother left, when she went back to get Lily, though Lily doesn't believe her. August give her more emotional items of Deborah's.
Later on, T-Ray comes to the Boatwright home looking for Lily. When he sees Lily wearing her mother's pin, he mistakes her for her mother for a second and proceeds to grab and drag her out of the house, all the while telling her she can't leave him. In a moment of panic, Lily calls him 'Daddy', causing him to come to himself. She tells him she's staying there and after August shows up to calm the scene and assure him they'll take care of her, he reluctantly gives August permission to take care of Lily, for as long as she wanted to stay there. As T-Ray drives off, he admits that the day Deborah left, she wasn't only coming back for her stuff, but coming back for Lily. He says he lied because she wasn't coming back for him.
Lily's voice-over states that she thought, as T-Ray drove off, saying "Good riddance", he was really saying "Lily, you'll be better off here with all of these mothers." Lily is shown writing the contents of the entire story into the notebook that Zach gave her and she puts it in May's wall and is shown wearing Zach's necklace. She walks off into the honey house as the scene fades to black. | dramatic, murder, flashback | train | wikipedia | Writer/Director Gina Prince-Bythewood, winner of the Independent Spirit Award for Sundance hit, "Love & Basketball," has now brought the beloved, acclaimed best-seller, "The Secret Life of Bees" to the screen.1964, South Carolina.
This is due in part to Gina Prince-Bythewood's excellent adaptation and the wonderful acting of Dakota Fanning, Queen Latifah, and especially Sophie Okonedo - who is literally the heart of the film.If you're looking for a sweet way to spend the afternoon, "The Secret Life of Bees" will supply the honey.Movie blessings!
It's been two years since we last saw Dakota Fanning on the big screen here, in a film which was a adaptation of the literary classic Charlotte's Web. And what a career it had been for this child actress, now an adolescent, to have grown from scream queen (no thanks to her stint under Spielberg's War of the Worlds) to one controversial role in Hounddogs, which I doubt would make it to our shores here.Based on a novel by Sue Monk Kidd and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, The Secret Life of Bees is one powerful drama above love and the looking for love, as well as running along the theme of forgiveness and reconciliation.
For all its worth, it's chock full of extremely well delivered performances from veterans such as Fanning herself, together with Queen Latifah, Jennifer Hudson (proving that she's no flash in the pan), Sophie Okonedo, Paul Bettany and even Alicia Keys!Set in the time of Summer in 1964 Southern USA where the Civil Rights Act was just signed and in effect, the sentiments amongst the racist bigots still run high in a charged environment still hanging onto their old segregated ways.
Fanning's Lily Owens carries the weight of her guilt buried deep in her subconscious from a tragic event that happened when she was four, and ten years later, after receiving the last straw of punishment from her abusive dad (Bettany), runs away with her caretaker Rosaleen (Hudson).As if led by an invisible hand, they soon find themselves under the extreme goodwill of the Boatwright sisters, who earn a living through the cultivation of bees for honey, and a series of incidents that bring about some tying of loose ends, and the discovery that these strangers do tie back to Lily's own quest to finding out the truth about her mom, to debunk the lies as told by her father.
Fanning leads the pack and gives a wonderful moving performance as the gangling Lily, who thinks that she's quite a jinx with plenty of bad karma to go around, bringing about unfortunate happenings to her hosts which provide the dramatic twists and turns to what would otherwise be a flat movie.
Jennifer Hudson had much to do in the first act, though her character got quite muted by the time the trio of the Boatwright sisters August (Latifah), June (Keys) and Okonedo (May) come along.
And Okonedo's role could probably be the most unorthodox of the lot, a fragile soul who has her own wailing wall to deal with the harsh realities of life.The Secret Life of Bees is well worth the admission ticket, and you'll be hard pressed not to be touched by the film, or moved by the themes it explores, especially when the third act comes by leading to quite a number of powerful revelations and a solid conclusion.
I caught an exclusive screening of this film a week back and I must say, it might be the best film featuring a mostly black cast since "Antwone Fisher." The story centers around Lily (Dakota Fanning), a poor, lonely little girl in the deep south, who deals with a tragic past and a miserable, cruel father (Paul Bettany).
Her life revolves around dreams of being every bit like her deceased mother and her relationship with her caregiver Rosaleen (Jennifer Hudson).In the midst of the civil rights movement, Rosaleen finds herself in some trouble with the locals, inspiring Lily to flee with her to a South Carolina town that she believes holds the secret to her mother's past.
In this town, they find refuge with the Boatwright sisters (Queen Latifah, Alicia Keys and Sophie Okonedo), who take them in on the strength of a story concocted by Lily.
Through their cultured world, filled with beekeeping, a lucrative honey business, religious beliefs and love, Lily finds the security she has longed for and finds the answers to questions that haunted her for years.The director (Prince-Brythewood) did a great job at making us care about the characters, even the miserable father played excellently by Paul Bettany.
However, the finest job of acting in this film full of genius is to my mind undoubtedly that of Sophie Okonedo, who plays the character May Boatwright, whose older sister and protector is Queen Latifah.
Set in South Carolina 1964, Lily Owens (Dakota Fanning) who is haunted by the memory of her late mother, tries to escape her lonely life and bad relationship with her father (Paul Bettany), to get past her horrible incident with her late mother.
Lily and Rosaleen finds the intelligent Boatwright sisters: August (Queen Latifah), June (Alicia Keys and May (Sophie Okenendo) where they take Lily and Rosaleen in, to have a place to stay for a while.The Secret Life Of Bees is a movie of what you call a "tearjerker" and that's what it is, the movie will touch your heart and teaches you about life, care, love & forget about your horrible past and move on.
I went to see The Secret Life of Bees thinking it would be a light version of The Color Purple and,on some way,it resulted to be like that.However,I would not call it a copy,because although it deals with similar subjects to the ones of that excellent movie,The Secret Life of Bees has a different style and sensibility.But the biggest difference is that,while The Color Purple was tremendously honest,The Secret Life of Bees feels thick and a little bit cloying.This is a mediocre film but I cannot deny it kept me moderately entertained.First,let's see positive points.At the difference of many ex-childish actors,Dakota Fanning is facing her adolescence with aplomb,good presence and brilliant histrionic ability,as she shows on this movie.I am also very happy to see that her image as a "miniature adult" has disappeared.It will be very interesting to see the future of her career and I hope she has as much luck as Jodie Foster,Ron Howard and other ex-childish stars who avoided emotional and professional problems on their adult career.Jennifer Hudson and Queen Latifah have conventional characters (independent woman and wise matron,respectively) but they bring very competent performances.However,the member of the cast who most impressed me is Paul Bettany.He completely becomes into his character and he shows an unusual level of intensity and credibility.And,as I have previously said,the movie kept me moderately entertained in spite of being mediocre.Now,let's go to the negative elements.The Secret Life of Bees is based on a book written by Sue Monk Kidd and the adaption director and screenwriter Gina Prince-Bythewood made suffers from the syndrome of "book taken to the big screen".Maybe,Prince-Bythewood wanted to include moments from the book which may were important for her,but not necessarily to the story and as a result,we have many irrelevant moments and other ones which come from nowhere and they do not contribute in anything to the story.Besides,there are various forced scenes which try to make us cry at any cost.In other words,those scenes do not feel honest at all,because they have a lot of manipulation and artificial dramatism.The Secret Life of Bees is not a bad movie.I just found it redundant and too forced,while all the moments which should be honest feel forced.I think I can give this movie a slight recommendation because of its excellent performances and because it kept me moderately entertained..
The story is about how a young white girl learns to stand on her own feet, but the most interesting parts of the movie are definitely those that develop the various black characters.I never looked at my watch once during this movie, much less went out to refill my popcorn.
Dakota Fanning is a strong actress and really shows the feeling of the movie, she has great on screen relationships with Jennifer Hudson and queen Latifah.
The secret life of bees is the story of a young girl dealing with societal influences and the need for knowledge about her mother.
Overall, I did not think much of the movie, as it was a very cliché coming of age story about an abusive father and a little girl.
The Secret Life of Bees follows the story of young Lily Owens to find out about the past of her Dead Mother and to also find herself as a person, finding some other mothers along the way.
The movie The Secret Life of Bees is based on a book of the same name by Sue Monk Kidd.
The movie takes place in the 1960s and follows the story of a girl named Lily Owens, who is coming of age.
Being set in 1964, a white girl traveling with a black through red-neck South Carolina proves an incendiary combination.A remarkably mature performance by Dakota Fanning brings strong dynamics to her inwards searching character (let's hope Hollywood doesn't throw this fine actress away with mediocre roles).
Dakota Fanning gives a sensitive, thoughtful, if somewhat familiar performance as a troubled white teenager in the racially-charged South, circa 1964, who has run away from her abusive father and now finds herself boarding with three black sisters in South Carolina who have inherited the family business, manufacturing and jarring the best honey in the county.
They find a house "the color of Pepto Bismal" where the the Boatwright sisters, August, May and June (Queen Latifah, Sophie Okonedo, Alicia Keys) welcome Lily and Rosaleen into their home in exchange for work around the house and on their bee farm.
The movie introduces a 14-year old run-away named Lily Owens portrayed by Dakota Fanning.
The movie is about a girl, Lily, who runs away from home in search of answers about her deceased mother and finds herself on the doorstep of three sisters; living there turns her life around and gives her life new meaning.
The Secret Life of Bees, a historical fiction novel written by Sue Monk Kidd, was an interesting choice to adapt into a movie.
In the historical fiction movie, The Secret Life of Bees, a young girl, Lily, troubled by her past, runs away to find a new family and the true meaning of a mother.
After watching The Secret Life of Bees a movie based on the historical fiction novel by Sue Monk Kidd I am disapointed.
This movie is about a young girl who is in absence of a mother and has an abusive father, so she runs away to a honey farm, and has a very good connection to everything at the farm, and then starts to learn more about her late mother.
The Secret Life of Bees is a drama movie with some super stars like Queen Latifah and Alicia Keys.
I'm docking a point because it centres Dakota Fanning's character, Lily, a young white girl, instead of centring the stories of women of colour, which is crucial for a film exploring issues of race during the civil rights movement.
Lily finds jars of honey for sale which leads to August Boatwright (Queen Latifah) who lives with her sisters May (Sophie Okonedo) and June (Alicia Keys).
A Family of Her Own. The Secret Life of Bees, an adaptation of the novel written by Sue Monk Kid, begins with a young Lily Owens sitting in the shadows at the bottom of a bedroom closet watching a woman shove stuff into the suitcase lying on the bed in a dimly lit room.
With the excellent acting skills of all involved, especially Dakota Fanning, Queen Latifah, and Sophie Okenedo, the tale of racism, parental abuse and neglect contrasted with kindness and compassion, with a background of beautifully shot landscape and bee-keeping, offers a commendable film of quality, and one which I recommend.
The Secret Life of Bees, based on the novel by Sue Monk Kidd, tells the story of a young Southern girl named Lily (Dakota Fanning) who, when going on the run from her abusive father (Paul Bettany) with her housekeeper Rosaleen (Jennifer Hudson), stumbles into the lives of three extraordinary African-American women—August, May, and June Boatwright (Queen Latifah, Sophie Okonedo, and Alicia Keys, respectively) who take her in.
She runs away from her abusive father (Paul Bettany) with his black housekeeper (Jennifer Hudson) and joins an all-woman black household led by Queen Latifah, who has a big house painted dark pink and 28 acres inherited from her grandmother and raises bees and bottles honey with a black Madonna on the labels.Each of three sisters has the name of a summer month and each is a distinctive character.
May (Sophie Okonedo) is a strange creature plagued by sorrows since the death of a twin; a mere thought of sadness can send her off to the wailing wall in the yard that is her solace.Lily (Dakota Fanning) has told a glib story about being orphaned and seeking an aunt but she's really come here because she knows her mother once did.The underlying story of what happened to Lily and her mother and her father is a mystery that never gets satisfyingly explored, even though that exploration seems to be the underlying point of Lily's existence--other than settling in with the Boatwright ladies and learning about bee-keeping.
Nor does 'The Secret Life of Bees' provide an atmosphere in which subtlety can occur, as indicated by the fact that nearly all the white characters are either ardent civil rights activists (or activists in the making like Lily) or full time KKK members.
I have not read the book, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but after watching The Secret Life of Bees, this story just touched my heart and I felt like this film couldn't have come out at a more perfect time than this year with our first bi-racial president.
But Lily soon finds herself surprisingly when she least expected it and now has the most loving family in the world.The Secret Life of Bees is a charming film, I would say worth the price if you want to see it in the movie theater.
And it really shows you the stupidity and ignorance of racism in the 1960's.13 year old Lily Owens(Dakota Fanning) has an unstable home life, with her crazy abusive father T.Ray(Paul Bettany).
Rosaleen is not a big character in the movie, but she is a mother to Lily at the beginning of the book.
I ended up getting bored and sat down to watch it."The Secret Life Of Bees" is not really about bees at all, more about a young girl called Lily (Dakota Fanning, which i didn't realise until about half way in) who has lived through adversity.
Instead, director Gina Prince-Bythewood (Love & Basketball) delivers a very engaging film with a message and some very strong performances.Dakota Fanning plays Lily, who accidentally killed her mother at four, and has since lived with her white trash, redneck despicable father (Paul Bettany).
Against this backdrop unfolds a heartwarming, girl-power drama based on Sue Monk Kidd's novel about 14-year old Lily Owens (Dakota Fanning) who accidentally killed her mother when she was little.
THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES (2008) *** Dakota Fanning, Queen Latifah, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys, Sophie Okonedo, Paul Bettany, Hilarie Burton, Tristan Wilds, Nate Parker.
Well acted adaptation of the best seller by Sue Monk Kidd about a young girl (Fanning) living in the Deep South during the Civil Right Era 1960s, who runs away from her belligerent father (Bettany) to discover who her mother really was, and is welcome into the unlikely arms of a trio of entrepreneurial sisters (Latifah, Keys and Okonedo) who produce honey from their bee farm.
The movie based on the historical fiction book The Secret Life of Bees is about a young girl, Lily, who embarks on a journey wanting to find out more about her late mother and instead finds the mothers she didn't know she needed.
The story is about a young girl named Lily who runs away from her father and meets three black women that help her find herself and her home.
In the film, The Secret Life of Bees, Lily is reminded of her dark past with her mom and the abusive relationship with her father pushes her over the edge.
Queen Latifah, Dakota Fanning, and Jennifer Hudson had hit the big screens in 2008 in the serious yet heartwarming film, "The Secret Life of Bees." Young Lily Owens (Dakota Fanning) is a motherless and abused daughter with 2 main problems.
Eh. The historical fiction novel, The Secret Life of Bees, was also written and filmed as a movie.
Although this movie holds lessons not only for Lily, but it's audience as well, I believe the book was way better than the film.
The Secret Life of Bees (2008): Dir: Gina Prince-Bythewood / Cast: Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Hudson, Queen Latifah, Paul Bettany, Alicia Keys: Insightful and emotional film set in the 1960's where the law was passed that colored people can vote.
The movie was very sentimental to me because through out Lily's whole life her father has always made her feel like her mother didn't want her.
The movie is based around the life of young Lily Owens who runs away from her abusive father with their maid Rosaleen in the 1960's.
In the book and movie the main character Lily, leaves her abusive father and goes off to a town called Tiburon in search of some answers about her mother.
I really enjoyed the movie "the Secret Life of Bees" even if I never read the book. |
tt3099498 | Tusk | Best friends Wallace Bryton and Teddy Craft host the popular podcast The Not-See Party, where they find and mock humiliating viral videos. Wallace announces plans to fly to Canada to interview the "Kill Bill" Kid, an Internet celebrity famous for severing his leg with a samurai sword. In flashbacks spread throughout the film, it is revealed that Wallace was originally a failed stand-up comic who became popular with his increasingly vicious podcasts, and that he frequently cheats on his girlfriend, Ally.
Upon arriving in Manitoba, Wallace is surprised to learn that the Kill Bill Kid committed suicide. Upset that he flew to Canada for nothing, Wallace decides to stay an extra day and find another person to interview. He finds a handbill from someone offering a room in his home for free and the guarantee of hearing a lifetime of interesting stories. His interest piqued, Wallace arrives at the mansion of Howard Howe, a retired seaman in a wheelchair. Howard tells the story of how a walrus, whom he named Mr. Tusk, rescued him after a shipwreck. Wallace then passes out from the secobarbital laced in his tea that Howard made for him.
The next morning, Wallace wakes up to find himself strapped into a wheelchair and his left leg amputated. Howard tells him he was bitten by a brown recluse spider and a local doctor had to amputate it to save Wallace's life. Howard not only reveals that he can still walk, but lays out his plans for Wallace: he plans to fit Wallace into a perfectly constructed walrus costume. Wallace's attempts to contact Teddy and Ally fail when neither answer their phone. It is then revealed that Ally and Teddy are in fact lovers. Wallace leaves Ally a voicemail apologizing for how he treated her, and Howard knocks him unconscious.
Now aware that Wallace is in danger, Ally and Teddy fly to Canada to look for him. Back at the mansion, Howard continues to mutilate and alter Wallace, to whom he tells his backstory: a Duplessis orphan, he was sexually abused for years by the clergy who fostered him, and as a result is very misanthropic. He sews Wallace into a walrus costume made of human skin, complete with tusks made of the tibia bones from Wallace's severed legs.
A local detective puts Ally and Teddy in touch with Guy LaPointe, a former Sûreté du Québec inspector who has been hunting Howard for years. LaPointe reveals that Howard, nicknamed “The First Wife", has been kidnapping and murdering people for years; he says he believes Wallace may still be alive, but not as they remember him. They eventually find Howard's address through two convenience store clerks, whom Wallace had annoyed earlier.
By now, Wallace’s psyche has been completely broken and has been conditioned to think and behave like a walrus. Howard reveals that his obsession with walruses comes from killing and eating Mr. Tusk six months after living on the island, although a rescue boat arrived soon after. For the past 15 years, he has attempted to turn his victims into his beloved savior in order to relive their last day and give Mr. Tusk another chance at survival. Dressed in his own homemade pelt, Howard engages in a fight with Wallace that ends with Wallace angrily impaling Howard's chest with his tusks while Howard becomes satisfied with what Wallace has become. Ally and Teddy enter the enclave as Wallace bellows victoriously and viciously as a walrus does, much to their horror. LaPointe later enters the room and reluctantly aims a shotgun at Wallace.
One year later, Wallace, still sewn into the pelt, lives in a wildlife sanctuary. Ally and Teddy visit him and feed him a mackerel. Ally remembers a discussion she had with Wallace the day before he left for Canada about how crying separates humans from animals, because crying shows that you have a soul. Ally tells Wallace she still loves him before walking off crying. Tears run down Wallace's face as he bellows, implying that the human part of Wallace may not be completely gone. | dark, horror, satire | train | wikipedia | The very definition of "not for everyone", Tusk is an oddball, absurd, twisted midnight movie that plays more like a demented fever dream than a horror or comedy film.
Don't believe the tempting notion that this is based on a true story, supposedly Kevin Smith and his mate where discussing a Gumtree add which advertised free living if the lodger agreed to dress as a walrus...The thing that irritated me the most about this film, aside from the insanely non-funny comedic elements and special effects that look as though the production company allowed the intern free-rein of the art room, is the ending.
Fans of Kevin Smith may like the dialogue (like I did), but most people will not really go for this on account of the sudden change in mood that doesn't fit where the film was originally heading.Best to watch this one for free however you can before you invest in actually paying for it.
What starts as a juvenile comedy movie in the key of ''The Interview'' turns into a bleak body horror film like ''The Human Centipede'', gets a touch of a crime comedy movie like ''Good Cop, Bad Cop'' and becomes an existential and nearly philosophical drama like the ending of ''I Saw The Devil'' for example.
I hated the character the first time I watched TUSK, thinking him too goofy for the film, but he'd grown on me by the second viewing.
Johnny Depp makes sure to remind the viewers that he likes to be strange, the conversation between Depp's character and Parks seems like they are ad libbing and trying to one up each other with each line to see who could say the strangest thing.The movie is basically a joke on the viewer.
I am not surprised because I think if they had taken any longer they would have realized that maybe it wasn't such a good idea.I'm sure people who like the movie probably like it more because of reviews like this and how I just don't "get it".
I have seen other reviewers say that this one shows the depth of what happens when a pothead gets the ability to make his own movies, as an avid smoker of the greenery and a semi fan of Kevin Smith I take offense to this analogy.
Justin Long doesn't knock them out of the park every time he takes on a role but how on god's great earth did he ever get talked into this, and I won't even try to figure out how the talk went that convinced Johnny Depp to get involved ...
Do actors ever watch the crap they produce before its released, I would be truly embarrassed if I were even an extra in this piece of monkey spunk.Lastly I have seen other reviews that compare this to The Human Centipede, I see how you can come to that comparison and I absolutely hated The Human Centipede, but its an Oscar winning movie in comparison to Tusk.
Tusk try's to add levity to itself from time to time and fails at that as horribly as it does in turning a human into a walrus believably.I didn't toss in a lot of the spoilers and specifics I would like to because I hate reading reviews that pick apart the details of a movie I haven't seen, and there are PLENTY of other reviews here that already have done that.
I like Kevin Smith a lot , I get his sense of humor and I know he's a good filmmaker.
Kevin Smith's vanity film Tusk is sure to be polarizing: either you will love it or hate it, there won't be any gray area.
Archon Cinema Reviews happen to love it's crazy ass.Tusk is a half comedy and half horror film where podcaster Wallace Bryton goes missing while in Canada out looking for content for his radio show.Wallace's cringe-humor podcast with his best friend Teddy revolves around Wallace going out interviewing zany people and then telling Teddy about it, the podcast is aptly called the Not-See Party.
At this point Tusk turns from straight comedy to straight horror when Wallace goes MIA and his BFF and girlfriend Allison team up to look for him.If you don't know the idea behind Tusk, Kevin Smith came up with it while talking on his own podcast with his own friend.
Smith makes the film he wants with complete disregard for appeasing the viewers – and it pays off big for his fans and others who are simply dark and twisty in their gooey center.Tusk is neither comedic-horror or horrific-comedy and a clear and defined line can be drawn (or spliced) in the film where the two shant meet.
With that said, Kevin Smith's Tusk definitely could have done without it and it was a massive distraction that cheapened the horror half of the film.
If you heard about the cameo then you should know who I am talking about.Kevin Smith's Tusk is a film for the oddball freaks, when it comes down to it, but nobody can say it's not original.
There were some scenes that could have been trimmed down or cut altogether, and that lost it a star for me.I know a lot of people have said you either love or hate this film, but I'm sitting in the middle of the road, leaning towards "love" because there was so much of this that worked -- the acting, the script, the cinematography, the subtlety of some of the jokes.
This is a brutally gross film so I understand those that do not like it at all since it reminds them films like "Human Centipede." I have watched this film a few years back not really liking it and now feeling like it serves as one of those films you can't take too seriously but can't look away from because it too bizarre.Justin Long stars as Wallace, the main protagonist, along with Haley Joel Osmont as Teddy, two friends who run a podcast making fun of others for fun and money.
That is until Wallace reads Michael Parks's letter on a bathroom wall looking for a lodging partner which takes us into what becomes of Justin Long.Michael Parks does a good job playing the "crazy old man with an obsession", pretty much the only things that stands out in this film.
To be quite honest, I went into Kevin Smiths world premiere of Tusk not knowing what to think; should I take this movie as comedy or a thorough horror?
The truth is the flick is both and Kevin Smith has done something I have never seen before.When quirky mean-spirited pod caster Wallace Brighton (Justin Long) journeys to Canada to interview weird and wacky people not all is as he expects as this movie proves that not all Canadians are nice.Howard Howe is hands down the best character I have watched in a while and its not surprising when he is played by Michael Parks.
Howe is in love with his stories but after a while you begin to wonder if they are even real.Parks shifts from funny to terrifying to just plain weird will stay with you long after the film ends.
Who in the hell would want to be human" or "We must discover if man is truly a walrus at heart" stayed with me long after the credits rolled.Look I can't really review this movie without giving to much away, its a flick about a guy who turns the apple guy into a walrus.
I too thought the concept was bizarre but the movie works and hats off to Kevin Smith for making one of my favorites of the year..
The acting in this movie is god awful everyone does a bad job here, especially Johnny Depp(and I like him).The walrus/human looked too rubbery and we're supposed to believe its skin.
The title, poster and plot summery in a few lines, were enough to intrigue me to watch it.I recommend this film for those who like to be entertained with a little gore, fine characters, and interesting story.
Writer/director Kevin Smith, not known for subtlety, has crafted a smart horror film that comments on humanity, relationships, and obsession.
If you're not into philosophizing or theme hunting, you can still enjoy his expert use of horror-film tropes to satisfy your macabre urges.Podcaster Wallace Bryton (Justin Long) travels to Manitoba to interview Howard Howe, an eccentric adventurer claiming to have great adventures to tell.
It's a terrifying fun-house ride and a twisted clown show that should please Smith fans and horror/comedy audiences looking for their fix of "weird."Justin Long stars as Wallace Bryton, an American pod-caster who savagely makes fun of people in popular viral videos with his co-host.
The movie is quite zany on its own during the second half, and I think this character did a good job "ushering in" the audience to the film's true craziness when he showed up.
The only thing that would make this any better is if Johnny Depp and Kevin Smith come out and say well we wanted our kids to not have an acting career...ever.
I also feel that the very ending spoiled whatever pleasure I took from the film.I liked the acting and I think that they made a really good effort with the special effects and the sets and everything.
I also found interesting, although not all original, the idea to have a completely unlikable character as the victim, only to show that they were not that bad in the first place.If you are satisfied with the story and plot, then there is no reason not to like this film.
That night Wallace is drugged and so begins his slow descent into Hell, The worst I feel that has ever been bought to cinema.Kevin Smith the Director starts this as a comedy and even through the trauma of the third act this element still raises it's head but if only to confuse, making Wallace's story even more shocking.
I have seen the everything from A Serbian Film to Martyrs to Human Centipede the awesome second one not the first but this movie stands shoulders above the rest which is strange to me being that it is a Justin Long/Kevin Smith vehicle which contains comedy.
And most important of all, good acting.To sum it all up with one word, this movie is Entertaining:)An entertaining horror comedy that I could find myself watching again at a later point in my life.
The fact that I didn't even know it was Depp playing this incredibly off-beat, enchanting character made it that much better for me when I actually figured out it was him playing the guy.I have to say that I have always been a middle of the road guy when it comes to Kevin Smith movies, don't really love them, but I don't really hate them either.
I went into tusk thinking this was going to be a documentary about the ivory trade in Africa and though it was not that at all, I was not disappointed by this film.Johnny Depp has a soaring performance as a gritty cop who has turned in his badge to hunt down "the first wife" a serial killer and sailor who goes by many names.The plot is pretty straight, forward basically mix inception with blue planet and you have a pretty good idea of what to expect.I have one major gripe with tusk, the antagonist frequently refers to the brown recluse spider (Loxosceles reclusa) as a hobo spider (Eratigena agrestis).
Tusk is doing actual opposite of that, it's importing comedy elements like Justin Long and Johnny Depp's characters into a thriller/horror setting.I've seen a lot of reviews comparing it to The Human Centipede.
I knew absolutely nothing about 'Tusk' going in other than it was a Kevin Smith film and it was a horror/comedy.
It started off like any other Smith film with brilliant dialogue (that I could happily listen to for hours on end) and an interesting set up which I had no doubt was going to lead to hilarious results.
Michael Parks was brilliant in his role and Justin Long was well cast in the lead.I'm glad there is no mention of the truly shocking element to this film in its synopsis as I think this will lead people to enjoy the film a lot more.
'TUSK': Four and a Half Stars (Out of Five)Writer/director Kevin Smith's new horror-comedy flick about a deranged, wheelchair-bound, retired seaman who attempts to surgically transform a popular podcast host (who's also a house visitor, at his home in Manitoba) into a walrus.
The film stars Michael Parks (who also starred in Smith's last feature film, 'RED STATE'), Justin Long, Genesis Rodriquez, Haley Joel Osment and Johnny Depp.
It's everything you could possibly want in a Kevin Smith movie, or an indie horror-comedy flick.
I loved it and I'm sure it will become a beloved cult classic (just like most of Smith's films).Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: http://youtu.be/hS02wz4z3uU.
And though it may not be the kind-of movie I would frequently recommend, mostly due to the odd looks I'd be given, it directly proves that sometimes weird is good.The film centers around a podcaster named Wallace (Justin Long) who, on a quest to find his next interesting interviewee in the backwoods of Canada, encounters a creepy and mysterious old seafarer that has an obsession with walruses.
While Smith's debut was influenced by his years working at a convenience store, it's no coincidence that Tusk's protagonist, Wallace Bryton (Justin Long), is a successful podcaster whose long- running weekly show features himself and his closest friend laughing themselves into a stupor.The film opens with one of these conversations, where Wallace and Teddy (Haley Joel Osment) are taking mean-spirited jabs at a YouTube celebrity, whose fame comes from the fact that he accidentally managed to slice his own leg off while wielding a samurai sword.
Thank you Kevin Smith for having the tusks to do this movie, i'm a big fan of TUSK, definitively.It's highly entertaining, shocking, funny and smart.
The Podcast which inspired this film was extremely funny, I normally enjoy the Smodcast and have been a fan of Kevin Smith for years.
Justin Long is terminally committed to his role and his Wallace Bryton and subsequent transformation are likely to become part of cult culture lore.In an effort to keep audiences engaged with a possible fairy-tale ending, Smith enlists the help of actors Haley Joel Osment (yes, of "I see Walrus People") and the drop dead gorgeous Genesis Rodriguez as two friends who engage the services of one Guy Lapointe (an over-the-top Johnny Depp) to assist in tracking down Wallace's whereabouts in Winnipeg.
I was intrigued and excited to watch Tusk being a fan of Kevin Smith, the actors, and the odd story line.
I am a fan of horror movies but do not like slasher films.
I also tend to like weird little independent films so if you're looking for intense horror.....This is probably not it but if you like movies where you find yourself thinking "what in the world is this guy up to?" and/or "How exactly is this guy going to......" then you might want to give it a go..
Having watched the trailer, and hearing some good early reviews I thought I would finally check out Kevin Smith's new movie.
The following is my review of Tusk.The film was written and directed by Kevin Smith.
If you aren't a horror movie fan, then watching this film would likely only make you upset.
Though the bits with Haley (I know, if you watch Sixth Sense before this and then this, it might be a shock to see him like this) and Justin could be attributed to that genre, but they are not the main focus here.The fact that Michael Parks is in the main role (was also in Smiths Red State) elevates this movie for me.
Smith's signature humor bleeds throughout the entire script, but "Tusk" is just as much a horror film as it is a dark comedy.
I just finished watching Tusk, the latest film by Kevin Smith.
With his film Tusk, Kevin Smith has made good cinema.
Not sure what drugs Kevin was on when he wrote and directed this piece of garbage, but they must have been strong - and judging from the partial podcast overlay on the second half of the end credits of this waste of a film, he's still on them.Sad that actors like Justin Long and Johnny Depp would be a part of this dreck - which, had it played like a straight horror flick instead of for the lowest common denominator of people who thing gross equals funny, it may have been worth something ...
although its revealed in the first 30 minutes: If I could ask Kevin Smith any question about the movie it would be why he decided to make Justin Longs character unfaithful.
Overall, if you are looking for a weird horror film in the similar style as The Human Centipede with a touch of comedy then Kevin Smith's Tusk is probably the right film for you as it is a Walrus Yes!
A provocateur with out integrity never gets his message through.Writing: 5, Acting: 8 (even Justin Long did a good job, but Johnny Depp was awe full), Message: 0 (Humans are stupid and evil) A few funny lines does not make a comedy A few cut off limbs does not make a horror movieBut drama Michael Parks can deliver even with a story of nonsense......Great job 10 stars to him he was the reason I saw the movie throughJay and Silent bob where funny as a teenager, time to grow up Kevin!
The film is a brilliant mash-up of horror and comedy that will only leave you wanting more (which is good, as Kevin Smith's "Canada Trilogy" is just getting started). |
tt0112302 | Tom and Huck | The film opens with Injun Joe (Eric Schweig) accepting a job from Doctor Robinson (William Newman). Then Tom Sawyer (Jonathan Taylor Thomas) is running away from home. He and his friends ride down the Mississippi River on a raft, but hit a sharp rock, which throws Tom into the water. His friends find him washed up on the shore, and Tom finds it was Huck Finn (Brad Renfro) who pulled him to safety. Huck learns of an unusual way to remove warts - by taking a dead cat to the graveyard at night. There they witness Doctor Robinson being murdered by Injun Joe.The town drunk, Muff Potter (Michael McShane) is framed for the murder; unfortunately, Tom and Huck had signed an oath saying that if either of them came forward about it, they would drop dead and rot. The duo then goes on a search for Injun Joe's treasure map (which he found in Vic Murrell's coffin), so they can declare Muff Potter innocent and still keep their oath. The only problem is, the map is in Injun Joe's pocket. After Joe finds the first treasure, he burns the map and discovers that Tom was a witness to the murder. He warns Tom that if he ever told anybody what he knew, Injun Joe will kill him. However, at the time, the entire town thought he was dead, and the friendship between Tom and Huck starts to decline, due to the fact their evidence (the map) to prove Muff innocent while preserving their oath is destroyed.At the trial of Muff Potter, Tom decides that his friendship with Muff is more important than his oath with Huck and tells the truth to the court, which finds Muff innocent of all charges and goes after Injun Joe. As a result, Injun Joe decides to hold up his end of the bargain by killing Tom. Huck becomes angry with Tom for breaking their oath and leaves town. During a festival the next day, a group of children, including Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher (Rachael Leigh Cook), enter the caves where Tom and Becky become lost. They stumble upon Injun Joe (who was hunting for Tom) in the cave. He traps them, but Tom and Becky manage to escape. Then they find the treasure and Tom tells Becky to go get her father and bring him back.Just then Injun Joe finds Tom and again tries to kill him. Huck returns to help save Tom, and battles Injun Joe, who then falls into an enormous chasm inside McDougal's Cave. The boys reconcile and are declared heroes by the people. Tom is praised on the front page of the newspaper and Widow Douglas (Marian Seldes) decides to adopt Huck Finn. | good versus evil, cult, suspenseful, murder, violence | train | imdb | There have been some pretty good Tom Sawyer movies made.
While Jonathan Taylor Thomas is an adequate Tom, Brad Renfro is not a very good Huck.
Becky Thatcher looks to be about 25 years old and stands next to Tom like a giant.
This version of the classic novel by Mark Twain makes a nice little movie, but fails to capture the humorous spirit of the book.
Many hilarious scenes are missing and the writers have taken too many liberties with the plot.Jonathan Taylor Thomas is wonderful as Tom Sawyer.
It might possibly have something to do with the fact, that, even though this movie is based on "The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer", it's actually Huck's character that steals the whole show.I had a bit of a problem with the way Huck Finn was portrayed in this movie.
Of course Brad Renfro is a fantastic actor (his performance is probably the best thing about this film) and he manages to give Huck Finn many tragic and deep aspects.
One can only wonder why Huck has been made the brooding hero, when it's actually Tom Sawyer, who is supposed to be the brightest star in this story.Despite the many sugar-coated scenes and the fact that both Tom and Huck are a bit out-of-character, this movie is still something worth seeing.
Injun Joe and Muff Potter are both realistic and Rachael Leigh Cook makes a brilliant and not-so-girly Becky Thatcher!
A mischievous young boy, Tom Sawyer (Jonathan Taylor Thomas),witnesses a murder by the deadly Injun Joe. Tom becomes friends with Huckleberry Finn (Brad Renfro), a boy with no future and no family.Going through the Top 250 lists from various years, somehow this ended up on the list for 1996.
As far as kid stories go, it is alright, and not the worst introduction to the world of Mark Twain.
Tom Sawyer (Jonathan Taylor Thomas) runs away and is rescued by Huck Finn (Brad Renfro).
Tom is torn between an oath to Huck and his need to exonerate an innocent man.The production looks weak.
Visually, Tom and Huck is eye-pleasing, and Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Brad Renfro make a good pair as Tom and Huck.
It is entertaining just for what it is.Tom and Huck is an interesting enough film, but the transformation of Eric Schweig in his portrayal of Injun Joe compared to his characterization of Uncas in The Last of the Mohicans, is the most fascinating thing about it.
Alright film version of Twain's classic, but one of the weaker adaptations.
The three best things about it are the production values, the score and Eric Schweig as Injun Joe. The film looks very pretty with quite evocative costumes and sets, while the score is both memorable and relaxing.
There are some effective scenes, the graveyard scene is very atmospheric and the moment when Injun Joe starts to stir/stirs when Tom is reaching for the map sends chills up the spine.
Jonathan Taylor Thomas(of whom Tom and Huck is like a vehicle for him early in his career) makes for a spirited Tom but the more dramatic moments(the courtroom scene is quite good though) show signs of inexperience.
Peter Hewitt's filmography has been hit and miss, Tom and Huck is one of his better films and thankfully is not another Zoom or Thunderpants but his best film will always be Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey(that and The Borrowers, of the films I've seen so far of his, are the only ones that have ratings better than decent).
Tom and Huck does have its failings though, the worst case was the grossly out-of-kilter way Becky was written, if there is a more selfish and bitchy Becky on any film adaptation of Tom Sawyer it's yet to be seen and Rachael Leigh Cook while attractive does come across as forced and stereotypical-teen-like in her acting.
There are some fun moments injected in the more nostalgic and charming moments seen in the first half but the second half, where it's all suspense thriller and Injun Joe on the rampage feels like a different film altogether, the two halves just juxtapose too much.
Other than Huck, Injun Joe and to a lesser extent Tom, the rest of the actors suffer from their characters being underdeveloped and don't register as a result really.
To conclude, Tom and Huck is alright as a film though with many problems but along with the Soviet film(with the bad dubbing, pacing and editing) it is one of the weaker adaptations of a great book.
I'll start with some of the good: Eric Schweig was perfectly cast as the murderous, intimidating, menacing Injun Joe. If I could create my own Tom Sawyer classic movie, I'd recast him.
Jonathan Taylor Thomas sounds like the perfect Tom Sawyer on paper; he does have a history of playing rambunctious, trouble-making boys, and he has a special place in my heart as Simba from The Lion King, my favorite Disney movie.
He doesn't have as much of the edge that made Tom Sawyer such a fascinating, dynamic character.
Everyone else was sorely miscast (i.e Huckleberry Finn, Becky Thatcher, Aunt Polly, Widow Douglas, Joe Harper, etc.), and the characters who did have decent casting (Judge Thatcher, Ben Rogers, Mr. Dobbins, etc.) didn't stand out very much.No attempt was made to create the atmosphere of Tom Sawyer (the dialect, the plot, the setting, the characters, etc.) Every boy, including Tom Sawyer, went barefoot in the book, but in the movie they all wore shoes.
This may not seem like a big deal, but it's part of the edge Tom Sawyer and his friends have in the book; they're not afraid to get down and dirty in the adventures they have, and the boys who do wear shoes in the book are looked down upon as sissies.Huckleberry Finn in the books was carefree, laid-back, and is satisfied with his independent lifestyle.
Brad Renfro's Huck is snide, irritable, sarcastic, and even somewhat of a bully, nothing at all like Twain's Huck.
This Huck DOES feel sorry for himself, and often takes his frustrations out on Tom.Becky Thatcher in the book is a bit too demure and puts on airs.
In the book, Tom gets back into her good graces by taking the hit for her (literally) and their relationship grows even stronger in the cave scene.
Not to mention that Rachael Leigh Cook as Becky Thatcher is probably the worst case of miscasting in this movie; she was way too old and was a good two heads taller than Jonathan Taylor Thomas.
Disney could have made their own version of Tom Sawyer great, especially with Jonathan Taylor Thomas as the lead.
Nineteenth century Mississippi River boy Jonathan Taylor Thomas (as Tom Sawyer) tries to runaway to New Orleans with his pals, but has to abort the mission with a bloody forehead.
He shares adventures with rebellious best-friend Brad Reno (as Huckleberry "Huck" Finn) and pretty girl-friend Rachael Leigh Cook (as Becky Thatcher).While nothing to write Mark Twain about, the Disney studio's follow-up to their "The Adventures of Huck Finn" (1993) is serviceable.
One wishes they had waited on the previous film to release as a sequel to this "Tom and Huck", as the original author intended.***** Tom and Huck (12/22/95) Peter Hewitt ~ Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Brad Renfro, Eric Schweig, Rachael Leigh Cook.
Tom and Huck isn't a great movie, but it's a good way for kids to be introduced to the characters of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.
"Tom and Huck for a New Generation" is what this movie should have been called.
The storyline stays true to the book but there is a modern day mid 90s feel about the relationship between Tom and Huck.
Not unlike the old days when Tom and Huck in other filmed versions would simply drop what they were doing to go and play the ultimate prank on their unsuspecting prey..
Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Brad Renfro are some of my favorite actors of the 90s, and they delivered a clean performance in this film.
A great adaption of Mark Twain's classic novel.
Tom and Huck is a 1995 movie released by Walt Disney Pictures starring Jonathan Taylor Thomas (T.V.'s "Home Improvement", "The Lion King" )and Brad Renfro.
It is based from Mark Twain's Novel about two mischievous boys Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn who, after witnessing the murder of Doc Robinson, the town's undertaker by the evil, knife-throwing Injun Joe (who will remind you of Indiana Jones if you've seen it), they must sware in blood not to tell anyone.
The morning after the murder was committed, Injun Joe blames the whole thing on the town drunk, Muff Potter, saying that Muff committed the murder when Tom knows it was Injun Joe. I first saw this movie when I was a kid and recently, I have viewed it over and over again because it is one of my favorite movies.
It has everything a good movie (like I have stated in reviews of other movies) should have: awesome music score composed by Stephen Endelman ("The Hunt for Murrell's Map" is a theme that fits the movie perfectly) amazing climax (being set in a huge scary cave, it makes one of the best you'll ever see), and a lesson for both boys; "When a friend's in trouble, you don't run away." One of my favorite parts in the movie is when Tom says "Last week Aunt Polly whipped me for swiping a pie, but it wasn't me.
Jonathan Taylor Thomas stars as Tom Sawyer, created by literary legend Mark Twain (a writing alias).
Brad Renfro plays Huck Finn, the mischievious rebel who gets Tom in trouble.The story basically goes the same way as the book, and could have been worse.
Back to the review, the film is an adaptation loosely based on "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" yet it is quite loyal to its source material, coming from someone who has read the book on more than one occasion.
I enjoyed this movie as a kid and watching it again, now as an adult, I can safely say that Mark Twain would've loved this project!The movie is about two friends (Tom & Huck), who witness a horrific murder of a victim at a graveyard, after an argument over greed and a map that leads to treasure goes wrong.
Tom has feelings for a bratty chick named Becky and Huck is disreputable to the town-people.
Things start to backfire between Tom and Becky, while the sacred oath hangs between silence or the truth that can save a wrongfully accused defendant from being prosecuted.I also want to point out that the actor who played Tom's brother, Syd, did a great job and was the same person who was Uh-Huh in "The Little Rascals".
I saw Tom and Huck about 15 years ago and I must say It was a Pretty Good Movie.
The plot was pretty good about two boys named Tom Sawyer and Hucklberry Finn who go out to find a murder named Injun Joe who murdered the doctor of their town and framed their friend Muff Potter for the crime.
The movie was just really great and had a lot of funny scenes in it including the scene where Tom and Huck disguise themselves in mud to hide from Injun Joe. Jonathan Taylor Thomas, whom I think is one of the most gifted child actors ever did a fantastic job playing Tom Sawyer and the late Brad Renfro did a fantastic job as Huck Finn.
Both actors bought good performances to their characters and child actress Rachael Leigh Cook I thought did a good job as Tom's love interest Becky Thatcher.
And actor Eric Schweig I thought gave a good performance as the villainous Injun Joe. Disney couldn't of cast a better actor to play the role.
