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tt0083081

Silsila

Orphaned at very young age, brothers Shekhar Malhotra (Shashi Kapoor) and Amit Malhotra (Amitabh Bachchan) lead independent lives. Shekhar is a Squadron Leader with the Indian Air Force, and Amit is an emerging writer. Shekhar has fallen in love with the lovely Shobha (Jaya Bachchan), while Amit seeks to woo the attractive Chandni (Rekha). Amit finds professional success as a playwright in Delhi, enjoying a successful launch into the circles of Delhi's intellectual elite. Amit's passion and dedication to his craft wins Chandni's affections for Amit, and they share a brief, blissful period of courtship. Chandni's parents prepare to arrange her wedding to Amit. Both Shekhar and Amit plan to marry at the same time, but Shekhar is killed in air combat against PAF, leaving a pregnant Shobha behind. Taking pity on Shobha, Amit marries her and writes to Chandni to forget him. This news breaks Chandni's heart. She goes on to marry Dr. V.K. Anand (Sanjeev Kumar), who is in love with her. Tragedy strikes once more, and Shobha loses her child in a car accident. With no child to bind them together, Amit and Shobha drift apart. Amit runs into Chandni and they secretly rekindle their romance. They meet on the sly until a fateful night when Chandni accidentally hits a passerby on the way home from a tryst with Amit. The police get involved but Amit manages to hush the matter up. But the secrecy of the affair is endangered by the fact that the police inspector in charge of investigating the accident is Shobha's cousin (played by Kulbhushan Kharbanda), who is determined to expose Amit's affair with Chandni. Soon Amit decides that he can no longer continue his loveless marriage to Shobha and wishes to reconcile with Chandni. This news shatters Shobha - who had long known of Amit's affair - but she does not lose hope. She believes that if her love is true he will return to her. Similarly, Chandni's husband Dr. Anand is aware of and devastated by Chandni's infidelity. Dr. Anand leaves on a business trip, assuring Chandni he will be back soon, hopeful that she will be there when he returns. Amit and Chandni leave town to start a new life elsewhere, but tragedy strikes. Chandni's husband Dr. Anand's plane crashes, causing the lovers to rush to the wreckage site visible to them from the overhead helicopter they are making their escape in. Rushing into the fray to save Dr. Anand, Amit is confronted by Shobha, who in a moment of turmoil reveals that she is expecting his child. When Dr. Anand is rescued from the wreckage Chandni realises her love for her husband. The film ends with a song depicting Amit and Shobha living happily in marriage and an end title saying, "Love is faith and faith is forever".

cult, romantic

train

wikipedia

Taking pity on the devastated young woman, he decides to marry her, leaving behind the love of his life, Chandni. There begins a new extramarital relationship between the two, through which the story deepens and grows.This is Silsila, Yash Chopra's take on relationships and adultery in a modern 80s India. A romantic drama, it is quiet, serious and focused, and is shot beautifully like every other movie made by Chopra. The story is simple to follow, the script and the characters are very well written, and the film is generally subtly made.Chopra's portrayal of relationships is very well done. At times some proceedings were difficult to relate to or identify with, but who knows, maybe one should really be in a particular situation to understand its meaning and its effect on people at times of pressure. Leaving the seriousness aside, as a film, Silsila is simply entertaining. It flows well, it is interesting, and is aided by several melodious and memorable songs composed by Shiv-Hari.Rumour had it that Silsila was based on the true triangular story of Amitabh-Jaya-Rekha. Jaya Bhaduri is Bachchan's real-life wife and Rekha was rumoured to have been involved with him back then in an extramarital affair. This adds to the film's authenticity, but more than anything, the acting is natural to make it work the way it did. Jaya Bhaduri is brilliant as his intelligent, sensible and smart wife Shobha, and displays her character's fear, strength and determination with great depth and conviction and as naturally as ever. Rekha gets less scope, yet she is wonderful in her restrained portrayal of Chandni. She is extremely beautiful and acts with grace.Silsila has some other limited appearances by Shashi Kapoor and Sanjeev Kumar, the former being fine and the latter being exceptional. The main complaint with the film was its ending, but I quite liked it. The reason behind Amit's decision was a bit unjustifiable, but anyway, this is one of the better and more interesting works of Yash Chopra. Silsila is based on the true story of Amitabh, Jaya, and Rekha. As with many great movies that don't follow the typical Bollywood format this was a big flop when it was released, and yet there is no one today who hasn't seen it. Like most Yash Chopra films this one looks great and so are the songs, especially the first two: "sar se sareke" and "ladki hai yaa sholaa" (I probably didn't spell that right). Unlike most of Amitabh's films this is more of an ensemble piece and the whole cast delivers. Amitabh gives a powerhouse performance as the poet whose life is suddenly shattered and he's forced to give up his happiness for Jaya. Sanjeev Kumar steals every scene he's in especially the one at the airport with Rekha and the one when he's talking to Jaya at the hospital. Rekha is good although her performance is the weakest of the four. The subject matter was handled nicely by the writers (they never get too preachy) and there are many scenes, especially the ones between Amit and Jaya, and Rekha and Jaya where you wonder how that scene took place in real life. We aren't given a reason as to why Amitabh makes the decision that he makes. Also the big revelation from Jaya at the end of the movie doesn't really make sense. People call Lamhe Yash Chopra's biggest risk but in my opinion Silsila was his biggest risk. That is because with Silsila he tried to make us feel sorry for adulterers Amitabh and Rekha. That is one problem I had with KANK, they way it was written I failed to garner any sympathy for Shah Rukh and Rani and that is a major flaw.Amitabh and Rekha are lovers but Amitabh marries his deceased brother's wife who is carrying his child leaving lover Rekha heartbroken. They actually try to forget about each other but fate has other plans for them and they are soon reunited.The music, as per usual in a Yash Chopra production is exceptional and perhaps the music he has had in any of his movies. Speaking of Rang Barse I love the acting of Sanjeev Kumar and Jaya Bachan in that song. When the song starts they are happy with Amitabh's and Rekha dancing together but towards the end they start to get insecure, such great acting. Now onto the acting, Amitabh,Jaya Bachan,Rekha and even Sanjeev Kumar were all exceptional.When released it flopped but made its money back through reruns. Apparently people were unhappy about the fact that after Amitabh spends all the movie thinking about Rekha when they do run away together he ends up going back to his wife. That in my opinion was Yash Chopra's only fault and yet I still enjoy throughly despite the ending. After this movie was released rumours started to circulate that Amitbah and Rekha did have an affair during the filming of Silsila. In my opinion Silsila is the best Bollywood movie based on adultery and is miles better than Karan Johar's KANK.. For a number of reasons this films stands out among the myriad mass produced Hindi films which the industry turns out. This isn't your average Hindi film for the very simple reason that it deals with a controversial theme - an extra-marital relationship. In the beginning of the film he plays the clown. The transformation of his persona in the face of getting married to a woman he does not love, is something only an actor of Amitabh's calibre could have pulled off. His role is central to the film, and it is quite exceptionally played. Then he is once again at his clowning best when he sings Rang Barse in his own voice.I would have given this film 10 out of 10, if it were not for the ending. I've been dreaming of watching Silsila since 1981 and recently it has come true. Amit was striving for his happiness and love but did not have enough strength and courage to win. Yash Chopra challenged moral principles speaking about adultery but even here those principles (or maybe stereotypes??) were not broken. And remember the last words of Amit that he has burned his love and that Shobha is his wife and he is her husband. Looks like there is no parallel between love and marriage. However I got a pleasure from watching the movie. Nice actors and tears-provoking acting but not good to watch second time due to the above said.. This movie was billed as a true story when it came out. Even though it is still a masala Bollywood movie, it has some striking resemblences to the life story of the leading ladies and the hero, Amitabh Bachan. In real life Amitabh had an affair with Rekha while married to Jaya Bhaduri. The movie version follows the same script, except adds many secondary characters, such as Sanjeev Kumar as Rekha's husband. Jaya Bhaduri gives a passable performance, while rekha and Amitabh both overact. There are a lot of unnecessary fantasy sequences shot in the Tulip farms in Holland which have no relevance to the rest of the movie. In spite of all this, this movie remains interesting because it dared to treat the theme of extramarital romance when such topics were taboo in Bollywood.. Has a different style compared to other Bolywood movies. The subject of adultery is handled delicately in this movie. The acting by the lead actors looks natural and the movie has some great songs. Two songs in this movie "Neela