I say that Tom and Huck is a Great Disney Movie that the whole family must see.
This movie was cute and a good family film..
Set in southern Missouri in the early 1800's, Tom (Jonathon Taylor Thomas) and Huck (Brad Renfro)reunite and have some very interesting adventures together.
While trying to get rid of warts in the graveyard, they witness a murder at the hands of Injun Joe (Eric Schweig).
They swear an oath not to tell and sign in blood, for fear of Injun Joe coming after them.
The movie had a really good story to it!
In my opinion Tom Sawyer could have done a lot better!!
It is a great family film but for Jonathan Taylor Thomas it is no Home Improvements but it is the closest thing to it!
Besides it is set up in the 1800s and Tom Sawyer and Randy Taylor dress totally different!
If you are a J.T.T you will like this and if your not it is still a good movie!!.
The film had a grubby, depressing look to it that failed to capture my five-year-old's attention, although the remarkable amount of profanity in this "kids' movie" seemed to pique her interest momentarily, or perhaps secondarily.
Twain's book was intended to be a nostalgic look back at childhood for adults, not children.
Rase your hand if you thought no one could get into more trouble then Tom Sawyer.
They can get into more trouble together then any other boys in the world of fiction!Between running away, wittnessing a murder, and an adventure in a cave, Tom and Huck are trouble magnets!
The real wonder is that they manage to stay alive!I watched this movie for the first time today.
It's the first time I've gotten emotionally involved in a Tom Sawyer movie.
Tom and Huck is a original take of an old story..
I found it to be a delightful film with an exeptional and interesting take on the original stories of Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain.
Hit and miss adaptation of the Mark Twain story.
The version of TOM SAWYER starring Johnny Whittaker and Jodie Foster delivered it a lot better.
Unfortunately, he doesn't suit Huck as a classic story character, and he certainly doesn't suit the style of the rest of this movie.
Jonathan Taylor Thomas is fairly good as Tom.
The whitewashing scene is fairly good, though I've seen better.
The previous film THE ADVENTURES OF HUCK FINN is actually a far better adaptation of a famous Twain novel..
After watching the entire movie, I came to the conclusion that the film really should have been titled "Tom and a few other people".
Huck rarely has any affect on the story, and his character is always in the shadow of Tom. Anyway, as I mentioned, I had to read this book for school right before also watching the movie,in school.
Now, I know what happens in the Mark Twain's classic, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
I suppose Johnathan Thomas was alright as Tom Sawyer, but I did not like the roles of Huck, Injun Joe, or Becky Thatcher.
There is a scene in the movie in which Tom is doing stunts on a bridge that's above a small, shallow creek.
Becky comes along and PUSHES Tom off the bridge and into the creek!
There is a scene in the movie in which Tom and Huck need to get the treasure map from Injun Joe, who is sleeping in the forest after drinking a pretty good amount of alcohol.
Tom and Huck then realize they need to blend in with the back round, so they cover themselves with mud.
I realize that Injun Joe is supposed to be super drunk, but can you really be drunk enough to not notice the giant piece of mud in front of you that looks suspiciously a lot like a boy?
There are many parts of it which either A) Don't belong there and come later/earlier in the story; B) Never even happen in the book; or C) Are missing.In Conclusion, I give this movie a 2/10.
"We have to admit, there's a little bit of Tom Sawyer in all of us.".
If I had to guess, I'd say I read "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" about fifty years ago when I was in my teens, most likely a high school literature class assignment.
The scene I remember most vividly from the book was the one where Tom gets a bunch of neighborhood boys to whitewash the fence by using a good old brand of reverse psychology.
Can't really fault the picture much for that because there was a lot of ground to cover from the original story.The story is about "Tom and Huck", but Huckleberry Finn (Brad Renfro) seemed almost like an ancillary character in the movie.
HIs involvement as an on again/off again friend and sidekick to Tom leaves the character out of the picture for a good portion of the time.
But they did serve to reinforce the idea that he wasn't going to let Tom down when things really got rough, as in the Injun Joe (Eric Schweig) matter.Barring minor inconsistencies between Mark Twain's written word and this film adaptation, this appears to be a nice, family friendly movie that handles it's dark moments responsibly enough.
It may not be exactly like the book but its really good movie.
Jonathan Tayler Thomas really always looked to me as the real Tom Sawyer just something about him as TOm fits it to a T.
Got some funny characters and Muff seems realistic to me believeable when hes about to die Injun Joe looks terrifying if was around him like hes some insane killer.
Huck plays his part well makes him believeable there is other tom and sawyers that been out that follow the book this is just follows it some and makes ire ally good i dont know the down hate on it gesh there is real movies that are bad in every line. |
tt2779318 | The Day of the Doctor | A police constable walks the beat by the Coal Hill School and passes by a sign advertising "I.M. Foreman, Scrap Merchant". Inside the school, Clara Oswald is giving a lesson. As her students leave, a teacher runs into the classroom informing Clara that her "doctor" called, and left an address. She grabs her helmet and hops on her motorbike. When finally spotting the TARDIS, she drives straight into its open doors. The Doctor, perusing a copy of Advanced Quantum Mechanics, welcomes Clara back with a huge hug. Unexpectedly, the TARDIS takes off without starting the engines.Startled, the Doctor looks out to see a helicopter carrying the TARDIS away from the field; it's UNIT. He calls their head of Scientific Research, Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, and learns that he has been summoned to the Tower of London. Kate is surprised to learn that he is on-board the TARDIS, which they thought was empty. She has it and him brought directly to the "scene of the crime". Upon arrival, he is handed sealed orders from Elizabeth I and taken into the National Gallery for proof of her credentials.As they walk, the Doctor explains his relationship with UNIT to Clara, who is skeptical of the Doctor having an actual job. They stop in front of an impossible painting, something that belongs neither on Earth nor in 2013; an oil painting in 3-D. It depicts the fall of Arcadia on the last day of the Time War. Kate tells the Doctor that there is some controversy over the work's name. It is either named "No More" or "Gallifrey Falls". The painting is a slice of frozen time, a form of Time Lord art.The Doctor is visibly disturbed by the painting. As his old memories awaken, he shares with Clara his darkest secret: the life he has tried to bury for years. There was a past incarnation of the Doctor that fought in the Time War, and made the ultimate decision to eliminate the Daleks and the Time Lords. And it was done on the very day this painting depicts... As the Daleks ravage Arcadia, the Gallifreyans are running in fear. There is little hope of survival. As children cry and the people scream, a soldier messages the High Council of Time Lords: Arcadia has fallen. He looks around and sees the Doctor's TARDIS. Then the elderly voice of The War Doctor asks him for his gun. He carves a message for the warring civilizations to see: NO MORE. The High Commanders gather in the War Room, planning their next moves, with the General dismissing the High Council's upcoming plans "as they have already failed". They receive the Doctor's message, calling him a madman. A Time Lady rushes in to inform the War Council that there has been a breach in the vaults. The most feared and forbidden weapon in the universe is missing: The Moment. The Doctor has stolen it, and intends to use it to end the Time War.The Doctor strides across a desolate desert, a burlap sack over his shoulder. He enters a barn-like dwelling, and uncovers a complicated box, covered in gears. While he puzzles over how to open it, he hears a rustling sound. He opens the door and calls out. A girl's voice behind him reassures him that its "just a Wolf". Startled, he turns around: it's Rose Tyler, or at least an entity in her shape. He grabs her arm and throws her out the door, only for her to appear again, sitting on The Moment. She begins questioning the Doctor as to his motives and rationalizations (though it looks like she is making fun of him). Not realizing what she is, he orders her out, and then burns his hand on the box. Impishly, she guides the Doctor to realize that she is the interface of the Moment. She can hear the Doctor's thoughts, and has chosen the form of Rose Tyler/Bad Wolf as a familiar figure from his future. War-weary and bitter, he tells her to stop calling him the Doctor: he has lost the right to bear the title. She replies that he will be the one to save the universe. He explains that the suffering of the universe is too great: he must end it. Like a conscience, she challenges his words and actions, guiding him towards his future. He will destroy the Daleks, but he will also murder his own people. As to how many children on Gallifrey will die, he has no idea. She opens a window in time, to show him the man he will become. A time fissure opens, and a fez falls out.Kate explains that Elizabeth left the painting to prove that the orders do come from her. The Doctor breaks the seal and reads her words. "My dearest love: I hope the painting known as Gallifrey Falls will serve as proof that it is your Elizabeth that writes to you now. You will recall that you pledged yourself to the safety of my kingdom. In that capacity, I have appointed you curator of the Under-Gallery, where deadly danger to England is locked away. Should any disturbance occur within its walls, it is my wish that you should be summoned. Godspeed, gentle husband." As Kate leads the Doctor and Clara away, McGillop receives a mysterious phone call. Befuddled, he stares at the painting, wondering why he should move it.
DNA detector The Day of the DoctorDing!
In England 1562, the Tenth Doctor and Queen Elizabeth I ride out of the TARDIS on horseback, to prove that it really is bigger on the inside. They share a picnic on a hill, after which he proposes marriage. When she joyfully accepts, the Doctor accuses her of being a Zygon. He whips out a "device that goes ding" to prove that she is a shape shifter, before realizing that it was the horse. They run for their lives, the Doctor now an engaged man. They split up in the woods, but Elizabeth is accosted by the Zygon. The Doctor runs through the woods, even threatening a rabbit before he is reunited with Elizabeth. However, a doppelganger of her appears, and he is unable to tell who is who. Suddenly a time fissure appears, and a fez falls through, shocking the Doctor and company.Kate welcomes the Doctor and Clara to the Under-Gallery, established by Elizabeth I to house dangerous art. The Doctor notices that the floor is covered in stone dust, and asks Osgood to analyze it (with a triplicate report and lots of graphs). As they walk through the gallery, the Doctor spots a fez and immediately dons it, much to the bemusement of Clara. Kate shows them more 3-D paintings, all landscapes, with the glass covering the floor. The Doctor notes that the glass has been shattered from the inside, and Kate says that they all contained figures, which are now missing. Suddenly, another time fissure opens. Annoyed, the Doctor faintly recalls seeing the fissure before, before realizing that the fez that had fallen through was the fez he was now wearing. Delighted, he throws the fez into the fissure and followed it. Clara tries to follow, but Kate restrains her.The Eleventh Doctor falls through the fissure and lands in front of the Tenth. Stunned, he dons the fez himself. The Eleventh pops up and gabbles excitedly about how skinny his predecessor is, which makes the Tenth realize who he is. They incredulously pull out their sonic screwdrivers and compare them. As they begin bickering, the time fissure increases in intensity. The Doctor orders the two Queens to run away. They both kiss the Tenth Doctor and flee. The Eleventh shouts through the funnel to Clara. Hypothesizing that the fissure can go both ways, he tosses his fez in, but it fails to appear in Clara's time. Kate then leaves, to call one of the UNIT members, not noticing a dark shadow behind her.The War Doctor picks up the fez and steps into the fissure. Back in 1562, the two Doctors try to reverse the polarity, but the War Doctor falls through, landing in front of his future selves. He jovially greets them, asking after the Doctor and mistaking them for his companions. The two older Doctors simply pull out their sonics, affirming their identity to their younger self. Unimpressed by his future incarnations, the War Doctor asks if he is going through a mid-life crisis.Suddenly, they are surrounded by the Queen's soldiers. They are threatened by them, but Clara's voice sounds from the fissure, allowing the Doctors to convince them that she is "The Wicked Witch of the Well". Kate has, at that point, returned to Clara. The Queen returns to the group, implying that her human counterpart is dead. She has them arrested and taken to the Tower of London (the Eleventh loudly hinting for her to take them there). The hint is picked up on by Kate, who takes Clara to the Black Archive to retrieve Jack Harkness' vortex manipulator.The Doctors are thrown in a cell with a wooden door. The War Doctor tries to sonic the door, but it fails. The Tenth asks why these three Doctors have been brought together.Osgood and McGilop are reading the results of the analysis of the stone dust. The dust is from materials not found in the structure of the building, but statues. Osgood realizes why the statues were smashed: the inhabitants of the paintings needed a hiding place. The Zygons reveal themselves, accost McGilop, and corner Osgood. Osgood prays for the Doctor to save her, but instead of being eaten, she is faced with her duplicate. The Zygon taunts Osgood, but she gains the upper hand by tripping the alien with its own scarf, and runs.Kate and Clara enter the Black Archive, housing the most dangerous alien tech recovered by UNIT. Its contents are so top secret that its staff has their memories modified every day. Apparently, this has happened to Clara, as she has already obtained the necessary clearance to enter the archive. They view the Vortex Manipulator, by trying to find the activation code. The Doctor has the code, but he hasn't informed UNIT of it. A scientist phones Kate, and she orders him to take a picture of some numerals (possibly the code) and text it to her. Osgood and McGilop enter the Archive, to Clara's surprise. They and Kate reveal themselves as Zygons. As they prepare to kill Clara, she sees the picture of the numerals on the phone. Taking a desperate gamble, she enters the code and travels to the past.The Eleventh Doctor scratches the activation code onto a wall in their cell, while the other two Doctors puzzle out how to escape. The War Doctor proposes an isolated sonic shift in the door molecules in order to disintegrate the door, but the Tenth Doctor rejects the idea, saying it would take centuries to calculate necessary formula. The War Doctor starts bickering with the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors, chastising them for their shame of being "grown-up". Subdued, they look at him darkly, reminding him of the day he ended the Time War (unaware that this is that Doctor in the process of making that choice). The Moment reappears, and urges him to ask his future selves the question that he needs to know: How many children were on Gallifrey that day. The Eleventh Doctor claims he doesn't know, and that he's forgotten the events of that day. The Tenth Doctor bitterly states that there were 2.47 billion children that day. The Tenth Doctor has become "the man who regrets" and the Eleventh "the man who forgets". They are the future of the Doctor.The Moment reminds the War Doctor that his sonic screwdriver, at the most basic level, is the "same software, different face". They realize that if the War Doctor scans the door and implants it as a permanent subroutine in the screwdriver, it will take 400 years to calculate the formula necessary to disintegrate the door, meaning that the Eleventh Doctor's screwdriver, being essentially the same as the ones before it, has the completed calculation ready. They exuberantly congratulate themselves on their cleverness, before Clara pushes open the door, which has been unlocked the entire time. Clara chastises the three Doctors for being obtuse, and the Queen comes in, telling them that she left the door unlocked the entire time as a test. She takes them down to the Zygons' lair to show them their plan.Osgood walks in the halls of the Under-Gallery, before discovering Kate trapped in a Zygon nest. She frees her, but Kate bemoans the fact that the Zygons have control of the Black Archive.The Doctors and Clara follow the Queen to the lair, whereupon they discover that the Zygons intend to invade the cushier future in order to establish a new home-world. They therefore have translated themselves into stasis cubes, which are the Time Lord's three-dimensional paintings. They are freezing themselves to escape the primitive time period they are trapped in. The Tenth Doctor tries again to prove that the Queen is the Zygon version, but she reveals (to his mortification) that she is the real Elizabeth: she slew her twin in the forest and took her place as Zygon commander. She calls on the Doctor to save England, but first whisks him away to be married (with his past and future selves as reluctant witnesses, and an enthusiastic Clara).
TenGetsMarriedDOTDThe Tenth Doctor marries to Elizabeth.The three Doctors and Clara return to the Tenth's TARDIS (with the other two insulting the desktop theme). The three Doctor's presence causes the TARDIS to short a bit, showing the interior of the War Doctor's TARDIS, then finally the most current TARDIS desktop (which also receives an insult). They set sail for the Black Archive. Kate, Osgood, and McGillop confront their doppelgangers in the Black Archive. She threatens to detonate a nuclear warhead in order to protect the planet, and voice-activates it. The Doctor's voice crackles on, begging Kate not to detonate. He tries to land, but the Tower of London is TARDIS-proof. However, they figure out a way to get in. The Doctor calls McGillop in the past, and instructs him to bring the painting to the Black Archive.The two Kates fight over the detonation, both needing to agree in order to stop the detonation. Osgood begs the Doctor to save them again, as the Doctors and Clara force their way out of the painting, having frozen themselves in it earlier. The three Doctors hand the Kates an ultimatum: they trigger the memory modifiers to confuse everybody as to whether they are a Zygon or a human. Then, if they stop the detonation and create a peace treaty, they will have their memories restored. Utterly confused over their identities, the Kates stop the detonation and negotiate a treaty. As they hash it out, Clara speaks to the War Doctor. She figured out that he hasn't used The Moment yet, explaining that her Doctor always talked about the day he wiped out the Time Lords. She says that he would do anything to take it back, but the War Doctor remains convinced that his actions will save billions of lives in the future. The Moment has come.The Doctor stands in front of the Moment, a big red button to push. The interface questions him once more, trying to convince him of his goodness. He doesn't believe he is worthy of the name "Doctor", losing all hope for himself and his people. The interface reminds him of his hope as his future selves step out of their TARDISes. They join him at The Moment, ready to support the man who was the Doctor more than anybody else. They prepare to push the button together, but Clara tearfully objects. She never pictured the Doctor actually pushing the button, despite the fact that she knew he did it.The reality of the Time War projects around them: children crying, innocents suffering. The Doctor could not find another way to end it all, but Clara believes in a different solution. She reminds the Time Lord of who he is: the Warrior, the Hero, and the Doctor. They've had plenty of warriors, and what he will do is a heroic act unto itself. What the universe needs now is a Doctor: never cruel or cowardly, never giving up, never giving in. A new day dawns on Gallifrey: a day of hope.A brilliant new idea dawns on the Doctors. The intent of the Moment worked: the Doctor saw the future he needed to see. They change their minds about using the Moment. Instead, they intend to freeze Gallifrey in a moment in time, slipped away in a pocket universe. The Daleks will be exterminated in their own crossfire, and the universe will believe that the two races destroyed each other.Another message appears before the High Command: GALLIFREY STANDS. The Doctors race in their TARDISes towards Gallifrey, and transmit themselves in the War Room. Three transmissions, each showing a different Doctor, appear. They explain their plan, their mad plan to save Gallifrey. They position themselves around the planet, and prepare to freeze it through the stasis cubes. The General objects, claiming that the calculations would take centuries, but the Doctor is well prepared for the task. After all, he's had centuries to think about it.
8 and 7 Time WarThe Doctors protect Gallifrey
Ten more phone boxes fly around the planet, and all the incarnations of the Doctor come together to save Gallifrey- even a thirteenth incarnation from the Doctor's days yet to come. As the Daleks increase their attack upon seeing the thirteen TARDISes, the High Command gives their blessing, and the Doctors save the planet and the Daleks destroy themselves.Back in the National Gallery, they muse on the ambiguity of whether their plan succeeded. The mysterious painting remains an enigma to the Doctors, another thing lost to time. The War Doctor bids a fond farewell to his replacements, who finally address him as "Doctor": a man finally worthy of the title, even if he only knows it briefly. The War Doctor and the Tenth Doctor won't be able to retain the memory of these events until they occur to their Eleventh incarnation. The War Doctor pilots his TARDIS away, noticing that his body has worn thin again. Regeneration energy begins to overtake the War Doctor, but he is not alarmed in the least. He only hopes the change will leave him with less conspicuous ears this time and smiles peacefully as his next regeneration begins.The Tenth Doctor questions his successor as to "where they're going"; he relents and reveals that they are destined to die on Trenzalore, in battle. He tells himself that the future is in good hands, and with a smile, he starts to step into his TARDIS, before expressing his desire to change their final destination, stating,"I don't want to go," and then vanishing. With the Eleventh Doctor remarking how "he always says that," smiling reminiscently, remembering his final words before regenerating into his present self.
TheCuratorThe Curator of the National Gallery
Clara asks the Doctor if he would like to sit to look at the painting for a little while. He smiles, asking how she knew. Clara kisses him on the cheek and tells him that she always knows. As she steps into the TARDIS, she mentions that an old man, possibly the Curator, was looking for him.The Doctor muses out loud on the fact that he would be a great curator, and that he could retire and be the Great Curator of the gallery. A very familiar voice affirms this, and the astonished Doctor looks over to see a very familiar face sitting next to him. An old man who greatly resembles the Fourth Doctor speaks to him of the painting, and how its two names are actually one: Gallifrey Falls No More. This mysterious curator reveals that Gallifrey is indeed saved. The Eleventh Doctor has a mission, the mission of a lifetime: he must find Gallifrey and return it and all its people to the universe.The Doctor joins his past selves gazing up at the magnificent planet in the sky, determined to save his home once and for all. | clever | train | imdb | So, when I first thought about this review, I thought that it would include references to other anniversary shows, the Anniversary Season, the one-shot DIMENSIONS IN TIME, which was so something-for-everyone that it wound up having to be written out of continuity.Then I saw this episode and the constant assault of jokes and catchphrases, of old, ridiculous scarves and space-time telegraphs, of cameo appearances by Significant Players, of Daleks and Zygons and members of the Lethbridge-Stewart family, as well as the pleasure of watching Matt Smith and David Tennant wrangle under the grumpy eye of John Hurt -- which recalls William Hartnell grumbling at successors Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee for a clown and a fop -- well, my critical faculties just went into overload and broke down.
Going into this 50th anniversary episodes, I expected three things: multiple doctors, the return of beloved references and characters for the fans, and a whole ton of fun.
(Actually, thinking about it the 1979 story the City of Death cannot be beaten in the humour department but this is the funniest the revitalised series has ever been.) Overall a great episode that will ensue Doctor Who will go on with it's startling and slightly controversial conclusion that may irritate some fans however the two surprise appearances one of a familiar face, another of a taste of what is to come is the icing on the timey wimey cake..
And it was definitely worth the wait!I had very high expectations, especially given that it was both the 50th anniversary episode AND was promoted as including the 10th Doctor; David Tennant.
Granted, some people who have not been a fan of Doctor Who since the 70's, as I am, might miss some of the more subtle nods he gives to the show's past stories; I still feel it will please newer "Whovians."The climatic "showdown" of the episode was, for me, the best part of it all!
I truly can not think of a better way to do it for Doctor Who's 50th anniversary than how it was done.And while I am a man of late 40's, I squealed like a schoolgirl during a scene in the museum near the end (If you've seen the episode, you can probably guess why)The only complaint that I have is...hmmm....actually, I have NONE!Allons-y!.
This special had been billed as a celebration of 50 years of the show and this impression had been added to by the use of old footage in the previous episode and lots of other films and documentaries about the wider world of Doctor Who. The reality is though that, aside from the references and images from the older episodes, this really is more of a celebration of where the show is right now rather than reaching back to try and capture any specific other era.This shows in the film because it fits very naturally into the last few seasons in that it is entertaining, doesn't always hang together, has the odd "intense" character moment to make the viewer think it might do more, has lots of timey-wimey stuff and occasionally just relies on the BBC orchestra bashing out dramatic music to make the viewer think it is more exciting and engaging than it actually is.
Multi-Doctor Specials are always favourites with fans and Stephen Moffat delivers a suitably twisty-turny, timey-wimey storyline which introduces one new Doctor, John Hurt's "War Doctor" and goes back one to inveigle the popular David Tennent incarnation and pits them all against the shape-shifting, time-travelling Zygons and a complicated resolution to the last- stand battle for Gallifrey between the Time Lords and the Daleks.
Along the way, there are guest appearances too by fan-favourite companion Rose Tyler (sans Mickey) and best of all Tom Baker (sans scarf and jelly babies), even if both their entries seem somewhat contrived.There are some nice nods to the past for anoraks like me (for example, when we first see Matt Smith, he's reading the same book as his first version William Hartnell was all those years ago), which to be truthful I would like to have seen more of - even if death has sadly but inconveniently lost us the first three Docs - it seems churlish not to have appearances by Doctors 5, 6 and 7, all still around, if somewhat older and larger than before, plus it's a real shame no-one could talk the undoubtedly busy Christopher Eccleston, the main acting catalyst for the show's return to popularity, into reuniting with Rose again.Never mind, there was lots of fun to be had here, Tennent and Smith get plenty of good, funny lines between them and riff well off John Hurt's one-off characterisation.
As a proud Whovian and a dedicated fan of the programme, the build up to The Day of The Doctor was one of the most exciting times of my life; there was the guarantee of my favourite Doctor returning, the Tenth Doctor played by David Tennant as well as the return of companion Rose Tyler, played by Billie Piper.
All this doesn't however change the fact that as a tribute to the Doctor Who phenomenon, as a look back to old times and as a confident step towards new adventures this episode works great.
His chemistry with David and Matt and especially Jenna (Clara) was great....and also with Billie (the conscience of "The Moment" WMD in the person of Rose Tyler.I have never liked Matt Smith and have always thought that his portrayal of the Doctor has been weak and the character has lacked credibility.
Having said that, the fiftieth anniversary was neither the Matt Smith show BUT Matt Smith was central to the episode and appropriately so and I think think he truly did a really fine job.So at the end, just when you had thought you had seen a terrific 50th anniversary adventure, along comes Tom Baker and just blew them all away.
And how appropriate it was that Tom Baker in his Doctor/Curator role is the one who becomes keeper and protector of Gallifrey and my oh my, when you see those circle patterns on the walls of the gallery......you just have to think whether when standing in that gallery that you could perhaps be standing in the inside of the Curator's "Tardis".Tom Baker was genius and his appearance in this episode was a satisfaction much longed for especially for all the long time Doctor Who fans.
There was no time to revive Doctor and Rose love story but Steve Moffat paid homage to that wonderful storyline with his reference to the Bad Wolf girl and a brief reaction to that from David Tennant's Doctor.
For this special 50th anniversary episode of the BBC's long-running sci-fi series, writer Steven Moffat brings together no less than three incarnations of The Doctor, his script delving deep into the history of the character, offering up exposition about the final days of Gallifrey, The Doctor's home planet.
Also rather pointless: the return of Billie Piper, but NOT as Rose Tyler, and a silly cameo by Tom Baker as a loopy (obviously) art gallery curator.Overall, I found this anniversary special a little underwhelming given the massive hype surrounding its broadcast (it was shown theatrically in 3D around the UK, no less), but if there's one positive thing I've gleaned from Day of the Doctor, it's a renewed appreciation for David Tennant, the actor effortlessly falling back into character, showing young upstart Matt Smith how it should really be done.
Die-hard Whovians had to be content with swallowing third-rate TV back then, now at least they're up to second-rate.Whimsical doomsday sub Cloud Atlas mashed up tale has the good Doctor and a couple of his previous incarnations battling to save Earth and its people and tourist attractions from the ultimate Zygon threat and linking it with the devastating Time Wars on Gallifrey.
And to be fair, the writer does a good job at doing most of these things.It's lovely to see Matt Smith and David Tennant's Doctors meet, and their interaction is one of the strengths of this episode.
Last episode I watched was Tom Baker as The Dr and a guy who looked like he was out of Cats, all a long time ago.
Turns out that this episode is in fact one of the best ever, right up there (in my estimation) with the classics of the revived series, like "Blink", "Asylum of the Daleks" and "The empty child" (that last one only got bumped in my estimation after seeing it in repeat some years later).
It would please me to think that Whedon would absolutely love this movie...but then again I do suspect that he would love even those episodes of the revived series which I undoubtedly hate.On its own, "The day of the Doctor" is a terrific piece of entertainment.
However, I feel like reminding him of the great Leela, from the Tom Baker years as the Doctor in the Classic series.
Watching Davies' work it seems clear to me that the Classic series had it right all along...seeing as how boring and cringeworthy those scenes in the revived series were.Don't even get me started on those stories which had bits I wish I could get UNIT's memory eraser to do its worst on me...episodes where folksy songs are sung to the glory of the Doctor (and Donna), that one where everybody on planet Earth chants the Doctor's name and phones on him on their mobile phone.
Matt Smith's Doctor Who joins forces with David Tennant's in order to take some sort of action over the War Doctor (John Hurt)'s destruction of Gallifrey.This feature length special, made to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the long-running BBC serial was shown in cinemas in 3D simultaneously with its telecast, and I must say that I am really glad that I saw it in a cinema packed with Doctor Who enthusiasts.
They also reacted strongly to every little touch which was crafted into the film for fans who have followed since the very first episode.The film worked well as a standalone movie, better as an episode which both resolved past questions and seeded future ones, and best of all as a celebration of this series since its inception.It is delightful to see from this episode (together with the recent mini-episode) Paul McGann's Doctor welcomed fully and comprehensively into BBC TV continuity.
This episode shows Hurt dealing with the option to destroy Gallifrey with a doomsday device, but it has a "conscience" and appears in the lovely form of Billie Piper (she remains a personal fave of mine from her days with Eccleston in the early 2000s).
Piper's Rose is actually "Big Bad Wolf", and she attempts throughout the episode to talk Hurt's Doctor out of using it to wipe out Gallifrey.In a top secret location in the heart of London known as the Undergallery, a specific painting shows the supposed fall of Gallifrey during the Time War. Zygons, ugly slug like creatures with suctions that shapeshift into human form through the use of the hosts they imitate, existed back at the time of Elizabeth I, and her association with Tennant's Doctor (they marry!) allows us to see how the creatures plan to use paintings as a method of travel, awaiting a significant change in the world from the primitive time they were currently existing.
This intentionally parallels the ongoing struggle within Hurt's War Doctor.This episode neatly gives us Who fans an opportunity to see the Time War, two awesome Doctor Who actors (and a third to be added to the acting cannon to attain Hurt further recognition in his career) together to share some truly marvelous screen time (their banter is lively, clever, witty, and quite funny), and a delightful cameo by Tom Baker—a Who fan favorite from the 70s—as a museum curator.
"The Day of the Doctor" is the ideal 50th anniversary special: it simultaneously celebrates the past of the series, while opening new roads for the future.
Tennant and Smith make a great pair as their more excitable versions of the character bounce off each other, Clara, UNIT, Queen Elizabeth I, Zygons and of course The War Doctor.
I wasn't a fan of "The Five Doctors" (which could have been titled, "Three Doctors, a Fake and some stock footage, but never mind") either.The plot is that the Eleventh Doctor is contacted by UNIT to investigate a message left by Queen Elizabeth I, only to encounter a rupture in time that not only unites him with the Tenth Doctor but the mysterious War Doctor on the day he ended the Time War. An adventure involving the Zygons and the Daleks ensues.
(Cast because Christopher Ecceleston,the Ninth Doctor, didn't want to participate) I think the introduction of his character was pretty good, as I couldn't imagine either Paul McGann or Ecceleston being the ones to have ended the Time War. Overall, a great romp for all Doctor Who fans..
It was also fantastic how Moffat sort of stepped on Davis's toes when he began to envision the Time War in a different way - although, Moffat probably had to re-watch all of those episodes where the Doctor talked about the War to understand things.
On television, right after 'The Day of the Doctor', they played 'The End of Time', which was Tennant's last couple of regular episodes, which was perfect because they were also Davis's last chances to write about this Time War.The Daleks, though not the main enemy, were epic as always, especially in that first scene with the War Doctor.
It felt like a movie.The moment I was really waiting for as I sat down to watch the episode was when the Tenth Doctor would first appear on-screen, and it was great.
Also, the Dalek music from Series 4 ("The Dark and Endless Dalek Night") was perfect for the Time War. I'm sure there was plenty of other re-used music, and some new stuff, but overall, the music was amazing and fit the episode well.I'm really glad I got to be a part of this, watching it on the actual day, and celebrating 50 years of Doctor Who. All morning leading up to it I was watching lots of interviews and even the BBC Proms orchestra concerts from this year's YouTube clips of Doctor Who, so it was great.
And we were even more excited when we heard that David Tennant and Billie Piper, two former stars on the series, would be returning as guest stars for the episode.And when the day finally came, the broadcast broke a Guinness World Record for the largest simultaneous television broadcast EVER.But enough about the hype.
Now SM is very clever on this one!Most emotional scenes are without doubt the war displaced.Even the consciousness as Rose works for me.The Doctor getting a Zygon / human resolution by cleverness works for me.BTW the Zygons were in Scotland; was a second invasion force laying dormant in England.The final resolution, the last day of the time war.3 of the later Doctors come to a resolution that goes without regret and rewrite their own history.Who loves it who hates it?The Doctors manage to save Gallifrey somehow and destroy a significant amount of Daleks.End game to the Daleks, but will they return?The painting Gallifrey falls no more.I wonder if Tom Baker did ask for that!So the new Doctor is headed for home.Will this be that part of the trilogy or rather thrillogy?.
I really think Steven Moffat did Doctor Who justice.I love that David Tennant was present for this episode and he did very well.
The rest of the episode...Ehhh In 'The Day of the Doctor' begins with The War Doctor (John Hurt) having made the decision to end the long talked about Time War by sending the message 'No More' and stealing The Moment, the most dangerous weapon in the Time Lord armory and taking it to an unnamed location/planet to do the deed.
The Moment makes contact with The War Doctor in the form of the Badwolf (Billie Piper who thankfully did not appear as Rose Tyler)acting as The War Doctor's conscious showing the psychological effects setting off the weapon will have on his future selves (David Tennant and Matt Smith).
Tennant was a good doctor, as is Smith, but the story lines started to get more and more fantastical and lean more towards the kind of farcical tales that McCoy was involved with.In any event, having not seen every episode with every doctor, I count myself as a casual fan, not a Whovian.All of that means, however, that I tend to look at the series from a somewhat dispassionate, outside observer angle and, under such conditions the similarities in the stories are starting to get tedious.So for the anniversary episode, I hoped they'd pull out the stops and do something a little different.
The entity she plays even mutters "Bad Wolf" at one point, as if there might be some interaction between her and Tennant's character to come, but this never happens.Likewise, Tom Baker, my favourite doctor of all time, gets a tiny cameo at the end that really serves little purpose at all.And John Hurt's doctor.
OK, first of all I have to say that I loved "The Day of the Doctor" I think it was one of the best episodes I've seen so far.
I like Doctor Who (or I have done) and Steven Moffat did write some of the best past episodes but letting him take over entirely was a mistake.
After the disaster that was The Name of the Doctor, I really felt that the 50th anniversary episode might bring an end to the adventures of my favorite time traveler.
The best bit comes at the film's end with the brief appearance of Tom Baker, the fifth (and perhaps the best) Doctor, here as the museum curator."The Day of the Doctor" created to celebrate the 50th anniversary of one of television's longest-running series.
By undoing the tragic end of the Time War in this episode, Steven Moffat lifted a huge burden off the Doctor's shoulders and made the overall tone of the new series much more optimistic. |
tt0108394 | Trois couleurs: Bleu | Julie, wife of the famous composer Patrice de Courcy, must cope with the sudden death of her husband and daughter in an automobile accident she herself survives. While recovering in the hospital, Julie attempts suicide by overdose, but cannot swallow the pills. After being released from the hospital, Julie closes up the house she lived in with her family and takes an apartment in Paris without telling anyone, or keeping any clothing or objects from her old life, except for a chandelier of blue beads that presumably belonged to her daughter.For the remainder of the film, Julie disassociates herself from all past memories and distances herself from former friendships, as can be derived from a conversation she has with her mother who suffers from Alzheimer's disease and believes Julie is her own sister Marie-France. She also destroys the score for her late husband's last commissioned, though unfinished, work: a piece celebrating European unity, following the end of the cold war. Snatches of the music haunt her throughout the film.Julie reluctantly befriends Lucille, an exotic dancer who is having an affair with one of the neighbors and helps her when she needs moral support when the tennants in their apartment building want to evit her . Despite her desire to live anonymously and alone, life in Paris forces Julie to confront elements of her past that she would rather not face, including Olivier, a friend of the couple, also a composer and former assistant of Patrice's at the conservatory, who is in love with her, and the fact that she is suspected to be the true author of her late husband's music. Olivier appears in a TV interview announcing that he shall try to complete Patrice's commission, and Julie also discovers that her late husband was having an affair with a younger woman.While both trying to stop Olivier from completing the score and finding out who her husband's mistress was, Julie becomes more engaged despite her own efforts not to be. She tracks down Sandrine, Patrice's mistress, and finds out that she is carrying his child. Julie arranges for her to have her husband's house and recognition of his paternity for the child. This provokes her to begin a relationship with Olivier, and to resurrect her late husband's last composition, which has been changing according to her notes on Olivier's work. Olivier decides not to incorporate the changes suggested by Julie, stating that this piece is now his music and has ceased to be Patrice's. He says that she must either accept his composition with all its roughness or she must allow people to know the truth about her composition. She agrees on the grounds that the truth about her husband's music would not be revealed as her own work.In the final sequence, Julie and Olivier are having sex while the Unity of Europe piece is played (which features chorus and a solo soprano singing Saint Paul's 1 Corinthians 13 epistole in Greek), and images are seen of all the people Julie has affected by her actions as she faintly smiles through her tears. | mystery, psychedelic, humor, atmospheric, romantic | train | imdb | This film requires a commitment by the audience to really consider Kieslowski's implications, for he is telling us (throughout this trilogy) what he thinks makes a "good" person.
She plays an enigmatic woman,'Julie,' we're witness to her terrible loss(her husband who was a famous composer and her daughter died in a car crash)She is the survivor,not only of the accident,but of herself too.The film doesn't show us how her life was before the tragedy,but' Bleu' focuses on her personal journey to healing.
Also the meaning of the unfinished symphony of her husband is very profound (is connected with her grief and healing) The photography of the film and the beautiful and delicate face of Binoche contribute to the impact of BLEU.
Kieslowski was one of the most talented directors, I really admired his 'Trois couleurs' trilogy but I think,'Bleu' was his most powerful film.10/10.
Due to the nature of the film, exposition in this case is not necessarily related to plot, but rather to the understanding of a human being.Kieslowski delves so deeply into the true nature of Julie (Juliette Binoche) and in such a remarkable way that by the end of the film we understand her utterly.
Showing Julie in anything but a state of solitude would be false; due to human nature Julie with Oliver would not be Julie, but rather a reflection of her true self which, although certainly interesting, pales in comparison to observing her silently struggle with the death of her husband and daughter alone.Kieslowski played with applying the documentary techniques, which he perfected in his early work, to the narrative form in The Dekalog with tremendous, although at times visually mundane, results.
While Kieslowski concentrates on showing the true nature of Julie through action, Idziak contributes by showing her through light and color.Trois Couleurs: Blue is an almost unmatched achievement in the history of cinema.
"Three Colors Blue" is the first part of Polish director Krzysztof Kieslowski's Three Colors trilogy
"Blue" is set in France, "White" in Poland and "Red" in Switzerland, but all production was based in France
Not only are the colors of the trilogy those of the French national flag; the original intention was meditation on the ideals of the French Revolution: freedom, equality and fraternity
This suggests a political dimension to the work
But though like most Polish filmmakers Kieslowski had his difficulties with the Polish Communist system, its collapse by the early 1990s meant that he was not only free to work where he pleased, but liberated from the necessity for his films to engage directly in the political process
In "Three Colors Blue" Juliette Binoche plays a woman whose husband and daughter are killed in a car crash
Overcome by melancholy, she progressively withdraws from life, depriving herself of possessions and refusing relationships, a state of mind conveyed in part by the director's subtle use of color blue
But eventually she is able to accept the attentions of a lover and even to offer friendship to another woman who is pregnant with her husband's child
Finally, she completes the piece of music which her husband has been commissioned to write
The result is a work that has less in common with the Polish 'Cinema of moral concern' of the late 1970s than with the tradition of the mainstream European art cinema, in its concerns with alienation and the loss of feeling, countered by the transcendent power of love.
The sequence-of-shots that follow eerily draw one into the compelling story-telling style of Krzysztof Kieslowski, minimalist in its approach, with a world communicated without dialogue in the first five minutes of the film.
Either you'll feel that you've totally wasted your time and will probably not be able to sit through (the pivotal occurrence is over within the first five minutes of the film without a single world being spoken, and the rest of the film is essentially the protagonist's psychologically subjective journey) or you'll realize by the time you've reached the end that you'll revisit this film at various points in time, explore and read about it, discuss it with people you respect, and try to get closer to the essence of Kieslowski.
It is a quiet, personal movie that spends most of it's time with the main character played excellently by Juliette Binoche.The color blue is very evident in the film,and a fade to a simple blue screen is used to show times of deep emotion.
Although the characters are set in a specific time and place ( France just before the formation of the EU ) the focus on the personal journey of grief transcends the setting.I like the way this film changes from a story about a death to an affirmation to life.
I like the way that little things like mice in the apartment loom large in the thought of our main character, where as what others consider important such as finishing her husband's symphony seem very minor .It feels like diving deep through cold dark water to finally swim toward the light.
I enjoyed BLEU more than BLANC (which was an odd machismic entry in a trilogy mainly focusing on women) but not as much as ROUGE, which I feel is one of the finest, most beautiful, most well-done films I've ever seen.More specifically, BLEU's focus seems to be on the relationship of a woman's loss of the tactile manifestation of her husband's existance with the ligering notions of his life - especially his music, which pervades the entire film, interrupting at key moments with a blackout and short blast of the overture.
The picture has various subtle references about trilogy such as : At one point, we see Julie carrying a box which, as a close-up shows, has prominently written across it the word "blanco", Spanish for white; in the next shot we are looking at her from behind, and she pauses in the street as a man in blue passes her on her left and a woman in red passes her on her right , this is a reference to the structure of the Three Colours trilogy - blue, white, red, in that order, mirroring the French flag .
The picture was followed by ¨Trois Couleurs : Blanc¨ , a bittersweet comedic story spiced with lasting love and vengeance , in which a bewildered Polish hairdresser is divorced by his disdainful French spouse and returning to his family in Poland when he decides to fake his death ; being starred by July Delpy and Zamachowski , including cameos by Juliette Binoche and Florence Pernal .
And ¨Trois Couleurs : Rouge¨ starred by Irene Jacob , Jean Louis Trintignat , Frederique Feder and cameos by protagonists in the earlier film , Juliette Binoche and Benoit Regent ; ¨Red¨ is for fraternity in the Fench tricolor flag , dealing with emotional connections are mad between unlikely couples and director Kieslowski uses the ending to tie up loose ends ..
Krzysztof Kieslowski's Blue is the first of the three part trilogy based on the three colors of the French flag, with the other two being Red and White.
It follows a story of a woman;Julie, played by Juliet Binoche dealing with the pain and her life after the accidental death of her husband and her daughter.
Kieslowski here too dives into these subjects in a fashionable way, playing around with some of the scenes to show the inner nature of the characters using beautiful cinematography and story telling techniques.
These two films were also quite depressing and cold, but the movie Blue seemed to engage me more--perhaps because I could easily see myself or someone I love in Binoche's position following the deaths of her family.At first, she decides the best way to cope is complete denial and repression--forget about the past by extinguishing all memories--including selling all her possessions and running from her past life.
The film tells about the new history of her life after the accident, in the meeting of symbolic objects, people and places.Probably I have quite of an enmity against slow-rhythm movies, and that's why I wasn't able to appreciate this at all.
This is one of the best movies I have ever seen.Not only for Juliette Binoche's excellent performance, but also for the delicate cinematography, the haunting music and the overall texture of immersion in the world of the young woman.
If you are after car chases, exploding jets and gun-toting macho muscle-men, then stop reading now, this is not for you.I enjoyed the other two films in the trilogy ("Three colours Red" and "Three Colours White"), but "...Blue" is easily the best.
If you are after car chases, exploding jets and gun-toting macho muscle-men, then stop reading now, this is not for you.I enjoyed the other two films in the trilogy ("Three colours Red" and "Three Colours White"), but "...Blue" is easily the best.
But the patient and reflective will be greatly rewarded by the films poetic images.The entire film is lite in blue tones,scored with classical music and dialogue is sparse.The best way to approach it is a painterly appreciation for moments where a sugar cube is slowly saturated with coffee, or of a hand being dragged along a stone wall.Juliet Binoche deservedly won the Venice Film Festival award for her understated performance.Recommended for the patient and cerebral..
Three Colours Blue is mainly centred around the character of Julie (Juliette Binoche) whose husband and daughter die at the beginning of the film in a car accident, which she survives.
In light of the many glowing reports on this film, it takes a little courage to admit that beyond a few impressive story telling techniques and some memorable uses of color, Blue was altogether unremarkable.
A woman as viewer of a movie (played by Binoche as placid observer) taking spontaneous shape around her, that pokes holes in herself and provokes questions; finally overcoming it by being pulled forward by what was left incomplete in it.A woman who has lost everything as the film begins, every anchor in her life violently removed in one swoop and she's now cast adrift.
Kieslowski kicks off his Three Colours Trilogy with this 'Blue' first chapter...The movie, featuring a somber mood, beautiful cinematography by Slawomir Idziak and some brilliantly haunting score by Zbigniew Preisner unfolds almost like a melancholy...with Juliette Binoche playing the central character of Julie.The premise deals with an accident claiming the lives of Julie's daughter and her composer husband.
Juliette Binoche stars as Julie Vignon, the wife of a famous composer who dies in a car crash, along with their daughter, throwing her entire life into total emotional chaos.
Throughout this time, she immerses herself in her sadness, just like that astonishingly blue swimming pool.Obviously, music is an extremely important part of the film, it takes us on an entirely separate journey through Julie's sadness and emotional development.
Was Julie only mourning the death of her husband and daughter, or was her grief further aggravated by the knowledge that she had failed as a wife and mother?Juliette Binoche is asked to do something in this film which is, in and of itself, a great challenge for any performer: she is directed to portray an uninteresting character, a woman who is so grieved and burdened by her past that she is barely able to keep the movie afloat.
But it is not only the imagery (Binoche blurry through window, staring vacantly somewhere as she experiences intimate relations for the first time since the accident), or ambient sound (the sudden clamor and echo of the indoor swimming pool as she comes up for air from under water) that reflects the nature of her psyche, but Preisner's haunting music that simultaneously takes us back to her husband and her tragedy, as much as towards her recovery of self as she engages her creative process.
She is a woman who has lived in the shadow of her husband, while yet participating in the creation of the very music he is famous for, and as the music enters the film, each time, it is her reflecting on and coming to terms with all that it represents to her, including, finally, the bridge to her salvation....This is not a typical Hollywood redemption tale handing us the standard prescription for such a tale of woe, no "how to reclaim your power as a woman course 101." This is a tale of truth, and we believe Binoche every time she makes a decision because we are not only privy to her experience, but fully involved in the process of transformation that becomes her liberation.I could go on and on through every scene like this, but it is better to watch and listen to the film several times by yourself.....
Where are the French, Italian, Spanish, Mexican, British, etc, movies?)Everything is marvellous, the music, the photograph, the history, the actress
Juliette Binoche had the best work I had ever seen on her, (and she was magnificent in Damage, The Lovers on the Bridge or The Unbearable Lightness of Being).
Juliette Binoche doesn't need to speak to show her soul storm.I highly recommend watching Blue, White and Red (observing the French flag colours order).When Krzysztof Kieslowski passed away after a second heart attack, the world lost one of the best film directors, but his masterpieces live on..
With this one obviously named Blue and dealing with the value of freedom.The story follows a young woman, a recently widowed Julie (Juliette Binoche), who lost both her husband and daughter in a car accident.
Instead of saying which is the best and worst (though have often heard 'Red' cited best and 'White' the weakest, though all three films are generally very highly thought of) of Krzysztof Kieslowski's "Three Colours" trilogy, it will just be said that all three films in the trilogy are must-watches in their own way.The first film in the trilogy 'Three Colours: Blue' serves as a very poignant exploration of grief and liberty (in the emotional sense), and to me it is one of the most moving and interesting depictions of grief and liberty in film.
Kieslowski's direction is thoughtful and never intrusive, and the intricate music score and the symbolic way it's utilised (representing Julie's struggles with isolation) is inspired, "Song for the Unification of Europe" is one of the most emotional tracks of music in any film seen by me recently.Story-wise, 'Three Colours: Blue' challenges in a way but also always engages, mainly because of how movingly and intensely it deals with the tragic story of Julie and its themes of grief and liberty.
A woman (Juliette Binoche) struggles to find a way to live her life after the death of her husband and child.Nothing against the plot, but this is a visual film.
I truly admired Krzysztof Kieslowski's approach with the film as filmmakers these days seem to try their best to cater towards the audience's expectations and resolve the character's story the way that is acceptable for them, which at times hurt the film's emotional and thematic impact.
Julie also engages herself in activities like swimming, which at first I thought was her way of distracting herself from the recurring thoughts of her family, as the film went on I started to see what Kieslowski was trying to create with those scenes, she is swimming in her sadness and at times drowning herself in it.
Just on scenes where the camera captures a close up of her face, she doesn't reveal much but it definitely does not seem hollow, there is something there but one has to look harder in order to obtain it.Blue is a great film that contains a wonderful and powerful performance from Juliette Binoche and a story that avoids from being predictable.
In this move we watch how the life of a woman changes when her husband and her child die and we can see how she tries to continue her life after all of that.I think that Juliette Binoche (Julie Vignon - de Courcy) who plays as this woman who lost everything makes one of her best interpretations and she is really great..
Julie chooses to live an isolated life, distances herself from human contact and digs herself into an introvert grieving process which cuts her of from her own existence.The main aspects in this visually exceptional and in-depth study of character from the early 1990s, is the main character's grief and the symbolic color blue.
The protagonist Julie (Juliette Binoche) has just lost her family (husband and daughter) in a car accident.
Juliette Binoche is impressively becoming in her role as a woman whose husband and child are killed in a car accident within the first five minutes of the movie.
"Blue" (Polish/French, 1993): Starring Juliette Binoche, and created by Krzysztof Kieslowski.
Ms. Binoche was able to allude to a faint smile at the last frame, the actor's contribution to the film after her understanding of the end of Anton Chekov's play "The seagull." Kieslowski retained the contribution of the literate and sensitive actor.Blue--one of the three colors of the French flag.
Juliette Binoche turns in an amazing performance as Julie, a woman who loses her husband and young girl in an auto accident that she survives.
Juliette Binoche gives a wonderful performance, though the movie is merely a showcase of the transition that her character goes through after her husband and daughter die in a car accident.
Kieślowski said that "Blue" looks at emotional, rather than political, freedom, as Juliette Binoche's widow Julie is no longer bound by family life but can't fully escape her past.
The film is about a woman named Julie who survives a car accident while her husband and daughter were killed.
This is the story of a woman Julie (Juliette Binoche) who loses her husband, a famous modern composer, and her daughter in a car crash.
"Blue 1993" is the story of the emotional self-reconstruction of a woman (Binoche) who survived a car crash which killed her husband and daughter. |
tt1037705 | The Book of Eli | The film opens in ash-filled woods. A corpse lies rotting on the ground and a malnourished hairless cat climbs over it and begins nibbling at its feet. Nearby a figure in an NBC (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) combat suit lies in wait. An arrow shoots into the cat, killing it instantly. Eli (Denzel Washington) walks over to the cat, plucks out the arrow and bags it for dinner.Eli walks through the abandoned road in a post-apocalyptic 2043. He is a wanderer and traveling out West. He finds an abandoned house and searches it for anything that can be useful. He tries to fill his canteen with water, but the taps don't work. He checks a closet and finds a dead body. He takes the corpse's boots and clears his weapons while listening to an ancient 3rd Generation iPod. He roasts the cat and eats it, sharing a small portion with a rat that wanders up to him.The next morning, Eli wakes up and finds that his iPod is nearly out of power. The car battery rig he uses to charge it is almost out of power as well. Eli continues his journey west and encounters a woman with a broken shopping cart. She asks him for help, but Eli calls out to the thugs hiding nearby, saying he can smell them. The hijack leader pushes Eli around, wanting to rob him; after a single warning, Eli suddenly cuts off the leader's hand with a machete. He fights the other five marauders at the same time and kills them all. He kills the leader, divests the corpses of their valuables and walks away, continuing his journey west.As he continues his journey, his iPod runs out of power. From atop a destroyed highway overpass he witnesses an attack on a couple by a group of marauding bikers. The bikers kill the man, assault the woman and steal all of their books. They drive off, leaving Eli shaken but resolute in his determination not to get involved. He ponders which direction to go in and then ends up walking into a town. He finds the Engineer (Tom Waits) and trades him some KFC wet naps and a Zippo lighter for a recharge on his iPod battery. While he waits, he asks if there is a place where he can fill his canteen. He walks out to the bar across the street.The bikers who killed the couple arrive at the bar and deliver the books and items they stole from the couple to Carnegie (Gary Oldman), the mayor of the makeshift town. Carnegie is looking for a certain book, so he sends his illiterate henchmen to collect all the books they can. He sees the books they bring, a random collection of paperbacks and picture books, and is less than pleased. He orders that they be burned. He takes a hotel bottle of shampoo and tells Redridge (Ray Stevenson), his right hand man, that the bikers are to be rewarded for such a discovery. He goes to his lady, Claudia (Jennifer Beals), and shares the shampoo with her.Downstairs, Eli trades gloves and an Arab scarf for a full canteen of water. The bartender gives the canteen to Solara (Mila Kunis) and sends her out back to get some water. She goes out back to get the water, but Redridge steps in front of her. She makes him move aside and fills Eli's canteen. In the bar, a cat walks in front of Eli and snarls, he nudges it away. The lead Biker approaches Eli, ready to fight him for touching his cat. Eli slams the thug's face into the bar and gets up to leave. However, the entire bar attacks him. He fights and kills all but one biker, when Solara returns with the canteen and begs Eli to stop. Redridge and Carnegie's men arrive and hold Eli at gunpoint and bring him to Carnegie.Carnegie is impressed enough to meet with Eli. He recognizes Eli's immense skill and the fact that he is also an educated man. He tells Eli that men like him, who are older, but know things, are the future. He asks Eli to stay so that Carnegie can utilize his fighting skills to keep control over the town. Eli tells Carnegie that he has no interest in staying but Carnegie forces him to stay the night.Redridge sends Claudia to deliver Eli food. He recognizes that Claudia is blind and asks her if she was blind her whole life or blinded by The Flash, an event which occurred during the Last Great War. She confirms that she was blind her whole life. He thanks her for bringing him water. Carnegie decides that the best way to keep Eli in town is to have Solara, Claudia's daughter, sleep with Eli. Claudia begs him not to use Solara, but he sends her anyway. Eli doesn't want to have sex, but Solara begs him to let her stay in the room since she knows Carnegie will harm Claudia. They talk about the war, and Solara sits on the bed, discovers the book and gets excited, wanting to know more about it, even though she can't read. Eli bundles the book up and refuses to discuss it with her. He does share his meal with her, and teaches her to say grace.The next morning Solara joins Claudia at breakfast. Carnegie freezes in amazement as Solara tries to recite the prayer with her mother. She forgets the 'Amen,' which Carnegie supplies. He then beats Claudia in front of Solara in order to find out if Eli has the book he seeks. When Solara signs him the cross she saw on the cover, Carnegie orders Redridge to bring the book to him. When they get to the room, they see that Eli had snuck out. Redridge kills the guard on duty and gathers the men to find him. Across the street, Eli gathers his battery and prepares to leave.Carnegie goes over to Eli and begs him to stay and give him the book: a Bible. Carnegie tells Eli that he isn't afraid to kill him and take the Bible. Carnegie thinks that the Bible's righteous scripture is the best way to keep the town under his control. Eli tells Carnegie that he dreams of finding a town where the people need the book, but he tells Carnegie that it is not here. Carnegie orders Redridge to shoot Eli as he walks away, but Redridge misses twice. A shootout ensues and Eli kills most of Carnegie's men and hits Carnegie in the knee. Redridge sees that Eli is fearless and begrudgingly lets him leave. Behind the scenes, Claudia tells Solara to follow Eli, since she will be safer away from Carnegie.Carnegie gets his leg treated by a doctor. The bullet and shrapnel are removed and he is bandaged. He tells Redridge to prepare the vehicles to pursue Eli and recover the book. Redridge tells Carnegie that most of their men are dead and decides to use the book as leverage to get Solara as his concubine. Carnegie humorously, albeit reluctantly, agrees.Eli travels down the road until Solara catches up to him. She wants to join him but she is rejected from the start. She offers to take him to the town's water supply, an uncontaminated underground spring. Eli fills his canteen at the spring, then tricks Solara and locks her in the cave. She screams and calls him a liar but Eli insists that he isn't, wishing her well and leaves.Somehow Solara breaks out of the cave and follows in the direction Eli was going. She doesn't find him, but instead finds the woman who worked with the thugs from earlier with her broken cart. She tries to help the woman, but the woman insists that Solara leave; not wanting to see a woman raped and killed. Two thugs attack Solara and just as they are about to rape her, Eli shoots one through the groin with an arrow and then shoots the other through the throat. Solara tearfully hugs Eli and the two go on their way.Carnegie and Redridge's men find the bodies of the marauders and determine that Eli can't be more than a few miles ahead. Redridge finds a piece of Solara's custom clothing and tells Carnegie with displeasure. Carnegie asks if Redridge still wants her and walks back to the car. One of their henchmen suggests that they call it a day, since their cars will give them away at night and they could drive right by the pair.Eli and Solara sleep by an old nuclear plant cooling tower. Eli reads the book and Solara asks Eli to read it to him. He recites a bit of it and then puts the book away. She asks him to teach her how to read it but Eli doesn't respond. When she thinks he's asleep she goes to take a look at the book in his bag. She sees (but can't read) an old KMart tag which says "Hi, my name is Eli". Eli grabs the bag away from her and makes her go back across the room, cocking his shotgun to make her know how serious he is.The next day the pair set off and walk west. Solara asks him about the world before the war. He tells her that people had more than they needed and threw away things that others kill for today. She asks him why he keeps the book and Eli explains that it is the only Bible left in the world since it was singled out for destruction after the war, as the post-war population believed it was the cause of the war. He then explains why he keeps heading west, which perplexes Solara but she eventually comes to accept that Eli is acting on his faith. He explains how he found the Bible, insisting that a "voice" told him where to go and that he would be protected. Solara thinks that Eli is delusional but says nothing.The pair arrives at an old house with a sign that says "No Trespassing." Eli tries to open the door, but a trap opens up and the two fall into a hole. They find themselves at the mercy of Martha (Frances de la Tour) and George (Michael Gambon), an elderly couple who have lived in their house for years. They ask why they didn't obey the sign and Eli apologizes, saying he didn't see it. They give Eli and Solara tea and then show them a cemetery filled with the people who attacked their house. Eli tells Solara that it's time to go, explaining that Martha had 'the shakes' because the couple are cannibals who ate their victims and likely have drugged the tea. As they leave, Carnegie's caravan passes and sees the pair exiting the house. Eli and Solara re-enter the house and George and Martha pull out an impressive gun cache from inside the sofa.A stand off ensues. Carnegie tells Eli to throw out the book. Everyone is ready for the gunfight. A covered parcel is hurled through the window. Redridge looks at it and realizes it's a bomb, throwing it away and running for cover. Two cars explode, killing several men. Eli and the house's occupants fire their weapons until Redridge pulls out an RPG missile and blows half the house up, killing Martha. George starts shooting wildly, killing men left and right until Carnegie's men bring out a hand operated Gatling gun and blast him away, along with most of the house. Eli and Solara are surrounded and dragged out of the house.Carnegie threatens to kill Solara, to the dismay of Redridge. Redridge entreats Eli to surrender the book and Eli tells Redridge where he hid it. Redridge recovers the book, with a locked flap, and gives it to Carnegie, who releases Solara. He says God is good. and Eli responds "all the time." Carnegie responds "Well. Not all the time," and shoots Eli in the stomach. He puts Solara in one van with Redridge and a driver and then takes the book with him in the other.In the other van, Redridge puts Eli's machete on the dashboard and chuckles to himself now that Eli is gone. Solara uses the wire from Eli's bow that she had in her pocket and garottes the driver until the car flips over. The driver is killed and Carnegie's men turn around to go to the accident site. Solara throws a grenade, blowing up the third car. Solara goes to the driver's seat and sees Redridge was impaled by Eli's machete. He pulls the machete out and steps out of the vehicle with grace. Collapsing on his knees in penance, he dies. Solara drives away and Carnegie opts not to go after her, since he has the book and they have barely enough fuel to get back to town.Solara returns to the house and finds that Eli is missing. She finds him still walking west. She puts him in the car and he treats the gun shot wound with duct tape. She apologizes for losing Eli's book but Eli responds that it's time he put the lessons he learned to use: to do more for others than you do for yourself. They drive to the remnants of the Golden Gate Bridge and Eli says that they are close. He finds a row boat and starts to row toward Alcatraz Island. Fatigue and weakness overtake him, so Solara takes over. An armed guard calls out to the pair and Eli responds that he has in his possession a King James Bible. The guard lets him in.Eli is taken to Lombardi (Malcolm McDowell), the curator of Alcatraz, who has been gathering all the remnants of pre-war civilization, such as books, music, and art, and storing them in the cells until they are ready to rebuild and re-establish society. Lombardi tells Eli that they have been missing a copy of the Bible, so Eli tells him to get a lot of paper and pen. He starts to recite the Bible word for word, having memorized it over the last 30 years.Back in town, Carnegie tries to open the bible but realizes that he didn't take Eli's key to the book flap. He calls the Engineer in to unlock the book and once it's unlocked they see the Bible is in Braille -- in Alcatraz, a closeup of Eli's face shows us that he is blind as well. Carnegie tries to get Claudia to read it, but she cruelly lies and tells him that she's forgotten how. She tells him that she can smell his wounded leg, and that he's feverish: signs of an infection. The rest of the town's populace is looting the bar and Carnegie's remaining men are fighting each other; in his quest for the book, Carnegie no longer has enough men to maintain control, and the town has erupted into anarchy. He collapses in despair.In Alcatraz, Eli shaves all his hair and changes into a clean white robe. He recites the Bible to completion while Lombardi writes it down verbatim. Eli eventually dies from his gunshot wound but completes his task. In a voiceover, he utters one last prayer for Solara and the world before he dies. He is buried in Alcatraz's courtyard garden. Lombardi places a newly typeset and bound copy of the Bible on a bookshelf in a massive library, where a place has been saved specifically for it. Solara pays her respects, takes Eli's machete and iPod and leaves Alcatraz, walking down the open road; to return home. | thought-provoking, violence, action, murder | train | imdb | null |
tt1034389 | The Eagle | The Year is A.D. 140, and it has been 20 years since Rome's legendary Ninth Legion marched north into Caledonia (modern Scotland) to gain control over all of Britain. The Legion was completely defeated, to Rome's embarrassment, and the Legion's prized standard, a golden eagle, captured. Marcus Flavius Aquila (Channing Tatum) is the son of the Legion's General, and is determined to exonerate his father and the family name. Choosing Britain for his first active station, he must prove himself to his men when local Barbarian tribes, led by an angry Druid, attack the fort at night.Marcus senses the attack and wakes his men in time. They fight the intruders and win the battle, but the next day the Druid returns with prisoners of war - an expedition Marcus had sent out to find a grain convoy. The leader of the expedition is beheaded before their eyes.Unwilling to bear the guilt of his men's death, Marcus leads the best of his men out of the fort. Using their shields and proven Roman infantry battle tactics, they push back the Celts and defend the prisoners. They have started moving back to the fort when the Druid summons his chariots, which race forward with scythes on the wheels and hack down the retreating men. Marcus grabs a spear, steadies his aim, and launches it toward the Druid. The spear kills the driver, causing the chariot to topple onto Marcus.With his leg badly injured, Marcus is sent to his Uncle (Donald Sutherland)'s house to recover. His captain informs him that Rome has learned of his actions: Marcus has been given an honourable mention for leading his men in a courageous fight to defend the fort, but due to his injury, he has been given an honourable discharge from the Army.Marcus is distraught. He watches a gladiatorial contest with his Uncle, in which a young and practically defenceless slave (Jamie Bell) is pitted against a seasoned gladiator. The boy refuses to fight, throwing down his weapons and standing stoically in wait for death. Marcus is moved by his courage, and when the gladiator seeks his audience's approval for the boy's death, he rallies the crowd to save him. His Uncle buys the slave, whose name is Esca, for Marcus, to help him in his recovery.Soon, a Senator arrives at his Uncle's villa, and conversation returns to the fate of the Ninth Legion; there have been rumours of sightings of the Eagle in the far north. Since Marcus has reasonably recovered from his wounds, he seeks permission to cross Hadrian's Wall into Caledonia and seek to retrieve the Eagle. At first his request is dismissed as the talk of a madman with a death wish, but he is eventually given his wish.Marcus takes Esca with him on his quest, offering to grant him his freedom in return for his help as a guide and translator, and choosing to trust the pledge of service that Esca made in spite of his deep hatred for the Romans.Marcus and Esca cross the Wall to hunt for the Eagle. As they continue north, Esca politely asks anyone they meet if they might have happened to see 5000 Roman soldiers walking by 20 years ago.They get attacked at intervals by small groups of warriors, but are able to defend themselves quite well.A little later, Marcus thinks Esca is not asking the right questions. He threatens a villager, who tells him about a man who can help them. They soon find the man - a deserter, a Roman legionnaire who had run when the fighting was fiercest and has been living among the Celtic tribes, now married with children. He shows them the place where the Ninth Legion fell and points them on their way to the Seal People in the far north, but refuses to go with them.This fresh reminder of the bloody history between their people makes it difficult for Marcus and Esca to see past their differences, and their partnership is about to disintegrate into violence when they find themselves confronted with a group of Seal warriors. Esca takes control and tells the Chief's son that Marcus is his Roman slave. They are taken to the Seal village on the northern tip of Scotland, and Esca (as the Brigante Chief's son) is accepted as one of them.That night, the young Seal warriors prepare for a rite of passage and all the men get drunk. The Chief dons the tribal outfit and brings The Eagle out from a cave. As if in a trance, Marcus walks straight to it and is knocked unconscious.With all the men heavily asleep and worse for wear, Esca shakes Marcus awake, and together they enter the cave to retrieve the Eagle. Marcus is pleased to have his friend back. Inside they are startled by the Chief and his bodyguards, but they prove no match for Marcus and Esca. Before he dies, the Chief tells Marcus that he saw the Roman Commander-in-Chief beg for mercy like a coward before he killed him. Esca doesn't translate what was said.They pack their horses, but the Chief's youngest son, a mere child, catches them, asking to go with them. Esca convinces him with a gift to stay behind and keep quiet, and the two are off.In the morning the Chief's eldest son sees the gift Esca left behind with the young boy, and soon the cat is out the bag. A war party is summoned, and they race after the Roman and his slave.The Seal People are tough, and with better knowledge of the terrain are gaining on Marcus and Esca. Soon their horses give in, and Marcus's leg is giving him gip. Marcus stays behind with the eagle near a submerged stream, hidden by rocks, while Esca goes for help.Esca returns with the legionnaires who deserted the army 20 years ago; he is just in time, as the Seal People have found their location. The Chief's Eldest kills the young boy in front of the Romans, which proves to be the wrong move, as this makes little Esca mad.A final battle begins. The Romans are doing well, but the Chief's Eldest is a formidable fighting machine and dispatches the old legionnaires with ease. But soon he meets Marcus, and the experienced Roman gets the better of his enemy. Without their captain, the remaining members of the Seal war party give up and retreat. Somewhere in all this, Marcus learns that his father died a hero - the deserters had stayed with the ranks until the very end, but were ashamed to admit it before.Marcus, Esca, and the remaining few soldiers burn the bodies on a funeral pyre.Marcus and Esca say their goodbyes, return to Roman Britain and present the Eagle to the Senator. Esca is now a free man and Marcus knows that his family name has been vindicated.Alternative ending:While burning the body of the Legionnaire, Marcus also sticks the Eagle onto the pyre in homage to all those, on both sides, that lost their lives.The movie ends with the two friends walking back towards the Wall. | revenge, historical, violence, historical fiction | train | imdb | Jamie Bell is rather fantastic as the slave who has every reason to hate Rome except for his growing respect for his Roman master; he's unpredictable and tortured and terribly interesting to watch.It's not a perfect movie--sometimes I wasn't sure that it knew what message it was trying to convey--but generally I liked it.
But I am not totally sure the Roman Senate had a "branch" in Britain.The two leads (Channing Tatum and Jamie Bell) were perfectly suited to their roles, kind of like Hercules and his sidekick from 60s historical adventure films.
It is perhaps his destiny that he go forth into Caledonia to maybe solve the mystery and restore honour to the family name?Better angry than dead.A film of two different, but equally enjoyable, halves, The Eagle is a delightful throw back to the swords and shields movies of old.
A turn of events then sees Marcus come by way of Bell's slave, incidents are defined and we then move into the second half of the picture.Life, life, LIFE!Here is where the film becomes a character piece as two men from different walks of life, enemies with anger and determination gnawing away at their souls, traverse the magnificent Scottish Highlands (Dod Mantle's photography is breath taking at times) to solve the mystery of The Ninth.
As for whether this was based on a true story or not, I will leave that to the real journalists.The Eagle is set in Roman occupied Britain in 140AD 20 years after the mysterious disappearance of the whole Ninth Legion in the glens and mountains of Scotland.
It follows a Roman centurion, Marcus Aquila (Channing Tatum) and early on we are introduced to the fact that Marucs's father was standard bearer of the eagle for the Ninth Legion and that, when they along with the eagle, disappeared in the Scottish highlands disrepute was brought to the family of Aquila.
Longing to be close to where his father disappeared and to restore his family honour, Marcus hot off the training camp for Roman centurions has requested that his first post be at the edge of the known world near Hadrian's wall, far from the choice any sane man would pick.Eventually we are introduced to Esca (Jamie Bell) who is indebted to Marcus after having had his life saved by him and becomes his slave as penance.
The gore is not excessive and allows for the actual fighting to take centre stage rather than how red they can turn the battlefield which I liked.The Scottish tribes play their part as a conceivable enemy during the film and speak in the native Gaelic tongue which is a nice touch that is less seen now as directors tend to swap to English after a brief dialogue to make it easier on the audience.
It was also nice to see that the tribes that crossed paths with our main protagonists each had a different personality and feel about them rather than all being clumped together as Celts and getting portrayed as one generic group.This movie although set in Roman times is less about the history and bureaucracy of Rome and more about the journey that two men take.
It has great action sequences, some fine heroic traits like bravery and courage, and great performances by Channing Tatum (surprisingly), Jamie Bell, Donald Sutherland and other good supporting players.
The bleak atmosphere, gritty but fantastic production and costume design, beautiful cinematography (by "Slumdog Millionaire's" Anthony Dod Mantle, no doubt), and amazing music by Ovarsson (this is his first score which I actually liked) all combine together with Macdonald and cast and crew to deliver a solid, somewhat spectacular action adventure that is old- fashioned and devoid of the usual clichés (there's no generic romantic subplot, thank God!) that seem to plague this film genre lately.Made in the hands of another, lesser director, this film will probably end up looking like "The Last Legion" or "Centurion", probably overblown and over-stylized.
I suppose when they coined the term "hunk," no one expected it to apply so literally to the thick and broad-shouldered 30-year-old.Tatum plays Marcus Flavius-Flave Aquila (okay, just Flavius), Roman centurion and son of a disgraced commander who disappeared along with the entire Ninth Legion and Rome's beloved eagle standard in the north of Britain in 120 AD.
For Tatum, this trip into dangerous territory beyond Hadrian's Wall, as it turns out, is also a test of leading man meddle.Heading up the real American heroes of "G.I. Joe" doesn't exactly count for star capability, and while "The Eagle" barely holds a candle to the Roman epic of all Roman epics that is "Gladiator," it certainly can be seen as a more serious step and one in which the target audience has no interest in ogling him -- just watching him kill rebellious "Seal Men," (precursors to Scots).Tatum's grades are definitely passing, but he earns more sympathy than attention.
I suppose given director's Kevin Macdonald's success with yet another historically based drama The Last King of Scotland that he decides to take another crack at it, albeit this time with a little bit more swords and sandals violence.In recent years we've already seen a number of such films with the likes of Neil Marshall's Centurion and The Last Legion starring Colin Firth and Aishwarya Rai, but this one had a little narrative boost with its historical reference involving the mysterious disappearance of the Ninth Legion weaved into the narrative and forming the back story of its protagonist Marcus Flavius Aquila (Channing Tatum), who had asked for the Britain post in order to seek the lost honour of his father, leader of the Ninth who had reputedly surrendered cowardly to the enemy.For starters, Channing Tatum isn't really your character actor, but looked totally in place with brawn over brains leading his men into battle and convincing peers that his family name isn't as tainted as it should be.
To lead a team into hostile territory will be suicide, but Marcus seeks out that sole opportunity to reclaim his father's name, and coming in tow is the slave Esca (Jamie Bell) with whom he forms a love-hate relationship.It's a standard action adventure where you put together two misfits who are as serious as can be in seeking out the objective of their quest, containing all the usual formation of a strong friendship cliché made more difficult when the master-slave role got reversed when they're held captive.
In Roman-ruled Britain, during Antoninus Pius empire , who was emperor of Rome at the time this film is set , AD 140 ; his reign is considered one of the calmest in Rome's history , there a young Roman soldier endeavors to honor his father's memory by finding his lost legion's golden emblem .
The picture deals with the destiny of a soldier Marcus Flavius Aquila (Channing Tatum) , the honour of a slave , Esca , (Jamie Bell) and the fate of an empire ; concerning historical facts about confrontation between Romans and Northern barbarians .
Bloody version based on historical events about Roman conquests with overwhelming battles and great production values starred by Channing Tatum as the fictional Roman officer and Jamie Bell as slave , both of them are two battle-hardened warriors who try to defend themselves against a bunch of bloody barbarians led by a brutal enemy .
As a massive film fan I was a little apprehensive of watching this movie because the lead actor was Channing Tatum and he hasn't done a lot of good films, but in this on he was brilliant he has never done anything better than this.
I think he done this well because he really connected with his character Marcus Aquila, who was a young Roman soldier to do and retrieve the eagle that is father lost north of Hadrian's wall (Scotland).
I loved that film, it was so much better than over rated Gladiator ( a horrible film that was meant to be psychological, deep and that ended up being plain stupid, nonsensical, pathetic and pretentious, like who is going to believe that an emperor is going to fight a gladiator in an arena) At least The Eagle sticks to pure entertainment , has a solid story that sticks to the journey of a hero, it has no tacky CGI, has great fighting scenes, Jamie Bell acting is superb and Channing Tatum is not as is best but does an OK job, The production design is solid, it's historically plausible and it's stylish enough to confer an edge, an atmosphere to the drama, It's also fun because of the deeply homo erotic relationship between Tatum and Bell, like Bell being his slave and washing him, being completely submissive to him except for a few sexy fighting scenes til the end where they hold hands, it's quite reminiscent of Spartacus and other vintage peplum, it's also refreshing because of all the tiring love stories implanted in most Hollywood blockbuster that are never relevant to the story and just an accessory to bring female spectators into the auditorium ( hey it's a war film but there's a love story, come on most girls are not retarded) Certainly not a masterpiece but a well crafted action movie.
Its Starring Channing Tatum, Jamie Bell, Donald Sutherland, Mark Strong, Tahar Rahim, Denis O'Hare & Douglas Hensball.#FACT: Jeremy Brock adapted the screenplay from an historical novel called The Eagle of the Ninth (1954)SLIDER'S REVIEW:From the trailer (and title) I knew what I was going to get with this film.
Well, Channing Tatum and Jamie Bell do the honors, albeit without the dry humor, as Roman centurion Marcus Aquila and his slave, Esca, respectively.
A Roman officer voluntarily posted to super-savage Britain sets out to rescue his father's honor by retrieving a lost legion's standard (i.e. The Eagle).Breathtaking cinematography combined with solid acting makes this movie a cut above the normal sword and sandal affair.
Like Gaul, Eagle can be neatly divided into three parts: garrison life, life in the Roman colony and adventure north of the wall.As the curtain opens we meet Marcus Flavius Aquilla (Channing Tatum) a newly minted commander on his way to a frontier outpost where Druids are rousing the restive Celts to action against the occupying Roman Army.
I remember reading the source book "The Eagle of the Ninth" a few years ago and really enjoying it, fanciful historical fiction that it was, so I was pleasantly surprised to see it made into a movie and a good one at that.Eschewing the flash and show of your more typical sword and sandal epic, this movie is a gritty affair, short on dialogue, big on strong silences, filmed in natural light and in a variety of normally grey, wet weather conditions.
Given that it's set in my native Scotland and directed by a Scot, Kevin McDonald, I can safely say he got that part right.The story itself is straightforward enough, concerning a young Roman Marcus Aquilas (Channing Tatum) and his struggle to restore his family honour after his centurion dad led the talismanic Roman Eagle, as well as all his men, into an expedition into the savage North of Britain, never to return.
Heroically discharged from front-line duty, Marcus is paired up with a young Celtic slave and decides to attempt to retrace his father's footsteps and recover the Eagle, at the same time solving the mystery of the disappearance of the Ninth Legion.With an atmospheric soundtrack based on Celtic themes, sympathetically realistic landscape photography and committed physical acting by the leads in particular, this was an enjoyable if sometimes dour feature, centring on themes of heroism, loyalty and honour.
The American accents grate as they always do in features like this, but Tatum and Jamie Bell convince as initially distrusting allies and while I could have perhaps done with a few more action set-pieces, plus the climactic battle between the remnants of the Ninth and the pursuing natives could have been made more of, this was an entertaining and watchable film with the director cleverly making up for the implausibility of the plot with a down to earth approach which helped to establish some necessary credibility along the way..
However, it was not like that, because The Eagle pretends to be a pseudo-historical sequel which analyzes the mystery 20 years later, and focuses the epic narrative to a pair of individuals who run the same dangerous location looking for redemption.Director Kevin Macdonald's filmography includes some brilliant movies (One Day in September, Touching the Void and The Last King of Scotland), and even though The Eagle is not nearly as good as those films, I think it represents a good addition to his filmography.
Horrid acting all the way thru the movie.Looks to be just a vehicle for Tatum to showcase his six pack with little to none acting skills through out.Even Donald Sutherland's acting was bland in this one,he must have needed a paycheck very badly to accept this role.The scene of the fight with the gladiator was god awful.The seal people dancing around was really stupid.In other words do not waste any of your money if you happen to think this is a decent movie.I wouldn't rent it let alone buy it.Hopefully the next movie of Tatums will have a good enough director to actually get some acting out of him.I see no Oscars in his future with his acting..
An ancient roman adventure story must be able to apply blood steel and gore in well balanced and palatable proportions and this movie does just that, most critics might argue that the story has been told before -soldier seeks to restore family honour, against all odds goes deep behind enemy lines and perseveres to achieve the impossible with an incredible amount of luck on his side- But in this case as the story line unfolds your cynicism turns you from an active listener to a wide eyed, expectant and tense viewer, I was swept up by the events as Channing Tatum's adventure reached a tense and nail biting climax, Now the dialogue in Tatum's movies has not always been Oscar worthy he is more of the Arnie kind terminate and be back, but he more than makes up for this by a passionate and dedicated performance that leaves you thinking the credits appeared too soon.You will most def enjoy this movie the action is fun, the scenery is beautiful and the chase at the end was great.
The battle scenes were pretty much the best thing about the movie.Kevin Macdonald's film is about how a Roman centurion and his slave set out on a quest to find the missing eagle statue that was a symbol of the Ninth Legion.The acting is pretty good but nothing to write home about.
This newest film, ably directed by Kevin MacDonald is based primarily on the fictional work of Rosemary Sutcliff and entitled " The Eagle " relates the tale of a young Roman Officer, Marcus Aquilla (Channing Tatum) who requested to be stationed in Briton with the notion of restoring his late father's honor by retrieving the missing standard or Eagle lost on his father's last campaign.
There are really only a few big battle scenes and aside from the finale they appear more in the early sequences.But that isn't to say that the film lacks action or is immature, there a couple of scenes – one in particular springs to mind – that are pretty brutal and harsh going, but remain realistic and true to the story.Tatum is stoic and determined as Marcus Aquila and Jamie Bell is fine as the reluctant slave acting out of honour.
The story begins in 140 AD in Rome where young Marcus Aquila (Channing Tatum), the son of the soldier who allowed the Eagle symbol of Roman victory to be lost in a battle in Britain in 120 AD, becomes a centurion: he asks to be stationed in Britain where he promises his father's departed spirit that he will restore honor to his family by regaining the eagle.
Adapted by Jeremy Brock from Rosemary Sutcliff's historical adventure novel The Eagle of the Ninth and based on the supposed disappearance of the Ninth Spanish Legion in Britain, this British American co production tells the story of a young Roman soldier who goes on a journey to honour his father by finding his lost legion's golden emblem – the eagle.It doesn't really matter whether you are familiar with this piece of history, because the movie is marketed as an action adventure featuring, well, action and adventure.
I want to say first many say don't watch it, it is not the best but hey just enjoy this adventure and especially if you like this part of history too.The story is a dramatic one that although is not great is a good-ish one and I personally believe it overrules any poor acting or directing and makes it better.
Roman Centurion Marcus (Tatum) and Esca (Bell), his slave, go north to Briton thru Hadrian's Wall to recapture The Eagle (standard of the Roman 9th Legion lost in a battle by Marcus' father) and restore his family's honor.There are two things we don't hardly see anymore: a good Western and a good Roman soldier movie.Well, here we have a good Roman soldier movie.
There are lots of battles, beautiful scenery, and excitement.The movie follows Sutcliff's hunt for the 9th Legion Eagle, lost beyond Hadrian's Wall in the the mysterious land of the Picts, ruthless tribes of barbarians in present day Scotland.
There are lots of battles, beautiful scenery, and excitement.The movie follows Sutcliff's hunt for the 9th Legion Eagle, lost beyond Hadrian's Wall in the the mysterious land of the Picts, ruthless tribes of barbarians in present day Scotland.
It therefore seems fitting that Bell's acting is more expressive than Tatum's.Although "The Eagle" is not an epic on the grand scale of some recent films about the Classical world such as "Gladiator" or "Alexander", it is nevertheless a very good action-adventure story with some decent action sequences, especially the early battle when the Celts attack the Roman fortress. |
tt1984248 | Slaughter Is the Best Medicine | Conway, an ex-military man, travels to a remote farm where he finds his old friend Vet, a hardened man of war. He convinces Vet and his disbanded team of mercenaries to go into the treacherous Gallows Wood on one last capture mission, for which they will be rewarded handsomely. The target is the defected Professor Black, a formidable scientific mind.Before the mission, the group congregate in a warehouse. Each of them are specialists in their chosen field. The Cobra has incredible hearing, Big Bastard is a physical powerhouse, Frenik is a bomb expert, Scope is a sniper, Tracks can smell the enemy from a mile away, Dustbin is a medic with a huge appetite and MLTDF (Most Likely To Die First) is the messenger of the team. As they reunite, former tensions from a previous operation resurface and Vet prepares them for the mission ahead.Immediately after landing in Gallows Wood, communications are lost. A dangerous encounter with one of Vet's former colleagues leaves them unsettled. As they descend deeper, they suffer bloody attacks from a hidden adversary. As a massacre ensues, suspicions and doubt plague the team in their search for the elusive Professor Black.What was meant to be a simple extraction mission soon becomes a terrifying journey into madness. The chaos that follows leads Vet to a startling revelation. | insanity, revenge, murder | train | imdb | Very enjoyable for zero budget, but terrible marketing!. I bought this film as SAS Black Ops, though I have to say that I like the original title of Slaughter better. For a film made for nothing it's quirky and enjoyable. As a Hollywood film... basically it*s not. For me the packaging is not anything to do with the film. The characters don't even pretend to be anything other than mercs, so it's a blatant marketing ploy. Three Wolves Ltd seems to be a trading name of Brightspark Productions, who appear adept at misleading people. And I noticed a couple of spelling mistakes on the back cover. Quality Control!As for the film itself, I think the general story was good and mostly original if a little underdeveloped. The acting was mainly quite amateur but in general very tongue in cheek, so it does have a spoofy kind of feel which I like. I can see what they were trying to do with the cinematography though they obviously only had the sort of equipment you could fit in a shoebox. Enjoyed the soundtrack, which I thought matched what the film would have been with a higher budget.In conclusion, the price was too high and the packaging completely wrong, but I was entertained by this respectable stab at independent cinema. I hope all the good things about the film aren't overlooked because of a misleading cover. Next time use a competent distributor!. The Best Medicine? kill me now..... Okay, so I get that the movie was made for absolutely nothing. Now I don't mean this is a low-budget B movie...I mean it was made with no budget. Zero. Don't believe me? Look it up. That is the only reason I give it a 3 and not a 1.So, I borrow the flick from TD, Make myself a Manhattan, hit play, and start laughing. The acting from the "Team" is so shatteringly bad I felt silly watching it. I've seen better acting at the local community theater. Okay, sure this is the leads first "major" film and he didn't get paid. Now I know why. I wouldn't have paid the dude either. Unfortunately the same holds true for most of the actors in this, ahem, film.There are a few scenes where the comedy saves this from being unbearable. But as a whole it is a yawn. A bad acted yawn.To wash down this medicine I would have needed three Manhattans.. What a top bit of con marketing!!. Seeing the packaging at supermarket with guy dressed in SpecOps gear with urban background. On rear of packaging showed troops repelling from Chinook helicopter. Imagine how disappointed I was to find none of these things in the "film"!! The plot - wafer thin and implausible. The staging - all within a ruined house with wooded grounds. The characters - never likely to have worked as a team. The acting, I consider , to have been very amateurish - more akin to to something put on in a church hall. Sorry guys, I cannot find it in me to be very charitable as it just fell too short of the mark. All in all, I feel I have been conned. There are way too many of this style of ripoff films around and we need to vote with our feet!!. Truly bad film and clever marketing - contains spoiler. I paid 99p for this and still think I was overcharged. The only reference to the SAS is on the UK cover where they have renamed the film "SAS Black Ops". The acting is poor, its not real in anyway, they go foundering through the woods making as much noise as possible, the. In order not to be seen, they apply cammo cream to their faces, and leave white arms on show. Their "Comms" is done by pressing your ear. The budget for this film was £50 and it shows. However, it does have its good points, I feel its well directed and edited, special effects are good, considering its all done on home PC. With a little more thought, this could have been a lot better film. |
tt0102175 | Jungle Fever | Flipper Purify (Wesley Snipes) is a successfully married African American man who works at an architectural firm in New York City. One day, an Italian American woman named Angela "Angie" Tucci (Annabella Sciorra) is hired as a temporary secretary at the place. Flipper complains to his partners Jerry (Tim Robbins) and Leslie (Brad Dourif) about wanting an African American secretary. They tell him that they want "the best human being for the job."When Flipper returns to his Harlem home after visiting his best friend Cyrus (Spike Lee), he tells his wife Drew (Lonette McKee) about his promotion. Drew tells him to be prepared if his promotion is declined, but Flipper tells her not to worry. Meanwhile, Angie returns to her Bensonhurst home, and cooks dinner for her father Mike (Frank Vincent) and her two brothers Charlie (David Dundara) and Jimmy (Michael Imperioli). Her boyfriend Paulie Carbone (John Turturro) arrives and takes her out on a date. Paulie is a regular Italian-American man who co-manages a grocery store in his and Angie's neighborhood. While he waits for Angie, her brothers antagonize Paulie about his relationship with his sister, threatening him with bodily harm if his only intention is to have sex with her. Paulie's able to shake it off and he & Angie leave.One night, Flipper and Angie are working late at the firm, and they start to have a conversation about cooking. They continue to work late and have dinner in his office and they have sex on a desk. The next day, Flipper doesn't speak while walking his daughter to school. Later, at the office, he tells Jerry and Leslie that he wishes to be made a partner at the firm. After his offer is declined, he abruptly quits his job, telling his employers that his ideas have made the firm very profitable. One of his bosses, Leslie tells Flipper they need "a little more time" while Les' partner, Jerry, reacts angrily to Flipper's resignation, saying that his ego is driving his decisions. Later that night at the park, Flipper admits his infidelity to Cyrus. Just then, Flipper's older brother Gator (Samuel L. Jackson) shows up with his girlfriend Vivian (Halle Berry). He asks Flipper for some money so he can feed his crack habit. Flipper initially refuses, but gives in eventually.Meanwhile, Angie tells her two girlfriends that she's seeing Flipper, shocking them when she tells them he is African American. She then tells them not to tell anybody. But her friends just cannot stop their gossiping and they secretly tell one of Angie's brothers, who likewise, tells their father Mike.The next evening, Flipper and Angela are ignored by the racist staff at a local restaurant. He complains to an African-American waitress (Queen Latifah) about not being served, she in turn berates him for dating a white woman. Later, the rumors about them surface when Flipper comes home and sees a furious Drew throwing his things out of the second floor window, forcing him to move back in with his mother Lucinda (Ruby Dee) and his father the Good Reverend Doctor (Ossie Davis) in nearby Brooklyn. Later that night, he confronts Cyrus for betraying his trust. Cyrus admits that he told his wife Vera (Veronica Webb), but he didn't know that she would tell Drew (plus several other people in the neighborhood). Flipper insults Vera for her big mouth and inability to keep a secret which causes a rift in his friendship with Cyrus, who demands he apologize to Vera, but Flipper refuses. Shortly after, Flipper ends his friendship with Cyrus after seeing that although Cyrus does like and support Flipper, he will always side with his wife regardless of her actions.The next day, Flipper tries to make things up to Drew by bringing her flowers at work, which she refuses. The two have a nasty argument and Flipper leaves. Meanwhile, Angie ends her relationship with Paulie. His father Lou (Anthony Quinn) finds Paulie in the bathroom and consoles him. When Angie returns home, a livid and racist Mike violently beats her for dating a black man and throws her out of the house.Flipper and Angie move in to an apartment together, where they subsequently encounter social problems including a failed dinner with Flipper's parents who disapprove of their son dating someone outside his race. These and other racial issues eventually strain relations between the couple. One night, things come to a head when the police almost arrest Flipper after receiving a wrongful report from another racist white person that "a white lady was being attacked" (this, due to somebody apparently having watched them in a compromising position over a car hood from a window, since it looked like he was forcing himself on her). Afterword, Flipper and Angie get into another huge argument when he tells her that he refuses to have half-blood children with her.When Paulie hears the confession from Angie about her affair with a black man, he is heartbroken. This, somehow, gives him the courage to ask a black female regular customer, named Orin Goode (Tyra Ferrell), out on a date. This puts him at odds with his own racist father and his friends, whom he gets into a fight with, although he winds up hurt himself. Orin turns down Paulie's request to go out on a date. When he pesters her, Orin tells him off by saying that her parents have forbidden her from dating a man outside her race and she will not defy her parents out of blind loyalty to them. Paulie finds himself more emotionally hurt and alone then ever.One night, a high-on-dope Gator storms into his parents house one night while the Reverend is away, demanding money from Lucinda while trashing the house. The Reverend arrives and threatens to shoot him if he doesn't leave. Gator turns to leave, but upon hearing the Reverend insult him, he turns around and threatens him. The Reverend tells Gator he is better off dead, and shoots him in the groin. Gator cries in pain as he slowly dies in his mother's arms. However, The Reverend shows a small sign of regret.Eventually, due to the great gap created between them two, Flipper admits that he was only curious about being with a white woman, and he tells Angie that she should accept she was also curious about black men. They break up and he leaves the apartment they were sharing. Angie returns to her father's house where she apologizes for getting into a romance with a man who's color skin is different. Mike awkwardly welcomes Angie back.In the end, Flipper is seen having sex with Drew again, but she is laughing and crying at the same time. When they finish, she sends him off. It is clear that they were obviously not back together and she only called him over for sex, with no seemingly immediate solution in regards to it. He kisses his daughter Ming (Veronica Timbers) goodbye and walks out to go home back to his parents house. Then, at the turn of the corner, a very young black girl asks him to let her do oral sex on him for two dollars. Stunned, Flipper embraces her and screams to the heavens: NOOOOOOO!!!!.(It was not clear whether the plot had leaped forward to some years later and this girl was Ming, or that he was only shocked to see this teenager whoring herself for drug money.) | murder | train | imdb | However his life is thrown into chaos when his wife Drew finds out.The opening credits are catchy and the material is just the sort of racial issue that Spike Lee made his name but somehow the film itself really failed to catch my imagination or hold my attention.