Asaman" and "Ranga Barase" are sung by Amitabh himself. It is not very convincing why Amitabh and Rekha decide to go back to their respective marriages. The movie should have spent some time explaining that aspect and cut short some of the scenes in the beginning where they show Shashi Kapoor and Amitabh and Jaya together. Overall a very good movie. Starts off as Propitious Romantic Melodrama and Ends up as Long Fashion Show !. Then, our man faces his original love again, yet after being married to the doctor who happened to save his life once. And with the right colors, songs, and landscapes; it's Hindi romantic melodrama. And with Yash Chopra's dexterous cinematography and directing; it's even more; a fine Hindi romantic melodrama. In fact, while watching a movie, what could be worse than rolling over your seat, asking "when will it end?", and praying god for more health to be able to finish it ?!The script stopped at one point; the coming back of love between Amitabh Bachchan's and Rekha's characters, then made such a huge cobweb around that, with more than enough; scenes, situations, songs and dialogues ! I think 2 hours of the 3 were spent over one question; what could be the end of that love?, yet with intention from the writer to elongate the time to the answer, not making the way to it thrilling in a decent way. Therefore all what we had was fashionably dressed Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha singing, then new characters being presented, like Kulbhushan Kharbanda's, added to more than 20 obvious coincidences, reaching to the melodramatic climax and the so-longed-for ending !I believe it's unnecessary to assure how naive that ending was. They extremely disappointed us, by ending this big enough melodrama, with that plane crash, which – suddenly and strangely – exposed how much Bachchan was in love with his wife !! They should have written "and naivety is forever TOO !" It's like reading a pretty long mystery novel to discover eventually that there was no actual murder in the first place ! And no lovable stars, nice colors, sad songs could compensate. I felt that I grew old in front of this movie !To be fair, one point was in this end's favor though, since it didn't lean to use the poetic justice where Bachchan's character would, for example, die as a punishment for cheating on his wife with a married woman. I think the chosen end represented, in a way, new moral vision and more merciful solution, which consolidated values like realism and objectiveness instead of absolute black-&-white idealism. For another broken rule, I must refer to the fact that in this movie Bachchan shows half naked in 2 shower scenes, and one bed scene while supposedly an illicit affair, let alone acting as someone impure who cheats on his wife. Otherwise, the playwrights earn a lot, and I mean A LOT, in India !Some said that the story was loosely inspired by the alleged real life love triangle of Amitabh-Jaya-Rekha. Well, I don't know precisely about that, however the big B looked so comfortable while doing his love scenes with Rekha, more than any other actress. But, if I'm wrong, then this movie is so historically rare to capture a true and delicate love between 3 top stars at one moment ! Silsila starts off as propitious romantic melodrama and ends up as long fashion show (Bachchan is wearing a new chic outfit in every shot, and never appears with the same outfit twice !). I hated its enjoying of elongating its situation endlessly, hackneying its characters blatantly, fabricating coincidences increasingly, and – most of all – putting its leads in lovey-dovey positions during a long list of songs to the extent of being the ultimate lovey-dovey movie of all time ! Classic - excellent cast with superb cameo by Sanjeev Kumar. The only reason I saw this again was for Sanjeev Kumar's performance. It is one of the best movie on the subject out of Bollywood, way ahead of its time back in 1981. One of the few movies I know of where Amitabh sings to songs written by his father. Amitabh, Sashi, and Rekha are good in their roles. Jaya also excels as Sobha. But Sanjeev Kumar steals the show, although he barely has 15-20 mins of on-screen time in the movie. I don't understand how others can compare KANK with this movie, yes, there are characters who engage in extra marital affairs, but that is about it. This movie was just about everything I hoped it would be, except for the stupid tacked-on ending. Rekha and Amitabh are up there with Shah Rukh and Kajol as a great couple of Hindi cinema, and I loved seeing them together. (Jaya...not so much.) I just thought, like many here, that for a movie portraying adultery with such sensitivity and compassion--and adultery with true love on its side--the ending seemed totally contradictory and kind of like a bashful retraction. Even though it wasn't well explained, or at all explained, I at least understand the concept of him returning to his wife out of guilt and a sense of duty (I especially liked the line about him having to stay a god once he's decided to act like one), but the FAITH IS LOVE part at the end really seemed unnecessary. You can't tell me that after all of that, the relationship between Amitabh and Jaya was more lasting than the one between Amitabh and Rekha--not to mention more powerful or more sincere. Good Story........BUT!!. Good movie BUT i was sadly disappointed by the ending.The beginning starts off with Jaya and Shashi which i have to say they made a nice couple then he dies and all of a sudden Amitabh has to hold responsibility and break it off with Rekha..FOR WHAT! i didn't like Jaya's character she seemed very weak and helpless and not of the women like today. the movie didn't elaborate on why Amitabh went back to Jaya it just didn't make any sense and then love is faith and faith is love ...WHAT? when did we learn that from Amitabh and Jaya's pairing in this movie? if anything i think the story should have ended with Rekha and Amitabh.this movie depicts the real life situation it just didn't make any sense why it ended like that. I bought this move after hearing such great things about it ....but now i'm really disappointed with this film for me i give it a 9/10. I give it a 9/10 because of the ending which didn't tell you much about why they got back together.Faith is love but ........... Jaya Amitabh clearly did not prove that to me in this film . In the end though i feel that Amitbah and Rekha should have gotten together.. Superb-the best of Chopra+Big B after Deewaar. Silsila-one of the most sensitive, humane and intense movies ever made. The film shows how a man's heart can work and how fragile a person's feelings can be...very beautifully made film-Worth watch Amitabh Bachchan's performance leaves a deep impact on the viewers when he gets angry, when he cheats his wife, when he recites poems, when he loved his babhi, when he enjoys with his bro, when he says "main aur meri tanhaayi....", when he plays safe in front of Sanjeev, When he asks Chandini(Rekha) to leave the place forever on their own, when he speaks to Shobha(Jaya) before leaving, when he last says to Shobha that (in Hindi of course)"the truth is that you are my wife and I am your shusband bakhi sab jhoot hai..."-You cant hate his character in the film. You understand his feeling and love him... Amitabh and Rekha- They just rock...best couple of Bollywood... Sensitive film for sensitive viewers...Big B's performance deserved the actor awards of the year for sure, but yes yet again-Another dirty rude joke played on him (after Deewaar). The only halfway interesting thing about this suffocating over rich piece of Indian junk food is the costumery and Amitabh's super stylish wardrobe -- notable are some of the flashy, dazzling, primary colored saris worn by Rekha in nearly every scene in which she appears -- (just stills of these would be a more rewarding than sitting through the whole film) -- Amitabh's carefully tonsured headdress --er -- hairdo.... and his white suits with flaired trousers, a homage to -- in fact a throwback to --mod American and English male fashions of the sixties (already out of date by 1981) -- The song picturizations on Amitabh and Rekha are not just bad --they are Sickening -- traipsing through fields full of Dutch tulips -- argh --embarassing -- Mister "Big B" is just not cut out for Romantic roles of this kind -- (a wide range as an actor he does have, but Romance is the one thing he does like a robot going through the motions) -- the whole thing looks like a prequel to Shahrukh Khan 15 years later! the near-miss lip-sync kisses, and one kiss actually planted on Rekha's lips in long shot, are daring for the time --very daring, one might say ... The theme of the jaunty heroic jet pilot killed in action (previously the likes of Rajesh Khanna and Raj Kapoor -- in this case Shashi Kapoor.) has been worked so to death that it practically constitutes a sub-genre of Indan films on its own ... but there were some nice jet fighter landings and takeoff scenes -- somebody ought to make a compilation of just such dashing Indian fly-boy scenes!While eagerly looking forward to SILSILA because of the star cast, the star director, and all that has been written about the alleged kinky real-life triangle amongst Amitabh and Rekhaa/Jaya -- I started getting under-awed from the very first song/dance tulipy picturization opening the film and soon found myself saying --"What IS this? -- c'mon, give us a break...) -- but I did dutifully watch it all the way to the family-values-must-prevail required ending, out of sheer determination ... The only halfway decent performance in the ENTIRE flick was Sanjeev Kumar as the look- the-other-way devoted surgeon husband of Mme. Rekha -- This flick while gorgeously mounted (as are all Yash-chop films) has just about every tired cliché in the book and caters SLAVISHLY to every salacious preconception the Indian public had about the stars at the time -- UGH-ugh, and Ugh!