Firstly the film feels like a series of disjointed conversations most of which are interesting enough to listen to but don't a total film make.Secondly, and more importantly, Lee appears to be in agreement with some of his characters that mixed race relationships are not a good idea.
Then again, maybe it's close to being inevitable with how the elements mix, and at the end there are some parts of the film that are the best that Lee's done so far as a filmmaker.Wesley Snipes and Anabella Sciora star as the said 'jungle fever' couple, the man being married with a kid, of all things to a woman who is also light-skinned and with her own 'issues', and the woman having an 'old-fashioned' Italian father.
Among many scenes where confrontations reach a great emotional intensity, the best comes with Snipes going into the crack-house and seeing just the purest dark side of society, what really does bring people down.In the end, Jungle Fever is one of the Lee movies that is worth seeing, that may prove on a repeat viewing to bring even more thought than previous.
Spike Lee made "Jungle Fever" in the era when he also made masterpieces like "Do the Right Thing" and "Malcolm X".
In this case, African-American Flipper Purify (Wesley Snipes) has an affair with Italian-American co-worker Angela Tucci (Annabella Sciorra), thereby setting off a racially charged chain reaction.A previous reviewer said that Lee throws in so many subplots that the movie gets too confusing.
Lots of hate and not much love is the feeling I get when looking this film up; ironic then that the idea of interracial relationships in 1990s America has much the same stance on the idea stick to what you know or else people who have long since died will be angry at you, oh and the current parent who hasn't died (the father in both cases) will either threaten to or indeed literally beat you senseless.I don't think Jungle Fever, directed by Spike Lee, is all that bad in fact I found it interesting, engaging and somewhat tragic which means I liked it; I liked it a lot.
I think one of the primary reasons this film works is that it achieves something extremely difficult and that's being able to get across a narrative of love, loss and temptation all the time being able to put across and offer opinions on race and ethnicity whilst also being able to merge in a healthy and satisfying amount of humour which, oddly enough, only really comes along when the film is dealing with its 'tragedy' sub-plot involving Gator (Jackson).
The idea behind the character is tragic but it is Jackson's presence and approach to the material that makes it humorous: a crack addict that turns up at the most inconvenient of times asking for money, often doing a little dance in order to get it; but he does not learn the wrong of his ways and that's the tragic thing.So you see, the fact that Spike Lee has created this universe for all these issues to be digested and be put across all the time keeping you interest with some individual acting performances, good music and a fair amount memorable dialogue moments is extremely impressive my favourite of which is Spike Lee himself portraying a character who goes up in extremities when he learns of an affair, the fact the wife doesn't know and then that the girl is actually white.
Jungle Fever starts out in pretty humorous yet tragic circumstances, echoing the atmosphere to come for the rest of the film; the pre-film titles have road signs displaying things like 'drugs, left; crack, right' which is a damned if you do, damned if you don't idea that works amongst the upbeat music.
It's this sort of juxtaposition in visuals that works and challenges the viewer as well as possibly being Lee getting across what life is like in these sorts of places 'No matter where you turn, you cannot escape certain failure'.So, to have the rather oddly named Flipper Purify (Snipes) as an architect who is living a good life with a great job with great prospects with a wonderful wife and kid gives us the sense he is an achiever but he cannot live in a district that is pleasant, so that 'tag' that you never escape the ghetto is present.
This is a film in which everybody gets a bite of the cherry; the African-American characters in the film are people who are striving to survive (the credits suggesting the ghetto is a no win place suggests this) doing whatever means necessary no matter how high up you are (crack head or rich architect); Italians are people who perhaps come across as quite needlessly aggressive and yet are the sorts who hold onto values and friendships despite whatever situations arise they are also people who look out for their sisters.Then there are the women; in what is one of Jungle Fever's more remarkable scenes, a half dozen women sit around and consolidate Drew (McKee) as she comes to terms with the affair.
Jungle Fever is a film that has heart but it has brains to boot; there is another great scene when Frankie Botz (Badalucco) is being wound up over his girl and he slams people who are Aryan, blaming Hollywood (another Spike Lee scripted dig?) for it but this is right after heart of gold Italian Paulie Carbone (Turturro) points out that Italian's several decades ago who paid the blacks equal wages were hung for doing so; this echoes the overall theme of the film in a single scene, that being that "it is the 1990s, things like this happen" says Debi Mazar's character and that the disapproving parents should not be too affected by something that supposedly insults tradition.Jungle Fever is not about 'x' is black and shouldn't date 'y' because they're white; if anything it's about the reason to stick with your partner: if Flipper was curious as to what 'white' would've been like, surely that echoes compliment to Drew because he doesn't consider he so; even though she has been bullied over the light tone of her skin.
As a social commentary, the movie raises many important issues about interracial relationships in a less politically lauded tone than the iconic "Do The Right Thing", which is a wise choice for a movie mostly centered on human relationships.Through Stevie Wonder's titular song, "Jungle Fever" refers to the diagnosis of that strange mutual attraction between two persons from different races.
But the DVD was selling for $2 in a B grade movie pile, which initially put me off, it occurred to me later after watching this brilliant gem how racist our society is that this could be selling for $2.Having said all this the movie isn't without it's flaws, because of it's obvious low budget, which makes some things look a little fake and therefore affects the realism of the scene, but the irony is it was probably difficult for a black filmmaker like Spike Lee to get funding, so I can't blame him for these flaws.
There are also issues about what "well meaning" white people do and how that can actually endanger a black person (e.g. the police scene-this scene made me cry), and that even if a white person/policeman etc is not racist, the problem is black people have to be on their guard because they don't know which ones will be.SPOILER: A few people have mentioned that this movie is against inter racial relationships saying stick to your own but I'm not sure it is, after all the point is made that very few of the characters are "completely" black anyway.
Even less widespread is such mixed couples not being the core of the story told - a notable exception is "Things We Lost In the Fire" by Dane Susanne Bier, where Halle Berry and David Duchovny create a loving couple with race issues never even implied.This speaks volume why "Jungle Fever" and the issues touched remain poignantly important till this day - the concept of mixed race pairs is so innerly counter-cultural to the American society at large, even more so than in Europe or light years behind the formerly racial South Africa.
Already permeating with an unmistakable style, patchy story lines and venturing camera shots, Spike Lee's trademarks came to fruition, but unfortunately with a movie being a far cry from "Do the Right Thing" or "The 25th Hour", proving to be a director renowned for a very uneven film career..
Jungle Fever was a disappointing follow-up to what I consider Spike Lee's two finest films, the celebrated Do The Right Thing and the subtle, underrated Mo' Better Blues, and it turned Lee overnight from one of the most critically acclaimed and promising directors of his generation into the butt of everyone's "has-been" jokes.
The highly stylized camera work with its vivid colors, the extroverted acting and the prototypical characters - all of which worked very well for the morality tale of Do The Right Thing - feel clumsy and distracting in Jungle Fever which is a much more realistic story at heart.That doesn't mean Jungle Fever is a bad movie; Spike Lee has some very interesting things to say about racism in modern culture, and it makes for a very thought provoking and even eye-opening experience.
Jackson is just one of several excellent character actors - Frank Vincent, Anthony Quinn, Ossie Davis and others - who deliver performances so intense that it's hard to focus on any of them.The only actors who show any kind of subtlety are the leads - Wesley Snipes and Annabella Sciorra (also Spike Lee himself and the wonderful John Turturro, but their roles are quite small), and their story is the heart of the movie, as well as the only aspect of it to really challenge conventions and say something original.
When Lee was promoting the film at the time, he implied that people of two different races were only attracted to each other because of stereotypes they had in mind.
Not only have I never seen a Spike Lee film that I haven't liked, but I have hardly seen any that I wouldn't give a rating of 10 on this site.Jungle Fever is a drama about an interracial love affair between self-centered, hyperconfident married black businessman Snipes and humble, sensitive and prudent white temp secretary from an Italian neighborhood and the effect it has on their respective neighborhoods and social lives.
Though Jungle Fever has been knocked for making a point about interracial relationships, for every point it makes it has a counterpoint for contrast.The movie has brash, consistent music, a fiery and impassioned visual effect, and another characteristic Spike Lee touch, which is his knack for drawing from his actors intensely real performances, especially Sciorra, whom I always love..
The movie Jungle fever is pretty good, however I dont think its a good mirror on todays sociaty or even the 90's.I DONT like the term "interracial dating" or talk about diffrent races.
There is only one race, HUMAN.There is A LOT of man and womans who have diffrent colour who are together and they have never felt even 1% of the problems that are shown in the movie jungle fever.I think some people are MAKING it a big issue.
Jungle Fever is a film about interacial dating, black romance, fathers &sons and many other deep issues.
I have since then made it a goal to see as many "Spike Lee Joints" as possible.Jungle Fever is the story of Flipper, a black middle-aged man from Harlem with a large constellation of friends and family.
It seems scores of famous actors portray members of either side's family and friends.Jungle Fever is clearly a similar subject to Do the Right Thing, or any of Lee's films.
This includes a long scene where Flipper is looking for his brother among a warehouse full of crack-heads, and many more scenes with this, all leading up to a horrible ending.I think what happened was Spike Lee tried to cover sex, drugs, and race into one movie, and though attempts were good, it was not a success.
By writing such a story, Spike Lee obviously wanted to broach and denounce racism, a topic that has often been at the core of his movies, as "Do the right thing" (1989) testifies.
Jackson, I mean he´s in almost all the new Hollywood action/war films.But I was really impressed by his acting in this film.Even if the direction by Lee and the music by Stevie Wonder is great I think I like it mostly because of the acting.Stars like:Wesley Snipes,Samuel L.
The first time I watched Jungle Fever, it got me thinking about the views of many people warring with each other over the difference of color and why many families maintain their own cultures rather than integrating as one.
I think not!For me it demonstrates that Spike Lee was portraying a very cynical and depressing outlook of two people from different backgrounds coming together with events increasing from bad to worse and many minorities choosing to reject such a matter rather than accepting a change.Performances were a real turn out for me in this one.
Although it can be lightened up with a sense of humor it did leave a sour taste as to whether people will eventually change their point of views towards integrating than separating?I'm just happy to know that many stars such as Snipes, Jackson and Halle Berry (yes that's right she plays a drug addict alongside cool man Jackson), have managed to sustain such a highly demanding careers for the many roles given to them then and now.
Ok, any true fan of Spike Lee *or* Sam Jackson would know Sam was in Lee's "School Daze", which came several years before Jungle Fever.Now that we've cleared that up....GREAT movie.
But, of course, since this is a Spike Lee Joint, you can bet on the secret getting out, tensions reaching their boiling points, and lives getting destroyed.What I like about this movie-Jungle Fever is my favorite of Spike Lee's films-is there are many more issues discussed than race.
The opening plot hook is an illicit affair between happily married Harlem architect Flipper Purify (not a misprint) and his Italian-American secretary, but other, more urgent problems quickly crowd out the provocative love story, notably an anti-drug subplot involving Flipper's junkie brother (highlighted in the stunning Taj Mahal crack house sequence, easily the most exciting several minutes so far in Spike Lee's filmography).
It's important to stress that while Spike Lee often comes under fire from all sides for allegedly putting his own views across - be it homophobic, sexist, anti-semitic, or most commonly, racist - this is more a measure of the issues his films cover, and a strange excuse to pick holes in great films, than a genuine argument.No, Jungle Fever is a brilliant film that both answers questions of his critics and raises new ones.
Samuel in particular gives such an incredible performance that at the Cannes Film Festival, a 'Best Supporting Actor' award was created especially for him.For those who have seen Spike's previous work - it's similar to Do The Right Thing, in a way.
It concerns sexual myths, and somehow managing not to feel tacked on, drugs (critics demanded to know where the drugs were in Do The Right Thing upon release - Spike responded by asking where the drugs were in Oliver Stone's Wall Street, then obliged with Jungle Fever).If you haven't, expect a look at the issue of mixed relationships, tinged with humour and tragedy, and a rather good soundtrack.
I have always been a fan of Spike Lee ever I seen his best film to date, Do The Right Thing.
The film is multi-faceted and does not follow one story line but follows the lives of all kinds of different people who are related to each other or know each other somehow.Spike Lee plays Flipper Purify, a black architect who has a nice family and a good job living in Harlem.
I wish Paulie's was more developed, because that way we would have seen a bolder contrast between that and the doomed one with Flipper and Angie, but I guess the realistic one is more important.Overall, while Jungle Fever doesn't seem to view that topic as much as the title suggests, it still comes off as a very thought provoking film with many discussions to be had.
Jungle Fever opens with Spike Lee's favorite character of all time, New York.
After which we see a sex scene with Flipper played by Wesley Snipes loudly making love with his black wife.
Flipper and Angie, never having been intimate with anyone outside their race (except for Flipper's half Caucasian wife) work late into the evenings and eventually build an attraction to each other which Spike Lee calls "Jungle Fever".
Example: Flipper and Angie are being ignored at a restruant because they're interracial then at the end of the scene when Queen Latifah, playing the waitress, walks off there's a 3 second cutaway where two bystanders say "She's White!?" "Mhmm Hmm" Jungle Fever is a film that indulgently satisfies itself.
The rest of the movie focuses primarily on the reactions of various people to interracial romance and on a seemingly irrelevant plot line involving Flipper's crack-addicted brother Gator (another good performance, by Samuel L.Jackson), a real character who starts out funny and later becomes terrifying.
So condemning is Lee's treatment of Flipper and Angie's desire for one another, by the film's end, it's rendered as a drug like Gator's crack cocaine. |
tt0067713 | Scars of Dracula | A vampire bat enters a sealed room inside Castle Dracula with a coffin containing ashes: it regurgitates blood onto the ashes and reanimates them. Later a village girl is found dead and brought to the local tavern, and the landlord [Michael Ripper] realizes that Dracula [Christopher Lee] is back. He sends all the village women to the church so the men can storm the castle and torch it. The villagers and priest encounter the servant Klove {Patrick Troughton}, who tells them the fire won't reach his master. On returning to the church, the men open the door and vampire bats fly out. Inside they find the women dead, horribly mutilated.Meanwhile, Sarah Framsen [Jenny Hanley] is celebrating her birthday. All of her friends are there, except for one empty place at the table for playboy Paul Carlson [Christopher Matthews]. His brother Simon [Dennis Waterman] is competing with Paul for Sarah's hand. Simon gives Sarah a ring but realizes she is still torn between the brothers.Paul is in bed with Alice, who lies about how late in the evening it is: he tries to make a hasty exit but drops a wrapped present for Sarah and infuriates Alice. She wraps herself in the bed sheets and gives chase when her father--the burgomaster--arrives, and she takes the opportunity to get back at Paul by suggesting he took advantage of her: Paul escapes as the burgomaster's men go after him.Paul arrives at the party and gives Sarah his present: a framed photo of her. Sarah and Simon try gallantly to hide the fact that the glass over the picture is cracked (from having been dropped earlier), but when Paul sees the damage he takes back the gift and promises to have it fixed the next day. He then has to flee the burgomaster's men by jumping out a window into a coach. The runaway vehicle drops him at the tavern and, after a disagreeable argument with the landlord, he leaves on foot and winds up at Castle Dracula looking for overnight lodging. Instead, he is seduced by the mysterious Tanya [Anouska Hempel], who is a victim of the count but not fully a vampire. Before dawn, she bares her fangs and prepares to claim Paul as a victim, but Dracula interferes, knocking Paul unconscious and viciously stabbing Tanya to death. Paul regains consciousness at the cock's crow and covers the carnage with a bed sheet and fashions a makeshift rope to scale the castle wall and gain access to the floor below. The sheets are pulled back up by Klove, leaving Paul trapped in Dracula's crypt to await dusk.In the bedroom, Klove finds Sarah's picture among Paul's belongings. He sets it on the bed table to amuse himself as he dismembers and disposes of Tanya's body.Simon and Sarah arrive at the castle looking for Paul, but Klove helps them escape as he is smitten with Sarah, whom he recognizes from the portrait. The servant is punished by Dracula, who burns him with a sword heated to glowing red in the fireplace. Simon and Sarah escape to the nearby village where they seek help. Sarah stays with the priest while Simon returns to the castle and bribes the servant to help him. Unfortunately, he gets helped into Dracula's crypt where he finds his brother Paul dead, impaled on a hook. Meanwhile, the vampire bat has mauled the priest to death and Sarah flees, seeking Simon back at the castle. The bat rips off her cross, and Dracula draws near. Simon escapes the crypt and confronts Dracula on a rampart with an iron spike, but his aim is poor and Dracula retrieves it to use against Simon. A raging storm produces a lightning bolt that strikes Dracula, and the lord of the undead is electrocuted and incinerated by the intense heat and falls to his destruction from the battlement. | good versus evil, violence, gothic | train | imdb | Soon his brother Simon and his finance Sarah have gone looking for him, where they encounter unwelcoming locals and learn that Paul has passed through to Dracula's castle.Out of the Hammer Dracula films I've watched (which would be Horror of Dracula, Dracula - Prince of Darkness, Dracula Has Risen from the Grave, Taste the blood of Dracula and The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires), this particular entry (the sixth) would have to be the weakest, but not entirely bad.
In this movie we see Dracula burn his servant with a hot sword and stab his female vampire slave to death with a knife.Christopher Lee had said this was the weakest and most unconvincing of the series.
That would have been sweet.The bat looked fake, the knife looked rubber, the burning castle looked like an obvious miniature with a big candle in it, the lightning hitting Dracula at the end was an obvious stunt man with a really bad (Michael Myers?) mask and the church scene after the bat attack was disturbing.
I've seen some of the best hammer Dracula films and I have seen some of the worst, and all I can say is that this one ranks way up there as a highly enjoyable Count Dracula story, which I'm sad to say is sometimes bombarded by critics and even by Christopher Lee himself as being a weak entry into the series.
Not gonna go into details, but he is part of what made the movie a little different.Dracula is a bit more evil, sadistic and violent in this film than in others, for example he is seen using weapons such as daggers and swords to express his fury, instead of the more traditional ways were used to seeing him use.
It seems to me that there's a little bit of all these Hammer films in Fright Night.Finally I think that anyone fond of Dracula films, and specially Hammer films will find this film highly enjoyable, because of Christopher Lees evil performance, high atmosphere, Gothic sets and the high blood quotient (for a Hammer film anyways) Don't go expecting a huge bloodbath, by todays standards its tame, but by Hammer films standards up to that time, its got lots of the red stuff.
The script is little more than a rehash of Dracula and Dracula Prince Of Darkness, but there is more action than any others in the series, and several memorable sequences, including the discovery of bodies horribly gored by bats in a church [replete with Lucio Fulci style zooms into the nasty bits], Dracula climbing up a wall a la Bram Stoker, and a vampire seduction ending with Dracula stabbing the woman to death.
Directed by Roy Ward Baker and starring Christopher Lee in his fifth outing as Dracula, Scars Of Dracula, hamstrung by low budget as it is, is one of the better efforts in the Hammer Horror Dracula cycle.Standard rules apply, buxom wenches are ripe for slaughter and the guys are a mixture of village yokels and posh gentlemen.
The cast reads like a who's who of British television, you got a Doctor Who {Patrick Troughton with the worlds scariest eyebrows}, Minder {a badly miscast Dennis Waterman}, a Bond girl and presenter of Magpie {the lovely Jenny Hanley} and Lord Melbury from Fawlty Towers {Michael Gwynn}.Safe & solid Hammer Horror fare that just about rises above the normality of the script.
The story isn't really that good--just a bunch of young, good-looking, talentless young actors getting involved with Dracula (Christopher Lee).There are MANY things wrong with this film: 1) The plot is slight and heavily padded (even at 90 minutes) 2) There are some ridiculously fake rubber bats 3) The special effects are dreadful 4) With two exceptions the acting is even worse than usual for a Hammer film 5) Dracula stabs a woman vampire to death (why???) with an obviously fake knife and THEN drinks her blood.
MORD39 RATING: *** out of ****In my opinion, SCARS OF DRACULA is the most satisfying entry of all the Hammer Dracula's, even squeaking past the revered HORROR OF DRACULA.People like to pick on the reduced budget, but I have never felt that the sets look too bad when all is said and done.
The script is at best mediocre and at worst shoddy, some parts are far too talky, and there's some silliness, vaguely explored ideas and sometimes tedious melodrama(like Dracula Has Risen from the Grave but worse).The special effects do look dreadfully fake, especially the bats that look laughable even by today's standards.
While the acting is fine on the whole, Dennis Waterman did nothing for me, he is incredibly bland and while he looks and sounds right at home in 1970s London he looks and sounds completely out of place here.Scars of Dracula has some highly atmospheric sets(especially Dracula's castle, which is like a character all by itself), is very stylishly shot and has wonderfully moody lighting.
Christopher Lee has more screen-time and dialogue than the rest of the Hammer Dracula films featuring him, which is great considering that generally his screen-time and amount of dialogue were lessoning with each instalment, and he absolutely relishes that in a powerful and positively blood-curdling performance.
Some have said that he was losing interest and that he considered this film the worst of the series, but it didn't come over that way to me, besides Lee was too great and conscientious an actor to show that.Overall, decent but could have been much more; Hammer's fifth Dracula film out of eight ranks right in the middle personally.
Roy Ward Baker's "Scars Of Dracula" of 1970 is not only by far the goriest and most violent of the awesome Dracula movies from Hammer Studios, it is also one of the best sequels.
Count Dracula, played once again with greatness by Christopher Lee, is more vengeful, blood-thirsty and sadistic than ever, and the (once again) excellent eerie Hammer atmosphere makes "Scars Of Dracula" an must-see for Horror fans.The story is, admittedly, not too elaborate, in some minor parts the script has its flaws, and the film has some cheesy moments, but what the hell, it remains suspenseful and creepy and top-notch horror entertainment anyway!
Count Dracula has, of course, always been a scary and evil villain in the Hammer films, but in "Scars Of Dracula" he is the Devil himself!The movie begins with Dracula's (admittedly slightly cheesy) resurrection when a bat drops blood on his rotting ashes.
After some girls fall victim to the vampire, angry villagers try to burn the count's castle, and have to notice that they are not capable of fighting the Prince of Darkness, who immediately takes terrible revenge
When a young man has to flee his town after spending the night with the burgomaster's daughter, he comes to the area where Dracula is striking terror into people's hearts, people who are living in constant fear and who are therefore anything but hospitable towards strangers
"Scars Of Dracula" is, in my opinion, one of the greatest Dracula-sequels from the Hammer Studios.
The violence is more graphic than in any of the other Dracula movies from Hammer, and although some effects in the movie may look a bit fake, the gory parts are very well made, and the great score by James Bernard makes the whole thing even creepier.
Last classic in the Hammer's Dracula series, because it was the last film set in the right Victorian/Gothic milieu: 19th century fairytale Transylvania of castles, peasants, pretty girls and adorable rubber bats.
They protect their wives in the church and head to the castle, but evil wins and their wives are murdered by bats under the command of Dracula.Sometime later, the womanizer Paul Carlson (Christopher Matthews) has one night stand with Alice (Delia Lindsay, who is the burgomaster's daughter.
Dracula's vintage castle looks much more Gothic and authentic here than it ever did in "Horror of Dracula," and director Roy Ward Baker even includes a shot from straight out of Bram Stoker's novel where the Count is witnessed scaling the sides of the castle's exterior like some kind of lizard.
When she commands: "love me!" all I can do is ask her how hard.Detractors like to pick on the fake look of the bats in the movie (as if movie prop bats have ever looked authentic in any old vampire films!) and they also cite the low budget sets as a detriment (and I'll maintain that "Horror of Dracula"'s sets looked far cheaper).
Due to this energy-boost in the series, veteran actor Christopher Lee seems to enjoy his repetitive role some more again, and his great performance contributes in making "Scars of Dracula" a sleazy and violent Hammer highlight.
Christopher Lee is only rarely in the film and much of it consists of people stumbling along looking for their missing friend until the final confrontation which ends the vampire menace forever....or at least until the next film!Aside from a servant for Dracula who actually manages to betray his master, there really isn't a lot innovative or memorable about the film.
Having seen most of the Hammer "Dracula" series with Christopher Lee as the Count, I always look for something different to catch my interest.
Roy Ward Baker directed two of the best Hammer movies in 'Quatermass And The Pit' and 'The Vampire Lovers', but 'Scars Of Dracula' isn't of the same standard.
Scars of Dracula, without a pre-sale agreement with the U.S. was therefore filmed on a low budget, and while this shows, it does not prevent this from being one of the most memorable and unfairly derided of the long-running vampire series.Christopher Lee turns in an excellent performance as the Count, and has plenty of screen time and dialogue compared to "Dracula: Prince of Darkness" (1966), where the script was so woeful he refused to say any of it and ended up saying nothing at all.
Christopher Lee is once again featured in the titular role (the fourth time in one year he appeared as the Count), but the frightened lovers who have invaded Dracula's castle searching for a lost relative are brash and boring.
Maybe this movie is most gloomy and gore Dracula of all Hammer's productions,the plot is often the same,but in the beginning something fresh all villagers burn the Dracula's castle after one more body appears,another high point is a lot of beauty women in the movie all them gorgeous and sexy...without forget the amazing acting of Patrick Troughton as Klove a weird guy who is enchanted by Sarah's portrait and help Simon escapes....Lee needless a word to describe....the movie spoke itself,cruel,violent,bloody and gloomy!!
Meanwhile, Paul's elder brother Simon (DENNIS WATERMAN) and his girlfriend Sarah (JENNY HANLEY) arrive at the village in order to find him and end up doing battle with the dreaded Count, in which they discover the extent of the evil that goes on within the castle walls...The tremendous success of TASTE THE BLOOD OF Dracula (also 1970) meant that Hammer wasted no time in putting another sequel into production.
The last two, Dracula AD 1972 (1972) and THE SATANIC RITES OF Dracula (1974) were both set in contemporary London.SCARS OF Dracula is one of Hammer's goriest films, sequences like the priest's demise at the hands of a bat in close-up are exceptionally nasty, but all in all it is a disappointing addition to their celebrated Dracula series.
But it must be said that Christopher Lee gets more screen time here than in most other Dracula films and he is still the definitive Count.
This is probably "Scars" Weakest element, and for Toppers, there are many Scenes with Dracula's Totem Dominion Displayed throughout.This is Hammer's most Gruesome and Gory of the "Dracula" Movies, one of the Things that puts the Film on its Supporters Side, and the "Bats" Carnage is Substantial.
The middle of the film could be seen as a weak point of the movie, as nothing of real significance happens, and it does tend to drag out a bit here with the traditional Hammer scenes, from the overlong set-up to get him out to the castle in order to disappear in order for their later search to occur and the later parts of them wandering the countryside stopping at the end where it takes forever for something to finish out.
Flaws aside, Dracula is biting, stabbing, impaling and burning his victims this time and he is out for blood.Local villagers, enraged that yet another young woman has been murdered by the Count, rise up and set fire to Castle Dracula.
Although Hammer's horror films were becoming more prolific by 1970, there was a definite downturn in their fortunes: audiences were falling out of love for their modest-budgeted Gothic tales.Released shortly after 'Taste the Blood of Dracula', the drop in quality for this latest offering is noticeable, both in budget (there is a very studio-bound feel to Dracula's castle for example) and in interesting new ideas (Dracula's life-saving blood-spewing personal bat is particularly unsuccessful).Rather than an ongoing story, 'Scars' is more a series of set-pieces.
We then have the slaughter of a church full of villagers we never get to know, various sadistic acts by Dracula (as well as a partially successful scene of him crawling snake-like down the walls of his castle, lifted from the novel – presumably keeping Christopher Lee happy) and finally the least convincing climactic dispatch of the Count by lightning as Dennis Waterman and a badly dubbed Jenny Hanley watch on.Although it gives Lee more to do than most sequels in this series, it is nevertheless a palpably tired offering and wastes most of its cast.
Trying to evade his guards, Paul winds up at Dracula's castle when he can not find shelter anywhere else when his horse carriage was driven way too far from his village.Simon(Dennis Waterman), Paul's brother, and his gorgeous girlfriend Sarah(Jenny Hanley), seek out of their village to try and find him not knowing what evil lied ahead.This is continuing right after "Taste the Blood of Dracula" and we watch as a bat swoops over the remaining ash of the Count releasing blood from it's mouth.
By far, the most sadistic and violent of the Hammer vampire films to that point, this is by far Christopher Lee's best rendition of Dracula.
When he does not return, his brother and his fiancé come looking for him, and they find out the hard way why people in those parts aren't keen on the name Dracula.The biggest problem with this movie is, the story is too slim, and it reduces the thing just to series of set pieces.
After a very silly opening sequence, in which Dracula is revived by a rubber bat regurgitating blood onto his dusty remains, this movie, the sixth in Hammer's Dracula series, quickly gets into gear and delivers plenty of what fans expect: handsome heroes, beautiful women (in cleavage enhancing dresses), an overload of Gothic atmosphere, some bright red gore, and Christopher Lee at his creepy best.A young man, Paul Carson (who has been run out of town for banging the Burgomaster's daughter), seeks shelter in a ruined castle where he is surprised to find it inhabited by a busty brunette (Anouska Hempel), a mono-browed manservant (Patrick Troughton), and the Count (Lee).
After unwisely accepting his host's offer of a room for the night, he (not surprisingly) meets a rather sticky end.Disconcerted by his brother's strange disappearance, Simon Carson (Dennis Waterman) decides to go in search of his missing sibling, and, accompanied by his pretty blonde girlfriend Sarah (Jenny Hanley), follows a trail that ultimately leads him to Castle Dracula, and a deadly battle against the evil Count.Despite being very reminiscent of the first Hammer Dracula movie plot-wise, and having the aforementioned silly opening (and an equally daft ending in which Dracula is conveniently hit by lightning and set on fire), Scars of Dracula is a very watchable effort that benefits from some nice little creative touches (Dracula's almost impenetrable daytime retreat is pretty cool), some fairly bloody moments, and several tasty Hammer babes (Hanley's heaving bosom was particularly hypnotic, although I did find it rather strange to be lusting after the woman who presented TV's Magpie when I was a kid!)..
It's impossible to begin discussing any of Hammer's Dracula films without first mentioning Christopher Lee. In Scars of Dracula, Lee plays a more sadistic and evil version of the Count.
In spite of Christopher Lee's greater than usual screen time and Patrick Troughton's presence, this is by far my least favourite of the Hammer Dracula series.
"A Night to Remember" director Roy Ward Baker helmed the liveliest "Dracula" sequel, "Scars of Dracula," with Christopher Lee reprising the role for the fifth time in the Hammer Films franchise.
Baker brought this same sensibility his other Hammer films, like the similarly outrageous "The Vampire Lovers" and "Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde." With a more focused screenplay and less bumpy pacing, "Scars of Dracula" could have been the best of the series.
They manged to carry on for a few more years and made some much better movies along the way, but Scars is pretty much a stake through the heart.Denis Waterman, best known to UK viewers as Regan's up-for-a-punch-up Cock-er-ney side kick in The Sweeney, and the tough Cock-er-ney ex-boxer in Minder, is rather charmingly cast as a posh student lawyer in search of his missing brother.He almost brings it off, too.Hammer seem to have made some attempt to placate Christopher Lee, who was growing increasingly disenchanted at playing Dracula; they cover Stoker's original novel a little more (including a brief scaling of the castle walls by The Count himself) and give Lee a bit more to do.Unfortunately, the borrowings from Psycho become rather obvious, with Dracula even stabbing his vampire bride.
There really isn't much to Scars of Dracula beyond the Hammer horror clichés of Christopher Lee seducing pretty young English girls, superstitious local villagers & lots of running around in a supposedly huge Gothic castle that seems to consist of about three rooms. |
tt0087298 | Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter | The night after the events at Higgins Haven, Jason Voorhees's body is found and delivered to the morgue. After reviving from his wounds and escaping from the cold storage, Jason kills coroner Axel with a hacksaw, and then stabs nurse Robbie Morgan with a scalpel. The next day, a group of teenagers drive to Crystal Lake for the weekend. The group consists of Paul, his girlfriend Sam, Sarah, her boyfriend Doug, socially awkward Jimmy, and prankster Ted. On the way, the group comes across Pamela Voorhees's tombstone and a female hitchhiker, who is soon killed by Jason.
The teens arrive and meet neighbors Trish Jarvis, her brother Tommy, their mother, and the family dog Gordon. While going for a walk the next day, the teens meet twin sisters Tina and Terri, and go skinny dipping with them. Trish and Tommy happen upon the scene, and Trish is invited to a party to take place that night. Afterwards, when their car breaks down, Trish and Tommy meet a young man named Rob. They take him to their house, where Tommy shows Rob several monster masks he made himself before Rob leaves to go camping.
Later that night, the teens throw a party. When Tina starts flirting with Paul, a jealous Sam leaves to go for a swim in the lake. There, she is stabbed through a rubber raft by Jason. Feeling guilty, Paul goes after Sam and discovers her body just before he is impaled in the groin with a harpoon gun. Terri rejects Ted's advances and wants to leave, but Tina moves on to Jimmy, and the two go upstairs to have sex. Frustrated, Terri leaves the party on her own, and is impaled outside by Jason, who also kills Trish and Tommy's mother.
While Sarah and Doug are upstairs in the shower, Ted finds an old stag film and brings it up to the projector. After sleeping with Tina, Jimmy goes downstairs to get a glass of wine but gets a meat cleaver slammed into his face by Jason. Upstairs, Tina notices Terri's bicycle is still outside before she is grabbed through the window by Jason and thrown out onto the teens' car, killing her. Ted is then stabbed in the back of his head by Jason with a kitchen knife. Jason moves upstairs and kills Doug by crushing his skull. Sarah finds Doug's body and tries to flee the house, but she is killed with an axe.
Trish and Tommy return from town and discover the power outage. While looking for their mother, who had been killed by Jason earlier without her knowledge, Trish comes across Rob's campsite and learns that Rob came to Crystal Lake to get revenge against Jason for the death of his sister, Sandra. Worried for Tommy's safety, they return to the house and discover the teens' bodies. Rob helps Trish and Tommy escape and killed by Jason in the basement. Tommy and Trish barricade the house, but Jason breaks in and chases them into Tommy's room. Trish lures Jason out of the house and escapes, then returns home and is devastated to learn that Tommy is still there. She senses Jason behind her and tries to kill him with a machete, but she misses, and he attacks her. Tommy, having disguised himself to look like Jason as a child, distracts him long enough to eventually take the machete and slams it in the side of the killer's skull, splitting apart his head even further when falling upon impact. Tommy notices that Jason's fingers are moving, he continues to hack at his body screaming, "Die! Die!"
At the hospital, Trish is visited by Tommy. He rushes in, embraces her, and gives a disturbed look while staring ahead. | grindhouse film, murder, cult, horror, violence, insanity, sadist | train | wikipedia | Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter is my all time favorite horror slasher 80's film it is the best one and it is tied with Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives it is my third favorite Friday the 13th film this is a good a really good film.
And the gore, in addition to being really effective, doesn't seem quite as harshly cut from this one.The Final Chapter ties the original run of the series together well, and is the last Jason entry that can really be taken seriously.This is my number 3 favorite Friday the 13th movie I will always watch it, it is my favorite film.
Although the whole Tommy arc didn't work out in the next installment, he was a nice addition in this one and actually contributed a lot to the story.Not only is this the best Friday the 13th film, but it's a damn good slasher in its own right.
Following closely in the tradition of the previous three Fridays, The Final Chapter places Jason smack dab in the middle of two isolated cabins deep in the woods, one occupied by a group of fun loving teenagers and the other by a peaceful lakeside family.
This 4th part however was an improvement and I actually quite enjoyed it.This time with a couple of familiar faces in Crispin Glover and child star legend Corey Feldman the movie actually had a bit of a storyline which the previous ones didn't.
Thin storyline absolutely but a storyline all the same.I didn't entirely understand the logic of the movies finale but everything else was well enough done and though the film pales in comparison to the same years Nightmare On Elm Street it's still a decent slasher feature.The Good: Vastly improved death scenes Actually has a story The Bad:Still pretty naff in places Weak ending Things I Learnt From This Movie: If a rubber dinghy gets run through with a machete it'll continue to float because physics Harpoon gun up the bum is a hell of a way to go.
After moving into a new house on Crystal Lake, a family finds the teens next door have attracted maniacal killer Jason Voorhees to the area and must band together to save each before falling victim to the masked killer.This one turned out to be among the better entries in the series and is probably the series' best.
This here is quite simply one of the best of the entire series as there's a ton to absolutely love here in this chase, with tons of sprawling action here as the lengthy piece runs through several houses and up throughout varying floors on each location along with the constant barricades he has to smash through, chilling suspense in the fact that a child is frequently in the middle of the action that has to be protected along with herself, psychological tactics here with the attempt to mess with his head that comes off quite logically and even some jumps here with the constant bodies thrown through windows and Jason crashing through doors to get at them, culminating in one of the most notorious gore gags in the genre as a brilliant ending to such an excellent series of events.
So now in part four you have a fair amount of laughs, some improved gore (compared to the first few films) and the same old formula of killing kids.You also have two key guest stars: Corey Feldman and Crispin Glover.
But Crispin Glover is fun to watch, and his "white boy dance" is pretty amusing.The inclusion of character Rob Dier (brother of part two's Sandra Dier) is a good move, adding some continuity to the movie, further connecting it to the previous films.
This was also one of Corey Feldman's first films, and he does pretty good in his role as Tommy, the horror masks loving kid.Overall, if you want scares and laughs, then Friday the 13th - The Final Chapter is the movie for you!
What this film has going for it is some very gory special effects by Tom Savini, Jason wearing his mask the entire film, and some funny casting that includes Crispin Glover in a straight part (though he still manages to be weird), and a you Corey Feldman (before he got weird) playing a young boy fascinated by murder.
All of those elements make Friday The 13:The Final Chapter a memorable Horror movie and one of the best in the series.Taking place after the events in Part III,the final chapter finds Jason Voorhees(Ted White)escaping from a hospital this time stalking the Jarvis family and a group of teenagers unprepared for the wrath of Jason.Friday The 13th:The Final Chapter is a brilliant Horror movie and is easily one of the best films in the Friday The 13th franchise and one of the finest Slasher movies ever made because it pretty much has everything you would have in a Friday The 13th movie and Slasher film:characters who are dead meat from the start,blood and gore and of course Jason Voorhees.
It's also the film that introduced protagonist Tommy Jarvis who would be an important character in the Friday The 13th franchise against Jason.
Despite having some laughs The Final Chapter is probably the darkest,nastiest and most nihilistic film of the series thanks to the atmosphere which is bleak and grim with rain,fog and dark lighting that is used to great effect where you feel like no one is safe.
The movie also has a tough and vicious mean streak with the blood,gore and kills which are not well-done and horrific but cringe worthy and painful that when you watch Final Chapter you will feel like turning away.
The ending of Friday The 13th:The Final Chapter is a terrific ending and one of the best finales in the series with twists and plenty of surprises you won't see coming and one of the finest chase scenes in the franchise that is exciting and frightening.
Terrific effects,Savini.In final word,if you love the Friday The 13th series,Slasher movies or Horror films in general,I highly suggest you see Friday The 13th:The Final Chapter,an excellent,unforgettable and suspenseful sequel that is one of the best in the franchise.
this fourth entry in the series is actually not too bad.i liked it a bit better than the other 3,mainly because of the ending,which was pretty climactic,unlike many movies.plus,it was better paced.this one features a 12 year old Corey Feldman,but i still liked it.it pretty much follows the familiar formula of the last 3.minor spoiler****it's called the Final Chapter,but if you've followed the series at,you know it isn't.end of spoiler***it probably was going to be,but then the filmmakers realized they had a cash cow on their hands,and couldn't pass up the opportunity to keep churning them out.whether that's good or bad is a matter of opinion.in any case,my vote for Friday the 13th:The Final Chapter is a 6.3/10.
This movie is the fourth sequel to "Friday the 13th", one of the worst horror film franchises and one of the toughest to kill.
Finding another area in the woods, Jason is slowly stalking his way with the vacationers but an young talented make-up artist named Tommy Jarvis (Corey Feldman) has meet his match with this psychotic killer.Directed by Joseph Zito (Missing in Action) made an strong, brutal horror film with a few memorable moments of suspense and shocking moments.
The final chapter is by far the best Friday the 13th film in the series.It has the basic premise of every other Friday film teens go to a cabin get drunk and have sex but this film adds new things to the film one of which is Corey Feldman as Tommy Jarvis who is actually a metaphor for a young Tom Savini speaking about Tom Savini he did all the makeup for this film and made by far the best looking pre-zombie Jason yet.
The final chapter has the most gore the most nudity the most awesome Jason and thats what makes it the best also we have a young Crispin Glover doing the best 80s dancing that i have seen.
Contrary to the film's title, this is, of course, not the final chapter in the Jason Voorhees franchise, which has up to now reached ten movies, as well as a re-make and a spin-off.
The Final Chapter is widely considered the best of the series by fans, deviating slightly from the repetitive plots of the preceding movies, and giving the film a recurring hero in Tommy Jarvis (here played by Corey Feldman).Picking up straight after the third instalment, Jason (Ted White) is believed dead and is taken to a nearby morgue, where a doctor and a nurse are having a sneaky fumble.
As the college kids start to party and try to rub up against each other, Jason begins his slaughter.Having up to this point only seen up to this movie, I can categorically state that this is the best so far, and although it's still pretty basic by normal standards, it certainly elevates the sheer mundanity of the previous instalments.
Tom Savini, back for his second and last job on the series, creates some memorable moments of gore, including a cork- screw to the hand and special mention must also go to the craziest actor since Klaus Kinski, Crispin Glover, for his spectacular dance scene - it is one of the most bizarre moments I've ever seen on film.
The little boy tommy and his sister manage to fight jason to the end after he killed 5 or 6 teens but the ending is a good one and a surprise, if u like these kind of movies (gruesome, sexual, and drug based)watch this, you will have fun but don't eat anything while your watching because you will lose your appetite!
This movie also spawns the character of Tommy Jarvis, played by Corey Feldman, who returns in 2 more sequels, which is the only character other than Jason to do so.
This films plot basically revolves around a bunch of teenagers who stay up in a cabin by a lake in the woods, and get killed one by one by the hockey-masked Jason Vorhees.Look for Corey Feldman in the movie.
The fourth Jason is really amazing, but it is not my favorite film.After Friday THE 13th: The Final Chapter, the Jason movies would take a downward spiral into complete mediocrity and then back to being scary again.
This came out in 1984, the same year "A Nightmare on Elm Street", part 1 came out and right around the time horror and slasher films started to became a total mess.So sit back, relax and enjoy this Jason movie.8/10..
And, fittingly, they happen to be the main ones.This time out, Jason escapes the hospital morgue after he is pronounced "dead" after the end of the third film and makes his way to a rental house in the country, conveniently occupied by a group of some very annoying young adults.
Living next door is the Jarvis family--mother, young son, teenage daughter, and dog, Gordon.This film introduces young Tommy Jarvis (played very well by a young Corey Feldman)--a character who would go on to star in the next two sequels (albeit with different actors).Tom Savini returns to the make-up chair for this one following an absence from the previous two films, supplying a variety of gruesome special effects.The atmosphere is certainly more "80s" than any entry before it, with the film's fashion and choice of music reeking of bad nostalgia involving poofy hair and over-sized dress/shirt thingys with big belts around the waist (what the heck were those?).The atmosphere is darker than the previous films, with the murders being more mean-spirited and ugly this time around.
There are a new group of teenagers heading to the lake this time, and we also meet a family (The Jarvises) who live on the lake.After knocking off many people, in very brutal ways, Jason meets his match in Tommy and Trish Jarvis.
There are a new group of teenagers heading to the lake this time, and we also meet a family (The Jarvises) who live on the lake.After knocking off many people, in very brutal ways, Jason meets his match in Tommy and Trish Jarvis.
i have seen every Friday the 13th movie from the first to the latest team up with razor clawed Freddy Krueger,and ill have to say this one is the best one.mainly for the good cast.Corey Feldman(gremlins)crispen glover(Willard)Kimberly beck(nightmare at noon)Bruce Mahler(police academy)although not a stellar cast its a good cast for a Friday the 13th sequel.that unstoppable killing zombie Jason is back to do some more killing.the really good creepy gory make up effects were done by maestro tom savini(dawn of the dead,maniac,Friday the 13th)i know most people will dismiss this as just another Friday the 13th movie,but it is by far the best one.the ones to follow were not as good,not counting Freddy vs Jason.Corey Feldman did this the same time as Steven Spielberg's;gremlins.i am a sucker for actress Kimberly beck who i thought was a very beautiful girl next door type,who i remember from horror films massacre at central high(1976) nightmare at noon(1987) and an episode of the TV show buck rogers titles cruise ship to the stars(featuring the late Dorothy Stratton)i give Friday the 13th part 4, 8 out of 10.as for being the final chapter we all know the answer to that..
This movie features the best acting in a Friday the 13th film, with actors like Corey Feldman and Crispin Glover, who both went on to do popular movies, unlike everyone else in the cast.This movie really passes as one of the better 80's slasher films.
These films were important in the task of introducting the horror genre as we know it - wannabe followups like Scream and all the other BS cannot follow this, trust me...if you love horror but for some reason missed these films you are in for a treat!I remember this, part 4, as being the first one I ever saw of the series, and it actually shook and thrilled me in ways some might called perverse, but I grow up with this series in the mid 80ies and got to love it them.In this, fourth chapter, Jason for the first time turns into the very mystical character who can vanish and turn up at other turns at the speed of light.
"Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter" is the so-so fourth movie in the series about Jason, the monsterous killer who wears a hockey mask and kills teenagers staying at either summer camps or houses in the woods around Camp Crystal Lake.
FX maestro Tom Savini returns to provide some excellent make-up, providing the best un-masked Jason of them all, and even Barney Cohen's script is pretty good, allowing an interesting array of characters to develop.Especially good is Crispin Glover, and his mad dance scene is worth the price of admission alone, and a young Corey Feldman also impresses.
The movie which was to end the Friday the 13 series, the final chapter.
Friday the 13th 4 was an Okay sequel...It also introduced the very young Corey Feildman...There was no gore,it seemed quiet boring,the death toll wasn't that good either,the ending sucked,but the movie put together wasn't so bad...I liked Kimberly Beck's performance and stunts,here are my ratings!Acting - 2.5 / 5.0 Actors - 3.0 / 5.0 Script - 2.0 / 5.0 Display- 2.5 / 5.0 Gore - 2.0 / 5.0 Suspense-3.0 / 5.0 Music -2.5 / 5.0 Overall -2.5 / 5.0 C+.
However, Tom Savini honestly believed this would be the final film in the series so he returned to the movie after he thought he'd get a chance to kill what he created.This here is without a doubt one of the best in the series and all of this is due to the screenplay, which offers up so much fun with Jason as well as the people he's wanting to kill.
I won't spoil it.Although the original is the only film in the series with the "classic" stamp on it, The Final Chapter surpasses it in many ways; it's more fast paced, has a bit more story, better actors and characters, a very angry, cruel and inventive Jason in peak form (he really sticks it to the teens this time around), better makeup effects, more stylish and darker look and a hell of an ending to wrap things up (for a year anyway)..
"Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter" aka "Jason VS Corey Feldman"- A fun little excursion for the series, though certainly its name is now comical in retrospect..
Friday the final chapter escaped this fate by innovating new characters to love.Tommy was a great addition to the series and it was interesting to see a kid face the killer of crystal lake.
I found Tom Savini's brutal effects to be very scary, and there is a lot of suspense in this film that makes the character of Jason seem even more psychotic.
"The Final Chapter" is widely regarded by "Friday" fans as one of the best sequels in the series, and the best of the original four films.
You can guess what happens when Jason makes his way from the morgue to find more kids partying on his lake.While the acting is probably the best of the series and Tom Savini returns to do the gory make-up effects once again after being absent since the original, something just doesn't quite feel right here.
But this time someone's waiting for him: young Tommy Jarvis (Corey Feldman).As far as horror movies go, "Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter" delivers.
You also may recognize a young Crispin Glover too, as a doomed teenager, which was a bit of surprise.Overall, if you like the "Friday the 13th" movies, I can say that this is one of the better installments in the series. |
tt0327056 | Mystic River | Three young boys, all the best of friends, are playing stick hockey on a side street in a gritty area of Boston near the port facilities on the Mystic River. As is so often the case with street games like this, the gutter drain finally sucks up the last of their hockey balls and they are suddenly left with nothing to do.Wandering around without much purpose, they spy a drying section of concrete and they all decide to write their names in the still wet cement so that their names will be preserved "forever." Jimmy Markum and Sean Devine finish their names first. Dave Boyle is just starting to write his name down when a car door opens across the street and a large man steps out with handcuffs and what looks like a badge strapped to his belt. This gives him a presumed air of authority, and he starts badgering the kids about their "destruction of municipal property."Silent and even a little surly at first, the three kids are soon cowering in fear. The man decides to make an example of one of the boys, so he grabs David Boyle and tells him that he is going to bring him downtown to the police station and then call his mother. Boyle is thrown in the back of the car and their last view of each other is of him gazing poignantly out of the rear window of that sedan. Meanwhile, the other man in the front seat of the car, a quiet man with a large cross prominently displayed on one of his rings suggesting that he might be a member of the clergy, turns around and looks at David Boyle with predatory delight and eager anticipation.The parents of the kids, many of whom have had prior brushes with the law, realize that this is not orthodox police procedure and a search party for David is quickly organized. Nothing happens for four long days until Boyle, who had been kept locked in the basement of a deserted house, finally escapes his captors and flees for home.All three boys are now grown men as it is now some 25 years later. They have not been close since the sad events of that horrible day.Jimmy Markum (Sean Penn) runs a small mini mart on the corner that may or may not be a front for some illegal smuggling activity, untaxed cigarettes, perhaps. Someone had ratted on him sixteen years before and he ended up spending two years in prison. The ratting was not the only thing that made him an angry man though, as his first wife died while he was in prison and he was not able to be there to comfort her. Now he skirts the edges of the law with numerous black tattoos covering his body to remind everyone of his past as a prison inmate.He is once again married, this time to Annabeth (Laura Linney), a devoted wife who has born him two more daughters after the one that was left after her mother died. The older daughter is now nineteen while the younger girls are eleven and eight in age. The nineteen year old, Katie (Emmy Rossum), remains his favorite, perhaps because she is older, but also maybe because she is all that he has left of his first wife. Annabeth has to remind him not to dote so much on Katie as the younger girls need their father's love and attention as well. This especially goes for the eleven year old, who will be experiencing her first communion at church tomorrow.Katie enters the mart to tell her dad that she is going out with her friends for the evening and won't be home until late. She runs back out to her car, and Brendan surprises her by rising up from the floor of the back seat where he was hiding. They kiss amorously and promise to meet each other later.A classmate of his older daughter, Brendan Harris, (Tom Guiry), comes into the mini mart on Sunday morning with his younger brother, a deaf mute. They converse animatedly by signing. Brendan is surprised not to find Katie working there, and he asks for her, but Jimmy curtly dismisses him in spite of his friendly nature.A mini mart employee asks Jimmy what he has against Brendan, who seems like a nice kid. Jimmy refuses to talk about it, but it is obvious that there is a history of bad blood there for some unknown reason.David Boyle also lives in the old neighborhood not far from the Markum house. He has married a lovely woman, Celeste (Marcia Gay Harden), Annabeth's cousin, who is as devoted to her husband as Annabeth is to Jimmy, but is scared by his frequent bouts of moodiness and depression. She has the nervous look of someone who lives next to a keg of dynamite, never quite knowing when it might blow up. They have one young son and one of Dave's small pleasures is being able to play stickball with his kid in the back yard of their modest home. Celeste is related to Jimmy by way of two street toughs, Val and Nick Savage (Kevin Chapman and Adam Nelson), so they are all considered family as they are all related by blood.It is not made clear what David Boyle does for a living, and the same goes for the two Savage brothers, both of whom consider Jimmy to be their godfather of sorts and thus are always available to do his bidding.Saturday night comes and goes and Jimmy wakes up at home on a sunny Sunday morning, the morning of his middle daughter's first communion. He goes to Katie's room to make sure that she has left for her work shift at his store, and is disturbed to see that her bed does not look like it has been slept in. Upon inquiry, the mart assistant tells Jimmy that he wishes Katie had been there as he is swamped by all the after church Sunday business.Jimmy's concern turns to fear and worry when Katie's car is discovered unoccupied at Pen Park, a nearby park and playground for the area's inhabitants. Blood is discovered on the front seat but Katie is nowhere to be found. Police are quickly called and they cordon off the area. The local television stations are not far behind and suddenly the news is filled with stories about this poor missing young girl.Sean Devine (Kevin Bacon), the third member of the trio, has done the most to get away from their shared sordid past and the psychological chains of being associated with Boyle's kidnaping and rape. He does not live in the area, but is now a homicide detective who works the Mystic River beat with his partner, Whitey Powers (Laurence Fishburne).Sean has a wife who has either left him or been pushed away by him and is now so damaged that all she can do is call him on his cell phone without ever being able to say anything. Sean goes through the routine as he knows exactly who is always calling him. He loves her and still holds out faint hope that they might somehow be able to reconcile in spite of all evidence to the contrary.A police search eventually turns up Katie's body lying half buried in the underbrush of an old well basin in the park. In a blind rage, Jimmy has to be held back by half a dozen policemen. He later demands to see the body of his daughter in the morgue when he brings over a dress for her body for the funeral. He stares in silence at her as her face and her hair are once again beautifully made up. He wants to hug her and smother her in kisses, but he realizes that this is no longer possible. Her body is there, but his Katie isn't.Dave Boyle has problems of his own. He is at a local bar with a friend when Katie and two of her friends, obviously drunk and in high spirits, come into the bar late on that Saturday night and surprise the patrons by dancing together on top of the bar. Much later that night he comes home to a very worried Celeste with a bashed hand and sporting a shirt and jacket both soaked in blood.He tells her that he was mugged on the way to his car and is afraid that he might have killed the man in self-defense.Dave later changes his story as to how his hand got mangled when he is interviewed by Whitey and Sean. Meanwhile, Celeste remains glued to the television set waiting to hear something about that guy who was supposedly killed by her husband, but it is only the circumstances surrounding Katie's death that fills the local newscasts. She loves Dave and wants to believe his story, but without any corroborating evidence she has trouble avoiding the obvious conclusion that there is a link between his suspicious activity and Katie's murder as they both occurred at the same time on the same night.Whitey Powers isn't for a moment fooled by Dave's alibi for his mangled hand. He is also convinced that his injury is a possible link to Katie's murder, especially since Boyle was one of the last people to see her alive. His hope is that this link will be discovered upon further investigation.Sean Devine, his partner in homicide investigations but his superior as an officer and a college graduate, feels instead that Boyle may be innocent. He knows him too well to believe Boyle to be capable of doing this. Later a link is discovered on a computer check between that bullet in the car seat and a robbery committed many years before at a liquor store. The markings match, but the gun, originally owned by Brendan Harris's dad, is nowhere to be found.Furthermore, this link is highly tenuous as Harris's dad had deserted his family more than a decade before and has not been seen since. Whitey voices his suspicions, quickly disclaimed by Sean, that his involvement with all the principles in the case just might be clouding his judgment.Then the two homicide detectives find out that Jimmy Markum has sent the Savage brothers out to investigate all the potential suspects in the case, and now the race is on for Sean and Whitey to find the perpetrator before Jimmy finds him and metes out his own brand of street justice. The two obvious leads, Dave Boyle and Brendan Harris, are investigated in a methodical police detective manner. Even the Savage brothers are forced to admit to Jimmy Markum that Sean and Whitey are doing their jobs well in covering all the bases.They check out the Harris home and interview Brendan about his relationship with Katie. It is obvious to both detectives that Brendan truly loved Katie and is innocent of her murder. In point of fact, several of the items found in Katie's purse had to do with Las Vegas tourist destinations. It comes out that Brendan and Katie were going to fly to Las Vegas and elope the next day. This explains the funny feeling that Jimmy had when Katie said goodnight to him the day before. His life in prison had given him an extra sensory perception about the way people look when they talk, and it struck him that she was saying more than "Good Night," more like "Goodbye" perhaps.All during the interview in the Harris's home Brendan's mother (Jenny O'Hara) is hovering in the background filling the room with a dark cloud of repressed rage and bitterness. Her husband deserted her 14 years before, and she doesn't want to see anyone else succeed at love. Besides, she hates the police as her husband had also been a crook. A curious fact eventually comes out that Brendan believes his father to be still alive as his mother receives a check for $500 every month mailed from a post office in Brooklyn.Sean and Whitey go back to their police station and do some background work on Brendan's father in an effort to trace the missing gun. His father was caught smuggling goods across a state line in a stolen auto and thus was picked up by the FBI. Surprisingly enough, however, he was never convicted of anything. They go over to the New York FBI office to find out the background information on this case and all of a sudden the threads start to weave a cloth of closure. Brendan's dad never served any time because he ratted to the FBI on other illegal activities taking place at the same time, in fact, the illegal activities of Jimmy Markum.So Jimmy Markum took the fall and went to prison for two years, a stretch that left him in prison during the death of his first wife. Even though Harris's dad gave testimony in confidence to the FBI, he disappeared right after Markum was released from prison. Of course, there was never a provable connection; Harris just disappeared off the face of the earth. The only thing left to give some small evidence as to his still being alive is the monthly arrival of those checks for $500 to Mrs. Harris. But then there is that intense hatred for Harris's son so inexplicably felt by all emanating from Jimmy Markum.Their next stop is at the liquor store still owned by the same man (Eli Wallach, uncredited) who had been held up years before. The gun was fired during the robbery and the bullet had lodged in the wall between the bottles of liquor. This bullet was retrieved as part of the investigation and the markings were later added to the police computer files. Now a bullet with the exact same markings is found buried in the seat of Katie's car.The aged liquor store owner told the two cops that, Yeah, he knew who did it, but bitterly complains that the proof would never have held up in court. Harris's dad came in three weeks after the robbery and smiled at him with such a knowing smile as if to say, "Aha, I pulled a fast one on you, didn't I?" And how can you convict a man on a look? Now, all of a sudden, the Harris gun assumes a critical importance in this case. Where is it and who knows about it?"Mystic River" takes a final explosive turn into a complex double denouement that involves both the gun as a murder weapon and an explanation of the suspicious activities of Dave Boyle the night of Katie's murder.Dave's car had been impounded because of the blood stains in the front seat. While these blood stains turn out to belong to Dave, the shocker is that different blood stains are found in the trunk, blood stains that match the blood type of Katie Markum. Sean and Whitey make another visit to Celeste Boyle and present her with this apparently damning evidence in an effort to break her alibi for her husband. Celeste has always maintained that Dave came home when he said he did, which was shortly before one in the morning. In actuality, he had come home closer to three in the morning. Celeste doesn't change her story to the policemen, but the doubts in her own mind as to her husband's innocence grow ever larger.This makes his comments to her about what happened to "poor Katie" all the more strange. Late one night he walks over past Jimmy's house and finds Jimmy sitting on the front stoop. Jimmy remarks to Dave, "You know, this is where I used to wait for my Katie to come home." Once again, Dave offers his sincerest condolences. "Just terrible," he says.The next day the two appropriately named Savage brothers, who apparently have an in with the police department, report to Jimmy that blood matching Katie's blood type was found in the trunk of Dave's car.In Jimmy's mind, this convicts Dave beyond a shadow of a doubt in spite of the fact that the events of the crime do not match this placement. Katie was first shot in her car and she then fled her car into Pen Park in a desperate attempt to escape her murderer. A trail of her blood and torn pieces of her clothing were found leading from her car to the well pit in the park where her body was found. The geographical events of her death are seemingly beyond dispute and they do tend to throw considerable doubt on the possibility of Dave Boyle or his car having anything to do with her death.But this is not something that the hotheaded Jimmy Markum is going to examine in a cool analytical light. He goes over to visit Celeste later that evening and finds her crying on her front porch. The two police detectives have just left and Celeste is now convinced that her husband is guilty of this horrible crime. Jimmy holds her and hugs her and comforts her in a successful effort to get her to admit as much. "You think Dave killed my Katie, don't you?" he asks her, and Celeste sadly and tearfully nods.Markum instructs the Savage brothers to pick up Boyle and go through "the procedure." The next afternoon they are cruising down the street when they spy Boyle walking along the sidewalk. They invite him into their car to go for a drink, even though it is still early in the afternoon. Dave protests that it is too early to start drinking, but he doesn't want to appear antisocial. He climbs into the back seat of the Savage's sedan and once again, just like 25 years before, he looks wistfully out of the rear window of the car at the old neighborhood that has been his only home for all his life. Perhaps he instinctively realizes that he will never see his home again...The Savages bring him to a seedy waterfront bar in an isolated area of town and proceed to get him drunk. Hours later Jimmy Markum joins the three at their booth in this poorly lit bar. Everyone is all smiles and camaraderie but a dark tension lurks just under the surface of their overt affability.Dave reaches his limit and confesses that he has to go outside and throw up. They let him leave and then shortly join him as he is puking by the bank of the river. Jimmy then tells Dave Boyle that this is where he killed Harris years before for sending him to prison. And he will do the same to Boyle if he killed his daughter, Katie.But Boyle protests his innocence. "What about the blood in your trunk?" they ask. Boyle slurs his speech as he tells his side of the story. He came out of the bar late that Saturday night and stumbled upon a pedophile raping a young kid in a car in the parking lot of the tavern. He told the kid to get away as he pulled the man out of the car and pounded him into a bloody pulp in a drunken rage. He then put the unconscious, perhaps even dead, body in the trunk of his car and dumped it behind the bar.This story is unconvincing to Jimmy Markum as no body has yet been found to verify Boyle's story. He has the Savage brothers beat him up some more and then tells Boyle that he will only let him live if he tells the truth about murdering his daughter. By now, drunk, sick, sore, and nearly unconscious, Boyle decides that the easiest thing for him to do is to accept Markum's offer and live. He says, "Yeah, I did it," whereupon Markum knifes him in the stomach and then shoots a bullet into the near dead body as it lies on the ground...Back to Sean and Whitey and the still missing Harris gun. They have been pressuring Brendan Harris just as they have been pressuring Boyle for a clue to provide a break in the case. After being hauled down to the police station twice for interrogation, Sean grabs Brendan and breaks the news to the shocked kid that his missing father's gun is the murder weapon of his beloved Katie, the girl with whom he was planning to elope to Las Vegas.Brendan doesn't say anything about this to the policemen, but as soon as he gets home he goes to a secret hiding place in the ceiling of his family's kitchen and feels around for the hidden gun. He is shocked to find that the gun is not there.All of a sudden everything starts to become clear to this poor, innocent young man. His deaf mute brother, who was aware of his plans to elope with Katie, must have been involved as he was the only one who knew where that gun was hidden and, besides, he hated the thought of losing his beloved brother whom he depended upon so much for protection and friendship.Brendan's younger brother shortly comes home with his best friend, and Brendan says, "Oh, it's you again." He then accuses his brother of murdering Katie. It wasn't supposed to turn out that way, his brother signs, but everything got out of control. I just meant to scare her. Terrified as Brendan rushes him in a rage and starts to throttle him, he pulls the gun out just as Sean Devine and Whitey Powers rush into the house. Sean acts quickly enough to grab the gun and subdue the young man just as the gun fires a misdirected bullet into the ceilingThe case of the lovely young girl who was murdered is now solved. Unfortunately, the pathetic victim from a crime from many years before has also paid with his life.Sean once again gets a silent call from his ex-wife. "Look," he says, "I am sorry I pushed you away." "I'm sorry, too," she finally speaks. A look of joy spreads over Sean's face. There is hope, after all.It is the day of the annual neighborhood parade, but Jimmy is in a morose mood in his bedroom. Annabeth comes in and tells him that the police have solved the case and have caught his daughter's killers. He confesses to her that he has killed an innocent man. "I killed an innocent man," he repeats again. "Look," Annabeth replies, "you did your best. What's past is past, and you can't change it. She also despises Celeste for suspecting her own husband and expressing her doubts to Jimmy.It is clear that she is going to stand by her man no matter what. "I am going to take you down here and then we are going to go out and enjoy the parade," as she drags him down to the bed on top of her. They make love, perhaps for the first time since Katie's murder.Sean, who has figured everything out by now, sees Jimmy and asks him, "Do you know where Dave Boyle is? We found the body of a man behind the bar and we want to talk to him about it." Jimmy lifts his hands up as if to say that he hasn't seen Boyle and doesn't have a clue as to where he might be. Sean isn't fooled. After a lifetime spent in this neighborhood he knows what the score is. "Are you now going to be sending $500 to Celeste Boyle every month for the rest of her life?" he asks. Jimmy smiles, but says nothing. He also knows that Sean knows.The parade is going down the street with all the hoopla and the noise and the marching bands playing their music. The Markum family minus one beloved daughter sits together on one front stoop watching the parade go by. Sean, once again together with his wife and child, sits across the street all aglow with renewed hope at his new chance for marital happiness. He holds his hand up in the form of a gun and goes "Kapow!" to his old childhood friend, Jimmy, across the street. Jimmy just smiles.The young Boyle child looking strangely uncomfortable and out of place rides by on a float with the other members of his little league team. Meanwhile, Celeste walks up and down the street looking every which way in sheer desperation and a failing hope for her missing husband, a search that she instinctively realizes will be fruitless.She knows how the system of street justice works. She didn't mean it, but her lack of marital loyalty betrayed her husband and this action on her part condemned an innocent man to death. Her family blood was not thick enough to save him, not that it ever would have been in a case like this.Dave Boyle would still be alive if only she had kept her mouth shut for another 24 hours. His childhood had been stolen from him and now his adulthood was also taken from him. In both instances he was the innocent victim of the illegal machinations of others. | dark, mystery, murder, dramatic, violence, flashback, revenge | train | imdb | Lovers of great acting had best not pass up 'Mystic River,' Clint Eastwood's powerful, award-laden adaptation of Dennis Lehane's best-selling novel.
Sean Penn, Tim Robbins and Kevin Bacon play three working class Bostonians forever bound together by a mutual childhood tragedy that has since gone on to define the kind of people they've become and the kind of lives they've led.
The film is about how the events of our early lives (and, in the case of Jimmy, it doesn't stop at this one incident) can end up coming back to haunt us later down the road.The Brian Helgeland screenplay makes the pain that each of these men experiences vivid and palpable.
Bacon is excellent as the man who attempts to put all the pieces together, not only of the case but of the shattered lives he and his two buddies have been living all these years, and Marcia Gay Harden is outstanding as Dave's loving wife who struggles with what is perhaps the greatest moral dilemma faced by any character in the movie.
Linney, Lawrence Fishburne and Tom Guiry offer fine supporting performances.As director, Eastwood allows his superb cast ample time to develop their characters, never hurrying the proceedings along and always allowing the conversations to play themselves out.
He also uses the bleak settings of blue collar Boston as an effective backdrop to the stark, chilly tale he is telling.Perhaps it is just an odd coincidence that three of the very best movies of 2003 - '21 Grams,' 'The House of Sand and Fog' and 'Mystic River' - all suffer from the same tendency on the part of the filmmakers to move away from reality and towards melodrama and contrivance in the final act.
Of the three, '21 Grams' and 'The House of Sand and Fog' are harmed less by this than 'Mystic River' because they have a somewhat deeper thematic base and richer character development than does the Eastwood film.
It is a mostly humorless and occasionally difficult realist drama, that will undoubtedly affect most viewers emotionally in a variety of ways--you may cry, you may become angry with at least one character and the lack of just deserts, and you may find it a bit depressing, although producer/director/composer Clint Eastwood and scripter Brian Helgeland do through in a relatively minor glimmer of hope/happiness at the very end.Not that I tend to agree with awards organizations, but it should be no surprise that Mystic River has fine acting.
Putting everyone on a level playing field, more or less, is the only way to create a parable of how kings would be perceived, solely in terms of their decisions and actions, in our era.Of course, there is more to the film than that, and it's not the only interpretation possible (in fact, it probably seems very left field to many readers), but it's worth pointing out not only as something literally interesting to contemplate, but to show the kind of storytelling depth that is contained in Mystic River--a film you should not miss..
Viewing is definitely recommended.Three boys, Dave (Tim Robbins) Jimmy (Sean Penn) and Sean (Kevin Bacon) are reunited after the murder of Jimmy's nineteen year-old daughter.
Laurence Fishburne (playing cop Whitey) is as smart talking as ever, whilst Kevin Bacon gives a solid performance as the homicide cop investigating the case.Though the film becomes a bit uneven towards the end, this tough, brutal and uncompromising; but still, a masterpiece, and the best work Eastwood as done in years.Final Analysis: 9 out of 10.
Let's say it straight away: before "Mystic River" (2003), Clint Eastwood's last works had left me a little unsatisfied; particularly "Blood Work" (2002), a watchable thriller with a certain charm but without great originality.
Movie start with the childhood tragedy of three friends only one of the friend become victim.After passing many years they came close after the murder of a girl who is the daughter of one of the friend.then movie create good suspense in solving the mystery of the murdered girl which leads to the misunderstanding between the relationship of all people and that became one of the reason of one of the friend murder's.This movie is a great example of a suspense thriller movie.Movie do full justice to audience.I can give it 10 if the Sean Penn as Jimmy Markum got forfeiture for his crime.Tim Robbins is a method actor every actor do full justice to his/her character a must watch movie..
Also I thought by the way you see Katies dead body when Bacons character Sean first see's it - I thought that was tough to watch and also I almost cried when Jimmy ( Penn) was fighting as hard as possible to get through to see his daughter.
The last scene between Laura Linney and Sean Penn is bound to strike you in the chest post the mystery is unfolded.Stylish and emotional, "Mystic River" is one of the modern day crime classics.
The cast seemed to walk through their roles, aside from Tim Robbins (playing the only character with any dynamic), who seemed to be the only one acting in this movie.
Delicate, sensitive elements of this story-child abuse, abduction and murder, to name a few-are handled, mishandled or just plain overexposed to the point of verging on exploitation, mostly because he thinks this film is about the narrative as opposed to the obvious, overwhelming grief of a father who's daughter doesn't come home one night or the young boy who was left to rescue himself from his abductors-an abduction that, as staged by Eastwood, his two best friends are more or less complicit in.
(Not that this merits any investigation from the director.) This is just one of several awkward stagings; others would include his ghastly, unnecessary overhead shot of a victim in a park that pushes the audience away from the characters and into the position of voyeurs, as well as another act of violence, later in the film that gives way to a complete white out of the screen as Eastwood misjudges the moment (or distrusts the drama) and reaches for a kind of majesty where none exists.
As is born out in the end, Robbins' character is in a completely different movie altogether and merely wanders around the sets of Mystic River, his pain and dislocation just so much red herring, played as so much bait to Eastwood's would be morality play or further Oscar mongering, a rather tasteless dramatisation of child abduction, paedophilia and murder.The women each get one opportunity a piece to audition for the part of Lady MacBeth, presumably in some future Eastwood production (or Mel Gibson's).
Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon, Laurence Fishburne, and Marcia Gay Harden were adequate, though all have done better work, and their considerable talents appear to have been limited by Eastwood's direction.But Mystic River's two large pluses don't come close to outweighing its one gaping minus: the ending shows its characters to be utterly amoral.
Why did any of the people involved in this movie spend THEIR time making it?Mystic River is scum, and dressing it up with good acting and production values doesn't make it beautiful.
It was more like looking down at a puppy who had soiled the carpet.' Sean Penn's character says this in `Mystic River' right before yet another horrific act is committed.
My hats off to Tim Robbins for a brilliant performance, but for Sean Penn to win best actor, for some of his lamest work,, makes me think the political impact is the governing factor,, and not the work itself; three major kings of Hollywood have quite the lobbying power on the academy.
Mystic River has a stellar cast Tim Robbins, Sean Penn and Kevin Bacon to name a few and there are some excellent performances.
Mystic River is a good film and worth going to see - but such a shame it isn't another cinematic masterpiece we feel we can still hope for from director Clint Eastwood..
The great thing about Mystic River is the actors, dealing with some marginally good directing and a horrible script full of coincidences and synchronicities that even the Greek gods of drama would have trouble explaining.The trouble is that the director, Clint, truly believes he has created a masterpiece.
This Clint Eastwood directed film, 'Mystic River', is based on the brilliant novel by Dennis Lehane.
Sean Penn and Tim Robbins deserved their Oscars; Kevin Bacon and Laurence Fishburne; Marcia Gay Harden and Laura Linney; and a knockout range of fine American actors prove again how deep is the talent in the American movie business.
There's great tension, good acting, lots of plot action at work, but in the end that amazing twist, that release of all the tension we were looking for watching for about 2hrs20min just doesn't happen, and we get an ending and resolution that tries to mend the pieces together and just doesn't seem to even agree with itself, like it's the film that's disappointed at itself and the viewer along with it.
The plot is less intricate than it seems but the constant mystery and suspense makes it seem as though three completely different stories are taking place at once.Jimmy Markum (Sean Penn) becomes overwhelmed with grief after a beloved family member (Emmy Rossum)is brutally murdered.
The movie subtly reminds viewers that there are somethings in life just should not occur, ever.The acting in Mystic River was incredible (Sean and Tim's Oscar), and the atmosphere created by the music and dark colors create a most mysterious and genuine tone that accents the emotions played by the actors.
Overlooking it from the bridge, one of the key trio early on calls it "the old neighborhood," as he's somewhat left it, as in parallel his wife has somewhat left him, but both keep feeling silent tugs to come back.Memory and time catches up to the audience too in seeing two of our finest actors as gray-haired fathers (very natural make-up and hair style work), but Sean Penn and Tim Robbins are masterful as damaged men and even more damaged parents haunted by their mutually touched yet separately karoomed past and present.
Like in 'Lost in Translation', what in my opinion was the year's best film (although 'Kill Bill' and 'The Lord of the Rings' came close), every actor does a perfect job in creating a character with its own emotions and therefore they could be real people.Jimmy (Sean Penn), Sean (Kevin Bacon) and Dave (Tim Robbins) were friends as kids.
Jimmy hated Brendan, we learn why that is.In a way 'Mystic River' plays like a detective movie.
The more the movie develops the more he shows us how good he is.Clint Eastwood has made his second-best film after 'Unforgiven' with a great story, adapted by Brian Helgeland ('L.A. Confidential') from the book written by Dennis Lehane.
STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All CostsGoing to back to my comments on Blood Work,where I said that perhaps it was time for Clint to retire.I'd now like to edit that a little,if I may.Perhaps he should take a back seater to leading parts in films,but if he can still manage to helm fine quality filmic material such as this,perhaps total senility hasn't kicked in.This is the tale of three childhood friends,Jimmy,Dave and Sean.One day,an unfortunate encounter leads to Dave being abducted and mentally scared for the rest of his life.Just under thirty years later,the trio,still living in their childhood home town of Boston,Massachusetts,are reunited under more tragic circumstances.Jimmy (Sean Penn) and Dave (Tim Robbins) have remained close friends but Sean (Kevin Bacon) has drifted apart from the gang and become a homicide detective.His job position,however,is about to play a pivitol role in the tragic circumstances that are about to unfold,when Sean's teenage daughter is viciously murdered.This has a devastating effect not only directly on Sean and his family,but on the local community as a whole.More devastating revelations are made,however,as Sean and his partner Whitey Powers (Laurence Fishburne) conduct their investigations and uncover evidence that ends up pointing the finger directly at Dave.As Sean struggles to contend with these new findings,the three childhood best friends find themselves inexplicably drawn back together once more to confront not only the present nightmare engulfing all their lives,but events from the past that start to crop their ugly heads up once more.This is a very deep and intelligent film,which puts a whole new slant on the modern variation of the murder mystery genre and,perhaps unsurprisingly,has found itself the subject of only a limited release in amongst all the bloated,insincere eye candy 2003 has found itself laden with (just shows how much audiences respect their own intelligence,don't it?).Eastwood's direction is stylish and absorbing,another film of his from the legendary Malpaso company,who produced that unforgettable hit of his so many years ago.The performances from all concerned are brilliant and highly emotive.The ending is unpredictable,well scripted and powerfully raw.Much like the majority of the film,really,just especially so.It's perhaps one notch off perfect.The trauma Dave suffered as a child perhaps could have been played on a bit more.But it is a hugely brilliant idea for a film,very inspired and highly worth your time.And,as an aside,so deep you could probably end up drowning in it.****.
When they're grown up and have families of their own, Sean Penn's nineteen-year old daughter is murdered and Tim Robbins is the primary suspect.Not only did I not know about Clint Eastwood's involvement, but I also didn't know that it was based on a book.
In the hands of a director as great as Clint Eastwood, with a cast perfectly suited for the material, I expected more than I got from "Mystic River", a movie that is never boring but never becomes anything more than passable as a script.
The acting is excellent, although I thought Sean Penn was among the less impressive members of the cast.A film severely flawed as a result of its flat, bland screenplay, "Mystic River" is worth seeing if you are a fan of the cast or director, but it is certainly far from being the great film it so easily could have been.6/10.
That Sean Penn won the Oscar for this overblown bore-fest is bad enough, but that it was over the truly great performance of Bill Murray in LOST IN TRANSLATION (a film that isn't a waste of time), makes it all the more painful.
I kept getting the feeling through out the film like Clnt kept saying on the set of "Mystic River" more acting more acting less plot less plot!I've always thought that Clint Eastwood is a fine actor, and often a fine director, too.
Ms. Hardin tried her best to salvage the Celeste character, but there was no hope.Clint Eastwood has directed some fine movies in the past, but M.
But by the film's climax, we realize that this pulp has a decidedly pre-chewed feel; and once we're past the final will-he-or-won't-he standoff between Sean Penn and Tim Robbins (honestly, how surprising would the outcome have been either way?), Eastwood shows us he doesn't take this stuff seriously at all.
He has a talent for making human characters and Mystic River is where this is best on display.The mystery of the film is conveyed perfectly; we are never so focused on figuring out who did it so we can be engaged in the lives of these people, but always in the back of our mind we are trying to unravel the plot.
Excellent cure for insomnia is more like it.Good performances by Tim Robbins and Sean Penn, wooden acting by Kevin Bacon and Laurence Fishburne is...well...a train wreck.
"Mystic River" is probably Clint Eastwood's finest film (acting or directing).
Clint Eastwood is a good actor and an even greater director, with many landmark films, but "Mystic River" is arguably his best work so far.
Tim Robbins should be ashamed of his performance in this compared to Shawshank, and Kevin Bacon...was there ever a more "do nothing" actor - please...To be clear, I don't have a problem with the topics in the movie although isn't the topic of child molestation as the defining characteristic of a character's psyche, just a little stale and and way over-used?
Sean Penn (Jimmy is a truly Shakespearean hero) and Tim Robbins (Dave, the child who was abducted and abused) won well-deserved academy awards for their performances but the unique cast (including Kevin Bacon as the third friend, Laura Linney as Jimmy's tough wife and Marcia Gay Harden as Dave' wife) is equally great.
Mystic River is definitely in my top 10 best movies of all time, words cannot describe how beautiful the film truly is.
Because may be It's not the type of a movie that you would watch, but even If you don't like it you wont be able to Dennie It's greatness whether through the great direction by Eastwood or by the powerful performances especially those of Tim Robbins ans Sean Penn.As a man who tends to show himself more macho, I admit that I almost cried or may be be I dropped a tear or two and believe that is really something when it comes to me.Until this Day No movie moved me and touched me deeply as much as mystic river.It's a movie that teaches a lot, and it can reach to you in many ways, the kind of movie that i wish to see more of.
Many years later, after all three are grown up (played by Sean Penn, Kevin Bacon and Tim Robbins, respectively), they are still trying to get over the incident.
With "Mystic River", Clint Eastwood may have turned out his best movie ever, although "Million Dollar Baby" is also a masterpiece.
Clint Eastwood piloted this film which is one of his best in a great body of work as an actor and director..
This film was hyped to the max due to the involvement of Clint Eastwood, Tim Robbins and especially Sean Penn.
Sean Penn acts his role rather well and the same can be said for Tim Robbins and even Kevin Bacon. |
tt0118531 | One Eight Seven | Trevor Garfield (Samuel L. Jackson) is an African American high school science teacher at Roosevelt Whitney High School, a high school in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. Dennis Broadway (Method Man), a gangster student to whom he had given a failing grade threatens to murder him, writing the number 187 (the California police code for homicide) on every page in a textbook. The administration ignores the threat, and Dennis ambushes Garfield in the hallway, stabbing him in the back and side abdominal area multiple times with a shiv.
Fifteen months after surviving, Garfield, now a substitute teacher, has relocated to John Quincy Adams High School in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles, but trouble starts again when he substitutes an unruly class of rejects, including a Chicano tag crew by the name of "Kappin' Off Suckers" (K.O.S.). Their leader, Benito "Benny" Chacón (Lobo Sebastian), a felon attending high school as a condition of probation, makes it clear to Garfield that there will be no mutual respect.
The tension mounts when a fellow teacher, Ellen Henry (Kelly Rowan), confides that Benny has threatened her life, an action against which the administration of the school refuses to take action, fearing legal threats. After Benny murders a rival tagger in cold blood, he disappears, and Benny's unstable tag partner, César Sanchez (Clifton Collins Jr.), takes over as leader. When César steals Garfield's family heirloom watch, the principal is more concerned about a lawsuit and refuses to take action. Ellen and Garfield develop a close friendship that approaches the beginnings of a relationship, but is stymied by Garfield's destabilizing behavior and his confrontations with the K.O.S.. Garfield's past garners the unwanted admiration of Dave Childress (John Heard), an alcoholic history teacher who carries guns at the school.
The conflict between Garfield and the K.O.S. escalates with the killing of Jack, Ellen's dog. César, after spraying cartoon graffiti depicting a dead dog, is shot with a syringe filled with morphine attached to the end of an arrow. He passes out, and wakes up to find one of his fingers cut off. César recovers the finger and it is reattached, with the letters "R U DUN" ("are you done?") tattooed as a warning.
A student Garfield has tutored, Rita Martínez (Karina Arroyave), a Chicana, faces abuse from both the K.O.S. and Childress, and drops out. The school administration is mired in bureaucracy and unable to intervene. After Benny is found dead in the Los Angeles River, apparently of a drug overdose, it is revealed that Garfield took matters into his own hands, killing Benny and severing César's finger. Garfield lets Ellen leave as she disavows his actions.
The K.O.S. plan to murder Garfield. At Garfield's house, the gang forces Garfield into a contest of Russian roulette with César. The latter's resolve is shaken as Garfield talks about the lost-cause lifestyle he has led. Hesitating at his turn, César watches as Garfield, offering to take his turn for him, takes the revolver and shoots himself in the head. Driven by his sense of honor and ignoring the protests of his horrified friends, César insists on taking his rightful turn and ends up killing himself .
On graduation day, Rita, who completes her studies along with former K.O.S. member Stevie Littleton (Jonah Rooney), offers a tribute to Garfield by reading an essay about him. The essay incorporates the theme of the Pyrrhic victory and Ellen leaves the school. | violence, murder | train | wikipedia | Kevin Reynolds' 187, although billed as another "straight-laced-teacher-turns-troubled-urban-highschool-teens-into-well-rounded-individuals" movie, goes above and beyond this tired premise.
The student as well as the faculty roles are all given unique personalities, backgrounds, and adequate motivation for their actions, which is a refreshing departure from the typical "the reason they're bad kids is because they grew up in the 'hood"-style characterizations.Although a few of the supporting performances are somewhat stilted (mainly because they are overshadowed by Jackson's excellence), the highly original story is clever enough keep anyone's interest piqued until the heartrending (although arguably contrived) ending.