tt0099165

The Bonfire of the Vanities

New York City, 1985. Sherman McCoy (Tom Hanks) is a financial wünderkid who is about to earn a million dollars through a bonds scheme. His life looks perfect. His wife Judy (dark-haired Kim Cattrall) is a bit eccentric and posh, but she plays the perfect-mother-and-wife game to their only daughter Campbell (Kirsten Dunst). Unknown to his loyal wife, Sherman is having an affair with Maria Ruskin (Melanie Griffith). She's a Southern belle gold digger who enjoys using her sexual charms to get what she wants, and got married to a wealthy old man.However, all hell breaks loose one dark night when Sherman and Maria are going out. She's returning from an overseas business trip and while driving her back to her Manhattan apartment from New York's J.F.K. Airport, they take a wrong turn, exiting on the Long Island Expressway and the end up lost in a drug-filled "war zone" area of South Bronx. After finding a ramp leading back onto the expressway, they find the ramp blocked by debris. Against Maria's advice, Sherman gets out of the car to clear the debris from the ramp when he is approached by two black youths whom presumably are coming to rob him. Seeing the two thugs approaching Sherman, Maria gets behind the wheel of the car and drives off in a panic and runs over a teenager who happened to be passing by. Sherman begins to attack one of the black youths while the other one flees. Having cleared the ramp, Sherman returns to the car. Maria wants to leave the place as soon as possible, so they leave the wounded boy on the street. Sherman and Maria drive away and make it back to Manhattan where they swear not to report the incident to anyone.The black teenager who was run over, Henry Lamb (Patrick Malone), is found and taken to a nearby hospital, where he falls into a coma. Soon after, the investigation of Henry's accident begins. The hot-tempered local community leader, Reverend Beacon (John Hancock) threatens to create a "Bronx uprising" (a race riot) if the police don't find the "rich white man" who ran over an "innocent black teenager". The reasons for Beacon's involvement is that he merely wants to stir up popular feelings to cause unrest and tension by claiming that Henry's case is a case of institutional racism in America.Under severe pressure, NYPD Detectives Martin and Goldberg (Barton Heyman and Norman Parker) investigate all cars which look like the runaway car that was described by various witnesses to the accident. They finally check on Sherman, who refuses to let them see his car, and because of that, he pinpoints himself as a suspect. As a result he gets arrested. Sherman spends a long and demoralizing night in jail (where he presumably gets beaten and harassed by fellow detainees). At his courtroom arraignment the next morning, Sherman is so dehumanized from his experience that he can barely speak in court. Sherman's lawyer Tom Killian (Kevin Dunn) enters a not guilty plea on his behalf.The prosecutor, Jed Kramer (Saul Rubinek), is very interested in putting Sherman in jail to begin his political career with a strong aim at rich people, gaining the popular favor for himself. Against Kramer's protest, Sherman is released on bail pending a probable cause hearing to begin the following week.Meanwhile, Peter Fallow (Bruce Willis) is an always-drunk, good-for-nothing journalist who is forced to investigate the matter in order to ingratiate himself with his boss. Reverend Beacon is interested in stirring popular feelings as well, claiming that Henry's hit-and-run case is being used politically, as the Jewish district attorney Abe Weiss (F. Murray Abraham), who is the Bronx District Attorney seeking re-election, wants to ingratiate himself with the black community in the area. According to Judge Leonard White (Morgan Freeman), almost all of D.A. Weiss' prosecutions end up with black and Puerto Rican defendants going to prison and Weiss is seeking a white defendant for purposes of convincing the community that he is worth re-electing.Following Sherman's release on bail, Fallow follows him from the courthouse and onto a local subway train where he interacts with Sherman (without telling him that he is a journalist) to try to get him to open up with facts about the case. Sherman tells Fallow that he was there on that night but was not the one driving the car. Fallow is very surprised, but Sherman gets off the train before Fallow can ask him anymore questions.Sherman goes to Maria to plead with her to come forward in order to admit to driving the car that put the black teenager in the hospital, but she wants to be left out of the problem. She's married to a wealthy older man named Arthur Ruskin (Alan King), who allows her to have her freedom and plenty of money as a trophy wife. She sublets an apartment to her friend Caroline Heftshank (Beth Broderick), whom Fallow is currently dating. It's a rent-controlled flat, so Caroline and Maria are being investigated by the authorities in order to prove that Caroline doesn't live there. Maria has several mics (bugs) put around her flat.Fallow talks to Arthur Ruskin in at a luxurious restaurant about the Sherman case and about Maria's involvment with Sherman. They drink a lot, and Fallow tries to get some information from Maria's husband. Ruskin dies from a heart-attack on the spot, creating a commotion at the snobbish restaurant.Meanwhile, Henry's mother, Annie Lamb (Mary Alice) wants to go out and buy new clothes for herself. Suddenly, she looks more interested in making the most of the situation than to be with her son in hospital. Beacon accepts the idea. Annie sues the hospital because they're not giving proper care to Henry, who still remains in a coma. Reverend Beacon and Kramer meet with Mrs. Lamb where they try to persuade her to testify against Sherman as they work behind the scenes to frame Sherman for the hit-and-run to further advance their own careers... as well as look good in front of the TV news cameras.Elsewhere, Sherman, who used to consider himself a "master of the universe," now is without a job. In just one day, he gets fired because his employers do not want any bad publicity for their firm. That evening, he arrives home for a party he had forgotten about. Judy angrily tells him that she's leaving him and is taking their daughter with her because Judy also believes the biased news stories about him committing the hit-and-run. Just then, Sherman's landlord enters and wants him out of the building as soon as possible, because several black people are demonstrating outside the building, and they look like a lynch mob, which is bad publicity for the building and disturbs the wealthy tenants. Sherman suffers a nervous breakdown and he starts shooting a shotgun at the walls of the apartment. Everybody leaves in a panic.Kramer is trying to play both sides: he puts microphones on both Maria and Sherman, in order that the recording proves which one of them was driving the car at the moment of the hit-and-run. Sherman and Maria secretly meet at the funeral of Maria's husband, but she seems adamant to have sex. Sherman can't believe it, but as usual, he's weak with her and was going to fall for it. However, she rejects him when she feels the microphone hidden under his clothes.Sherman has lost everything, but at least his visiting father (Donald Moffat) backs him up somehow, telling him that he loves and will always support him while they are talking Sherman's now empty executive home.Meanwhile, Fallow, who used to be a downtrodden loser a few days ago, feels pity for Sherman, who is losing everything and can't even prove that he's innocent. In a restaurant gathering with some fellow newspaper-related people, Caroline approaches him, telling him that she's lost her flat because of Maria's inability to stay silent. The mic audio recordings have proved that Caroline didn't really live in the flat, subletting it with black money. Fallow talks to the guy who had put the microphones (Vito D'Ambrosio), and comes to know the truth. Fallow aquires the recordings and then gives them to Sherman.In court at Sherman's probable cause hearing, Judge Leonard White tries to control the proceedings, so that there are no political demonstrations. Maria is taken to the stand, where she lies by saying that Sherman was driving the car, acting as an all-innocent widow. Kramer had given her immunity in order to frame Sherman, also threatening her with falsely charging her with perjury if she does not testify against him. Without even telling his lawyer, Sherman plays the recording Fallow had given him. In it, Maria admits she was the one who had been driving Sherman's car that notorious evening, and also mocks her own late husband. She faints on the stand from this turn of events.It works. Judge White has to stop the proceedings when Kramer tries to snatch the mini-tape recorder out of Sherman's hands. Kramer and Sherman's lawyer, Killian, approach the bench because of the new evidence. Sherman lies by asserting that the tape is all his (making it admissible evidence and it is technically truthful since it refers only to the dummy tape he was holding and ignores the real tape that is hidden which is not his).The courtroom spectators go in an uproar, to which Judge White responds by launching a tirade, stating that they have no right to act self-righteous and smarmy, or above Sherman, considering Reverend Beacon claims to help disadvantaged black New Yorkers but actually engages in race baiting, or that the District Attorney Weiss pushed this case not in the interest of contempt from justice but in the public opinion, in order to appeal to voters from minorities, in order to further his political career, appealing to their desire to "get even". Judge White dismisses the case because of decency and truth, in which nobody is interested. Sherman is free to go.Through all of this, Fallow is watching everything while standing annoymously among a group of reporters. As a triumphant and relived Sherman leaves the courtroom with his lawyer, amind the black spectators who continue to yell and insult him, Fallow states in voice-over: "And that was the last time anyone saw or heard of Sherman McCoy". After this, Sherman left New York City and was never publicly seen or heard of again, presumably to live humbly in another state or even in another country in obscurity.In the final scene, set five years later in 1990, there is a large audience applauding Peter Fallow's premiere of his very first book titled Bonfire of the Vanities. Reverend Beacon, Jed Kramer, DA Weiss, Tom Killian, Judge White, Caroline, Annie Lamb, and the rest of people who had something to do with the case (except for Sherman McCoy) are in attendance. In a final voice-over, Fallow states that he never saw Sherman McCoy again, but quotes a well-known Bible verse from the Book of Mark, Chapter 8, Verse 36: "What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, but lose his own soul?" Fallow says that Sherman lost everything to gain his soul. Fallow says of himself that he has gained everything but... (he doesn't finish the sentence. It's implied that he has sold his soul to the system in order to become successful).Fallow says that there are always compensations to selling one's soul for success. He stands up and takes an the award he's given concerning the book he wrote about Sherman's case.

revenge, comedy, satire

train

imdb

After giving us two excellent films - "The Untouchables" and "Casualties of War" director and auteur Brian De Palma tried to get the masters degree on major filmmaking with the very complex best-selling novel by Tom Wolfe. After confessing that the director he admires in a most intimate way is Stanley Kubrick, Brian De Palma uses the witty Tom Wolfe novel as the story he needs to imitate one of his most admired masters.The result is an excessive but funny satire. It is certainly underwritten, overacted and overdirected but, still, De Palma shows once again a great visual style and a wild sense of humour which makes us laugh several times.Perhaps, De Palma should have remembered that such a witty and complex story has to be told seriously with the apparent simplicity and hidden complexity he reached in "Casualties of War", without trying to underline with the direction that every scene is supposed to be funny. Those strange camera angles taken from Kubrick nuclear satire do not work here and the characters are too exaggerated -Jean Renoir said that each character has some reasons and here,if De Palma had tried harder not only to criticize but to understand them, it would have been a much more effective film- and being both a Kubrick and a De Palma fan, I think that Kubrick influence was not good at all here. Moments like the initial shot, Alan King's speech, Clifton James,Donald Moffat or Andre Gregory performances -even the Morgan Freeman final scene, which De Palma did not like and is really good, reminding me of Capra, something extremely difficult in such a cynical decade- are not easy to forget.It is not often to find such a complex and interesting film. This is something dramatists do to make some of their social opinions seem less controversial since they are being spouted by a man of colour in a white forum.)On par with His Girl Friday and The Sweet Smell of Success, and possessing an oddball universe Preston Sturges would've been proud of creating, this film is all the more powerful when you actually live in a world kind of like this (and I meet these kinds of people all the time - this is REAL!).PS - Half an hour was lopped off by the studio after disasterous preview screenings. I read the novel after seeing the film, and I agree the book has some charms the movie doesn't catch, but Tom Hanks does a fine job as Sherman McCoy, the Wall Street whiz kid who suddenly decides to be a moral person and is caught up in the racial politics and journalistic mendacity of New York. The Bonfire of the Vanities is, however, funny in parts, poignant in parts, and entertaining throughout.The protagonist is Sherman McCoy, a man whose one fatal flaw (an affair we know of from the beginning) leads to the downfall from his envious position as a "Master of the Universe." Tom Hanks gives an excellent performance and shows real emotion in bringing this highly plausible character to life. From the "assistant DA" looking for recognition to the "hymie racist" angling for the office of mayor to the "good reverend" looking for sympathy for his people (and a payday) to Fallow trying to save his career to McCoy's lawyer who has to patiently deal with his naive client who doesn't grasp that his life is insignificant to all those who somehow have generated a vested interest in his demise...I got the message, it didn't take me the 6 hours or two days (or however long it would take me to make time to read the book), and I had some fun.. It's been a long time since I read the book or saw the movie, but the casting in this film was all wrong. Hanks is too likable to play any of the characters in this film, I had Bruce Willis pictured as Sherman McCoy more than the drunken yellow journalist, and Kim Cattrell, who plays Sherman's wife, doesn't look like the matronly 40 year old and barely tolerated wife of anybody in 1990. so where did that rating come from?bruce willis was just fine in this character (a'la "nobody's fool"), tom hanks was his usual fine self, melanie griffith was excellent, morgan freeman very excellent, the supporting cast very supporting, the story line entertaining, good directing, excellent photography, it moved along nicely, and, of course, the morality component -- which is what it was all about in the first place.morgan freeman's speech alone is worth the price of admission.rent this movie and if you don't enjoy it, please rsvp that you will NOT be attending my next dinner parte'sometimes i think most of the folks who pen these tomes are either frustrated movie critics (comparing kubrick to you-name-him/her) or just frustrated homo sapiens.stuff a sock in it and get a life. But it is Bruce Willis' performance that holds everything together and he really shines here - in fact his performance is quite compassionate at a certain point showing a side of him I did not think existed -although I'm a great fan of his comedy work especially Death Becomes Her - for the life of me I will never understand why this film bombed as loudly as it did - maybe it ruffled too many of those bleeding heart liberal feathers in LaLaLand!. Murray Abraham, and Morgan Freeman are either totally wasted or given roles that are mere caricatures.There is enough topical material here for a truly great film satire, but it fails to come even close.. Bruce Willis is weak, Tom Hanks is somewhat flat as Sherman McCoy. De Palma was perhaps too ambitious to condense a large book into a slick film. This movie, like Hollywood Shuffle, was way ahead of its time.Like most accurate and truthful books and films, they are rarely appreciated in their day because the brutal honesty and truthfulness of what they have to say is too painful to openly accept and admit. Every character is interesting and well played.Tom Hanks is especially likable as Sherman McCoy. Morgan Freeman plays the judge with sarcasm and wit, entertaining in this minor role. Well done De Palma and team for bringing Tom Wolfe's huge novel to the screen.Friday, April 19, 1991 - Knox District CentreGreat plot and characters one can really get involved with (and enjoy watching) make De Palma's film enjoyable a second time. Murray Abraham, Tom Hanks, and Morgan Freeman) and all three give breathtaking actor performances.....anyone who cares for fine movie actor work cannot afford to miss this great movie.The direction by Brian DiPalma is brilliant, starting with the camera panorama sweeping across nighttime Manhattan from the top of the Chrysler Building with closeups of it's gargoyles, and ending with great elegant tuxedo and gowns for the ladies crowd scene of astonishing elegance and pomp made even greater by the background music (the music in this film is one of it's many great assets).DiPalma's used of "fish eye" lenses for closeups of three of the movie's lovable villains (the best movies always have lovable villains, at least the best comedies do) in the final courtroom scene is inspired.....Brian DiPalma is one of the great directors of the 20th century in USA major movies.The set decoration is especially notable.The late Lillian Gish (1893 - 1993, an iconic movie star who lived to her 100th year, was the star of D. W Griffiths's "Birth Of A Nation" 1915 classic and later, at age 94, the star of "The Whales Of August" 1987 along with Bette Davis) opined during an interview seen in the documentary she was part of about the history of USA silent era movies (titled "Hollywood: The Silent Era" 1980 written and directed by Kevin Brownlow) that: "The movies of the silent era during the 1920's 'age of motion picture palaces on Broadway NYC and elsewhere' taught people good manners, elegance and good taste....those movies did a world of good, socially." People who want to see what good taste looks like, and how well mannered people trained and disciplined in good etiquette behave under pressure should see "Bonfire Of The Vanities" (1990) again and again and again.The set decorations tell the "good taste" story in wonderful (and expensive) detail, and the script showing well educated, well mannered people speaking up and speaking out tells the "good taste" story verbally.The irony is that this brilliant movie was widely accounted a failure by many associated with it.Academy Award Winner actor F. The film suffers not merely from the miscasting of everyman Tom Hanks as an uncaring Yuppie, Kewpie-doll Melanie Griffith as a manipulative southern belle and Bruce Willis (?!) as the darling of New York's literati. The characters are very thin and there seems to be no empathy for anyone in this movie and for a comedy or a satire there arent a lot of laughs either..Melanie Griffith had her breasts done during filming so a fun thing to do is to see if her boobs change size during different parts of the film..This will keep your mind off other things like the lack of script or humor.. And I've been through everything: De Palma's film; Wolfe's novel and Julie Salamon's amazing book about the making of the film, the excellent "The Devil's Candy" - the latter one makes me feel truly sorry about all the obstacles faced by the production and how the road to make a hit depends on people who know squat about movies (but somehow they're the ones with the money and power - which kinda reflects the movie's story itself about people who make nothing but gets loads of money for something).Aside from the obvious facts like adapting a masterful novel of epic proportions and turning into a 2-hour movie (impossible feat considering the many plot points, characters and enormous details), they didn't stand a chance with anything. Disgraced journalist Peter Fallow (Bruce Willis) gets his golden ticket while covering the story of Sherman McCoy (Tom Hanks), a great Wall Street trader involved in a hit-and-run accident that sent a black kid to the hospital. Gargoyles-like characters enter the scene from lawyers, prosecutors to tycoons and figures of the high society and also some less fortunate ones who'll turn McCoy's life into a descent to hell and elevate an opportunist to a massive stardom.The film detractors who know the book aren't wrong when they say the film lacks in bite, Wolfe's eye for detail and descriptions couldn't be exactly translated specially his sarcastic tone about characters based on real figures and the cynicism about them. But it's a funny film and I always get my fair share of laughter - Melanie Griffith is quite flawed but she pronounces Sherman's name exactly like Maria does in the book ("Shamann"); the scenes with Kevin Dunn as Hanks' lawyer are priceless just as Saul Rubinek as the district attorney.Despite the errors and difficulties, "The Bonfire of the Vanities" will find a little place in the spotlight for the ones who appreciate an interesting story filled with humor, drama and even minor tension. It doesn't justify much of the money spent in its production, a lot could be reduced but De Palma managed to make a more than decent film, one that stays with you due to some good acting (Willis is hilarious and Hanks tries some dramatic chops for the first time); amazing cinematography by Vilmos Zsigmond and Eric Schwab (assistant director who captured the two most beautiful images from the film - also the most difficult ones); the unusual angles filmed from above that give a uneasy sensation we're flying above those ruthless characters. "The Bonfire Of The Vanities" is an underrated gem directed by Brian DePalma (Scarface), and featuring an all-star cast including Academy Award winners Tom Hanks (Big, Forrest Gump), Morgan Freeman (Driving Miss Daisy), F. For Bonfire of the Vanities has a sumptuous cast list, and amongst the mis-casting (Hanks, Willis - there go your two main characters) and the simply bad (step forward Melanie Griffith), there was always going to be one who nailed down one of Wolfe's creations. She was writing an article on the movie during pre-production, saw where things were headed, and stuck around to document it.For those who want to see how money and self-hypnosis can corrupt the film-making process it's a worthwhile, if sad, read.Wisely, Tom Wolfe refrained from commenting on the whole sordid pile of stink that his novel had become. That's why so many people give this film low ratings.It isn't "Politically Correct".Hell it even has Geraldo Rivera in a few scenes promoting the Al Sharpton type character to further his Liberal Politics and news "career".How more true-to-Life can you get?Tom Hanks did a very decent job in his role as the sheep being fed to the hungry wolves to get the Ultra-Liberal District Atty. First of all, to declare my colours, I am not a great fan of Tom Wolfe's writing style but I thoroughly enjoyed "Bonfire of the Vanities" and consider it one of the better American novels of the end of the 20th century. (Check it out on Amazon; the book follows chronologically the film's production from the beginning to the end.) Since the movie is so bad, you're not going to enjoy watching it anyway. But Tom Wolfe was probably compensated quite well for this one, so I'm supposing he isn't crying too hard.This movie reminds me of another great book that was sullied by Bruce Willis: Breakfast of Champions. Sherman is unlikeable and weak-willed but in no way the 'master of the universe' that he dubs himself, more like a weedy kid.Melanie Griffiths does a good job of playing his mistress, dumb blonde Maria, but the character is entirely unlikeable (this is a pretty bad film as far as female parts go- there's nothing for either her or Kim Cattrell as Sherman's wife to work with), a whiny Southern gal.The plot is that Sherman and Maria take a wrong turn and end up in the Bronx, where Maria accidentally runs down a young black teenager. Uproar in the community ensues (very quiet uproar as the black characters are kept firmly in the background) and opportunistic journalist Peter Fallow (Bruce Willis, again doing nothing remarkable with his role) sees a chance for a good story.There's lots of scenes where people are just standing around having not very interesting conversations- a sure fire way to kill a film with a running time of two hours. Before I watched The Bonfire of the Vanities, I read Tom Wolfe's novel and Julie Salamon's The Devil's Candy which was about the making of the movie Maybe this colored my perception of the movie, but I think the movie stands in its own right, and didn't deserve the trashing by critics. Asking nice guy Tom Hanks to portray an arrogant, insensitive Wall Street yuppie ruined by a hit-and-run accident in the Bronx was a bad enough decision, but rewriting characters just to accommodate Bruce Willis (a jaded English journalist?) and Morgan Freeman (a fiery Jewish judge?) renders most of Wolfe's intended satire meaningless. It is a tremendous book, a razor-sharp satire and dark human tragic-comedy where everyone is unlikeable, and yet by a certain point the person who should be most unlikeable and unsympathetic, Sherman McCoy, the Wall-Street Bond Trader who is brought in on charges of reckless endangerment for his car running over a black honor student, ironically becomes a little more sympathetic (or just understandable and human, is perhaps the point).Seeing the movie with someone who hasn't read the book, however, is a valuable experience, and the friend I watched it with confirmed my own thoughts: the movie isn't so terrible as to completely throw on the heap of directorial toxic-sludge (it doesn't come close to, say, Godard's King Lear as a cinematic cluster-f***), and some of the performances are actually good or at least decent- SOME being a key word here- but it's also confused and baffling, and not very funny most of the time. It's at least never boring; Tom Hanks, though just a few years shy young to play McCoy as written in the book, does have his moments where he gets to shine as an actor, and is even really funny a few times (my favorite scenes in the movie have him in it, one where he's interrogated by the detectives and bumbles it completely with the word 'routine', and the other when he unloads his twelve-gage rifle with total abandon around his bemused dinner guests, hilarious, perhaps, just seeing Hanks doing this). Even if everything else worked great in Bonfire of the Vanities, Willis, his acting and the character as a whole, would make the film flawed on its own. Reading a book is a waste of time when there is an excellent movie like this. The complete failure of the film may be somewhat cruel and not wholly deserved, but De Palma goes for all-out comedy, failing to grasp Wolfe's subtle satire completely.Tom Hanks plays self-styled 'master of the universe' Sherman McCoy, a Wall Street broker who enjoys every material comfort that life can offer, living in his huge apartment with his ditsy wife Judy (Kim Cattrall). Bruce Willis should have played Sherman McCoy. Tom Hanks would have done nicely as Peter Fallow. The big name cast, which includes Tom Hanks, Melanie Griffith, Bruce Willis, and Morgan Freeman, does nothing special to keep the attention of the audience. It's probably best that I never read the book; I'd probably be more at odds with the movie that way.As it is, "Bonfire of the Vanities" plays on its own like an unfinished work. Inspired by but with a story and ending distinct from Tom Wolfe's novel by the same title – The Bonfire of the Vanities - fails to attain the heights scaled by the book. I know that Brian DePalma has done better than this but remember many times a novel doesn't do well on the big screen The, Bonfire of the Vanities was an '80s story based on a Tom Wolfe bestseller so don't blame Brian he done as good a job possible the cast had plenty of talent and that's why this movie is interesting.

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The Night of the Iguana

The defrocked Rev. Dr. T. Lawrence Shannon (Richard Burton) is to be the tour guide and historian for a church ladies' bus tour of Mexican religious historical sights. Even before boarding the old fashioned school bus, Shannon develops a contentious relationship with the lesbian leader of the women's group, Judith Fellowes (Grayson Hall) who is protective - read jealous - of the delinquent Charlottes (Lyon) interest in the reverend as her potential rescuer from being placed with the aged travelers. Driven to distraction by the attentions of the delinquent Lolita, Reverend Shannon has a alcoholic breakdown - as does the bus, right on cue - as they arrive nearby the Puerta Vallarta version of Bed & Breakfast establishment of the wildly over-the-top Maxine Faulk played by Gardner. Shortly after their arrival, the tour begins to heat up as the Reverend takes the bus's distributor thereby preventing the ladies' escape or the continuation of their tour. Shortly after the tour bus arrives, come an aging poet and his niece (Kerr). The heterosexual mirror to the appropriately named Fellowes, Hannah Jelkes proves to be less conservative than her spinster-like appearance indicates. Gardner's character has two native "beach boys" who chase down and chain up the titular Iguana so that it might be "fattened up" to be eaten up for dinner. All to the excitement and shock of the touring women. All the while Lyon is pursuing Shannon while as Jelkes and Faul pursue him as well and he pursues the bottle. Fellowes is either protecting Lyon's honor or hoping to convert her to lesbianism. An impromptu party develops and builds to a crescendo of death - Kerr's character's elderly poet uncle; jealous fighting - the beach boys and the bus driver, Lyon's character's other protector; and (verbally) Shannon and almost everyone else but the senile Miss Peebles - the author's tour ladies' personification. After sharing her secret sin with Shannon and the timely and sweet death of Miss Jelkes's poet just after finishing his last and lengthy poem, all the players find a weird peace. This acceptance that world must continue in its flawed manner and all must forgive, accept redemption and move on, arrives towards the end of the Night of the Iguana.