Kevin Reynolds, the director of "One Eighty Seven", a film written by Scott Yagermann, supposedly a teacher himself, shows he is a man that clearly understands today's problems in the inner city schools.Some of the children, of mostly immigrant parents, are lured to join gangs in order to survive the hostile environment.
Instead of making something out of themselves, they create their own problems and will end up doing menial work, or in jail because of the choices they make.This is the basic premise to this story, in which, a decent man and an excellent teacher, is stabbed at the beginning of the film, and not only is his body injured, but also his spirit.
If Trevor Garfield thought he had it bad in New York, he is not prepared for a school system in California that seems to be a disgrace.This particular school, where Trevor is hired as a substitute teacher, has some of the most dangerous teen agers of the city.
Karina Arroyoave is seen as Rita."One Eighty Seven" is an eye opener about why some students aren't learning in school and a tribute to the teachers that are trying to educate them in spite of the horrors in the classroom..
Jackson is not only one of the coolest guys alive, he´s also a great character actor what this film shows very impressively.
I don´t know how bad the circumstances at some American schools really are, but I think "187" is much more realistic than liars like "Dangerous Minds".
The "Deer Hunter"-like showdown and the desperate speech of Rita at the end will keep you sitting on the chair, left deep impressed and considering, while the whole film is already over for a long time.
Samuel Jackson portrays all the levels of emotions and we get behind his crusade to clean up the useless waste of human flesh.A jewel in this movie is the performance of Clifton Collins as Cesar Sanchez.
This great movie makes us thinking how to manage school problems and violence in the family or in our society.
It makes you feel like you are there.Some of it definitely plays like an after school special, but most of the plot here is gritty and believable...this is no "Class of 1984." Awesome soundtrack with lots of good Massive Attack too.7 out of 10, kids..
A dedicated High School Science Teacher get's brutally assaulted in New York,, 15 months later he moves on to L.A. and decides to give it another try to teach again,, and again he falls into teaching in the ghetto, he doesn't even get to be in a classroom with air conditioning,, he get's a trashy dump bungalow, there he meets a couple of teachers who are on his side,, one he get's involved with romantically and tries to help,, the other turns out to be a gun loving psycho.
This movie offers good insight into the culture of violence that is prevalent in cities like Los Angeles, especially its eastern part.
Samuel Jackson plays a teacher who survived a brutal stabbing in a NY school and moves to L.A. in order to start again in a new place, trying to get away from the traumatic memories connected to his old working place.
Jackson's Trevor Garfield is a traumatised veteran who gets pushed too far by the school bullies and starts bullying back, in his own way.
It must also be mentioned that TV shows have overdone this genre to the point of dumbed down numbness.Unless experienced, the difficulty in reaching and educating in the big city schools today can only be imagined, and fiction usually results in flights of fancy.The students and educators are presented here without much hyperbolic drama, although some encounters are heavy handed but the situations seem real.
In my opinion this movie gave a very good view on what some high school are really like in today's world.
Both Samuel L Jackson and John Heard did great acting through the entie film.
There is a war going on between teachers and students as Jackson tries to bring order to a school full of gang members, killers and rapists.
A powerful story about urban violence and how it can affect inner city schools, this is an excellent little film.
The reliable Jackson puts in an excellent performance as the bitter teacher who has been driven to the edge.The rest of the cast do their jobs well, especially the actors playing the loathsome pupils.
What I liked best about this film was the surprising ending, which sees Jackson and his adversaries playing Russian Roulette round a table.
He plays a teacher who's finally pushed, beyond breaking point, by a trio of homeboys, at the new L.A high school he's attended, after surviving a knifing, by a disgruntled and failing homeboy, Jackson's character, before this, as a more brighter, cheerier teacher.
This realistic movie, gets a proper grip on the teachers situation, as to what these poor souls endure, like living in fear, subjecting to taunts, threats and ridicule, where others are driven into madness, like the John Heard character.
The performances excel, like Heard, Rowan, and the versatile Tony Plana, as the headmaster at Jackson's new school.
Teacher Trevor Garfield survives a stabbing by a student, moving from New York to Los Angeles, with a different perspective on life, he resumes teaching as a substitute.
But Trevor finds that the same old problems still persist, only now he's going to do things his way......One Eight Seven, directed by Kevin Reynolds {The Count of Monte Cristo} and starring as its lead, Samuel L.
It's basically set in a super hard core school, where Jackson is a teacher.The drama is nonstop and the plot line isn't boring and predictable like most movies of the genre.
It's not overly feel good like many teacher type movies but it keeps you watching.
While things gets out of hand for his sake.Directed by Kevin Reynolds (The Count of Monte Cristo "2002", Robin Hood:Prince of Thieves, Waterworld) made an fascinating drama with intense performances by Jackson and Gonzalez (Now credited as Clifton Collins Jr.).
In fairness I think there's inevitable bias from seeing this movie in 2018 as opposed to 1997 when it was released because I kept expecting Samuel L Jackson to either turn into Nick Fury.
Or for that matter Jules from Pulp Fiction which by 2018 I must have seen at least 20 times and so I was waiting for him to turn around to the unruly class and say "I don't remember asking you a goddamn thing!" as well as when he's having a discussion about the bible with someone say "Well there's this passage I've got memorized, it sorta fits the occasion." I guess what I'm saying is that by 2018 Samuel L Jackson has played such iconic roles that its hard to see him as anything else, at least for me and this probably detracted from me being able to fully immerse myself in this movie..
As the movie opens, Garfield is teaching at a troubled school in Brooklyn, and ends up getting knifed by a student he was going to fail.
One thing that threw me was that it suffered from what most "high school" movies suffer from - actors who just look too old for the part.
Jackson is the over conscious teacher Garfield, who tries to make the lessons interesting and funny for the students, until one day he suffers an attack, which brings him to near death, and from that day on things change drastically for him.
But, if you wanna watch another movie about schools and teachers and students that act crazy and violent, then go watch this, you just might enjoy it..
Jackson, Clifton Collins, or John Heard, or the brilliant cinematography, this movie was able to not only keep my attention but leave me amazed by the end.
this may not be a pulp fiction type jackson film, but, i really enjoyed this movie.
this film follows Jackson as garfield, a man who is critically injured in a new york school, and decides to move and work in a dangerous, unsafe school environment in los angeles.
i thought the female student, that found jackson's character, garfield attractive was very good in this movie too.
On the one hand, this movie gained a lot by the sheer presence of Samuel.L.Jackson but, on the other hand, the community of the students was represented in a perfect way.
This film addresses real life struggles of teachers in problem schools.
We need more films showing a realistic portrayal of the problems facing certain American schools, because movies like "Dangerous Minds" sure as hell don't do the job.One final thing I would like to say is that 187 brings up some very good questions such as what makes a good teacher turn bad.
The best line of the entire movie is when Garfield screams with sincerity, "I was a teacher, I wanted to help you" near the end of the film.
You could say a 'darker' and 'pessimistic' Dangerous Minds.The only thing that I think spoilt it for me was the ending, where the film tries to say that everything was not lost, a bit too Hollywood for me.If this is half the truth about inner city US schools, then it's really a scary place.
This film is a good eye opener about what some schools are like and how many teachers are treated..
We see the teacher who is broken after so many years and just goes through the system, angrily, giving little attention to the students (John Heard's awesome performance), and finally, Jackson's character, who is forced to choose which direction to take.
While I was watching this movie i couldnt help but think i'd seen it somewhere else before, then, when the scene came on with the guy sending the teacher the e-mail "teacher fu*** ni**ers" I then knew that it had been on tv before.But lets reviewOne Eight Seven is a great movie with very few flaws, the acting is excellent, the plot is superb.
9/10good points: actors, actresses, plot bad points: can get a little boringif you like this movie i recommend: Whiteboyz, The Wood, High School High.
My personal thoughts about the movie are:In the streets there's a lot of hated and jealousy and also there are things that are going on like, students killing their teachers .
187 is unquestionably like dangerous minds but d minds was just a fantasy about a teacher that comes out of no where and makes a difference but 187 shows the realisation of a world like that the grittiness and violence and doesn't have a happy ending.
While teacher Trevor Garfield (Jackson) takes the law into his own hand, the rest of the school is becoming stronger..
It has a realistic story line, solid acting (like always) by Sammy, great visual feel, and most importantly, I starred in the movie.
I couldn't imagine if any of the teachers I had in high school had to teach under such stress and anxiety.In a nutshell, "187" is an excellent film, hands down.
That movie shows that Jackson is a brilliant actor for all kinds of movies.Trevor Garfield (Samuel) is a teacher in high school in L.A. He quits after being atacked be his "pupil" and becomes a substitute.
Samuel meets a woman, she is a teacher in that school and she's got a problem with one of her students - Benny Chacon.
The movie itself is good and at least a 3 star effort with great acting and all but the real element of the film is its photography and soundtrack.
I won't write down with many words here what Ebert and Berardinelli described very precisely: this is a movie that could have been great, if it wouldn't be for the last third.Check out their reviews, they took the words right out of my mouth.I liked Jackson very much, and the music was good.Being a teacher myself I was interested in how he was dealing with the situation, if there would be some kind of message for teachers and/or the kids.Well, unfortunately there was none.So I can't really recommend this film, though I liked the first half very much..
"187" is all about Jackson as a teacher who is driven to taking matters into his own hands when confronted by a class full of gangbangers in an L.A. high school.
The film offers good stylistics and Jackson does a stand up job given the stupid character he has to play.
Jackson adds another great charecther to us in his film history,but also gives a scary performance showing what will happen when a good person goes bad in a good way.
It's central points about lack of protection for teachers in dangerous classes and schools that are out of control are well made and well served by a good thriller/drama storyline.I suspect many will feel it went too far and is a bit unrealistic but if we take the character of Garfield as an extension of the frustrations and feelings of teachers Yagemann has encountered over his years then it makes a bit more sense.
Heard is OK but really Jackson carries the film and he does it well.Overall this is a good movie that takes a different look at inner-city high schools.
Samuel L Jackson does an extremely good job as Trevor Garfield, a teacher who loses his will to teach, and eventually gets his own back.
Jackson plays Trevor Garfield, a New York teacher who possesses a great passion for his job.
So, when Garfield is terrorized by the gang, he is forced to play by his own rules.Jackson is quite good, but even his performance alone can't save this uneven film.
But what should have ended as a halfway thought-provoking film fails miserably with a script and dialogue so paper thin you could shred it and horrible acting throughout from just about everyone except Samuel Jackson and John Heard.
Watching this movie makes me wonder if I really want to keep going.Teaching in the inner city is a dangerous profession.
If you enjoy watching a movie that features awful production design, a lousy soundtrack, the tiresome inner-city-teacher-versus-the-tough-students plot, cruelty to animals, and young Mexicans in stereotyped (as usual) roles, then this dud's for you.The only thing I liked was the ending, because it does contain an interesting swerve...and it also meant this junk was over.Pretty much all the inner-city school films are bad, but "187" is easily the Hindenburg of the genre.
I thought this movie had a great story with a great cast and a great point to make.I like comparing this movie to "Dangerous Minds" because these films are very similar and very different at the same time.
Jackson's character tries to "reach" the students, but the bulk of them refuse to be "reached" despite his best attempts to help them.Anyhow, I thought the movie was excellent, and I would definitely recommend seeing this film.
Jackson was great in his role as a hardened teacher who wanted to do nothing but teach.
I liked this film particularly because it shows what kind of bad things can happen to a good person.
"Which end is up" is, I suppose, a subjective thing.)What makes this a good movie is it's subtlety and ambiguity.
It just seems that the `wrong doer' (whether student or teacher) is often more successful at twisting things in their own favor because they do it so much and have the practice that `on the level people' lack.One does not necessarily need to look at New York City, LA or even any metropolis schools to see similar situations.
Samuel Jackson portrays realistically a substitute teacher named Trevor Garfield who had good intentions in going into teaching but in the process was pushed too far.
In the end this story proves to be a tragedy, which may be necessary to make the audience think about what's wrong with the school system as portrayed in this film.
This story about a teacher challenged in a school full of dangerous and bored delinquents is set in Los Angeles, which is fast becoming for urban misery what New York was twenty years ago.
Jackson stars in this movie about a teacher that becomes disillusioned by the system.
The things that I find a turn-off in these kind of movies, such as Dangerous Minds, The Substitute series, etc., are the 30 year old actors they get to play high school students.
The final scenes are quite dramatic and extremely well played with powerful acting by both Jackson and the gang members.Ultimately, however, it is a depressing film (are American Schools really like that?
Jackson plays teacher Trevor Garfield in a rough NYC high school.
I have seen a lot of films similar to this from Stand and Deliver to Substitute to Dangerous Minds, but this one was pretty good and I liked it.A New York teacher is stabbed by a gang member because he failed him, so he relocates to L.A. and becomes a sub.
I thought Method Man did good in his first film too.It's not a gang movie, its a drama about problems being faced in areas that have many gang members.
The teacher is a black guy and his class is not really the best and nicest one.After watching the movie it was a kind of/a bit of watching one of those characteristic films, but not really. |
tt0038975 | The Spiral Staircase | Set in early 20th century New England, the screenplay by Mel Dinelli is about a serial killer who is murdering disabled young women in the community. His next victim apparently is Helen, a mute girl who works as a live-in companion for wealthy, bedridden Mrs. Warren, who urges her to leave the house, as does Dr. Parry, who knows the reason for Helen's loss of speech and hopes to help her get her voice back. Rounding out the household are Mrs. Warren's son and stepson, her verbally-abused nurse, a secretary, a handyman and his wife, a housekeeper with a taste for brandy. It contains some glorious black and white cinematography from a forgotten master, Nicholas Musuraca. A stunning example comes early in the film as Helen walks home at night in the rain. She rattles a stick against some railings when a flash of lightning illuminates a gleaming silhouette of her stalker in the trees. It has been copied many times, most notably in I Know What You Did Last Summer. It's worth seeing the film for that shot alone. The gloomy, decaying mansion where most of the action takes place is wonderfully realised by production designer Albert S. D'Agostino , who also designed Welles's The Magnificent Ambersons. Despite its dated, vaguely Freudian themes, it remains a highly atmospheric film and a very enjoyable thriller. | insanity, suspenseful, murder | train | imdb | She's currently fretful because a serial killer is on the loose and he preys on women with afflictions...Based on Ethel White's novel "Some Must Watch," The Spiral Staircase harks back to the days of the "old dark house" thrillers and encompasses a German expressionist sheen.
Siodmak expands his talent and knowing from his work at Universal Pictures (Son Of Dracula/The Suspect), Albert D'Agostino's sets are wondrous period delights and Nicholas Musuraca's deep-focus photography has the ability to make one keep looking over the shoulder to see if something is lurking in the room with us...There's quite a few changes in this adaptation from the novel, notably the setting was in England and Helen was a cripple and not mute.
When a murder occurs in the mansion, Helen does not know who is trustful to help her to call Dr. Parry to rescue her."The Spiral Staircase" is a suspenseful stylish movie, with a magnificent black and white cinematography that follows the German Expressionism and wonderful set decoration in Victorian style.
This film centers around Helen (Dorothy McGuire), a mute house-maid who works for an eccentric woman, Mrs. Warren (Ethel Barrymore), who lives in an old New England mansion with her two grown sons in the early 1900s.
Helen begins to fear that the killer may target her, and her fears become a reality one stormy night as the murderer stalks her within Mrs. Warren's darkened mansion, waiting to strike.I've always enjoyed older black and white movies, and I think it's important to take a look at early cinema to compare it with what modern cinema has evolved to, so I had some sufficient interest in this film.
(Hint: this pays off later in the movie.) When it's made known that a killer is making his rounds murdering afflicted women, the owner of the mansion fears for the mute woman's life - and after a string of more murders occur they realize she's next.RKO's picture was far ahead of its time.
After murdering three unfortunate young women the murderer zeros in on young Helen Capel, Dorothy McGuire, a mute young women who works as a maid for the old and bed-ridden Mrs.Warren, Ethel Barrymore, at her estate outside of town.You begin to realize that the killer is in a way imperfect himself and by trying to eliminate those he deems imperfect is making up for his own imperfections.
Dorothy McGurie in one of her best roles as the mute and pretty Helen is stalked all through the movie by the killer in the shadows of the Warren Mansion and in the woods around it.
Ethal Barrymore is also very effective as the sick and bed-ridden Mrs. Warren who has some idea who the killer is and wants Helen to leave the house as soon as possible in order not to end up being his next victim.
Adding in the excellent leading performance by Dorothy McGuire makes it a top-notch picture.From the very beginning, the suspense begins to build, while at the same time McGuire's character Helen immediately attracts and holds the audience's concern and sympathy.
It's 1916 and a rash of women being killed who are 'imperfect' in the eyes of the killer whomever it is have both Dr. Kent Smith and bedridden dowager Ethel Barrymore concerned for the life of Dorothy McGuire, a beautiful, but mute servant girl in her house.There's not much mystery to this film, it's not hard to guess the identity of the perpetrator, given the limited number in the cast.
The centerpiece of course being The Spiral Staircase.Two years before a deaf mute act won Jane Wyman an Academy Award, a lot of people, me included, felt Dorothy McGuire should have at least gotten a nomination for her role.
She lost in the finals to Anne Baxter for The Razor's Edge.George Brent, Gordon Oliver, Rhys Williams, Rhonda Fleming, and Elsa Lanchester round out a good cast in one of the best atmospheric thrillers ever put on film..
The whodunit aspect of the storyline is played up strongly, with some red herrings thrown into the mix, although it's pretty easy for a modern viewer to guess the identity of the murderer.THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE features some decent performances, particularly from Dorothy McGuire, playing (unusually) a leading role as a mute.
Elsewhere in the cast, there's a barnstorming turn from grand old dame Ethel Barrymore who rules the roost from her deathbed, and a nicely comic performance from the BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN herself, Elsa Lanchester, as a drunk cook.In the end, the film works because of the visual flourishes.
"Spiral Staircase" was the horror masterpiece Robert Siodmak had always threatened to make.In 1939,"Pièges" his last French movie and his finest in that country-remade by Douglas Sirk as "lured" introduced the unusual places,the eerie atmosphere (Von Stroheim's house).In 1944,"Phantom Lady" from the great William Irish introduced the psychokiller.In 1946, "the Dark Mirror " would continue the Freudian vein ,which "Spiral staircase" had begun.It was not the first time a film had displayed Freudian accents.At the time,all the thrillers directors (Fritz Lang,Alfred HItchcock) had their movie dealing with psychoanalysis.Of course it's dated now.Almost all these catharsis revealed something buried in infancy/childhood.Even the "serious" works such as"snake pit" were no exceptions.The black and white cinematography is stunning,dazzling ,making the whole film a feast for the eye.If Siodmak takes the easy way out for his killer's identity,all that surrounds him is splendid indeed: Dorothy McGuire,in a theater ,watching a silent movie (she is a mute girl),while horrible things happen in a room upstairs ,things not alike the conclusion of the movie and a sinister omen of events to come;the (Gothic,of course)mansion where scared people flattens themselves after dark;the park where the whispering trees generate fear;the cellar where the pages of a book become an impending menace;this extraordinary dreamlike sequence where MacGuire sees her wedding and this voice which keeps on repeating "Say:I do!" ;the staircase,the central place of the story where the plot is resolved ."Spiral staircase" is essential viewing for anyone interested in thrillers .Remake by Peter Collinson in 1975 with Jacqueline Bisset.Like this ?Try these: -the three other Siodmak movies I mention.-"Mute witness" Anthony Waller 1994.
Helen Capel (Dorothy McQuire) , a mute attending to the needs of a crotchety dowager, Mrs. Warren (Ethel Barrymore) in a Victorian mansion more than fits a victim profile so she is closely monitored by Warren's professor son (George Brent) who hopes one day to once again give voice to Helen.
Will Helen be next?Using the bare bone outline of a stereotypical Gothic horror suspense, film practitioners Robert Siodmak and Nick Musaraca turn The Spiral Staircase into a master class of atmospheric terror as they deftly create through form a disturbing whodunit packed with one tense moment after another.
Cast wise McQuire does a fine job of conveying her feelings without words while, Barrymore, Brent , Gordon Oliver and Rhonda Fleming play it deceptively ambiguous in their roles with character actors Sarah Allgood, Elsa Lanchester and Rhys Williams offering broad relief while remaining suspects.The Spiral Staircase may use all the tropes that can be found in the haunted house catalog of movie-making but under the capable hands of this cast and crew it embraces the stereotype and beats the odds..
Beautiful mute Helen Carpel suspects that she is being stalked outside the home of her employers, but with so many other conflicts within the home, it is unclear where she is safer.Opening with a very clever shot that leads us into the serial killer watching and then killing his victim this film had my attention from the very start.
The brothers that hate one another, the emotional scars that run through Helen, the crowing old woman, the comic touches and many other aspects (not even to mention the idea of a German director making a film about a serial killer targeting those that are "imperfect") all make the middle section engaging even if it does lack the tension and style of the start and the end.Speaking of which, the film looks great light and shadow are used well, with the sets particularly well lit to produce some great shapes and shadows.
I agree with the few discerning negative user comments and I had not seen this film before.Generally I like 1940s films but this was an exception as I found it all rather naive.Firstly, knowing the cast of actors it does not take a genius to identify the murderer almost from the beginning judged by the repeated shot of his single menacing eye.You know it is a man (a careless shot of him wearing trousers is seen and it is a male eye), so all you have to do is logically assess all the male actors' characters and see which one fits the bill.Secondly, I imagine Hitchcock could have produced far more suspense, which was sadly lacking.Thirdly, Dorothy Macguire's character slightly irritated me with all her melodramatic rushing around.If she was mute, she would have had a notepad and pen with her at all times to communicate.Fourthly, it seemed just a filmed stage play as virtually all the action takes place in a Gothic mansion (in a studio).Hitchcock would have included more location shots and built up the suspense better.Much overrated in my humble opinion..
Dorothy McGuire plays Helen, a mute servant working in the household of old & sickly Mrs. Warren(played by Ethel Barrymore) who lives with her two sons(played by George Brent & Gordon Oliver).
Maguire is a mute looking after bed ridden matriarch Barrymore in her rambling gothic mansion whilst there is a killer on the loose strangling anyone with a disability.Classic gothic thriller in a house full of wild characters.
Dorothy Mcguire is a mute young woman in "The Spiral Staircase," a 1946 film also starring Ethel Barrymore, George Brent, Elsa Lanchester, Gordon Oliver, Rhonda Fleming, and Kent Smith.
I personally thought the killer was rather obvious but it didn't spoil my enjoyment at all.Mcguire, whom I saw on stage in the '70s, was a wonderful actress who was brought to Hollywood originally to recreate her Broadway success, "Claudia." Her role in "The Spiral Staircase" is a far cry from the lightness of the child bride in "Claudia" - she is pretty, courageous yet vulnerable, and a young girl in the throes of love.
The performers do very nicely with their roles: Dorothy McGuire, young & vulnerable as the girl who hasn't spoken since witnessing her parents' horrific deaths; Kent Smith as the gallant doctor who wants to protect her; George Brent & Gordon Oliver as the two half-brothers of the household, mistrustful & envious of each other's position; wonderful old Ethel Barrymore, the dying matriarch, acid-tongued & suspicious of nearly everyone; Sara Allgood as her nurse, resentful of her mistreatment; Rhonda Fleming, the beautiful secretary, who may arouse passions once too often; Elsa Lanchester & Rhys Williams as the domestics, she an alcoholic and he bitter and withdrawn.
A mute servant girl (Dorothy McGuire) takes care of a sick and old but aggressive woman (Ethel Barrymore) in a big, dark and creepy mansion.
Though his subsequent noirs Criss Cross and The Killers are thrillingly stylish and enjoyable, with The Spiral Staircase, Robert Siodmak's attention is too disproportionately rooted in demonstrative Expressionist visuals---brooding shadow, ominously suggestive settings, the rumble and cracking of thunder, the flickering candlelight, the creaking door and the gusts of wind from out of nowhere---to give any cohesion or gravitas to the story or his unwaveringly wooden actors.Ethel Barrymore, playing the bed-ridden matriarch of the boring George Brent and Kent Smith, is interesting, albeit her role as a crabby invalid is barely worthy of her extensive talents.
So many critics think that an actor or actress merely taking on a mute role secures their performance as "stunning," "priceless," "impressive." I found McGuire's emoting to be way too overly demonstrative, I sensed no conviction in any of her dramatic moments and I frankly became increasingly spent by the continual unmotivated collapses, sobs and tense clutching of handkerchiefs.Set in a small New England town in the early 1900s, for no apparent reason, Mel Dinelli's anachronistic adaptation of what I imagine is a decent Ethel Lina White novel is about a spree killer who is murdering "afflicted" young women in the village, also quite arbitrarily it continues even now to seem.
An excellent thriller about a mute girl (Dorothy McGuire) who is the next victim of a serial killer intent on strangling women with disabilities.
The word, naturally enough, is "Hitchcockian," a term that might be fairly applied to such wonderful entertainments as "Gaslight" (both the 1940 and '44 versions), "Charade," "The Prize" and "Arabesque." But of all the pictures that have been honored with the adjective "Hitchcockian" over the years, none, it seems to me, is more deserving than the 1946 RKO film "The Spiral Staircase," and indeed, after 40 years' worth of repeated watches, I have come to deem the picture the greatest horror outing of the 1940s...at least, that wasn't a product of Universal Studios or producer Val Lewton.Featuring impeccable direction by Robert Siodmak (his close-up shots of the maniac's eyeballs in the film are legendary), who would go on to direct the noir classics "The Killers" and "The Dark Mirror" that same year; sumptuous set design; and spectacularly gorgeous B&W cinematography by Nicholas Musuraca, who would eventually work on no fewer than five of those Val Lewton horror films, the picture is a genuine classic, beloved by millions.
A neo-Gothic suspense thriller starring Dorothy McGuire, giving an almost Oscar-caliber performance despite the fact that she only has three or four lines of dialogue, and abetted by a remarkable supporting cast that is just aces (George Brent, Ethel Barrymore, Kent Smith, Elsa Lanchester, Rhonda Fleming et al.), the picture has been one of this viewer's personal Top 100 favorites for decades now, and I have long wanted to read its source novel, Welsh author Ethel Lina White's "Some Must Watch." And fortunately, thanks to the fine folks at Arcturus Publishing, a reasonably priced edition can be easily procured today; "fortunately," I say, seeing that the original hardcover seems to now be completely unobtainable, even on the usually dependable Bookfinder website, and the fact that even the 1946 movie tie-in paperback can be a dicey proposition.White, I should perhaps mention, was a new author for me.
******** The Spiral Staircase (12/45) Robert Siodmak ~ Dorothy McGuire, George Brent, Ethel Barrymore.
This movie distinguishes itself with the way the murders are filmed.The position of the hands and the leering eye give this film a different look.Also, this picture is dominated by Dorothy McGuire as the mute heroine.It is also worth mentioning that the previously invalid Ethel Barrymore character plays a key role in the climax,which takes place on "The Spiral Staircase" of the title.
It also has great performances by Dorothy McGuire, though she doesn't speak throughout the whole movie, Ethel Barrymore{an elderly,invalid woman,who's very perceptive and knows that Helen should leave the house immediately}, and George Brent as the professor.
The extra vulnerability of the handicapped has been a magnet to attract some fine directors of suspense
The fulcrum of Robert Siodmak's 'The Spiral Staircase' was the fact that the beautiful and expressive Dorothy McGuire was dumb deprived of her speech by shock
Her terror when death stalked had to be wordless, and it was all the more potent
She could not communicate, she could not plead or call for help
It was New England in 1906, and she was employed by the bedridden mistress (Ethel Barrymore) of an old mansion (decorated in Victorian style).
And then, in a close-up of his eye, we saw her face reflected an imperfect face
On this level the tension was maintained in visual terms, through the murder of another girl in the house and the mute's discovery of the body, and her belief that she knows the murderer
She tricks him into a room and locks him in
but, as she is to find, she has locked up the wrong man
Ethel Barrymore received the film's only Academy Award nomination, as Best Supporting Actress
McGuire would have to wait another year to be nominated as Best Actress, for her great role in Elia Kazan's emotional 'Gentleman's Agreement', 1947..
The film has a fairly simple plot; in turn of the century New England, a serial killer is targeting women with various physical impairments and sets his sights on Helen, (Dorothy McGuire) a woman who has been mute since a traumatic moment in her childhood.
Its German expressionist style, fluid camera movements and slanted camera angles create an ominous atmosphere which becomes even more threatening in the sequences which are either shot from the murderer's point of view or where close-ups of the killer's eye are seen and the whole effect is then strengthened further by a creepy score in which the eerie sound of the theremin is prominent."The Spiral Staircase" is set in a small New England town in the early part of the 20th century.
Of course, this meek and troubled Helen (with Dorothy McGuire perfectly cast) is not about to die in front of us--in fact, at the end she comes to life, in a way, by regaining her voice, thanks to the goodness of a young handsome doctor, Kent Smith.If you'd rather just buy into a classic manipulation of mood and familiar suspense movie fears you're all set, because that's what this delivers.
Soon afterwards we're introduced to the film's central character, the young Dorothy Malone, playing a mute housemaid to the bedridden matriarch of a massive old mansion which has as its centrepiece, as if you couldn't guess, a spiral staircase.
The Spiral Staircase continues my fascination with the work of a director who today is barely known and yet was a master.The Spiral Staircase, made in the same year as The Killers, should be studied in film school as perfect example of how to create a haunting, oppressive atmosphere in horror movies.The movie's heroine is Helen, a mute maid who works for Mrs. Warren, an invalid rich woman. |
tt0066550 | Watermelon Man | Los Angeles, 1968. Jeff Gerber (Godfrey Cambridge) lives in an average suburban neighborhood with his seemingly liberal housewife Althea (Estelle Parsons), who tolerates her husband's character flaws out of love, and two children, 10-year-old Burton (Scott Garrett) and eight-year-old Janice (Erin Moran). Every morning when Jeff wakes up, he spends some time under a sun lamp, bats around a boxing ball, drinks a health drink, and races the bus to work on foot.Jeff works as an insurance agent in downtown L.A. where he presents himself to his co-workers and other people as happy-go-lucky and quite a joker, but others tend to see him as obnoxious and boorish. Althea, who watches the 1968 race riots every night on TV with great interest, chastises Jeff for not having sympathy for the problems of black Americans.One morning, Jeff wakes up to find that his pigment has inexpliciably changed; he is a black person. He tries to fall back asleep, thinking that it is a dream, but to no avail. He tries taking a shower to wash the "black" off him, but finds it doesn't work, when Althea walks into the bathroom, and screams. He explains to her that the "Negro in the bathroom" is him.At first, Jeff believes this to be the result of spending too much time under the sun lamp. He spends almost the entire day at home, afraid to go out of the house, only going out once to venture into the "colored part of town" in order to find a pharmacy to buy "the stuff they use in order to make themselves look white." His attempts to change his skin color fail from using skin creme, to industrialized soap, to even a "milk bath".The next day, he is persuaded to get up and go to work. As he normally does, he races down the street with joy to catch his bus but when he, a "black man", is spotted he is harassed by several racist white people who call the police thinking that Jeff is running because he has just committed a crime. When the police question him all of the white people surround him as the police check his briefcase. When they find a pair of shoes inside they accuse him of stealing them and he tries to explain that they are his work shoes he changes into when he arrives at work. The crowd is now loudly shouting and the police make him try the shoes on....when they fit they are still unsure until the bus driver, whom is black, comes to his defense explaining that he is a regular passenger who was simply running to catch it. With that, the police leave without arresting Jeff who thanks the bus driver for helping him out of this jam. The busdriver tells Jeff that he never realized that he was black before. Some witty banter ensues as they board the bus.He gets off of the bus near work and walks into the diner he stops at every morning for his health drink and he is met with the same shock and confusion by the black man who serves him his drink every day. The server also says he never realized he was black before and more witty banter about his color ensues.Upon arrival at work, his co-workers all react with shock at his new "black" appearance and are at a loss of words to ask Jeff what has happened to him. His boss wants to see him immediately and he walks into his office and sits down in front of him. His boss doesn't seem to "get" that Jeff has turned black but asks him if he is spending too much time under his sun lamp as his tan is very dark. Jeff makes a witty comment back and his boss is so occupied with Jeff's decreased sales that he passes right over the fact that Jeff is now black and continues to question him about how he can bring his sales up and warns him he must. Jeff agrees and walks back into his own office where he sits at his desk and begins to make sales calls.The previous day, Jeff had set up a lunch appointment with a wealthy client at an upscale restaurant. When he arrives at the restaurant he is rudely greeted by the door man who will not let him in due to his race. Jeff explains he has a meeting with his client to no avail. By this time all of the black people witnessing this begin to rally around Jeff and cause a scene. The manager comes outside and again Jeff tries to explain he is meeting someone for a business lunch and asks the manager to get the man inside to clear it all up but the manager refuses and the police are called. They bring Jeff back to his office and ask his boss if he is in fact his employee and when his boss confirms that he is, the police leave him there without making an arrest. His boss is still not fully understanding about Jeff's condition but sees that somehow this can help drum up business.After work, Jeff goes his local physician and makes an appointment who is equally shocked and cannot explain Jeff's "condition" either but agrees to look into it.The next day, Jeff is forced to sit at the bus stop instead of running to catch the bus to avoid any more hassles with white people. Jeff is forced to sit in the back of the bus by law to leave the front seats only for white people. At lunch, Jeff is now forced to go across town to eat at a diner which is a "blacks only" eating place. After a second visit to his doctor for his "skin condition" reveals nothing of the ordinary about his skin, his racist doctor shows his own "true colors" when he suggests that Jeff might be more comfortable with a black doctor and refuses to consul with him anymore.Returning home that afternoon, he finds the front door locked (which it usually isn't) as well as the curtains and shades drawn, and Althea afraid to leave the house, look out the windows, or answer the ringing phone. He doesn't understand why until he receives an annymous call from a man who says: "move out, nigger!" Jeff is forced to take the phone off the hook for the night since it keeps ringing every few minutes with more annymous phone calls from racist people telling him to move out. Also, unseen people throw eggs and black paint at his front door and windows.At work the next day, a secretary (who had previously ignored him) makes several advances toward him, finding him more attractive as a black man. Jeff's boss suggests that they could drum up extra business with a "Negro" salesman which he persuades Jeff to travel to African-American neighborhoods across the city to pitch more of his sales over the next few days as Jeff becomes more observent to other black people and how they live.After returning home from work one evening, he finds four men in his home who had apparently made the threatening phone calls to his house (despite their unconvincing denials), who offer him $50,000 to move out of the neighborhood despite the fact they have known him for several years. The racist neighbors tell Jeff right to his face that they don't want a "nigger" living on the same street at they do. Jeff manages to raise the price to $100,000 by using some veiled threats. After the men leave, Althea, somewhat angered that Jeff used his new race to blackmail his neighbors into bribing him to move out of the neighborhood, sends their two children away to live with a relative. Burton and Janice tell Jeff they they are both awkward and uncomfortable with their father being black. On top of all that, they are now being bullied at their school by their classmates over their father's new racial affiliation.Although she still loves Jeff, Althea's sanity begins to break from the stress of the whole thing of Jeff now being black and of the neighbors continuing to make harassing phone calls and leaving threatening letters. As a result, she leaves him to rejoin her kids and move far away, thus leaving Jeff alone and without a home to live in.Finally accepting the fact that he is black and will be for the rest of his life, Jeff tells his boss that he quits and vows to open his own insurance business. Jeff moves out of the all-white suburban neighborhood and into a small apartment in a black neighborhood in the downtown part of the city. Jeff then starts his own insurance company which soon becomes successful due to his education and expertise. Jeff also starts a tryst with his former secretary whom continues to be turned on by his new negro appearance. However Jeff still manages to communicate with his wife while he embraces his new race by going out evenings to "blacks only" nightclubs, restaurants, bars, and other places including joining a militant Black Panthers-esq movement where he continues his physical training. | comedy, blaxploitation | train | imdb | Melvin Van Peebles' big Hollywood film is a very smart, funny, and in the end tragic satire of race relations in America c.
Biting satire is often a better way to express righteous anger than simply getting all righteous, and this is an example: under the laughs, this is a deeply angry film.Godfrey Cambridge is magnificent in his two-tone role, and the supporting cast (including a couple of routines by the great Mantan Moreland) is also very fine.
The rage underpinning the whole story doesn't find full, overt expression until the very last scene, which presages Van Peebles' leap into more obviously black revolutionary politics in "Sweetback." A very good, very funny, important film that deserves to be much better known today than it is..
A lot of people who've written comments about this are either too young to remember the 60's/70's or are trying to relate to this film from today's perspective.This film was written/directed by Melvin Van Peebles, who - at the time - was (and, by some - unfortunately) considered a 'controversial (black) artist.
Second; yes, the makeup is not as good as the wonderful job done on Eddie Murphy in various films/skits, or the Wayans' brothers, but - for the make-up tech of the day - it was VERY good (look at the scene in the beginning when Godfrey's exercising (naked!), and then going to the shower.
So, just remember that while you might not think his make-up's up to snuff now, it sure did convince an earlier generation).Understanding when this film was made, the 'situation' of race relations at the time, and the ability for a (black) artist like Mr. Van Peebles to MAKE this film is necessary in understanding how shocking this film was - in all those areas.Yes - the film's a bit dated (but who isn't?).
It's NOT just a place to look at ...cat's playing pianos, and other garbage).As a glimpse (by a black artist!) into the 'white man's world,' and the world in general - at that time - Mr. Van Peebles should be given his deserved recognition (and Godfrey, we miss you!)..
A particular shame, therefore, as it declares race crossover to be a sentence as opposed to an alternative - there is no real optimism afforded to Gerber after the key white/black event and the film might have been stronger with such an exploration.The film can be disturbing; but with slick,in your face, stateside put-downs 'The Watermelon Man' certainly enters a sensitive subject area head-first and allows the viewer to make an early judgement.Whilst the storyline delivers meagre reward in terms of development, there is enough here to warrant a recommendation.
Racing the bus to work on foot, crudely separating the mugs from their money, learning to take hate on the chin its all here.The strength of the final ceremony/scene smacks of eventual acceptance, a sense of belonging and possibly a new way forward; this will shock many as it is bitter-sweet, turning laughter into cold realism.
After this pivotal scene Gerber tells his boss to stick his job and he moves on to get his own insurance business, settle into a community that he likes, reforms a long-distance dialogue with his blinkered wife and simply get on with being Jeff Gerber.
There are some strong scenes dealing with suburban racial tensions and Godfrey Cambridge is terrific as he changes from a white bigot to a black man.
In Watermelon Man, director Melvin Van Peebles expresses complex ideas about race and racism in a sophisticated but humorous way.
It is something of a surreal, occasionally psychedelic caricature, but as such, it does what all good caricature should do--it emphasizes the truth without being strict realism or "naturalism".Watermelon Man is the story of Jeff Gerber (Godfrey Cambridge).
He takes the bus to his insurance salesman job, but instead of catching it right down the street, he races it through the neighborhood every day, the goal being to beat it to the last stop before it gets on the highway.Jeff presents himself as happy-go-lucky and quite a joker, but he's a bit obnoxious and boorish, plus he shows himself to be racist and a male chauvinist, although he's not exactly gung ho about sleeping with his wife.Just as we're learning about Jeff's routine, something unusual happens--he wakes up in the middle of the night as a black man.
The bulk of Watermelon Man has Jeff trying to at first conquer, then later deal with his newfound "problem".If you've seen both films, you might find it odd that Van Peebles made Watermelon Man before Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (1971).
Unlike Sweet Sweetback, which is intriguing in its own way, but not near as good of a film artistically and technically, the direction in Watermelon Man is finely nuanced and sophisticated, the cinematography is crisp and attractive and technical elements such as sound are superb.
Sweet Sweetback was something of a revolutionary (and very psychedelic) cry for African-American rights, and it helped launch not only the blaxploitation craze of the 1970s, but also fiercely independent film-making.Yet, Watermelon Man is just as unique and important in what it has to say about race, even if it's not violent or pornographic, and not bizarre in the same way.
Van Peebles makes a sly transition from the beginning to the end of the film that goes from white-bread sitcom to something of a militant blaxploitation flick in a way that you barely even notice.A large part of what makes Watermelon Man so odd is Godfrey Cambridge.
The other performances are at least interesting, even if they're not all good in a conventional wisdom evaluation, but Cambridge really carries the film.Equally bizarre and a bit disturbing is Cambridge's make-up as a white man.
The make-up is extremely well done--it's difficult to picture Cambridge as he really looks underneath it all, but given the character's disposition, Cambridge as a white man comes off as freakish to say the least.Van Peebles' direction is extremely admirable.
He's not afraid to take all kinds of thrilling chances, including such unusual moves as quick pans to go from character to character in a conversation and odd intrusions of psychedelia, such as the scene that suddenly starts flashing different negative exposure images, or the scene that stops to insert commentary that resembles silent film intertitles.Van Peebles also did the music here, as he did in Sweet Sweetback, and it's just as weird.
Again, I love weird stuff, so I was happier than a pig in, um, mud.If there's anything less than satisfactory about Watermelon Man, it's that it engenders sadness that Van Peebles wasn't able to talk the helm more often.
Like in Sweet Sweetback..., Melvin Van Peebles doesn't go for the obvious commentary on race relations; I loved the scene at the end when the wife admits that she's "liberal to a point." People of color have hit this invisible and unexpected brick wall at one point or another with some liberals.
It's a work of the grandfather of American independent film, Melvin Van Peebles, and with that should come a certain measure of respect.
Aggressive editing of both film and musical inserts highlight the subtle comedy and pure desperation of the story of a bigot who wakes up Black and watches the world turn against him.It's something of a manic ride, but Cambridge gives it all the human character it can stand.
we don't know what yet," are darkly hilarious as is Cambridge's sharp wit."Watermelon Man" is serious film that will still make you laugh at times.
Alongside films such as "Cotton Comes To Harlem" (also with the superb Cambridge) and "Putney Swope," this is an important part of the early end of the Black film explosion.Look for cameos by songwriter-actor Paul Williams as an employer and Melvin Van Peebles himself as a painter.
Melvin Van Peebles' Watermelon Man starring Godfrey Cambridge provides plenty of ironic humor concerning stereotypes.
Continuing to review African-Americans in film in chronological order for Black History Month, we're still in 1970 when director Melvin Van Peebles makes his first major studio feature having previously done a critically acclaimed independent one called Story of a Three Day Pass.
He casts comedian Godfrey Cambridge as Jeff Gerber who we initially meet as an obnoxious white insurance man-along with wife Althea (Estelle Parsons) and their two kids of different genders-who likes to run when leaving for his job in order to beat the bus.
By the way, the light-skinned makeup on Cambridge is about as convincingly white on him as it was on Eddie Murphy in the "White Like Me" short film he did on "Saturday Night Live", that is, not much.
Plus, there's many funny sudden turns from now-"brothers" like the bus driver played by D'Urville Martin who claims to be Hispanic or Mantan Moreland as the counterman at his regular eatery who, when asked to look at his skin, says, "I don't need to look at your skin, I can see my own!" And wait till you see how Three Stooges regular supporting player Emil Sitka reacts when he gets attacked by Jeff over some new sunlamps!
P.S. It's quite interesting seeing who's also in this movie besides those I've already mentioned like singer/songwriter Paul Williams-here credited with the middle initial H-as an employment clerk or a young girl named Erin Moran-later to portray the teen Joanie Cunningham on "Happy Days"-as daughter Janice Gerber..
Cambridge does an interesting lob playing a white man turned into a black man, but Van Peebles evidently wanted to make some pejorative assessments of both cultures.
The negativity of the film is offset by slapstick and schtik - like the moment of awareness of the transition when Gerber goes to the bathroom in the middle of the night and when he gets off the toilet, a big black rear end fills the screen.
Any normal unbiased people are immediately put off by the reprehensible actions of Cambridge - so there are no friends or allies except of the same race - or more purely - of the same anger.How nice this movie could have been if Van Peebles had allowed Gerber to rise to the top in spite of everything - to showcase hope instead of futility..