dramatic

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imdb

Whether or not Richard Burton always plays a drunk, whether or not it should have been in colour, are not in the least bit relevant to the significance, the concepts and the issues at play in this brilliant film, this monument to the resilience of human souls, to the compassion that can bring such succour on long, tortured nights, to the precious decency that is for some a perpetual struggle to attain, and the search, the life-long search, for belief, love and light.The backdrop to the exploration of these issues that are so fundamental to individual lives is a Mexican coastal hotel. On his arrival he meets his old friend, the lascivious but no less desperate Maxine (Ava Gardner), a poet on the verge of death who is nevertheless striving for one last creative act, one last stab at beautiful self-expression, and his grand-daughter Hannah (Deborah Kerr), a resilient woman painfully trying to reconcile herself to loss, loneliness and the bitter struggle she faces with her own personal demons. It is in this conversation that Tennessee Williams explores the issues make this film so important: through his characters, who are throughout depicted not as mere shallow cliches but individuals with histories and feelings that run deep, with subtleties that bring them to life, he meditates upon the struggle to find meaning in one's life, the need for companionship, the importance of compassion, and the way in which people endure, all the time grasping at what dignity they may have, and which may be forever threatened by trials, doubts and pain. It's a shame that Richard Burton never played Shannon in "Night of the Iguana" on stage - ditto Deborah Kerr and Ava Gardner - because all three are perfect casting for Tennessee Williams' wonderful play, on which this film is based. It ran 316 performances on Broadway during the 1961-1962 season and starred Bette Davis, Margaret Leighton, and Patrick O'Neal in the roles played on the screen by Ava Gardner, Deborah Kerr, and Richard Burton. The 2006 DVD offers a couple of worthwhile extras - a vintage short, "On the Trail of the Iguana", which has interviews with cast and crew and give a sense of the paparazzi blitzkrieg surrounding the stars, especially Burton who was then living with Elizabeth Taylor before her divorce from Eddie Fisher was final; and a recent, more academic featurette, "Huston's Gamble" with comments from film historians on the movie's impact.. The fact that the lines are delivered by the likes of Richard Burton, Ava Gardner and Deborah Kerr make it an enjoyable film to watch. A motley group of weary travelers converge on a rundown seaside resort in Mexico, and ruminate on the vicissitudes of life and on each other, in this Tennessee Williams play converted to film by Director John Huston.The plot begins with the travails of the good Rev. T. Maxine gets assistance from two youthful Mexican beach boys who shake their maracas but never speak.Into this sociological stew comes two proud guests, a wheelchair bound, senile old man (Cyril Delevanti) who writes poetry, and his New England, spinster granddaughter, Hannah Jelkes (Deborah Kerr), a sketch artist who peddles the two's artistry in lieu of payment, since they are penniless.The characters in this film are all rather worn and beaten, physically tired from the Mexican heat, and mentally drained from life's burdens, as desperate as a captured lizard at the end of its rope. Grayson Hall, Ava Gardner, and Deborah Kerr are all terrific in their parts.As you would expect for a Tennessee Williams' creation, the film is very talky. Director John Huston took an all-star cast to a remote Mexican location to film this adaptation of Tennessee Williams' play. But only after he, in fear of being defrocked and also losing his job, attempted to kill himself by, as he said, swimming to China: or better yet drowning himself in the Pacific Ocean.Deep and thought provoking film about life death and the what it's, existence, all about with Richard Burton giving one of his most penetrating performances as the mentally unstable and suicidal Rev. Lawrence T. Williams uses the tension created by this situation and these characters to explore the dark nights of the soul that each of us is bound to go through at one point or another in the course of our lives, and the salvation humans can find in one another.I'm not sure how closely the film follows the original stage play, but as presented here, this is one of Williams' more hopeful and optimistic stories. The Night of the Iguana is a fantastic piece of drama that examines the human condition through a brilliant script adapted from Tennessee Williams' play of the same name.From the arresting opening to the heart-warming ending (well, near-ending), this classic motion picture directed by John Huston will have your attention in it's grasp and won't let go until it's finished mesmerising you with all its beauty. Every shot whether it's in the crummy old bus or on a cliff looking down in the cradle of life, looks magnificent on screen and gives the film a fresh feeling and tone throughout.As can be expected from a film adapted from a Williams play, the writing and dialogue present is criminally witty and charming, often showing it's intelligence but always in the background, never destroying the real focus of the story being the characters. Reverend Lawrence Shannon in particular is one of the most interesting and versatile characters I have ever seen in a movie, often moving between emotions and mind states faster than he can drive a bus, but never without cause and always with focus.The plot to the film is admittedly very much on the thin side but nevertheless more than makes up for it with thought provoking themes and dialogues that fill in the spaces where such action may have otherwise been noticed as missing. Richard Burton plays a hard-drinking Episcopal clergyman, possibly defrocked after being involved in a scandal, who now hosts low-rent bus tours for Baptist church ladies; on his latest jaunt in Puerto Vallarta, he gets himself mixed up with mercurial teenager Sue Lyon, which could cost him everything. Burton is theatrical but still in top-form, and he's actually less foreboding than usual (and he looks great in a two-shot with sexy Gardner--their dimples match); Kerr breezes along in a difficult role, making it seem effortless; Lyon's jailbait seductress doesn't amount to much (she's only here to get the action started), however she plays a tart like nobody's business. Sensational for its casting and pedigree (Tennessee Williams), in its day, and for one of the most brilliantly orchestrated pre-publicity campaigns in film history (the revolvers with the bullets of the other actors' names etched on them?), Time has not been kind.Beautifully conceived and directed by John Huston, with some additional writing from Mr. Williams to his already complex and difficult script, beautifully photographed by Gabriel Figueroa, the Acting and actors ultimately fail the project.Except for Deborah Kerr (Hannah), Cyril Delavante (Nonno), and the supporting cast.Two of the female "stars" are simply not up to the task. The male "star" is so far beyond the task, as Richard Burton nearly always was, that one is left with a remarkable record of yet another of his "vanity" performances.Sue Lyon was never much of an actress, as witness her virtually non-existent film career outside her "shocking" participation in "Lolita" and "Night of the Iguana." One can't make much of a career playing petulant. Within the intimacy of film, however, did he EVER disappear inside a character and let us, for even a moment, forget he was a great "actor?" No.Nor did any of his directors, including John Huston here, once suggest that he "tone it down." By contrast, devour Deborah Kerr's indelible performance as Hannah. Her "confession" is unbelievably powerful.Kerr was a "star." But first she was an actor.Grayson Hall's harrowing turn as Judith Fellowes is equally brilliant and frightening.Cyril Delevanti, a hale and hearty older actor, is equally impressive in a largely silent and immobile role as Nonno.So one is confronted with a beautifully directed and photographed Tennessee Williams play anchored by amazing "supporting" performances that in fact support "stars" who were amateurishly inept (Lyon) or whose aging vanity trumped their acting (Gardner and Burton).. Sidney poitier is the only other actor off hand i can think of with this quality."Iguana" is one of the best adaptations of the much-maligned Williams, seconded only to "Streetcar Named Desire", with a "is that her?" appearance from Grayson Hall (of Dark Shadow's Dr. Julia Hoffman fame), a slightly older than I'm used to Ava Gardner, and another deliciously nymphetic performance from Sue Lyon ("Lolita"). Over all, it's a must see for those who love watching Burton, Kerr, and Gardner in films, but for those people who watch Tennessee Williams' films but have not read his plays, they may be less impressed by the subject matter and ultimately not as happy with it, as compared with the more well-known Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.. Done from a play by Tennessee Williams: depicting women of different ages and venues, a preacher that is "building his own nest without realizing it" (as Deborah Kerr says to him at the end of the movie.) I have watched it 40 years after first seeing it in the cinema. And Sue Lyon is, well, doing what Sue Lyon does best, chase older men.There's also a really outstanding performance by an actress, Grayson Hall(wasn't she in Disney's 'That Darn Cat' with Haley Mills?)as a frustrated, frumpy baptist chaperone who frightens poor little Richard Burton and almost makes him flip-out and kill himself.There are some really great lines here by theater lion Tennessee Williams. T. Lawrence Shannon, Williams's defrocked, alcoholic clergyman, is also not considered one of Huston's best films, but is nonetheless an interesting venture.Burton gives a steady performance while Ava Gardner is excellent in a limited role as Maxine Faulk, a woman of a certain age: too old for boy toys and too young to toss in the towel. Overall, Huston manages to make the whole thing work in the stifling heat of a Mexican summer, with Maxine and Hannah helping Shannon fight for his soul and sanity while Charlotte and Ms Fellowes drag him into "Hell and damnation..." It's a good companion to the later and superior Mike Nichols film "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" when fellow ham hall-of-famer and two-time spouse Liz Taylor has her turn at battering the infinitely batterable Burton. The only regret I have about this movie is that it wasn't filmed in colour; there is a short documentary which follows its production which is, but the main feature remains stubbornly black and white.John Huston's pictures are usually fairly reliable, often simmering cauldrons allowing their leading actors to burn up the screen - you only have to think of Bogart and Hepburn in 'The African Queen' to prove that, or Bogart and Astor in 'The Maltese Falcon'.Here, defrocked hard-drinking priest Shannon (a fabulously cast Richard Burton, in one of the few key roles worth his talent) is pursued by three women, no less.The gorgeous Ava Gardner is perhaps the most memorable, as the sultry Maxine taking a midnight dip with her water boys. Released in 1964 and directed by John Huston based on Tennessee Williams' play, "The Night of the Iguana" stars Richard Burton as a defrocked Episcopal minister who resorts to a job leading bus tours on the Mexican west coast. Tennessee Williams, John Huston, Richard Burton, Deborah Kerr, Ava Gardner and a few more, all at their best.. There is something really enigmatic and magical about American film "The night of the Iguana" as it captures the raw beauty of Mexico as a preferred destination for pleasure seeking American tourists.It is one of those acclaimed films directed by renowned American director John Huston which succeeds at almost all levels.It is quite a pleasure to watch such a mature,serious film full of intellect and wit based on a humanist play by acclaimed American playwright Tennessee Williams.This film has its own balanced share of comedy and drama as everything in it is a remarkable ode to human judgment."The night of the Iguana" is able to strike a chord in viewers' minds as it has been transformed into a great character study thanks to amazing acting performances by famous actors Richard Burton,Ava Gardner and Deborah Kerr.How can a moody man retain his sanity in an environment full of doubts and passion seems to be this film's core issue.It is an extremely complex issue for both men and women who have to deal with it using their limited resources.Both men and animals need to be freed from shackles to act and think freely appears to be this film's humane message.. There is something really enigmatic and magical about American film "The night of the Iguana" as it captures the raw beauty of Mexico as a preferred destination for pleasure seeking American tourists.It is one of those acclaimed films directed by renowned American director John Huston which succeeds at almost all levels.It is quite a pleasure to watch such a mature,serious film full of intellect and wit based on a humanist play by acclaimed American playwright Tennessee Williams.This film has its own balanced share of comedy and drama as everything in it is a remarkable ode to human judgment."The night of the Iguana" is able to strike a chord in viewers' minds as it has been transformed into a great character study thanks to amazing acting performances by famous actors Richard Burton,Ava Gardner and Deborah Kerr.How can a moody man retain his sanity in an environment full of doubts and passion seems to be this film's core issue.It is an extremely complex issue for both men and women who have to deal with it using their limited resources.Both men and animals need to be freed from shackles to act and think freely appears to be this film's humane message.. Huston also tends to highlight the male bonding in his films, which often have no prominent or three-dimensional female characters at all, and yet he draws deeply realized performances from Williams' significantly female-heavy work.But then, after we feel the story's milieu has already been established for the most part, Shannon escapes as the crow flies to a place of solitude, and his concern with the fiery, man-hungry hotel owner and an emotional, migratory artisan traveling with her 97-year-old poet grandfather, exudes such connotations elegantly carried through in a streaming flow of dialogue scenarios stimulating remarkable intrigue. Tennessee Williams' play is here filmed, with a few flaws, but overall well-done performances by key players, and well worth more than one viewing.Ava Gardner as hotel owner Maxine Faulk is priceless and amusing as a cynical widow enjoying her later years in Puerto Vallarta, making the best of a transient life.Burton as defrocked and discouraged minister is indelible and effective, his particular nemesis played by Grayson Hall as Mrs. Fellowes, an irritating and uptight member of the church who intends to oversee his downfall. I have seen every movie that has ever won a Best Picture Oscar, and none can reach Night of the Iguana.Huston's fantastic direction of the leads, a well-worked screenplay, intuitive dialogue and high-skilled cast make this the greatest story ever told.Richard Burton as the Rev. T. Lawrence Shannon is a drunken ex-priest, hell-bent on blaming the world for his own dilemmas, constantly battling his moral demons (Sue Lyons "Lolita" chases him around!) Burton's finest performance.Ava Gardner stars as the middle-aged, boy crazy Maxine, who cares deeply for Shannon, but won't show it..a tough lady. NIGHT OF THE IGUANA is immobile and stagy –Richard Burton at best miscast, Ava Gardner worse than terrible, and Deborah Kerr–well Deborah Kerr with a genuine Nantucket accent -if Nantucketians have upper class English accents...Tennessee Williams may be a great dramatist -and one hopes John Houston's poverised version of his script was the reason he appeared like a bad one –but the moralising was small deal, the symbolism -hammock struggling representing moral struggle, freeing of the iguana freeing of the soul (when in actuality it was so the poor creature didn't die of boredom with the rest of us, old maid lesbianism etc, all over-mined topics to the point of tedium.Did we really believe in Burton? Tenessee Wiliams, John Huston and Richard Burton (well supported by Deborah Kerr, Ava Gardner, and others ) combined together to produce powerful medicine in this 1964 film of TW's play "The Night of the Iguana"; a film which still, despite its age, provides a very memorable viewing experience. Another terrific Tennessee Williams cinematic presentation after the contently controversial SUDDENLY, LAST SUMMER (1959, 7/10), THE NIGHT OF THE IGUANA is directed by the almighty John Huston, starring a trio of A-list names Burton, Gardner and Kerr, with a show- stealing supporting performance from the unknown Grayson Hall (who is the sole cast member reaps an Oscar nomination), and it also includes Sue Lyon's follow-up role after Kubrick's LOLITA (1962, 7/10), which foreshadows her career being typecast as a precocious siren with an ingénue disguise.Shot in standard Black & White, the opening scene is inside an episcopal church, we see Rev. Dr. Ultimately Debra Kerr is thrown into this as a sort of mediator.Burton, Gardner, Kerr under the direction of John Huston in a movie based on a Tennessee Williams play, what could go wrong? John Huston's film of the Tennesse Williams play is a nearly great movie featuring what is arguably Richard Burton's best performance. An excellent 1964 film showcasing the fine acting talent of Richard Burton, Ava Gardner and Deborah Kerr at their very best. Lawrence Shannon (Richard Burton), hotel proprietress Maxine Faulk (Ava Gardner) and itinerant sketch artist Hannah Jelkes (Deborah Kerr).

tt0080527

The Children

Two maintenance employees of a nuclear power plant are conducting an outdoor safety check when they become anxious to leave. Eager to get to the local bar and have a drink, they skip part of the test. Unfortunately a large buildup of pressure causes a yellow toxic gas to leak from one of the pipes. The gas forms into a large cloud that drifts across the ground.Nearby, a school bus carrying six students home from school is driving along the road. Cathy Freemont (Gale Garnett) passes the bus and waves to the children, when suddenly the large cloud of toxic gas drifts into the road. Both vehicles drive through it.Cathy arrives home, but the school bus is detained somewhere. Sheriff Billy Hart (Gil Rogers) finds the bus haphazardly parked along the side of the road, apparently abandoned in a hurry, with no sign of the children or the bus driver. Hart pays a visit to the home of Tommy Button, one of the children on the bus. Tommy lives with his mother, Leslie (Suzanne Barnes), and her female lover, Dr. Joyce Gould (Michelle Le Mothe). Leslie apparently spends her life dazed and heavily medicated, while Dr. Gould is hostile toward the sheriff for no good reason. She accompanies him to the site of the abandoned bus, where she finds Tommy's things on board. When Hart departs, Joyce goes to walk home when she spots a figure standing in a nearby cemetery. She recognizes it as Tommy, just as it disappears among the gravestones. She rushes up into the cemetery, where she stumbles across the horribly mutilated body of the bus driver; he seems to have been burned from within his clothes, his flesh horribly charred and disfigured. Suddenly Tommy appears behind Joyce, his fingernails black. Relieved, she sweeps him into a reassuring hug, suddenly screaming in agony as her flesh begins to char. Tommy's hands are roasting Joyce alive, and her burnt body falls beside that of the bus driver.The five children have been transformed into smiling zombies by the cloud of radioactive vapors, intent on burning alive anybody who comes into their path. They move through the town, visiting their parents and families, most of whom are caricatures of bad parenting. Little Janet Shore's parents are swingers who don't even know or care where their daughter is. Paul MacKenzie's sister is a slutty blonde who is more interested in bedding the dopey town deputy. Cathy Freemont is pregnant with her third child, yet she still gives in to smoking in times of stress. John Freemont (Martin Shakar) joins the sheriff in the hunt for the children, trying to keep from Cathy that their daughter Jenny is among the missing children.John and Sherrif Hart find charred bodies all over the town of Ravensback, the handiwork of the children. Nobody suspects that the children are behind the deaths, and everybody makes the mistake of hugging the kids when they come across them. John and Hart make the connection about the killer children and John rushes home to protect Cathy and the youngest Freemont child, Clarkie, who escaped the cloud of poisonous gas because he was at home that day with a cold. Along the way, they encounter Janet Shore, who is dazed like the other zombies, but apparently still human--her fingernails are normal. They take her along in the back of Hart's squad car.Meanwhile at the Freemont house, the zombified Jenny attempts to return home, and Cathy joyfully rushes out to greet her, but John intervenes and Jenny scorches his hand before he can get away from her.John and Hart barricade the house and start firing on the children, who have congregated in the yard outside the house. Bullets have no effect on the zombies, which get back up and continue to walk around. While the adults are distracted, one of the killer children sneaks into an upstairs window of the house and fries Clarkie to death. It then tries to kill Cathy, but John attacks it with a sword, slashing out and chopping off its hands. It instantly dies, howling in pain.Armed with a machete, John hunts the children, cornering them in a barn, until he has hacked most of them to death. Unfortunately, he forgets about Janet Shore, whose fingernails have changed to black. She chars Hart to death, lurching at him out of the back seat of his car. John hacks Janet to death in retaliation.John is distracted by the cries of Cathy from inside of the house--the baby is being born. As the sun rises, the sounds of Cathy giving birth to her child fill the house. The baby is born and all seems well, until John notices it nursing at Cathy's breast, its fingernails black.