There are points in the movie that are in fact, in my opinion, very Oscar worthy.The reason I had earlier mentioned Steven Spielberg is because he had directed an episode of "Night Gallery" which also starred Godfrey Cambridge, who is the protagonist in this movie.All in all, Melvin Van Peebles "The Watermelon Man" is a great movie and worth a watch.
Melvin Van Peebles must have loved Finian's Rainbow with its Senator from the glorious state of Missitucky turning black to see how the other half lives.
But what was done with some whimsical humor in that classic musical, Van Peebles give us with a sledgehammer in Watermelon Man.Godfrey Cambridge whom I remember so well from his stand up bits on the Ed Sullivan Show stars in Watermelon Man about a self satisfied average white guy, wife and two kids and a nice house in the suburbs who one day wakes up and he's black.
Watermelon Man was at the start of the Seventies the era of black films.
He had a good career starting in films and died too soon.Look also for Howard Caine as Cambridge's boss in the insurance agency where he worked in a really good part and a pair of actors from the old days of the black cinema in some bits, Eddie Anderson and Mantan Moreland.
A white bigot (Godfrey Cambridge) wakes up one morning to find himself a black man.
It's dark and angry, showing how this guy's life is turned upside down as everyone close to him deserts him, but it's grounded by the hilarious performance of Godfrey Cambridge as the furious and panicked protagonist.The last time I saw this movie was on TCM, where two black scholars described the film as more horror movie than comedy.
But I still find a lot of it very funny, even if it is a very angry, savage humor.There are some weird directorial choices, some of which work, some of which don't, but the sharp script and great performances by Cambridge and by Estelle Parsons as his increasingly weary wife make this a must-see..
Also this would work better if black Jeff would act white.
The Columbia Picture film 'The Watermelon Man' follows a white bigoted insurance salesman as he is transformed from Caucasian to black thus giving him the chance to see how the other half lives.The problem from the start is Godfrey Cambridge, black or white is very annoying to watch on screen, mostly due to his tendency to babble.
In fact, while race riots are seen on t.v. during the film the reasons for the riots are never explored nor is the bigotry Godfrey faces after his change.
Mario Van Peebles' only studio film, Watermelon Man is a dated comedy film about an ignorant bigoted white man named Jeff Gerber who one day, for reasons unknown, suddenly becomes a black man.Gerber (Godfrey Cambridge) is certainly a goofy character, looking like an overweight Sir Laurence Olivier.
His neighbours harass his family with "Move out" epitaphs.While the film certainly overuses its "See what it's like to be black." message over and over, Cambridge's acting makes it tolerable.
Herman Raucher's script and Van Peebles' direction are top notch as well.The ideology of this film is quite dated but if you're willing to step into a time machine to the world of 1970, you'll find this one to be entertaining.
White bigot, married with two kids and living in a suburb of Los Angeles, wakes one morning to find he's turned black.
Director Melvin Van Peebles' groovy skewering of racial stereotypes begins with a great joke which is then turned inside-out for a double meaning (a white man can playfully race the morning commuter bus on foot, but a black man running is cause for alarm).
A pretty weak comedy where Godfrey Cambridge unconvincingly plays a suburban racist white man who turns black one morning for no discernible reason.
The truth is, "Watermelon Man" really isn't a good movie, but the star's performance makes it fun at times, even if he is a bit hyperactive and exhausting.Van Peebles may have been trying some breakthrough stuff and messing with the direction here and there, and I give him credit for trying, but in the end his direction really is not good and is very distractive at times.
The color flashes, the use of music (though sometimes this works), the silent movie-type device and more, he's trying and while he definitely does something different, it's just, well, not good.This film could have been a good fifteen or twenty minutes shorter, or at the very least some scenes could have been shorter and additional scenes to help the story could have been inserted.Now of course, the whole thing with this film is to show how bad racism is, which only goes one way of course.
Peebles tries to justify the black rioting (there seems to be a new black riot every day in the movie on TV) and the liberal wife makes excuses for it.
C'mon.And one thing that is shown in the film has proved to be all too true - when the liberal wife is confronted with an actual black man in her own home after Jeff turns black, she isn't so liberal anymore.
Plus, Cambridge always sounded black in the movie, which further made his role as a white man not even close to credible.That said, what struck me as strange was...how odd we were all those years ago.
Cambridge was a BLACK MAN and Estelle Parsons was a WHITE WOMAN.
Watermelon Man (1970) was Melvin Van Peebles' Hollywood directorial debut.
Godfrey Cambridge stars as a bigoted white middle class family man named Jeff Gerber who's luck and perfect white sterile life is about to change.
That is probably the only way you could see it today.Jeff Gerber (Godfrey Cambridge) plays an (initially) white thirty something insurance salesman.
I'll let you watch and see how this all turns out.To me, Godfrey Cambridge's makeup as a white guy is just ridiculous.
It is available on D.V.D. only in the States which is a shame as it is in my view one of the funniest films ever made.The late Godfrey Cambridge is 'Jeff Gerber', an insurance agent, also a bigot and a fitness freak.
Director Melvin Van Peebles originally intended to have a white man such as Alan Arkin or Jack Lemmon play 'Jeff' before realising - rightly in my view - that a black man would work better.
Cambridge plays the first half of the film in white make-up, but when Jeff becomes black reverts to his natural colour.
It's hard to imagine that this film was made by the same guy who made "Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song" (Melvin Van Peebles).
He plays a racist jerk of a WHITE guy--and they use a lot of makeup to make the very black Cambridge look white--and he did a good job with this.
Jeff Gerber is a white man who wakes up and sees his skin color has changed to black.
The white man runs out the door with the lamp shouting, "I heard of black power, but this is ridiculous!" Then he adds as he heads off, "That guy needs a sun lamp like Fred Astaire needs dancing lessons!" There is no doubt in my mind that these lines were added by either Van Peebles, Cambridge or a combination of the two.At any rate, Jeff is shocked and turns to Althea: "I heard him!
For some reason I thought he played the lead role in this film, don't ask me why, but it turns out to be (brilliantly) done by Godfrey Cambridge. |
tt0816442 | The Book Thief | In April 1938, a voice representing Death (Roger Allam), tells about how the young Liesel Meminger (Sophie Nélisse) has piqued his interest. Liesel is traveling on a train with her mother (Heike Makatsch) and younger brother when her brother dies. At his burial she picks up a book that has been dropped by his graveside (a gravedigger's manual). Liesel is then delivered to foster parents Hans (Geoffrey Rush) and Rosa (Emily Watson) Hubermann, because her mother, a Communist, is in danger. When she arrives, Liesel makes an impression on a neighbor boy, Rudy Steiner (Nico Liersch).Rudy accompanies her on her first day of school. When the teacher asks Liesel to write her name on the chalkboard, she is only able to write three 'X's, showing that she doesn't know how to read. Later that day, she is taunted by her schoolmates who chant "dummkopf", "stupid" in German. One of the boys, Franz Deutscher, challenges her to read just one word to which Liesel responds by beating him up. She impresses Rudy and they become fast friends. When Hans, her stepfather, realizes that Liesel cannot read, he begins to teach her, using the book that she took from the graveside. Liesel becomes obsessed with reading anything she can get her hands on.Liesel and Rudy become members of the Hitler Youth movement. While at a Nazi book burning ceremony, Liesel and Rudy are bullied into throwing books onto the bonfire by Franz, but Liesel is upset to see the books being burned. When the bonfire ends and everyone but she has left, she grabs a book that has not been burned. She is seen by Ilsa Hermann (Barbara Auer), the mayor's (Rainer Bock) wife. Hans discovers that she has taken the book and tells her she must keep it a secret from everyone. One day, Rosa asks Liesel to take the laundry to the mayor's house. Liesel realizes that the woman who saw her taking the book is the mayor's wife and she is scared she will be found out. Instead, Ilsa takes her into their library and tells Liesel she can come by anytime and read as much as she'd like. Liesel also finds out about Johann here, who was the son of Ilsa and is now missing. She realizes Ilsa feels deeply about the loss of her son and thus, had made a library to commemorate him. One day Liesel is found reading by the mayor who not only puts a stop to her visits but dismisses Rosa as their laundress. Liesel continues to "borrow" books from the mayor's library by climbing through a window.There is a night of violence against the Jews (known historically as Kristallnacht). Max Vandenburg (Ben Schnetzer) and his mother, who are Jewish, are told by a friend that one of them (but only one) can escape and Max's mother forces him to go. Max goes to the Hubermann's house where Rosa and Hans give him shelter. Max is the son of the man who saved Hans' life in World War I. Max is initially allowed to stay in Liesel's room while recovering from his trip and they begin to become friends over their mutual hatred of Hitler, as Liesel blames Hitler for taking her mother away. World War II begins, initially making most of the children in Liesel's neighborhood very happy. Max is later moved to the basement so he can move around more, but it is colder in the basement and Max becomes dangerously ill. Liesel helps Max recover by reading to him every spare moment.One day while borrowing a book from the mayor's home, Liesel is followed by Rudy. He discovers the secret of the books, and also the secret of Max, whose name he reads on a journal Max gave to Liesel for Christmas. Rudy guesses that her family is hiding someone and he swears to never tell anyone. Franz overhears them, but only Rudy's last words of keeping it a secret. Franz violently pushes Rudy to reveal the secret but Rudy throws the journal into the river to keep it away from Franz. However, after Franz has gone, Rudy plunges into the icy river to rescue the journal and Liesel realises that she can truly trust him. Soon a local party member comes by to check the Hubermann's basement and they have to hide Max. However, they are told that their basement was being checked as a potential bomb shelter and realize they weren't suspected of harboring a fugitive.While working one day, Hans sees a neighbor and friend being taken away by the police because he is a Jew. Hans tries to tell the police that the man is a good German, and the man says his son is in the war fighting for Germany, but he is dragged off nonetheless and Hans' name is taken by the soldiers. Hans realizes what a mistake he has made, as this has made them visible. He tells the family and Max realizes he must leave in order to protect them. Hans then receives a telegram that he has been conscripted into the army and must leave immediately.On the way home from school one day, Liesel believes she has seen Max in a line of Jews marching through town on their way to a death camp, and she begins screaming his name, running through the line. She is thrown off the street twice by a German soldier and finally relents when Rosa picks her up and takes her home. Within a few days, Hans returns from the front because he was injured by a bomb that hit his unit's truck. The family is reunited only for a short time, as one night the city is bombed and the air raid sirens fail to go off. Hans, Rosa and Rudy's family (except for his father who has also been conscripted into the Army) are killed in the blast. Liesel was spared from the bombing because she fell asleep in the basement while writing in the journal given to her by Max. Rudy is brought out of his house by neighbors and he is barely alive. He begins to tell Liesel that he loves her but he dies before he can finish the sentence. Liesel begs him to not die, telling him that she will give him that kiss he has been asking for and actually kisses him, but he has already died. During this scene, Death is heard speaking again about how he received the souls of the dead. After this, Liesel sadly passes out while one of the soldiers carries her and puts her to safety on a stretcher. When she wakes up, she sees a book amongst the rubble and picks it up. She then sees the Major and Ilsa drive up. With Ilsa being the only friend left, Liesel runs up to her and hugs her.Two years later, Liesel is seen working in a tailor shop of Rudy's father, and then Max appears. She looks up to see him. Overjoyed by his survival and return, she runs to hug him. The final scene is the Angel of Death speaking again about Liesel's life and her death at the age of 90, mentioning her husband, children and grandchildren, as we look over her modern day Manhattan Upper East Side apartment with pictures of her past and a portrait of her, upon which the camera lingers. The narrator does not state whom she married, but does imply that she became a writer. Death says that he has seen many good and bad things over the years, but Liesel is one of the few that ever made him wonder how it would be to live life. But in the end, there were no words, only peace. Lastly, Death says that the only truth it knows is true is that he "is haunted by humans." | sentimental | train | imdb | The scenery was breathtaking and captivating, and I felt transported, insulated from the realities of a terrible war in a terrible time by the endearingly human performances of the actors and the depth they lent to their characters.The only complaints I have would be slight spoilers for both the movie and the book and since I highly recommend both, I'll save them.A powerfully emotional treat you won't regret.
Unlike most movies for young people, which usually encourage selfishness, lust, and who knows what else, this is a film that promotes such qualities as self-sacrifice, courage in the face of unspeakable difficulties, and using your life to make a difference for others.Based on Markus Zusak's novel, The Book Thief expertly tells the story of a young German girl named Liesel, who is thrust into the horrors of World War II Germany and its many complications.
The scope of the story is seen through the eyes of Liesel, making it quite an intimate tale that is less about war and more about the importance of remaining human in inhuman surroundings, and affecting those around you in a positive and profound way.The film is hauntingly beautiful, and moves at an effortless pace- not too fast, not too slow- allowing the viewers to become immersed in the realities of Liesel's situation.
Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson, of course, are their usual extraordinary selves as Liesel's adoptive parents.This is truly a movie that is not just for young people.
"The Diary of Anne Frank" is the classic example, but more recently, "No Place on Earth" (2013) covered some of the same ground as did "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" (2008) and especially "Lore" (2012)."The Book Thief" has wonderful photography by Florian Ballhaus, an excellent musical score by Golden Globe and Oscar winning John Williams ("Schindler's List", "ET", "Star Wars"), and best of all, marvelous acting from Sophie Nelisse as the young girl, Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson as her adoptive parents, and Ben Schnetzer as the Jewish boy they hide.
"The Book Thief" takes place during the Holocaust, a subject seen in many other renowned films, but the beauty of this story comes from the perspective viewers get - that of a child's.There is an excellent blend of different pieces that move the film along well - the violence and the intensity of the time period, the touching relationships between friends and family, and the humor they all share.
Even with all the dramatic events surrounding them, it is easy to get caught in the relationship between Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson as the familiar nagging parents of Liesel.The various sets of the film - backed up with some clean, beautiful cinematography (yet nothing too astounding) - show several different parts of the town, but you are still left wanting to see more of this world.
John Williams' multi-layered music score brings to mind the style of strong scores that helped breath life into great classics from the past.Films of this quality have become rare in these days of often foolish, Hollywood comic book action blockbusters, but it's hoped this, along with 'The Railway Man' might see us treated to more intelligent modern cinema.
Then she is befriended by her neighbor, a little boy.Added to the mix is that her foster parents hide a Jew. The little girl is drawn to him, especially after she learns her own mother, a Communist, most likely became a victim of the Nazis.The Jewish young man furthers her education with reading and writing lessons.
When he falls ill, she reads to him as a lifeline to keep him connected to living.The historic context of this story is well documented with the Night of the Broken Glass and book burning.This movie is a must- see for anyone like me who is compelled to learn about the human and historic drama of the Nazi era..
But in times of war there are many threats and the lives of Liesel, her family and friends will never be the same."The Book Thief" is an American-German production with a beautiful, sensitive and heartbreaking story of love, friendship and obsession for reading books in one of the darkest period of mankind history.
Tradition is not a bad thing, not on its own, yet with a film like The Book Thief, it goes over much repeated material in a form which is so well known as to induce narcolepsy.While the film is comprised of a number of much adored clichés, especially as it deals with this historical period, it assembles them as pure kitsch.The world is viewed through the eyes of a child, her parents are forbidding, her father kindly, almost like fairy tale father; the historical and social fabric is rendered in simplistic reductive episodes and the script delivers such gems as, "A human doesn't have a heart like mine.
It's the sort of drivel book clubs consume, with its hallmark card insight and ladles of sentiment.The film proceeds at a solemn pace, suggestive of its deeply human feeling, which means we have to endure two non German actors use something like an anemic Germanic accent with added inflections as though they might come from the shtetl.
I remained stunned, consumed by my thoughts, absorbed in Liesel's world and bereft as both the final chapter and an episode of my life ended.Departing Brian Percival's film adaptation I just felt hollow.The Book Thief is a remarkable story of Liesel Meminger (Sophie Nélisse), a young girl in pre-war Germany, whose communist mother sends her and her brother to live with foster parents.
Unfortunately, this memorable opening scene doesn't translate into the rest of the film.The Book Thief tells the story of Liesel: a young girl in late 30's Nazi Germany, abandoned by her communist mother into the safer hands of an older childless couple - Hans and Rosa - played by Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson.
The film centres around her relationship not only with her new adoptive parents, but with her best school friend Rudy Steiner (Nico Liersch) and with Max (Ben Schnetzer) - the Jewish friend of the family who brings both a brotherly companionship and great danger into Liesel's world.The German village life is nicely portrayed and the everyday activity counterpointed against the bizarre and terrifying goings on of historical events around them.
But the film and its titular book thief nevertheless possess a bittersweet charm, buoyed by a host of unforgettable supporting characters.As the clouds of war and death gather over Germany, Liesel Meminger (Sophie Nélisse) meets her new foster parents: kindly Hans (Geoffrey Rush) and the remarkably abrasive Rosa (Emily Watson).
But, just as she's starting to grow accustomed to her surroundings, Liesel's life will soon change all the more, when Max (Ben Schnetzer), a young, hunted Jew, comes to stay.As a film, The Book Thief works quite well.
Nélisse - still so young and raw - wanders effectively through war-torn Germany: she is the focal point of both book and film; the child-like eyes through which we witness great love and also enormous hatred.
The decision to sprinkle some German dialogue into the film feels jarring as well, although that's how Zusak's novel (originally written in English) unfolds.As for its merits as an adaptation - by necessity, The Book Thief leaves out details galore and metes out tiny injustices to several supporting characters, many of whom arguably represent some of Zusak's greatest insights and ideas.
Sophie Nélisse gives an outstanding performance as Liesel Meminger, an initially illiterate but incredibly imaginative and independent girl who's full of unique metaphors and similes --e.g., "The sun looks like a silver oyster"--and, with the help of various diverse people, discovers the power of books and the written word while living with foster parents in Hitler's Germany.
Virtually every other player in this film gives a fine performance, and the very special narrator, Roger Allam as the somber yet strangely unforbidding voice of Death, adds a distinct touch, coming in at just the right crucial moments.I have never seen anything remotely like THE BOOK THIEF and can only say that I wish there were more like it.
It would be ironic if she receives her first Oscar for supporting because she is actually the unforgettable centerpiece of every piece she appears in and defines the word "star." This film is worth seeing if only to witness another incredibly beautiful performance by Emily Watson and to watch the most truly gifted actor of our time add another triumph to her majestic career.5/24/14: Having just watched this wonderful film with family at home, I am driven to return again to my keyboard and restate my initial reaction to the absolutely wondrous performance of Emily Watson as Rosa.
I decided this is going to be the last Nazi Germany film for me, but mainly because it was so conventional.The German accent by the main characters is awful, they say words that don't exist, the film is slow and full of stereotypes, dialogues are cheesy and have lots of pauses, the girl is oversweet, the mother overgrumpy (up to an incredible point) and the father overgentle, just to mention some of the things I didn't like.To make a long story short: a feeling that I was not seeing anything new accompanied me throughout this fairytale with this hackneyed subject, which is one of the reasons why I found it so boring..
Yes, the poor Germans who pushed whole villages into barns and then set them alight.In the book thief we have two aryan children who look like they are right out of a Nazi film of the 1930's.
It's one of those films I would never watch again.I understand the movie and how it is showing the struggles the people went through, and how the innocent girl wants to learn and read and has to sneak around to a womens house and read her books as that privilege was taken away from them, but there just aren't enough shocking moments, or ground breaking scenes to make this anything near a classic.
For starters, setting the film during The Academy Awards' favourite time in history, World War II is a must; having a young lead performance is another; previous academy award winners and nominees within the cast (in this case the illustrious Geoffrey Rush and the always impressive Emily Watson) always helps; and finally, the icing on the cake is the heavy-handed and manipulating (to the point of distracting) forced drama (in this case, a completely unnecessary voice-over).
With just over a two hour run time, The Book Thief uses morbid images of death, sometimes involving children, to get its dramatized point across and elicit notions of pure sentiment.The film follows Liesel Meminger (French-Canadian Sophie Nélisse from Monsieur Lazhar), a newly orphaned child who is in the midst of pre-war Germany in 1938.
With cultural tension and war on the rise, Liesel and her family must turn a blind eye to patriotism in favour of humanity, finding a new way to survive without ever compromising their own integrity.Some of the finer points of The Book Thief comes from its impeccable acting talent.
You may be more surprised to learn that it's narrated by The Grim Reaper (British actor Roger Allam), and includes a Nazi rally, book-burning, bomb shelters, a look at the anti-Jew and anti-Communist movements, the German conscription/military draft and the dangers associated with hiding a Jew in one's basement.There is no denying the melodramatic nature of the story, but this one avoids schmaltz thanks to the remarkable performances of the great Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson, and especially Sophie Nelisse as the incredibly perceptive Liesel who provides the innocence and powers of observation that prove to us (and Death) that good people will do extraordinary things no matter the atrocious conditions.As Liesel's foster parents, Rush plays a warm-hearted WWI veteran and Watson plays a cantankerous, grounded woman hiding the emotion she carries for her husband and new daughter.
The Book Thief tells the story of a young girl called Liesel (played by the beautiful and very talented Sophie Nellisse) who is abandoned by her mother in Germany just a couple of years before World War II.
With these actors all doing a fine job it's still hard to completely buy into these people completely with the films meandering pace and stale direction constantly reminding us that proceedings should be a lot more thrilling than they are, even sure-fire composer John Williams score can't escape the feeling of being good yet not far from average.The Book Thief should of made a much bigger mark than it did and while not being an in any way terrible movie is also a movie that fails to justify its existence as a two hour motion picture thanks to some underdeveloped characters, tame direction and a failure to maximise what could have been some very emotionally heavy yet rewarding experiences.2 and a half dangerous melting snowmen out of 5 For more movie reviews and opinions check out - www.jordanandeddie.wordpress.com.
THE BOOK THIEF is a movie full of great incidents and characters, top production values and fine acting -- Geoffrey Rush is one of those actors I believe cannot give a less than brilliant performance and Emma Watson creeps into your heart slowly and steadily throughout.
Children who are forced to grow up quickly although they cannot totally abandon their nature.This 1940's German family has no interest in the Nazi propaganda but like the people in the countries attacked they are in a struggle for survival and despite the hardship they will not risk everything to help those in need.Moving and emotional it does a good job in putting humanity at the core of the story despite the surrounding overall lack of it..
'THE BOOK THIEF': Four Stars (Out of Five) World War II drama film about a young girl living with foster parents (during the war in Germany) who also develops relationships with a Jewish refugee (hiding in their home) and a boy (her age) from the neighborhood.
I think the movie looks great (and is well made) but it's not quite involving enough to be really interesting or entertaining.Nélisse plays Liesel Meminger, a young girl who is 12 when the movie starts (in 1938 Germany) and 14 by the time it's over.
Even as the world around her seems to become more dangerous and make less sense by the day, Liesel's love of learning , her growing creativity and the support of those around her carry her through.After so many movies about Nazi Germany, I give this film credit for its realism and unusual focus.
The acting is wonderful and the story is priceless.On a side note, I read a review by a critic that gave The Book Thief a poor rating, indicating that if you want to see a war movie done like Disney would do it, this one would be perfect for you.
It's a fine way to introduce the era and what happened in it to children, as director Brian Percival gets a lot out of Nelisse and co- star Nico Liersch, letting these two kids play people their own age (and a bit younger) accurately and believably.The tension that runs throughout the film is like watching children play with loaded guns for 131 minutes, truly and fairly representing what these people must have lived for six years.
The Book Thief is the kind of film you could show your children as a way to first begin a discussion of World War II and the Holocaust, but it never takes shortcuts from darker subject matter to reach this role.
While the responsibility for the narrative lies with the author, 'The Book Thief' is refreshing in the course of the events it depicts; many movies on the subject of World War Two and Nazi Germany are all too keen to explore beyond the gates of the death camps, but director Brian Percival's film honours the source material by celebrating its story about the importance of the written word with a proud approach, allowing it to sit at the film's core despite every possible distraction.
The story being set in a small German village was an interesting vehicle for how major events in history are interpreted.The main strengths of this film stem from the excellent performances of its main cast, with the formidable Geoffrey Rush as the kind-hearted Hans, Emily Watson as the secretly loving but strict Rosa and Sophie Nélisse as the determined and fiesty Liesel.
Before the second world war, after meeting her adoptive family and learning how to read and write, a girl falls in love with books which happen to become banned by the Nazi.
I love the acting in this film.Sophie starts as a young girl .And Geoffrey plays the role of Hans"the father her" .
The Book Thief is narrated by the Grim Reaper himself but it needs more than this gimmick to stand apart from other films that tread a similar path about people growing up in Nazi Germany during the war.Liesel (Sophie Nélisse) is fostered by a childless older couple, Hans (Geoffrey Rush) and Rosa (Emily Watson) as her communist mother cannot look after her.
Virtually all of the negative reviews are from people who have read the book and were disappointed with the movie adaptation - I personally think the film should be judged in its own right.As someone who watched the film without knowing anything about the story, I thought it was excellent.
At one point the Hubermanns take in and hide in the basement Max Vandenburg, a young Jew, the son of a man who saved the life of the Hubermann patriarch, Hans (Geoffrey Rush), in World War I.The linchpin of the story is Sophie's inability to read upon her arrival into the family.
The lead characters are the young girl, Liesel Meminger played by up- and-coming actress Sophie Nelisse and her foster father and mother played by Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson. |
tt0044030 | Show Boat | Note: Although the basic plot of Show Boat has always remained the same, over the years revisions and alterations were made by the creators, and over time by subsequent producers and directors. Some of these revisions were for length and some for convenience, as when a different actor played a certain role and was unable to perform a specialty piece written for the role's creator. Some have been made to reflect contemporary sensitivities toward race, gender and other social issues.
Act I
In 1887, the show boat Cotton Blossom arrives at the river dock in Natchez, Mississippi. The Reconstruction era had ended a decade earlier, and white-dominated Southern legislatures have imposed racial segregation and Jim Crow rules. The boat's owner, Cap'n Andy Hawks, introduces his actors to the crowd on the levee. A fistfight breaks out between Steve Baker, the leading man of the troupe, and Pete, a rough engineer who had been making passes at Steve's wife, the leading lady Julie La Verne, a mixed-race woman who passes as white. Steve knocks Pete down, and Pete swears revenge, suggesting he knows a dark secret about Julie. Cap'n Andy pretends to the shocked crowd that the fight was a preview of one of the melodramas to be performed. The troupe exits with the showboat band, and the crowd follows.
A handsome riverboat gambler, Gaylord Ravenal, appears on the levee and is taken with eighteen-year-old Magnolia ("Nolie") Hawks, an aspiring performer and the daughter of Cap'n Andy and his wife Parthenia Ann (Parthy). Magnolia is likewise smitten with Ravenal ("Make Believe"). She seeks advice from Joe, a black dock worker aboard the boat, who has returned from buying flour for his wife Queenie, the ship's cook. He replies that there are "lots like [Ravenal] on the river." As Magnolia goes inside the boat to tell her friend Julie about the handsome stranger, Joe mutters that she ought to ask the river for advice. He and the other dock workers reflect on the wisdom and indifference of "Ol' Man River", who doesn't seem to care what the world's troubles are, but "jes' keeps rollin' along".
Magnolia finds Julie inside and announces that she's in love. Julie cautions her that this stranger could be just a "no-account river fellow". Magnolia says that if she found out he was "no-account", she'd stop loving him. Julie warns her that it's not that easy to stop loving someone, explaining that she'll always love Steve, singing a few lines of "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man". Queenie overhears – she is surprised that Julie knows that song as she has only heard "colored folks" sing it. Magnolia remarks that Julie sings it all the time, and when Queenie asks if she can sing the entire song, Julie obliges.
During the rehearsal for that evening, Julie and Steve learn that the town sheriff is coming to arrest them. Steve takes out a large pocket knife and makes a cut on the back of her hand, sucking the blood and swallowing it. Pete returns with the sheriff, who insists that the show cannot proceed, because Julie is a mulatto woman married to a white man, and local laws prohibit such miscegenation. Julie admits that her mother was black, but Steve tells the sheriff that he also has "black blood" in him, so their marriage is legal in Mississippi. The troupe backs him up, boosted by the ship's pilot Windy McClain, a longtime friend of the sheriff. The couple have escaped the charge of miscegenation, but they still have to leave the show boat; identified as black, they can no longer perform for the segregated white audience. Cap'n Andy fires Pete, but in spite of his sympathy for Julie and Steve, he cannot violate the law for them.
Gaylord Ravenal returns and asks for passage on the boat. Andy hires him as the new leading man, and assigns his daughter Magnolia as the new leading lady, over her mother's objections. As Magnolia and Ravenal begin to rehearse their roles and in the process, kiss for the first time (infuriating Parthy), Joe reprises the last few lines of "Ol' Man River".
Weeks later, Magnolia and Ravenal have been a hit with the crowds and have fallen in love. As the levee workers hum "Ol' Man River" in the background, he proposes to Magnolia, and she accepts. The couple joyously sings "You Are Love". They make plans to marry the next day while Parthy, who disapproves, is out of town. Parthy has discovered that Ravenal once killed a man, and arrives with the Sheriff to interrupt the wedding festivities. The group learns that Ravenal was acquitted of murder. Cap'n Andy calls Parthy "narrow-minded" and defends Ravenal by announcing that he also once killed a man. Parthy faints, but the ceremony proceeds.
Act II
Six years have passed, and it is 1893. Gaylord and Magnolia have moved to Chicago, where they make a precarious living from Gaylord's gambling. At first they are rich and enjoying the good life, singing the song "Why Do I Love You?" By 1903, they have a daughter, Kim, and after years of varying income, they are broke and rent a room in a boarding house. Depressed over his inability to support his family, Gaylord abandons Magnolia and Kim. Frank and Ellie, two former actors from the showboat, learn that Magnolia is living in the rooms they want to rent. The old friends seek a singing job for Magnolia at the Trocadero, the club where they are doing a New Year's show. Julie is working there. She has fallen into drinking after having been abandoned by Steve. At a rehearsal, she tries out the new song "Bill." She appears to be thinking of Steve and sings it with great emotion. From her dressing-room, she hears Magnolia singing "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" for her audition, the song which Julie taught her years ago. Julie secretly quits her job so that Magnolia can fill it, without learning of her sacrifice.
On New Year's Eve, Andy and Parthy go to Chicago for a surprise visit to their daughter Magnolia. He goes to the Trocadero without his wife, and sees Magnolia overcome with emotion and nearly booed off stage. Andy rallies the crowd by starting a sing-along of the standard, "After the Ball". Magnolia becomes a great musical star.
More than 20 years pass, and it is 1927. An aged Joe on the Cotton Blossom sings a reprise of "Ol' Man River". Cap'n Andy has a chance meeting with Ravenal and arranges his reunion with Magnolia. Andy knows that Magnolia is retiring and returning to the Cotton Blossom with Kim, who has become a Broadway star. Kim gives her admirers a taste of her performing abilities by singing an updated, Charleston version of "Why Do I Love You?" Ravenal sings a reprise of "You Are Love" to the offstage Magnolia. Although he is uncertain about asking her to take him back, Magnolia, who has never stopped loving him, greets him warmly and does. As the happy couple walks up the boat's gangplank, Joe and the cast sing the last verse of "Ol' Man River".
Plot variants in 1951 film
The 1951 MGM film changed the final scenes of the story, as well as many small details. It reconciled Ravenal and Magnolia a few years after they separated, rather than 23. By a chance meeting with Julie, Ravenal learns that Magnolia gave birth to his daughter. He returns to her and sees the child Kim playing. Magnolia sees them together and takes him back, and the family returns to the show boat. Joe and the chorus start singing "Ol' Man River" as the scenes unfold, then the paddlewheel starts turning in tempo with the music, as the ship heads down river. Julie is shown, viewing from a distance. She had watched the scene from the shadows. | romantic | train | wikipedia | null |
tt0118884 | Contact | The film opens with a shot of Earth from space and an audio track of various samples of recognizable mass communications from world history. The shot suddenly begins to travel outwards from Earth at impossible speed, passing Mars, the Asteroid Belt of the Solar System, passing Jupiter, travelling through Saturn's rings and leaving our Solar System. Travel continues even faster, seemingly faster than light, passing the Pillars of Creation in the Eagle Nebula and out of the Milky Way galaxy. The trip passes through another galaxy, finally showing us a field of thousands of galaxies. After a few moments we pass through the iris of a young girl, Ellie Arroway, who is reciting a HAM radio greeting "C-Q" ("seek you") in her bedroom.Ellie has a gift for science and is encouraged by her kindly father to communicate with people in distant cities on her HAM. Ellie makes contact with someone in Pensacola, Florida, her longest communication yet at over a thousand miles from her home near Madison, Wisconsin. That night Ellie asks if she could ever have a transmitter powerful enough to talk to her deceased mother (who died in childbirth). Her father says he doesn't know but suggests that Ellie is tenacious enough that she probably could accomplish such a task one day.Ellie's father dies one night while they stargaze. Ellie seems to blame herself for not getting her father his heart medication in time. Ellie grows up to become a brilliant astrophysicist, earns her doctorate and begins her research with SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute) at Arecibo in Puerto Rico.At Arecibo, Ellie meets influential spiritual ponderer Palmer Joss (Matthew McConaughey), and has an intense, brief, but detached (on her part) affair with him. One day while looking in a Cracker Jack box, he finds a toy compass and gives it to her, 'so she wont lose her way.' Palmer wants to get closer to Ellie in terms of a relationship, but Ellie is more preoccupied with her search for extra-terrestrial life. Shortly after, Ellie is angered when Drumlin pulls her team's funding. She gets in a heated debate defending her work, to which Drumlin chastises her for spending time on 'nonsense.'Taking action, Ellie and her team pool together to try and get funding for their project from private sources. Ellie and her team spend 18 months searching, before finding their benefactor in the form of S. R. Hadden (John Hurt), a billionaire investor who had been known for innovation and had fallen out of favor in the scientific community. While giving a presentation to the Hadden Industries board of directors, Ellie becomes confrontational when it seems the board has no interest in funding her project. One of the board members receives an unexpected phone call and tells Ellie that she has her funding. Ellie looks at a nearby observation camera and mouths "Thank you."Hadden's funding allows Ellie to have access to the 'Very Large Array' (VLA) in New Mexico, a facility with 27 large radio antenna dishes which Ellie uses to continue her search. Even here, Drumlin and the scientific community are not far behind. With 4 years of finding nothing, and even though all funding for the project is privatized by Hadden Industries, and because of Ellie's relentless pursuit and reputation for bizarre experiments, the project is still in danger of being shut down by Drumlin again. Even so, Ellie vows not to quit.One evening, while listening intently, Ellie hears a powerful signal: a prime number pattern emanating from the star Vega, confirmed by others the world over, undeniable and strong in its pulsing power, which is much like a heart beating. Other astronomers in world-wide countries are utilized to record the signal, since the VLA is only aligned to Vega for a certain amount of time. Shortly thereafter, Drumlin inserts himself into the situation, taking credit for Ellie's work. Ellie is also pressured by the president's National Security Adviser, Michael Kitz (James Woods) who wishes to militarize the project, feeling that due to other countries having heard the message, Ellie has compromised national security. The message, however, is transmitted in pulses equaling prime numbers, to wit Ellie explains that mathematics is a universal language, proving the message was not meant strictly for the United States.Kitz and his assistant Rachel Constantine (Angela Bassett) inform the President when a video feed of Hitler is found mixed into the prime number pulse pattern. It is from the 1936 Olympics, the first television signal strong enough to leave the atmosphere, but the implications are threatening. Is the alien intelligence seeing a friend in Hitler, or merely bouncing the signal back to Earth? Religious right mouthpiece Richard Rank (Rob Lowe) reports that the fundamentalist camp is wary. At the same time, huge crowds of people descend on the VLA compound in New Mexico, trying to hear the signal. Some come for support, others, such as a religious zealot named Joseph (Jake Busey), have come to condemn Ellie and the others, preaching against science and claiming that god exists in Vega.A short time later it is found that interlaced within the signal, are a number of pages of digital data, over 60,000 in total. Ellie is then given authority over the deciphering, but after many months, the edges of the pages do not seem capable of lining up. Ellie soon gets her answer in the form of Hadden himself, who meets with Ellie privately. Hadden shows considerable knowledge of Ellie herself, saying that he prefers to know as much as he can about his investments. (One of the video clips he uses is that of Ellie presenting to his corporation's board, indicating that he made the phone call that got Ellie her funding.)Hadden then explains that Ellie and her team had been deciphering the pages in only two dimensions. The pages it seems, were created in three dimensions by an intelligence that would work in that manner for efficiency. With this revelation, Ellie is able to find the "primer", or the key to decoding the alien's message. Within the pages, there appear to be some form of blueprints. While Ellie speculates they could be a transport, Kitz and his security detail feel it could be a weapon of some kind, falling back on speculation that any alien life forms would be hostile to mankind.The decryption team is able to determine that the plans are indeed for a type of transport and contain an image of a human-like figure. Construction of the machine is estimated to cost as much as about 300 billion dollars, with a number of countries vying for the ability to join in construction, or to have a representative from their country vie for the chance to travel in the machine.A special panel is convened to select the appropriate candidate for the trip. Ellie is surprised when Drumlin resigns his post to become a candidate. Ellie is also a candidate, and makes it to the final round for deciding who will go. Palmer (who is on the panel) cripples Ellie's chances of being selected by asking her if she believes in God. Ellie indirectly answers the question by not stating a direct answer. Her falter is then picked up by Drumlin, who then speaks 'passionately,' using God in his closing remarks. His 'grandstanding' attitude towards the panel works, and he is chosen to go. Ellie feels betrayed by Palmer, who states that he couldn't choose someone who doesn't believe in God. Ellie angrily tells him that she told the truth, whereas Drumlin just told them what they wanted to hear. She then returns the compass he gave her.After a few years of construction the machine is completed at Cape Canaveral, and it's first test-run is televised on all major news networks. While Drumlin is supervising the test from the machine, Ellie is allowed to be part of the test's control team at NASA's Mission Control. All seems to be going well in testing, until Joseph (who Ellie had seen previously preaching against the project at the VLA in New Mexico) is spotted on security cameras in the machine's gantry, with explosives strapped to his chest. Drumlin and a number of men try to subdue him, but Joseph detonates the explosives, destroying the machine and those conducting the test inside the machine, including Drumlin. Ellie then returns to the VLA, saddened that her discovery or any chance of making contact appears to have been destroyed. That evening, she is surprised to find a satellite uplink in her apartment. The uplink connects her to the MIR Space Station, which has now become home to S.R. Hadden, as a way to try and slow the terminal cancer that is 'eating him alive.' Happily, Hadden shows Ellie that his company had secretly constructed a second machine in secret on Hokkaido Island, and that he wants her to take the trip this time.Ellie is flown to a special ship off Hokkaido, where she is met by the machine's crew, and given a pre-flight rundown, showing her everything from survival gear, to a suicide pill in case she is marooned in space. Shortly before the trip, she is reunited with Palmer, who returns her compass that she gave him during their last meeting. He then reveals that he has come to care about her, and that previously, he hadn't wanted her to go, fearing she might not ever return.Ellie is then put into the transport pod, and after it is launched into the center of the machine, she appears to travel through several wormholes, seeing bits of alien machinery, and a city on a distant planet of some kind. At one point, Ellie separates herself from the restraint chair in the pod to retrieve Palmer's compass which had come loose from her neck. The chair breaks violently apart from its fastenings, fulfilling Palmer's prediction that the compass would one day save her life. As Ellie stares through a wall of the pod, it's translucency reveals a brilliant, celestial event. Before she realizes it, she is transported to a sandy beach environment (similar to the one she drew of Pensacola as a little girl). Suddenly, she notices a shimmering image moving towards her. As it draws near, she is shocked to see that it is her father.However, she soon determines that everything (the beach, the image of her Father) is not real, but memories and thoughts taken from her mind by the alien (who has taken on the guise of her Father). He explains that this was a way to allow them to make things more comfortable for her. The alien reveals that the broadcast signal from the 1936 Olympics was how the aliens knew about Earth, and that there are many others out in space. When Ellie asks about the transport system, the alien explains that their race found it, but they have no idea who built it. The alien explains that in examining her memories, that humans feel 'so alone.' But to the aliens the one thing they've found that brings them comfort is each other.The alien explains that Ellie has to go home. However, she tries to ask more questions, but is told by the alien that she has taken the first step, and in time, mankind will make another, and find out more. "That's the way it's been done for billions of years," he explains.Ellie then seemingly lands on the floor of the pod, back on Earth. Asking to know how long she was gone, she is shocked when everyone tells her that the pod just dropped straight through the machine. Footage from a number of video cameras confirms it, and a video recorder that was in her communications headpiece only recorded static.After these events, Kitz resigns from his post as National Security Adviser, and holds an inquiry to find out 'what really happened.' During the inquiry, Kitz assumes that the entire event was a hoax: from the alien message to the construction blueprints. His feelings are that it was all a scheme perpetrated by S.R. Hadden, maybe in some crazed idea to unite the world (Hadden is unable to be presented to the panel, as he has since died onboard MIR, finally succumbing to cancer). Even with Kitz demanding answers, Ellie explains that without any evidence or proof, she firmly believes that she did travel to Vega, and that she did experience the meeting with the other being. The hearing ends, and Palmer is there to accompany her. Outside the Capitol building in Washington, a number of people are there, many in support of Ellie's theory. As she is put into a car, Palmer is asked his opinion. Stating that since he is a 'man of faith,' he is bound by a different covenant than Ellie. But even so, he does state that he believes her.In the aftermath of the inquiry, Kitz is in a discussion with Rachel Constantine. After discussing the investigation committee's findings, Rachel explains to Kitz how it appears that he overlooked the portion of the report regarding Ellie's video recorder. While Kitz said that it had just recorded static, Rachel has discovered in the report that it actually recorded 18 hours of static, the precise amount of time Ellie believed her journey had taken.Ellie is shortly thereafter given a grant to continue her work. She gives a group of grade school students a tour of the VLA facility. When one of them asks her if there could be life in outer space, she echoes her father's sentiment from when she was young, "If there isn't, then it'd be an awful waste of space."The ending of the film cuts to some time later on. Ellie is still working at the VLA and even more dishes are being built to allow the team to search further into space.A dedication of the movie to the late astronomer Carl Sagan, author of the novel the film was based upon, precedes the closing credits. | boring, thought-provoking, intrigue, flashback, psychedelic, philosophical, tragedy, inspiring | train | imdb | null |
tt1913166 | Nurse 3-D | The film opens with Abby Russell at a night club where she explains to the audience via a narration that her "job" is to murder cheating men in order to "keep scum off of the streets"- a job that she thoroughly enjoys. She then murders a man by slicing through his femoral artery and then throwing him off the roof of the club.The following day Abby attends a ceremony where she watches Danni Rodgers, a nurse she had been mentoring, graduate. She then approaches her and meets Danni's mother and stepfather Larry Cook. Despite this joyful moment and all of her preparation, Danni is ill prepared for her first true day of nursing duty and is berated by Dr. Morris for her inability to respond quickly to an emergency situation. Abby views the situation with disgust, as she knows that Dr. Morris is a sadist that enjoys harassing new nurses.Abby is further irritated when Danni chooses to call her paramedic boyfriend Steve for support rather than approaching Abby herself. She's pleased when Danni's call to Steve ends badly due to a fight the couple had had previously that night over Danni's refusal to move in with him. She explains her actions to Abby by saying that she is unwilling to trust her stepfather enough to leave him alone with her mother. This distrust is later justified when Abby and Danni witness her stepfather having an affair while the two women are on their way to go drinking at a nightclub. Danni is upset at the encounter, which makes her more willing to drink later that night. However unbeknownst to her Abby spikes her drink with drugs, which enables Abby to get Danni to have sex with both her and random strangers.The next day Danni wakes to find herself in Abby's apartment and leaves despite Abby's entreaties for Danni to skip work and spend the day with her. After she leaves, Abby downloads several photos that she had taken from the previous night before leaving to see a psychiatrist, which is revealed to be Larry.Abby seduces Larry by saying that she's addicted to men, alluding to her past history with her father. He gives her his phone number to contact him anytime she wishes, which seems to confirm Abby's suspicions that Larry is a cheater. She later approaches him while he's leaving his office and convinces him to give her a ride, which enables her to murder him by paralyzing him in his car with vecuronium bromide and putting it in reverse, which causes him to get into a car accident.After hearing of her stepfather's death Danni seeks solace from Abby, only for Abby to grow angry when Danni says that she's going to move in with her boyfriend. Abby comments that she hopes that Larry's genitals were cut off in the car crash, only for Danni to reveal that she had never told Abby how her stepfather had died and quickly leave. This infuriates Abby, who decides that instead of seeking to help Danni, she will now hurt her. She accomplishes this by slowly convincing Detective John Rogan that Danni is mentally unstable and obsessed with Abby.The next day, Abby runs into Rachel Owens, a cheerful new human resources employee that remarks that Abby greatly resembles a girl she knew that was sent to a mental institution. Abby invites Rachel out for drinks and takes the opportunity to harass Danni by calling her via Skype and showing Danni a video of Abby injecting chemicals into Rachel. Danni tries to go to the police, only for Detective Rogan to dismiss her claims as evidence of her trying to hurt Abby because the other woman didn't return her affections. He uses the photographs Abby took as proof to this effect, which Steve sees as a result of Danni calling him to the police station for support. This prompts an argument between the two and Steve leaves in a fit of anger. Danni tries to approach Dr. Morris for help, only for him to use this as an opportunity to blackmail Abby into having sex with him. Abby initially pretends to agree to this arrangement but soon shows that it was only a way for her to get him alone so she could dismember and murder him. That same night Abby also knocks out Rachel and drags her away to her death.Meanwhile, Danni goes to the mental institution that Rachel had referred to, seeking answers about what is going on. There, she learns about Sarah Price, a little girl who killed her father after witnessing him not only having an affair but also severely beating her mother for coming to his office unannounced. Danni also discovers that Sarah was taken in by one of the nurses at the institution, a woman named Abigail Russell. Danni then realizes that that Abby is Sarah and has since taken the name of her caretaker. Danni then tries to call Rachel to warn her about Abby, only to find that Rachel's phone is in her car. She then receives a call from Abby, who implies that she will kill Steve in the same manner as Rachel.Danni rushes to the hospital, where she and Abby begin to get into a violent fistfight. The staff initially tries to intervene, only for Abby to set off on a killing spree and lock herself into a lab. Danni and Steve finally manage to get inside, only for Abby (who had hidden in one of the patients' beds) to stab Steve in the neck and run off.Abby rushes home to grab some essentials but is confronted by Detective Rogan, who tries to arrest her. Noticing that her neighbor Jared is viewing the situation, Abby pretends that Rogan is trying to rob her. Her neighbor then comes outside and hits the detective over the head with a bat, killing him instantly. Her neighbor is horrified to discover that Rogan is a cop, but Abby convinces him to hide the body, saying that Rogan was corrupt and that Jared would be treated badly since he is now a cop killer.In the final scene, Abby is shown to have assumed a new identity at another hospital... that of human resources employee Rachel Owens. | violence | train | imdb | In New York, Abby Russell (Paz de la Huerta) is a nurse of the All Saints Memorial Hospital and a serial-killer of unfaithful husband after hours.
the premise is simple enough: Abby (Paz De la Huerta) is a nurse by day and a seductive killer by night, targeting unfaithful men.
I'm only saying this because everyone kept saying how gorgeous she is - but not for me, and if you see the film you'll agree that they seemed to be trying to drive the entire movie on her (apparently great) looks, but she can't act to save her life, and has a face like a busted sofa lol.
Overall, tinge of comedy aside, this movie is more suspense than drama.Secondary characters are also well played by Katrina Bowden, Judd Nelson, and a brief appearance by an almost unrecognizable Kathleen Turner.This movie was a fun watch.
Paz De La Huerta plays Abby Russell a nurse by day and man killer by night literally.
We were laughing and howling at the screen many times.The film is sharp looking and filmed very well, as far as 3D goes, some of the CGI could have been a bit better but the in your face effects sprinkled in the film do their part mainly when it comes to the gore.I've read many reviews from those that didn't like the film and thought Paz De La Huerta's acting left a lot to be desired.
I can say she was likely hired because of her body and willingness to appear naked in the film.Katrina Bowden who plays a nurse Danni, has much better acting skills and would have made a much better lead.Okay so the movie - the part I watched anywayAbby Russell is a nurse that 'disguises' herself as a slut and goes out to bars and clubs wearing barely anything and waits for married men to hit on her.
It has lots of shots of Paz looking sexy in an inappropriately short nurse's outfit and shoes that flout all health and safety recommendations but it's the sass and humour of this film that make it stand out.
It's something like cliché with maximum lack of taste, mixed with fantasies of a disturbed teenage boy.I have learned that I can survive 84 minutes of zero originality, terrible characters, and horrendous acting.I have learned that a movie can be so bad that you don't really care about the nudity anymore because even that can't save it.I have learned that a boring blonde bimbo can actually be the best part of a movie.
Controversy about Nurse 3D and I get the point why so many people hate this movie but me as an exploitation geek and horror geek looked behind it all and only then you can enjoy this voyeuristic 3D flick.
It's not going to win prices but the acting was rather good, it's just a no-brainer to watch while necking some brewskies and a packet of crisps and if you can't get enough of Paz De La Huerta must pick up Enter The Void (2009) where she has the main lead and was controversial due the almost explicit sex scene's, directed by Gaspar Noe famous of Irreversible (2002).Gore 1/5 Nudity 2/5 Effects 3/5 Story 2,5/5 Comedy 0/5.
The Movie is a Bloody B-Movie that Looks Slick and Sick, with Some Goofy Humor that Works and Some Suspense Piled On. The Thing goes Way Over the Top in the Final Act and the Red Stuff Drenches the Screen with One Typical Slasher Movie Killing After Another.
It Manages to Drain All Empathy for the Nurse with a Killing Spree that No Longer has Any Triggered Psychosis and just Lapses into a Non Discriminate Death March, Mostly to Throw in as Much 3D as Possible before it Ends.Overall, Worth a Watch for Horror and Slasher Fans and Those that Like a Parade of Sexy Shots and Scenes with Attractive People Wetted Up for the Camera.
I found the movie to be a pretty fun guilty pleasure; it just needed a better heroine.The film revolves around Abby Russell (Huerta), a nurse who thinks it's her duty to rid the world of cheating men.
At the same time Danni slowly learns what Abby does at night.As just a trashy B horror flick this movie is about as good as it gets; it's gory and full of explicit sex and nudity (mostly featuring Huerta).
We learn that Abby has an even darker past and Danni learns it too.Nurse 3D offers something different among horror movies.
You do care both about Abby and Danni, played by the lovely Katrina Bowden and in a way you don't want to movie to take the turn it does.
If Huerta and Bowden weren't lovely enough we also get an adorable performance by the cute Melanie Scrofano.Nurse 3D offers everything you want to see in a horror movie..
For anyone who likes their movies excessively trashy, this slick and frequently sick offering will more than likely fit the bill.De La Huerta plays sexy, psychotic, bisexual nurse Abby Russell, who helps save lives during the day, but takes them in her spare time, using her sex appeal to lure adulterous men to their deaths.
When Danni spurns Abby's sexual advances (after having already been tricked into bed by the manipulative bitch), and begins to suspect the nutty nurse of murdering her stepfather, things go from bad to worse, Abby going on a frenzied killing spree in the hospital
Directed by Douglas Aarniokoski, frequent assistant director to Robert Rodriguez, Nurse 3-D is unpretentious, gory, and very sexy silliness with a deliciously dark streak of humour running throughout.
When I saw the trailer for this I could tell it was going to be s**t don't get me wrong but I was hoping for sort of campy fun but I found I spent much of my time thinking dear oh f***king dear.I feel they had a quite fun idea here but just couldn't pull it together,like others have commented the acting was just garbage especially from the lead actress who bless her looked like a man in drag from certain angles and that all I kept thinking and of course how terrible her acting was,and why the whole I'm wearing a bra and no knickers thing?!
Not so much when you look at the quality of cinematography, editing, stuff like that, but mostly because of the plot, the writing and the acting, which was weirdly porn-y and just uncomfortable, especially when it comes to Paz de la Huerta, who played the nurse Abby Russell.
Nurse,in some places,like Blu Ray,3D is a 2013 horror film that I've never seen before and when I heard about it,I had to watch it.
The film follows actress Paz De La Huerta as Gabby,a nurse who's clean,free,gentle and nice personality lures men in to the night where she kills them,and runs away and when a new nurse,played by Katrina Bowden,has a sexual encounter with her,she begins to suspect shes the cause of all the crimes in the city and also,the causer of her stepfather's death.
Nurse 3D could be possibly one of the most boring horror films ever made,it had no reason to be played and Paz De La Huerta was one of the most awful performances I've ever seen,she takes like one minute to finish a whole sentence,Katrina Bowden though did give a fresh performance,the best part of the whole film was probably the big showdown at the end,I wont spoil but it was very very awesome and cool.
The film desperately wants to be an Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS, but never takes the risks to go there.Nurse 3D is a pass for horror fans and even those who just want to see some naked women should stick with Paz in her other work, like Boardwalk Empire.
Also, don't be fooled by the poster - It's the only sexy part of the movie - The lead actress looks like they took the face off a Tiki and put it on a nice body....
2.Playing the role too Hammy, the dialogue sounded like she was either drunk or bored.The final act of the movie seemed rushed and botched, the HR Lady what happened to her ?The Shower scene as mentioned in the Boards, why are they still wearing their under garments, if there is a no Nudity clause then don't film the scene at all.Shame really good concept poorly executed..
"Nurse" lures in the audience with a synopsis stating "By day, Abby Russell is a dedicated nurse, but by night, she lures cheating men to their brutal deaths and exposes them for who they really are." And while that does sound interesting and for a movie that could have some kind of twisted appeal, then "Nurse" failed to deliver on most aspects.First of all, the casting of Paz de la Huerta as Abby was so off the target.
It could have made for a great detective storyline with them being so popular on TV these days.Yes, there are beautiful girls and plenty of boobs and stocking tops on show for those boys going through puberty to enjoy but the blood scenes might prove a bit daunting for a 13 year oldI suppose it can be classed as a black comedy horror that even Ray Bradbury could not have thought of.I can't remember seeing another film where a woman is wearing a bra but no knickers.The film could have been a whole lot more but there is a moral to the story which will give disaffected husbands nightmares.I appreciate that these are modern times and the PC gang are out in full force; so many films and TV shows these days make men out to be weak and feeble and women so strong and dominant (ok, so there are men that like that sort of thing)but surely some sort of parity is needed.On the plus side, the end is not what you would normally predict to happen but I am sure there is no-one demanding a sequel anyway.The film is a bit short but more than adequate enough to pleasure the desires of many of it's viewers.This could have been a sensational detective drama.
The only unbelievable thing in the whole movie is that the main victim is worried about her boyfriend seeing pictures of her having sex with the other hot nurse she works with,(like that would be a bad thing) If you're a real horror fan you cant go wrong here..
Reminiscent of American Psycho and what could have been a more fitting sequel than American Psycho 2 it's well shot by director Doug Aarniokoski with wit and campy coolness as Abby (Paz de la Huerta) murders cheating men and obsesses over co-worker Danni played with finesse by Katrina Bowden.
The effects are great, there's a high body count and plenty of gruesome fun to enjoy.Yes there's naked flesh on display but this should not to be labelled as a gratuitous lurid exploitation flick and although the title is somewhat misleading, Nurse is ridiculously compulsive, horrific and sexy from start to finish with a memorable crazy central character played excellently.
The vision that director Douglas Aarniokoski showed in his previous film, The Day, is completely absent here.The movie is primarily hampered by a lifeless and detached performance from Paz de la Huerta as Nurse Abby, who approaches her character like she was high on pills.
It is awful and absolutely no substance to the story, through out the whole movie i was wondering why Katrina Bowden wasn't cast as the main character, Paz De la Huerta acting is not your calling my dear.
There is the requisite cop who suspects the wrong person, the boyfriend of Danni who will turn 360 degrees in opinions towards the chaos occurring around them, and there is a doctor (Judd Nelson) whose only purpose seems to be to allow Abby to up her body count.Yet, for reasons that I cannot quite put to words, Nurse 3D was a watchable horror film that goes through the motions but does so with a style and pace that keeps things moving along even if this is a path that we have taken many times before in better films.
"Nobody will ever understand you like I do." Abby Russell (de la Huerta) is one of the best nurses in her hospital.
Nurse (2013)* 1/2 (out of 4)Nurse Abby Russell (Paz de la Huerta) loves her job taking care of the sick and helpless but at night she likes to lure married men into her deadly trap.
Well, to be honest, the film actually plays very much like a grindhouse film from the 70s because this here is pretty bad, has a very thin plot and makes up for that by offering up a lot of nudity and gore.
You know what guys this film does not deserve the hate its getting its actually quite hilarious its a mixture of horror,soft core & comedy on top of that it takes it self so serious we all remember dexter TV series i have collected all seasons of that show its awesome this film is just like that where its a female protagonist kills men who cheat & commit adultery specially the climax will remind of the show this nurse should marry Dexter Morgan they would make a great couple & fantastic team.The Plot:Abby Russel is a nurse who works at a hospital in new york but she is also a seductive assassin who kills men that cheats on their wives girlfriends or do bad things.The Cast:almost everyone did a good job but this film is about Paz De La Huerta she gave her best many people hate this actress but she gets bad scripts this is the reason shes not more famous the lady got the looks and has a very underrated personality.The acting in this film is weird the lead actress Paz speaks in a funny & sarcastic manner the story is weird and the surprise is that the villain wins in the movie.I don't know about the 3D version of the film its not needed a regular version is just fine to see it is what it is i enjoyed this film with no expectations and it worked the movie holds enough humor & gore till the end to keep you glued to the screen.Overall Nurse 3-D 2013 is a good fun film if you like sexy women do try this one you will not be disappointed just beware of the critics they lie.My Rating is 7/10:Recommended..
But mainly it was Paz de la Huerta who was the baddest nurse I've seen in a horror movie.
You can that the film has gone for the feel of eighties exploitation movies like Angel, Savage Streets, and Ms. 45, but whereas those films had a shocking, almost unwatchable narrative in places, this thinks that the added dimension and extra gore will make up for its shortcomings..........it only enhances them.So by day, the titular character stalks her work colleagues,who wear the most ridiculous nurses uniforms I've ever seen, and by night, goes out of her way to right the wrongs of adulterous men.It's terrible in every sense, acting is woeful, Nelson, Donovan, and Turner should be ashamed of themselves, and it's truly offensive to almost every culture, sexuality, or anything with a beating heart to be honest.Terrible, offensive poison..
Seen this movie in 2013 and it is good I'm writing about it in 2015 because strong female leads are the thing now and there popping up so much it's gonna get to the point that it becomes annoying.But thats the Hollywood formula I guess and sadly for me the reason to skip a lot of blockbusters and hope that originality will be maintained by in depended movie makers still getting funding to do their thing.Almost felt like this movie was made for me and I loved every little cliché it broke.The actress may not be the prettiest out there but by the way she uses seduction becomes very desirable non the less.The way people rated this was extreme on both sides,so either very positive or very negative but it makes me wander if the negative reviews would change because of the situation we find ourselves now in(with strong female leads flooding the box-office)Some guy here stated that it would be different if you switched the story to a male lead but in all honesty (and thats my theory)a girl can seduce a guy easily, while it is way more difficult for a guy to seduce a girl.Even more honest I over rated this because I really feel the rating is way to low and should be at least a six for the production value alone.I think the biggest flaw for this is that they made it 3-D while there really ain't a need for that and it was not a movie for that format.The director was good on this because he let "Paz"shine and in another movie she played in(I forgot which one) she was just awful.Truthfully this was an 8 for me and I hope more people will see it after reading this review.I recommend it to any one who wants to see a different but ultimately great horror movie.Added bonus was to see Judd Nelson in a good role again.Enjoy the "bleep"out of this..
On the one end, Paz De la Huerta does have talent, but you wouldn't be able to tell from her acting in this movie, which is one note in every scene.
She looks about the same in almost every scene, like she has anger issues and she is just waiting for that one person to set her off - and even then, its not impressive.The plot and story line are pretty good, and the other actors show more range of emotion than Paz does throughout the entire film.
For it being a horror movie, it felt more like watching soft core porn most of the time. |
tt4682786 | Collateral Beauty | The film opens with Howard (Will Smith), Whit (Edward Norton), Claire (Kate Winslet), and Simon (Michael Pena) at a company meeting with all of their employees to discuss the great year they've had. They all work for an ad agency, and Howard gets up to explain to everyone the three abstractions in life: Love, Time, and Death. Specifically, "We long for love," "We wish we had more time," and "We fear death." He correlates this with how people spend their money throughout their life, citing them as motivators for their ad campaigns.The movie then cuts to three years later with Howard at the office in front of a miniature city of dominos. He starts the chain of dominos and then leaves the office for the day. It's clear that something is different. As he leaves, Whit, Claire, and Simon are talking about the status of the company. They note that Howard has become increasingly distant and mentally removed from the company over the past couple of years. Due to this, they are losing many of their large accounts, as Howard was the reason those accounts were even with them. Whit brings up the very real possibility of another company taking over and letting them all go, but also mentions that they have one last shot to get another corporation to buy their stock at $17 per share. The only problem is that Howard owns 60% of the shares and refuses to sell. It is then revealed that it's been two years since Howard lost his young daughter and he's never been the same since she passed.Whit and Claire take a walk through the city and discuss the company's situation, as well as Howards. Its revealed that, although Howard and Whit are equal partners, Howard bought some shares from Whit so that he could use the money for his divorce expenses. Through the conversation, Claire also mentions that shes been looking around for sperm donors in order to have a childCut to Howard going through the rest of his daily routine. He goes home and sits alone in his apartment. Claire comes to bring him some food, but he won't answer the door. The landlord says that not only does Howard never eat the food she brings, but he's also late on his rent again. Claire offers to pay his rent for the month and leaves the food with the landlord. Howard doesn't own a phone, a home computer, or any other modern form of communication. He also doesn't own a car, so he rides his bike as transportation. Periodically, he'll ride in the middle of the street against traffic at night, hoping someone will hit him.Back at the office, Whit is talking with an employee about their various campaigns when they pass a line of people waiting to audition for their latest commercial about a cruise line. The tagline Whit has come up with for the commercial is Find your life, shed your skin. As he gets to the end of the line of candidates, the last one is a woman (Keira Knightley) who re-phrases the tagline to "Shed your skin, find your life, noting that its more sentimental and hits you in the heart". Whit has the commercial director change the line to the new version and goes to thank the woman, only to see that shes leaving hurriedly out the door. He follows her through the city to a small theater, where she joins an older woman, Brigitte (Hellen Mirren) and a younger boy, Raffi (Jacob Latimore). They're practicing lines for a play that they've been working on. Whit stumbles in on them and says that he loves theater and, if the woman will consider joining their commercial, he will finance their play. Brigitte is delighted by this news. Before he leaves, Whit asks for the woman's name, and she says her name is Amy.After leaving the theater, Whit gets an idea. He meets with Simon and Claire at Simon's house. He tells them of his idea to have Howard secretly followed by a private investigator (the same one that his ex-wife hired to catch him cheating) to see if they can prove that Howard isn't in the proper mental state to run his share of the company. Whit leaves to go pick up his daughter so that they can spend Christmas together, but when he meets with her, she says that she hates him for breaking her mothers heart and refuses to spend Christmas with him or ever see him again. Whit understands and leaves, but is devastated.Whit, Claire, and Simon all meet with the private investigator to discuss her findings on Howard. She says he sticks to a strict routine: Once he leaves work, he goes to a dog park where he sits for hours, then he returns to his apartment and doesn't leave. However, there has been one deviation in his routine. Hes been writing letters, but not to people. Howard has been writing letters to Love, Time, and Death. She was able to illegally retrieve the letters and gives them to the three before leaving.We go back to Howard, who is taking a walk around a neighborhood when he stops at a place and looks inside the window. Inside, there is a group of people sitting in a circle and talking. Howard lingers for a minute before leaving and continuing his walk.Back at the office, Whit remembers a technique he learned from his Uber driver that he uses to talk to his mother (who is implied to have Alzheimer's) where he talks on her level, rather than trying to force her to see reality. He tells Claire and Simon that he wants to hire actors to play the parts of Love, Time, and Death in order for them to confront Howard, all while the private investigator films his reactions toward them. Then, using editing software, they'll just digitally remove the actors from the footage and make it seem like Howard isn't mentally fit to run his portion of the company shares. Claire is morally torn by this but decides to go through with it for the company's (and their employees) sake. The 3 of them meet with the actors from before: Brigitte, Raffi, and Amy. They discuss the terms of the arrangement and how they plan to do it. Brigitte and Raffi decide that the three of them want $20,000 each, which Simon scoffs at. Whit and Claire agree to the payment terms but want to know how they'll do it. Brigitte says that since shes the oldest, shell play Death, while Raffi will play Time and Amy will play Love. They decide to play the parts as if they have the power to control which people can see them.To further discuss how to play their parts, Brigitte talks with Simon, Raffi talks with Claire, and Amy talks with Whit. All of them meet individually at separate locations. Simon is distant and doesn't seem to want to discuss anything with Brigitte. Claire is still feeling torn about the whole plan, coupled with feeling down about not having a child of her own, and tells Raffi not to antagonize Howard, but to confront him in a constructive way. Amy and Whit discuss what she will say to Howard and the concept of love, all while Whit relentlessly hits on Amy. He says to tell Howard that he cant run from her (Love) and to not try to live without her.The next day, Brigitte (as Death) meets Howard while he is sitting on a bench at the dog park that he goes to every day. She tells him that dogs can understand the concepts of death and mourning. Howard, confused, just nods in agreement. Brigitte continues, introducing herself as Death, saying she received his letter (holding it up in front of him) and said Howard called her a paper tiger. Howard, now thoroughly disturbed, tries to walk away, but Brigitte follows and says that he wrote about making a trade, but she didnt want to make that trade. As she says this, a little boy walks by them and says who is he talking to mommy? and the mother (the private investigator) says that sometimes people are weird. Brigitte tells him only people she chooses can see her, but not to worry because she only came to answer his letter in person. Howard is visibly disturbed by all of this and tells her to leave him alone as he walks away.Brigitte meets with Simon and says that she knows that Howard believed her. She could see it in his eyes. Shes enthusiastic about this role shes played and lavishes the thought of Howard believing her to be Death. Suddenly, Simon starts violently coughing, and she asks if hes okay. Simon answers that hes not okay.The next day, Whit gets in the elevator at the office with Howard and offers him his season seat for the basketball game and also pitches him the $17 per share offer he received from OmniCorp, both of which Howard silently shoots down. Once Howard reaches his section of the office where he keeps his dominos, he meets Raffi (as Time). Howard is again confused and says he must be lost, but Raffi confronts him about his letter to Time. He says Howard wrote that time is deceptive because while it creates the opportunity for happiness, it also eventually destroys all the beauty in the world. Raffi continues and says that he (Time) is a gift and that hes wasting it by not moving on with his life or enjoying the time he had with his daughter. Before he leaves, Raffi knocks over some of the dominos that Howard had set up, which panics Howard. Even more confused than before, Howard is left to continue his routine.Later, while eating at a restaurant, Howard is confronted by Amy (as Love). She begins to recite the speech that Whit gave her about how Howard shouldn't try to live without her and that he cant run from Love forever, but she starts to cry, and he leaves. She meets back with the group and feels that she failed. Everyone thinks they should try again, but Amy refuses to participate anymore, feeling horrible for manipulating Howard.Howard once again goes to the place where the meeting is being held with everyone sitting in a circle. He finally goes inside, and its revealed that this place is a therapy discussion group led by a woman named Madeleine (Naomi Harris), who lost a child of her own. When Howard introduces himself to the group and sits down, Madeleine tries to coax him into talking about his daughter, but he tenses up and attempts to leave, only for Madeleine to say that he doesn't have to say anything, but hopes he will stay. Howard sits back down and stays until the group time is over. When Madeleine is packing up to leave, she asks him why he finally chose to come to the group. Shes seen him outside before and has been tempted to invite him inside, but he always left before she could do so. They agree that it must be the holiday season that got him (and others) to come to the group. She tells him about her daughter. Her name was Olivia, and she died from a rare form of cancer at six years old. They talk about how parents often separate when they lose a child, and she shows Howard a note that was given to her by her husband that says if only we could be strangers again. She tells him that her husband got his wish.The scene cuts to Brigitte talking again with Simon, this time at a market. Shes still enjoying the thought of Howard believing her to be Death, but Simon is not in the mood to be around her. She then asks why he said that he wasn't okay before. Simon doesn't give much information, but Brigitte guesses that he is dying. Simon reveals that he has multiple myeloma and has fought it twice before at the ages of 16 and 25. This time, however, its come back and is untreatable. Brigitte asks if he has told his wife yet, but Simon says that he doesn't want to put that kind of pain on his wife, especially since their son was born recently.Whit tracks down Amy at another acting session and desperately tries to convince her to come back and keep playing the part of Love in their plan, as well as go on a date with him. Shes not enticed at all by his promises, even rejecting $100,000 in payment to come back. She suddenly asks him how he felt the day his daughter was born. He says that he was scared, but when the doctor handed her to him, he felt the most intense sensation pass through him. He says that he felt as if he was love in that moment. She tells him that if he puts all of his effort and tenacity into loving his daughter, then she will come back to the plan. He agrees.Howard meets with Madeleine for dinner after another group session, and she tells him about the hours before her daughter died. She said her mother-in-law was hysterical, so her husband was calming her down outside. She said she was sitting next to an old woman who turned and asked her who she was here for. She replied that it was for her daughter and that she was dying. She said the old woman told her to not miss the collateral beauty in her daughters death. She never understood it at the time because of the pain but feels that she now gets what the old woman was trying to say. Howard, however, thinks this is nonsense and that there's nothing beautiful about that. Howard then tells her that hes been having conversations with Love, Time, and Death. Madeleine says that he should answer them if they ever come back.The next day, Howard is on the subway when hes again confronted by Brigitte (as Death). She asks why he is so angry with her. Before she can continue, Howard begins a tirade about how hes heard all of the clichés like death is a natural part of life or that God saw the prettiest rose on Earth and wanted it all for himself. None of these things matter because shes not here holding my fucking hand. He then storms off the subway at the next stop.As Howard is riding his bike down the street, Raffi (as Time) catches up to him on his skateboard and tries to continue the conversation from their previous encounter. Howard then slams on the brakes, which makes Raffi fly over the bike and land on the ground. Howard then yells that he doesn't care about what he has to say because Time took his daughter away from him. He gets back on his bike and rides away.Next, as hes walking down the street, hes confronted by Amy (as Love) who is much more composed than their last encounter. He patronizes her and says he knows exactly what shes going to say, but she surprises him by interjecting that she (Love) is in everything from life to death, from laughter to sorrow. She says that hes been running from Love and cant see that he would have never had his daughter without her. He leaves, pained by this thought.At the office, Howard meets with Whit, Claire, and Simon (along with a company lawyer) to discuss the state of the company and their plan to undermine his mental status due to his grief and seize his portion of the shares. Howard, in a surprisingly clear realm of thought, talks to each of them at the table. To Simon, he says that he knows of his illness because he knows his background and that as long as Howard is alive, hell make sure Simons family is taken care of. To Claire, he says that hes proud of being her mentor and how far shes come, but to not give up on other areas of life like having a child. To Whit, he says that he is the best friend he has ever had and that hes disappointed not because of this, but because of how hes not trying to get his daughter back. He says that Whit has the most amazing thing in the world in his daughter and that he doesnt need permission from her to be her father. After this, he signs over his shares to the company, but also requests and signs another piece of paper that he knew the lawyer had with him. Howard then leaves. Claire asks the lawyer what that second paper was, and the lawyer says that, years ago, Howard put a portion of the companys shares into a trust for his daughter and the paper he just signed was a legal document acknowledging that she was no longer alive.The scene switches to Simon, who is throwing up in the bathroom due to his illness. His wife knocks on the door and asks if hes okay. He comes out and finally admits that hes not okay. They're scared, but they embrace each other, knowing they'll be able to get through this together somehow. Next, Claire is seen in her home scrolling through pages of a website on her computer. The site is for choosing sperm donors, but she gives up and closes the computer. Lastly, we see Whit outside of his daughters private school. When she comes outside, he comes up to her despite her saying again that she doesn't want to talk to him. He says that he loves her and that hes gonna come to her school every single day until she talks to him. She reluctantly accepts his decision to do so, but as she walks away, she turns and says that tomorrow is a half-day for her school so he should come early, trying to hide a smile. Whit smiles in return and says hell be there.Later, Simon meets with Brigitte to give her the payment for her acting services. He tells her that he finally told his wife and that she knew he was sick, but they're going to get their affairs in order soon. Brigitte tells him to not fear death, his own or anyone's else's and walks away.The scene cuts to Howard knocking on the door of Madeleine's house. Howard asks if she has plans tonight (its Christmas Eve) and she says that she doesn't and he asks if he can ruin that by spending the evening with her. She invites him in, and he looks around at the pictures hung on the walls that were drawn by her daughter. She says that she was just watching an old video of her daughter playing with her husband and asks if Howard would like to see it. Howard declines and Madeleine explains her daughters situation and death like she did earlier in the film. Howard starts to tear up and Madeleine again takes out the note she got from her husband, revealing that Howard is her husband and they split up after their daughters death. Howard looks over to see the video of him and his daughter playing together outside and also with dominos (like Howard's daily routine). The scene flashes back to Madeleine crying in the hospital chair outside of her daughters room and the old woman next to her is revealed to be Brigitte, who in reality is the entity Death. She tells her not to miss out on the collateral beauty. Howard finally brings himself to say his daughters name (Olivia) and illness out loud as he hugs his wife and they both cry, finally coming to terms with his daughters death.We then see Claire meeting with Raffi in his neighborhood to give him his portion of the payment, and he tells her that shes going to be a good mother someday. She says that shes given up on becoming a mother, but he tells her that being a parent doesn't necessarily mean that someone has to have a biological child and that he grew up not knowing his biological parents, but those who were close to him acted as parental figures to guide him. He tells that its never too late and that she has plenty of time, subtly revealing himself to be the entity of Time. She says that she thought time wasn't linear, as he had mentioned before, but he notes that was just bullshit and acting before he walks away.The last scene is Howard and Madeleine holding hands as they walk through the park. They walk under a small bridge and then the camera pans up to Amy, Raffi, and Brigitte (Love, Time, and Death) standing on top of it. When Madeleine turns around to see what hes looking at, they're not there. The scene then pans out to a full view of the park. | home movie | train | imdb | It makes you sad, angry, question...but in the end you learn that ALL those emotions are life and love and I thought the performances portrayed that perfectly.
I want to say thank you, to all the actors and all the people that were involved in this movie.I watched this movie twice, because it was so emotional to me and it got me re thinking on my life, after my mother's death..
When you see the metascores and the reviews and THE WORST ACTORS ALTOGETHER "award", i have only seen opposite of that...From all the choices of movies and actors in this year Oscar AA this should have won in at least half of that...I mean - MOONLIGHT - total stupidity and waste of precious time...
I won't go in depth about this movie as other reviewers had already done so, but this is a MUST SEE movie if you are a compassionate person who can connect with one's loss and how painfully it is to accept life's tragedies but is also able to treasure the "beauty" and the times you spent together before the tragedy..
I was simply stupefied by the hatred negative reviews of those who feel entitled to believe that movie should be acted, written, made up in their own way.Sure, Collateral Beauty is not.
It is a pleasant surprise to me, but a disillusion for sure to those leaving the movie theatre still asking themselves what that "Collateral Beauty" is all about.Too late, guys, try it again in another life, if any.For all the others with a touching sense of "being", please go, and enjoy...
There are some good points here, that can be recognised by me, but can people seriously start expressing their opinion without resorting to critic bashing, conspiracy theories or insulting anybody with a different opinion to theirs, it is getting incredibly annoying and has gotten way out of control in the past decade.The best thing about 'Collateral Beauty' is the cast.
The ending leaves a sour taste in the mouth, it lays it on so thick with the platitudinous schmaltz that emotionally it feels manipulative, meanwhile the final twist is laughable.Overall, not as bad as it has been made out but hugely flawed and not a particularly good, let alone great, film.
There are things I'm very unsure about like some character motivations and a certain Key plan in the film was a little questionable.It could have been worse since I watched it on Friday the 13th after all..
But strangely, I'm not even sure what the message of "Collateral Beauty" was.Like a Church movie or an after-school special, there was just too much in-your-face stuff.
There is a scramble in the delivery of the narrative where the action is hairily intertwined with an indefinite soundtrack, in parallel with a diegetic treatment of Will Smith's characters' mitigation of the loss of his daughter's life, presented in a way that is necessarily intellectual and reactionary.The humour that does appear in the film is crushed under the weight of the pervasive, depressing mood that is felt by all of them similarly.There are some scenes that are deprived from being given their full consideration, where a confession of one characters' approaching death is engulfed by the priority the leader of the agency places on one of his immediate family who have already passed.Despite not intending to cause any further pain to the main character, the guidance attributed by the counsellor can possibly be seen as stepping into the realm of patronizing, especially for audiences that are vigilant against witnessing the creation of new aphorisms.The visual of seeing this amount of premiere actors in the same shots is distracting and nonsensical, and compromises the precious tone of the film for when their performances start to devolve into postured anonymity..
A wet and windy Boxing Day in the U.K ..nothing else to do and as a Cineworld Unlimited Card I decided , along with my 13 year old daughter,," Why not"?What I saw emerging was the best cinema surprise in all my years of watching movies..and probably the best reveal too.Not ever,,,ever,,being a fan of Will Smith , I have to tip my hat here..awesome in the extreme...and Ed Norton..!!!
keep it..This is what it@s all about..low score reviews because we have been watered down with all the Marvel and D.C nonsense.By the way..I'm a 54 year old male who never cries at movies and I can tell you I felt like somebody rammed an apple down my throat at the ( better than Sixth Sense and Dead Mans Shoes ) reveal right at the end.Forget the critics who low score....forget the blockbusters for this week and see for yourself how a movie should be made!Even my daughter..who sees each movie I do , was mesmerised..I don't often use the word " Brilliant" ..but I have now!!.
I read a few reviews and I knew that there could be, or would be, something revolting in the execution of the story of what is essentially a gas-lighting: three 'friends' of a man who really needs to be committed to a mental hospital (and I don't mean that in a bad way, sometimes people really do need many years of therapy) decide to hire actors so that their boss/co-founder of this ad firm, played by Smith, can be declared incompetent so that the business can keep going on without him.What I had hoped for was, also frankly, that perhaps the performances could liven things up or that maybe there could be some genuine levity or humor to off-set the major tragedy going on inside this protagonist (ala Manchester by the Sea, which was already a tremendous work of art and now, compared to this, is like the deepest, darkest, most meaningful Ingmar Bergman film compared to this).
This is a filmmaker taking what is most offensively a LAZY script - the proof of this is that we don't get to know Howard really at all, to actually be *shown* it, before it cuts ahead to him being the Griefing Dead, and instead are told this over and over by Norton, Winslet and Pena to other people and to themselves - and trying to make it "mean" something through the magic of clichéd music and terrible "characterizations" for the actors who really are the stars more than Smith (this may also be the writing too, it's honestly such a horrible script that had I been a reader for it I would've used it for the old 'poop on fire on a porch' gag - actually, that's offensive to poop).This premise doesn't make much sense, nor how it's executed.
It might just be saccharine and forgettable if not for how aggressively terrible it is in every department of its storytelling: poorly/under-developed characters, actors who should know better (Kate Winslet, shame on you!), and taking a premise that could be a twisted thriller or even a horror movie of sorts in other hands and instead force us to like characters who are both understandable in their terribleness (sure, I'd want my boss/partner out too if he did nothing all day, dead child be damned, and if my job was on the line) and yet still terrible all the same.It's morally bankrupt in how it wants to come sit at the grief table, but doesn't do the actual dramatic work of earning the sentiment.
It takes what actually happens to people who are grieving and in pain and makes it into something that is some kind of distraction or abstraction - my grief isn't like Will Smith's, after all, he can live comfortably and healthy despite his numerous responsibilities, and we don't need to really get to know his co-workers or anyone past their surface-level problems or issues.
let me go straight to the point, will smith, Edward Norton, kate winslet were having free time for one month, producer came to them with a lot of money, so they said let us get this cash while we are resting total sentences said in the movie for each actor are 50 !!!
bad awful script there is only very good idea wasted in cheap writing, acting, directing no need to add more wordsat the end, they try to do a meaning less twisti believe who wrote the script is child or a boyat least make reasonable scenes, some logicthe only happy people are the actors starring in the movie since the got good cashfor us people we got nothing, only something looks like emotions but not emotions.
It's too sappy and bland, characters feel like vague shapes than real human beings and the whole plot can be called pretty manipulative.There's actually two kinds of people who I can imagine actively enjoying this: (1) the ones who have not seen a lot of American movies but quite like them, (2) little girls of all ages or sexes.
Just as his character has lost all passion for all the seemingly sunny and successful life that has come before, I don't actually remember seeing Smith in a movie and thinking that he must be satisfied with acting for quite some time.
Maybe he's really enjoying himself in "Suicide Squad", haven't seen that one yet.To some degree, it certainly hurts "Collateral Beauty" that Will Smith has always been more of a strong performer than notable actor, even given better material.
This seems to be also the case here but sadly the material is not as interesting to really make it work."Collateral Beauty" doesn't offer much in the way of authentic emotions, nor exciting roles from talented cast included here.
It's a story describing how everything connects along with, of course, collateral beauty.In this emotional film by Frankel, you are sure to find one character or another that you can relate to as an audience member.
Plus this film keeps you guessing about Helen Mirren's, Kiera Knightly's, and Jacob Latimore's characters of Death, Love, and Time respectively.Films that make you feel, think, and leave you with a new found experience and/or knowledge are my favorites and therefore this is my new favorite film.
the title and the story idea of this movie could be set for a really good story, and because it does bring across that concept of "collateral beauty" it is not a complete waste of time to watch.
Putting effort into useless tasks like stacking dominoes in hopes of honoring your lost loved one, wandering aimlessly because you have the time and money to do anything, but nothing seems meaningful anymore now that the love is gone from your life, and reaching out to entities, or God, or the universe in hopes of answers are all things I can relate to on a very personal basis.The wonderful thing about this movie is it takes that feeling throughout the movie and weaves in a tapestry of other feelings from the other characters, their own fears and hopes, their wonder about whether they are doing the right thing as they try to answer how to help Howard, and ultimately themselves, move forward..
Love, Death, and Time are three actors hired by Edward Norton, Kate Winslet, and Michael Pena to follow Will Smith's character and prove that he is crazy so he can give up his position in a flailing company.
this one of the worst films ever made and no one should watch this manipulative crap, its mean, cruel and full of some of the most horrible people i have ever seen in a film, almost of the IMDb 6.7/10 reviews are payed for and are not genuine, this is desperate they are to hide what it is, an unpleasant, poorly directed and cynical piece of garbage that somehow got a good cast.
In general, film leaves a deep impression and makes you wonder: is it worth to be so worry about your problems while there is Love, Time is passing and Death is coming closer?.
Shall we get started?LIKES: Fantastic Acting Equal Screen Time Good use of Music Fantastic moralsWith a star, studded cast that includes Will Smith, Kate Winslet, Hellen Mirren, and Edward Norton you expected good acting.
She engages so well with the entire cast, and does a good job as the keystone of the movie
you know past Will Smith.
While the acting certainly helps make the story come to life, the editing of the movie helped amplify the emotions of the film.
The VERDICTCollateral Beauty is certainly an example of great acting, as our stars have incredible chemistry, integrate through most of the movie, and have the emotional balance we would want in such a cast.
Then, Howard begins receiving personal answers to his letters in the form of in-person encounters and conversations with an old woman (Helen Mirren) calling herself Death, a teenager (Jacob Latimore) who says he is Time and a beautiful young woman (Keira Knightley) who identifies herself as Love.
Much like this past year, I looked on Collateral Beauty with cautious optimism - I then quickly graduated to anger, migrated towards the "well s**t" feeling of detachment you get when everything goes off the rails, before finally simpering in my seat praying for the sweet release of death.Will Smith plays a cardboard cutout named Howard whose advertising agency's mantra is based on humanity's relationship to time, love and death (also Dominos).
Nor its ability to coax real emotions which this movie fumbles to the point of unintentional hilarity.Collateral Beauty is like watching the cheery, life-affirming moral of "A Christmas Carol" being hit by an Uber.
It seems like critics just gave this bad reviews because "it wasn't based on a true story (Since those are the only movies that actually get good reviews)" or because they saw a masterpiece and didn't want to admit how good it was (because you know critics).
But, things change when the three factors come in front of him for a discussion!The great twist in the movie was a guess, and I felt a sudden end to the film.I wounder why there are so many negative reviews.
The journey is extremely well until the end.This movie is really good, and it is one of those movies that critics can bash all they want but it will touch you, make you feel happy and even bring tears to your eyes.
I think some people see the all-star cast and expect something more that a character driven idea, but the best films connect with their viewers and nothing more.
The music feels like it is trying to make you fall into a dream-state.I don't understand why people love this movie, but I am happy for them..
Not Sure If I Liked It Or Not. Continuing my plan to watch every Will Smith movie in order, I come to Collateral Beauty (2016)Plot In A Paragraph: A depressed, grieving father (Will Smith) writes to Time, Love and Death as he attempts to over come the death of his little daughter.
I usually like Edward Nortons work, but I guess good actor can do bad movies to.
In addition, the task of giving sense to existence reminds us of the classics which managed more than honoring and paying tribute to life itself: "Life Is Beautiful" or "The Pursuit of Happiness" (starring Smith in 2006)."Collateral Beauty", directed by David Frankel, feels as the definitive collapse of a joint of erroneous decisions about giving shape to a story, however, above film or narrative standards, the movie is a good choice for those who wish to reaffirm the importance of life, time, death and love.Packed with talented stars, a fortifying central plot and a suggestive final twist, Frankel's celluloid does not deserve such reprimand by movie critics.
You have a bunch of real good actors, like Helen Mirren, Edward Norton, Will Smith, Kate Winslet and others but that's not a guarantee for a good movie.
But I don't need life lessons, and certainly not about a subject like this one, so besides the excellent cast this movie is just not good enough..
I've finally had the time to watch and review the film Collateral Beauty (2016) and after reading all of the reviews out there I'm kind of appalled by the reasons this movie got bad feedback.
Movies reviews are supposed to be based on the film and not what (he said, she said) bs in the media.Collateral Beauty (2016) has an all-star cast, 100% without a doubt the cast performed extremely well and the story is just beautiful.
Great film!When it comes to the cast I believe some of the actors and actresses performed better than I've ever seen them perform before, especially Will Smith; absolutely perfect for his role..
This was one of the most saddest but best movies i have ever seen.I recommend it for everyone to see.It is Emotional from The beginning to the end.You need to be strong at some moments because it is very Sad.If i could give it more stars ..I Would.P.S Don't walk away when your watching this movie you will miss important things!.
Collateral Beauty is a beautiful, strong & deep movie that talks about parenthood, love, life & death.
This movie a beautiful film full of love, heartbreak, and loss.
Some people may think this film tries to make death seem happy and like its a good thing but it definitely doesn't.
Especially because I have children and understand his emotions.Fabulous actors in the movie and a great story from the beginning to the end.It is really recommendable - both because Will Smith once Again shows that he is up for this kind of drama movies like Pursuit of Happiness and also because it is like a puzzle that needs to come in place.A movie that will touch your heart..
We saw that the Will Smith character was depressed, but didn't know exactly why.The movie itself seemed to start off quite slow, but it did show us the before and after of "Howard's" emotions after the major event in his life, which we eventually learn about in flashbacks and such. |
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