murder

train

imdb

When a school bus drives into the fog from a nuclear plant leak, the children inside are transformed into black-fingernailed zombies that incinerate anyone they touch, apparently from the inside-out. The premise is great-a radioactive cloud turns children into zombies, but the acting and directing bring the film down. Is it trying to make an environmental statement about how nuclear waste will turn children's fingernails black and make them kill every adult they touch? I rented the movie again a few years ago just to jog my memory of it, because all I really remembered was was it was about some kids who can burn people with their hands. Yes, the acting is bad & yes, some of the dialogue is horrendous, but this was such a fun movie.It has its creepy moments & an alright 'twist' ending, that leaves it open for a sequel? It has a side effect as it turns the formerly good kids into pale faced atomic zombies that sport black fingernails and are extremely dangerous when they hug adults as they literally fry them, the adults must battle these sinister kiddies and have to find a way to kill them.Entertaining and somewhat silly low budget horror/Sci-fi flick that's got an interesting plot and some shocks. it's kind of a overlooked film that has been discontinued on video for 25 years and has been a hard to find movie in ages until now as the Troma Team company has finally re-issued this movie on DVD.Also recommended: "The Crazies", "The Toxic Avenger", "Class of Nuke'Em High", " C.H.U.D.", "Night of the Living Dead ( 1968 and 1990)", "Dawn of the Dead ( 1978 and 2004)", " Bloody Birthday", "Children of the Corn", "Sleepaway Camp", " Halloween", " Slugs", " Beware! i thought this was a fun little horror classic.as far as i know,it's an original concept.not the zombies themselves,but how they became zombies.and how they kill their victims.it is cheesy and the acting is hammy,but so what.the premise is pretty cool.it's genuinely creepy.i especially love the score by Harry Manfredini,although it's very similar to Friday the 13th(which he also scored)and it does become overpowering and a bit distracting at times.the makeup effects are actually pretty good for the time.and if you're paying attention throughout the movie(which i obviously wasn't)the ending won't come as a surprise to you.overall,an enjoyable 90 minutes or so.for me,The Children(1980)is an 8/10. I saw The Children when I was 6 years old at a drive-in in Mississippi and at the age of six it scared the hell out of me.Watching it twenty-years later it's one of the funniest "I'm trying to be scary horror film"The best part is the soundtrack is the same one used in another horror classic released that same year "Friday the 13th" Watchable but only to those you love pure cheese in their horror films.. THE CHILDREN is one of the more enjoyable "killer kid" films, featuring several bust-a-gut moments, usually involving a gushy death or samurai sword-wielding sheriff! Gotta love Troma.You know you are watching a low budget film when you see a nuclear company sign that has been stenciled and the director decides to sometimes use a tape of dog howls when the children are hurt.The makeup could have been much better - I think even with the limited budget it could have been done more effectively. The children 1980 this was re watch I had not seen it for while It was not as good as remembered it before, I liked the story of the movie but I would have found the kids a lot more scary if they looked evil and don't Black finger nails were that scary But I did like the kill scenes there were really fun to watch .Also I didn't really like how slow they reacted to the news even thought the movie was face paced and not boring , it such Felt like they were reacting in slow motion and I actually shouted at the mo ie To hurry up I found the end both funny and predicable , 5 out of 10. For me that wasn't the case, as I just watched for the first time, but I found it to be a surprisingly effective little low-budget feature which saw some of the film crew (lead by music composer Harry Manfredini) to go on to be apart of Sean S. When a school bus drives through a yellow mist of nuclear waste, a group of children of a rural town go missing, unknowingly to the town's folk they find out they have been transformed into zombies that are aching for a hug. The kids end up being like zombies with black fingernails and they cause their parents to melt when they touch them. A radioactive fog turns a group of kids into deadly, black nailed killers who can kill you with a touch (particularly hugs-they love to do that.) "The Children" is the screen writing debut from "Luther the Geek" director Carlton J. While it suffers some of the same problems as his later movie (wooden acting, plot holes), it's still a decent slice of low budget horror.Much like "Luther", "The Children" has an absolutely ridiculous plot. They're not out to eat you brains or anything like that, they just want a hug, with their black finger nails they plan to spread "love" all over the habitants of Ravensback, starting with their own parents.I enjoyed this movie, reminded me of another great movie that also deals with killer children "Who could kill a child?" In both you are presented with the moral dilemma of killing a child. this right here is one of the better "evil kid" movies folks!some scenes are scary and shot well,the ending was kinda came out of left field,and the silent credits gave the ending a little something more..the effects of the burns are pretty cool,and the sound effects of the kids getting killed were pretty cool too.movie is very hard to find,a few years ago,i came across a copy at a used CD store,movie goes for like around 20.00 on eBay,and hopefully Anchor Bay will re-release it. A nuclear-plant leak turns a bus-load of children into murderous atomic zombies with black fingernails.The trouble begins when a school bus filled with kids passes through a giant radiation cloud.The kids vanish without a trace and return soon as smiling,black-fingernailed zombies.Their hugs becomes deadly to some unfortunate adults,who are fried.The town sheriff and one of the fathers are starting to fight with radioactive killers.Silly and amusing zombie romp with a competent Harry Manfredini score.The scenes of children murdering their parents are fairly creepy and the climax is surprisingly unsettling and tense.Admittedly the plot is ridiculous,but if you are a fan of early 80's slasher and zombie flicks you can't miss "The Children".8 out of 10.. I don't know about the others, but I refuse to dislike a cheap horror movie from the early 80s about a group of zombie children with black fingernails who kill their victims by giving them a deadly hug. Whatever the case may be, guilty pleasure or not, the director deserves credit for creating this stupidly fun little flick.There's something oddly compelling about evil children in horror films, isn't there? I know the killers are a group of five children who wander around a small town killing grown-ups, but they never actually act like human beings to begin with. They're just empty creatures with no personality or feelings whatsoever and the only reason why they kill, it's because at the very beginning of the film, they are all zombified by some kind of toxic cloud (?) These children are not exactly evil and they have no personalities because they're not human. The toxic smoke turns the kids finger nails black and them into evil, little children. A bunch of kids on their way home in a school bus are mysteriously abducted en route and turned into mindless zombies whose mere touch will burn you to death. The base of this film actually isn't bad; there's a whole load of films that prove that creepy looking kids make for great horror (The Bad Seed, Carrie, Village of the Damned etc), plus the whole nuclear energy thing tends to bode well with the genre. The townspeople assume that the kids have been kidnapped, but in fact they've been turned into nuclear zombies, and they're out to get their parents...There are a lot of people killed in this film, but the way that most of them meet their maker is practically the same, which makes the film rather boring. Ugh. Let me see if I have this correct: there is a group of kids, and the bus they are riding in drives though a cloud caused by a radioactive leak in a chemical plant in a small town, which causes them to incinerate people ... After a school bus full of children drives through a toxic mist due to the nearby nuclear power plant, the terrible tykes are turned into black-nailed monster whose mere touch corrodes the flesh of their victims. Legendary Drive in Trash horror film about a school bus full of kids that goes through a chemical cloud and causes them to become black nailed little monsters that melt you if they touch you.This movie has to be seen to be believed- however be warned the effects aren't good-there are frequent laughably bad death scenes and the film ultimately isn't very good- still somehow there is something about the film that sticks in the memory-that causes anyone who's seen it to say "is that the one with the black nails?". Children, The (1980) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Village of the Damned meets Night of the Living Dead in this horror film, which has gathered a big cult following over the past several years. A "mystery cloud" that a school bus full of kids (by full I mean like 4 or five,a small town) passes through it and suddenly they can cook people on contact with their creepy little black fingernail adorned hands.I don't know about you but any movie where kids get all weird and start killing and stalking is usually good fun. I think with a full bus load of kids and a whole community of people in town this movie would have been more of a hit, but I did like it to say the least.. It certainly deserves a better transfer, if possible (the VHS I saw of it was awfully dark in spots), and a DVD release, if only to satisfy the many people who ask on the I Need to Know and Horror Message Boards "What is that movie with the kids in the school bus who drive through a cloud and turn into zombies with black fingernails that burn people?" This wouldn't be a bad one to remake, either.. I remember seeing The Children when it first came out around 1980...Even back then it was cheesy to say the least...It tries to be creepy in the way Village of the Damned was, but fails miserably...The acting is pretty bad and I actually remember having a great time because of it...I can't give it just 1 star because it's too entertaining a movie to fall into the "awful" category...those black fingernails on the kids...the hugs that produce that nuclear smoke, and the hysterical reactions of the adults they hug make this movie a baddie classic...look for my favorite bad acting line in the movie..."Sheriff you shot a dead dog!" 1980 winner of the Ed Wood entertainment film award in my book!. Cheesy but creepy movie about children who turn into little zombies with black fingernails and once they hug you you turn into burnt chicken! Well, it seemed like an intriguing premise: A school bus of kids gets a dose of escaped radioactive gas, turning them in to zombies that burn up everybody they touch. Most of the acting is pretty wretched, the characters and the script are completely uninteresting and the special effects are almost non-existent, there is really very little to recommend this movie for even the most die-hard b-movie fans like me. when poisonous gas leaks from a near by nuclear plant the children on a bus taking them home get turned into murderous black fingernailed zombies who zap anybody they touch in to a crisp this film asks the question have you hugged your child today ha ha. The gas has somehow changed the children of the small town into evil zombies with black fingernails, and whoever is unfortunate enough to be touched by the children is in for a nasty surprise: their hands yield the ability to flash-fry their victims alive in about sixty seconds, leaving behind a corpse that looks like it's been on the barbecue for a few hours. THE CHILDREN is a pretty fun and schlocky 80s cult horror film that has it's moments. Nothing to really write home about, but I have a soft-spot for any film that has kids getting shot and having their hands cut off with ninja swords.A nuclear plant leak causes a bus full of school kids to turn into nuclear zombies with skin-melting hugging abilities. The kids terrorize the town melting all of the adults, and the local sheriff and one of the parents is out to stop them...Pretty cheezy for the most part, THE CHILDREN is worth a look to low-budget 80s horror fans. Suddenly the bus passes through the yellow cloud and the kids get turned into zombie-like monsters with black fingernails.The townspeople only think the kids have disappeared, so they shut the town down and try and keep out any outsiders until things clear up. This movie "The Children" is a very good, scary early 1980s movie about innocent kids who get exposed to yellowish smoke from a nuclear power plant and they end up as black finger-nailed zombies who burn people to death when they hug them. "SPOILER"I just ordered this Video from Ebay-- I barely remember renting this from Video King like 6 years ago--- the only thing that struck me as odd was the quiet credits-- it's an all black screen with the credits, usually movies have background music on end credits, but this movie and "Carnage" have quiet credits--SPOILERThe end was kind of stupid - with the baby shown with black fingernails, and that high stringish noise supposedly to "shock" us-- added to the stupidish--These kids on the bus drive through a yellow cloud, and then start burning people on contact--- i know it's a movie- but the idea of getting burned from a child on contact seems very unrealistic, and very funny!!! There are several movies handling about evil children (even some genuine classics, like "The Bad Seed" and "Village of the Damned"), but this baby is easily one of the most entertaining and memorable films I've seen about the subject. The children of the usually quiet & peaceful town of Ravensback are singing songs on their way home when suddenly their school bus drives through a toxic yellow cloud, caused by a leakage in the nuclear power plant nearby. the gore FX are sweet for such a low budget movie, echoing both Fulci and the old stop frame transformation of the wolfman back in those original B&W movies-- while the children themselves look like nothing more than the Goth kids who would actually terrorize their parents in years to come! The children of the small town of Ravensback are on their way home from school but as the bus drives along it passes through a cloud of the yellow gas. Sheriff Hart & John (Martin Shakar) a distraught parent, must find a way to stop them & their indiscriminate killing spree...Co-produced & directed by Max Kalmanowicz I think The Children is a throughly bad film with very little to recommend it. Synopsis overview: School bus full of kids in a small remote town passes through some kind of nuclear gas which turns said children into adult-killing creatures (that for some reason have black fingernails). This movie was actually one of the first ever horror movies that I ever saw, I remember picking this movie up in my local market one day when I was a child, thinking that this was gonna be a Famous five/The Goonies type of adventure movie, because of the front cover and when I got home and popped the video into the player, I was shocked to discover that this was a creepy zombie children killer flick and it terrified me, but also excited me at the same time.The plot = An explosion from a local nuclear power plant , causes a cloud to travel through the town and hit a school bus of local children, which cause them to change and when they touch people they melt them. Despite the oblivious low budget the gruesome burn effects still look great and the creepy Gothic atmosphere of this movie is also another highlight and also the ending really shocked and stuck in my mind.All in all "The Children" is really creepy and effective and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time, the kids were scary, the adult cast were interesting and odd, which I loved and it's rare that a horror movie really scares me.. A bus full of school kids drives through a cloud of something from an atomic energy plant and (somehow) come out pale and with black fingernails. I think some of the things they did were very original and interesting.If it wasn't for the cheesy way the kids die and some of the lesser-rounded moments of acting and dialog, I'd say it's a really good film. A school bus drives through it, and the cloud turns a couple of the kids on the bus into monsters with black finger nails that go after their parents and burn them to a crisp with just the slightest touch.

tt0080461

Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and Don't Come Back!!)

Charlie Brown is surprised in class, when it is announced that he and Linus have been selected as part of a student exchange program. Charlie leaves school to pack, and willingly invites Snoopy and Woodstock to come along. The surprises continue as Charlie finds a letter in the mailbox: and it's addressed to him! However, it's written in a 'strange language.'Shortly after going inside, Charlie receives a call from Peppermint Patty, who says that she and Marcie have also been accepted as part of a student exchange program, and will be on the same flight as Charlie and Linus.At the airport, the other kids see their friends off, with the majority calling "Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown." "And don't come back!" yells Lucy. After they have gotten to the ticket counter, everyone is shocked that Snoopy was able to procure a First Class ticket, over their economy-class seats.During the plane flight, Charlie shows the letter that he received, which came from France. As Marcie has been studying French, she offers to translate it. The letter seems to be anticipating Charlie's arrival, and offers to allow him to stay at the Chateau Mal Voisin ("The Chateau of the Bad Neighbor"). The letter is from someone named Violette, but Charlie has no idea who she is.Their plane soon touches down in London, England, where the group has lunch, while Snoopy drives up to Wimbledon and plays a short tennis match. From London, the group takes a train to Dover, before getting on a hovercraft to France.In France, the group manages to rent a car, with Snoopy serving as a driver. Their first stop is Morville, where Peppermint Patty and Marcie will be staying. Also with their exchange program family, is a son named Pierre. After Charlie, Linus, Snoopy and Woodstock leave, the girls explain where their friends are going. When Pierre hears about them going to the Chateau Mal Voisin, he grows apprehensive, saying that noone goes to the chateau, and the owner would never invite outsiders. They attempt to call the chateau, but receive no response, and decide to wait until morning.Meanwhile, Charlie, Linus, Snoopy and Woodstock arrive in the town of Le Heron, amid a rain storm. They pass by the school and a pub, and on the outskirts, they see the dark outlines of the chateau. However, noone appears to be home, and they end up camping in some nearby stables. Snoopy is assigned to watch the group, but once Charlie Brown and Linus are asleep, he and Woodstock sneak off to the local pub for some root beer.The next morning, Charlie and Linus awake to find themselves covered in blankets, and a meal prepared for them.

romantic

train

imdb

This is by far the best of the Peanuts movies. It is a classic that far outperforms the Holiday films and still gives us the imaginative exploits of the Peanuts gang. The storyline adds depth to the characters, with Charlie Brown, Peppermint Patty, Marcy, Linus, and (of course) Snoopy all heading to France for a student exchange program. Together with "Snoopy Come Home" and "Race for your life, Charlie Brown", this is a true Peanuts classic. I cross my fingers so that this film's petition for a DVD release works out because this movie deserves! "Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and don't come back!)" isn't just another Peanuts stuff. This one takes the Peanuts gang (Charlie Brown, Linus, Peppermint Patty, Marcie, Snoopy and Woodstock) to the travel of their lives: they go to England and France as foreign exchange students. At the same time, they live the adventure of their lives in France.The Peanuts gang first arrive to London and travel a bit in that city (including in a London bus with 2 floors and in a London Cab). After London, they go to France in a hovercraft and, before going to their student missions, they travel around France with the loyal company of their rental car, an old Citroen 2CV (the historical "deux chevaux", one of my all time favorite cars), leading to many hilarious moments and together they live many adventures, some of them extremely comical. It's an interesting and different type of boat and I know that thanks to this movie.This Peanuts classics has a dark atmosphere carried with suspense, which is quite notorious in many ways. The Château du Mal Voisin (which means "Château of the Bad Neighbor") gives the feeling of being a spooky and dangerous place, especially at night, combined with the rain, lightning, the mysterious feeling about it, the background music and the Baron himself. Darkness and suspense are unusual on Peanuts shorts or movies, but that's one of the things that makes the difference in this one.The dark atmosphere is brilliant and the artwork here is spectacular. This movie has such a great combination of light humor, suspense and darkness which, together with the fact that it takes place in England and France, makes it a unique and distinguish Peanuts classic, as well as a favorite for many.This great movie is also very humorous because comic gags are a strong point. Other funny gags are, for example, the entire loaf of bread sequence; the car's wipers sequence; Snoopy saying "words" to a taxi-driver who speaks with a cockney British accent on his "typically Snoopy" language; both sequences of the cars's crash; Snoopy drinking root beer; whenever Woodstock gets grumpy; Linus getting furious when Charlie Brown falls asleep; Charlie Brown embarrassing Linus because of the passport; the noise of the car's dodgy transmission; and much, much more...The entire soundtrack is amazing as well, including a slower version of James Bond's theme and the relaxing song "I want to remember this". The lines are all excellent too, as much as the actors's voice talents.Adventure, comedy, darkness, suspense, classic humor, great characters, wonderful animation, amazing artwork, unforgettable moments, fabulous music... The magic created by Charles Schultz comes to the screen with the return of the always charming "Peanuts" gang. "Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown" is the most interesting of these because of its departures from the "Peanuts" formula.There is no interaction between adversarial couples Linus and Lucy and Charlie Brown and Lucy in this film, because Lucy van Pelt is present only to wave goodbye to the group of exchange students. Schroeder the piano man and Pigpen the human dust storm are left behind on American soil.This film was a labor of love for Schultz, who passed through Normandy after D Day and at one point was billetted at a manor house which could have passed for the Chateau of the Bad Neighbor. This is the best peanuts gang movie. Even when the animation of the Charlie Brown movies isn't incredible ,all of them are very enjoyable and entertaining ,with the classic characters living a lot of new adventures .I think that the best of that movies is that all (at least those what I've seen ) respect the style of the original cartoon,being gentle and clever , and also respect the personalities of the characters ."Bon Voyage ,Charlie Brown (and Don't Come Back " )" follows that line ,and works very well from beginning to end . Peanuts has become a staple of American culture, so the jokes have a hard time coming across as fresh nowadays. I remember liking this one when I was younger, but I think I found it too complicated, in comparison to Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown. It's interesting to see Charlie Brown and Linus get involved with spooky mysterious things going on (similar to the Scooby-Doo format). This is one of Charlie Brown's best films.. Besides, the 6 best known characters of the Peanuts gang visit England and France, where they experience very different things than usual and live different types of adventures. For example, when Charlie Brown runs in despair in the "fire at the château" sequence. Also, the sequence when Charlie Brown's loaf of bread gets slammed into the car's hood is funny. How come so many unworthy films get released on DVD all the time (even if they weren't...!), while this gem doesn't see the light of day on DVD?I don't know (and never knew) its title in Portugal, but I wish I knew.. I remember as a kid watching this special several times, and taking to it as a fan of animation (and maybe as a casual Peanuts fan too) with plenty of interest. There are adults, they speak dialog on camera, and (this was a factor of interest) they speak French a good lot of the time; even Marcie speaks French, as in the traffic scene. The special has some mystery to it, as to the mysterious Château that Charlie Brown and Snoopy stay at in their stay in France, and lots of good jokes too mixed in with the suspense. Before the big finale comes around, with a fire sequence that, in its own way, is Schultz and team's closest equivalent to an action scene in one of the classic Disney films, there are also lots of funny, impressionable scenes for children interested. Maybe it was an off-key fascination, but the sequence with Snoopy and Woodstock getting their kicks at the French pub is fantastic, and I have a fond memory that gives me a grin of their vaudevillian playing off each other and the scenery. My personal favorite Charlie Brown movie. This is one of my personal favorite of the Peanuts Movies.What's cool about this one is Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the others get to go to England and France as Foreign exchange students.While Charlie Brown tries to find out who sent him a letter from France. And what connection does he have with that person.There's plenty of gags and at least one laugh in most of the scenes.The best part is when Snoopy goes to a bar and plays Table Soccer with WoodStock.It's a very good and a memorable Peanuts movie.Highly recommended to those who like the Peanuts a lot. Unlike the great PEANUTS classics RACE FOR YOUR LIFE CHARLIE BROWN and SNOOPY COME HOME, this PEANUTS outing is a little on the murky side. Due to a student exchange program Charlie Brown, Linus, Snoopy, stow-away Woodstock, peppermint Patty and Marcy are sent to Europe to go to school in France. Coincidentally, Charlie gets a letter from a little French girl who invites him to visit her familys château there. When Charlie and Linus head off to the château a little French boy named Pierre tells Marcy and Peppermint that a horrible Baron lives there who hates everyone, would never allow guests, and that if they attempt to stay there harm will come to them. This is not a Must Own PEANUTS collector (neither is the newer adventure ITS THE PIED PIPER CHARLIE BROWN....grown ups speak in that one too!....although my 5 year old actually prefers that one to this one.. In this movie, Charles Brown is going to Europe as an exchange student to represent his school. Fun Peanuts movie that has Charlie Brown going to France as a foreign exchange student, along with Linus, Peppermint Patty, and Marcie. There's also a subplot involving a mysterious letter Charlie Brown received back in the States from a little French girl. Not my favorite Peanuts film but a fun one nonetheless.. Charlie Brown and the Peanut Gang I grew up with them and still remain a fan even today. This film is just right for fans of the Peanut Gang. It still has the humor that the Peanut Gang is known for but also have a good character driven story this time The film's plot has Charlie Brown, Linus, Peppermint Patty, and Marcie travel to France as foreign exchange students. As the story unfold we soon learn there is more to the story than we are lead to believe but I'll keep the plot secret for you to see.The animation for this film is very smooth and very clean as you can always expect for Charlie Brown and Peanuts movie. Also this is one of the few films that allow the adults to be seen.The music is one of my favorite parts of this Peanuts film it is just perfectly done and it matches the story for the film. Seriously this film just does a lot of things right it should not be miss by a true fan of Snoopy, Charlie Brown and the Peanuts.With great animation, wonderful music and a character driven story you must see this film and whoever holds the rights please release this film on DVDI give Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (And Don't Come Back!) an 10 out of 10. the last Peanuts movie that Charles Schulz worked on. I did not like this one as much as A Boy Named Charlie Brown because it seemed to lack some of the Peanuts charm. Marcie, who up until now has pretty much been Peppermint Patty's whipping girl, actually has a bit of a "thing" with the French boy who is hosting the Peanuts characters in France. This movie had a lot of Linus being preachy and not enough of my favorite character Lucy, who is only seen at the beginning telling Charlie Brown that she hopes he doesn't come back. Some of the scenes were fun, but overall, this movie wasn't as good as the Peanuts efforts in the 1960s and the 1970s.. Peppermint Patty calls Charlie Brown to brag about being sent to Europe as a foreign exchange student with Marcie. To her dismay, Charlie Brown and Linus are also going. Charlie Brown receives a letter from Violette Honfleur inviting him to stay at the Château du Mal Voisin (The House of the Bad Neighbor). This was by far my favorite of the Charlie Brown and Peanuts movies. Most likely due to the fact I always love a good traveling movie and the more exotic the location the better. "Snoopy Come Home" was also rather good too, though that travel movie was on a smaller scope than this one was. This one has Charlie Brown, Linus, Peppermint Patty and Marcie all headed to France for reasons that I can not remember. I know Charlie was invited by some girl, but I can not remember why Peppermint Patty and Marcie went along. I do know they did not stay at the château along with Charlie Brown and Linus so perhaps they were just you normal exchange students. Snoopy and Woodstock also come along for the ride as well, and it is a good thing seeing as somehow Snoopy has the ability to drive cars and rent them as well. The movie moves at a good clip and for the most part it is very funny watching them on their travels. The movie is not quite as good once they arrive at their destination a mysterious château in France, but it is nice to see them try to uncover the mystery (even if in the end it is not all that exciting a mystery). It is nice to see the cast parred down a bit too, as to often you have to many of the Peanuts gang and the film suffers. I am not wild about Linus either, but he is Charlie Brown's best friend so it makes sense he come along for the ride. the second-best of the four feature Peanuts movies. Even though "Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and Don't Come Back!!)" makes some deviations and aberrations from the typical formula and style of the Peanuts macrocosm (some that die-hard fans might even define as perfidious), it nevertheless results as being the best of the four feature-length Peanuts movies right after the first one, "A Boy Named Charlie Brown." In the fourth and final movie, Charlie Brown and Linus are selected to take part in a student exchange program between the United States and Europe. As they leave the airport, their friends call out "Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown!" The ever-sarcastic but nevertheless lovable Lucy tacks on "And don't come back!" There are some new things that are done with "Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown." For example, adults, previously unseen and never given actual dialogue apart from the wa-wa-wa (produced by a hand being put into a trombone) are not only shown on-screen, but speak and some are characters in and of themselves. Secondly, this is the first time that I can think of where the Peanuts gang was ever put in real, serious peril where there wasn't some whimsical humor to keep everything light.Maybe that was part of what appealed to me here. The fact that Charles Schulz and Bill Melendez were willing to experiment and try new things, even if it meant breaking the conventions for the beloved Peanuts characters. As much as kids love Charlie Brown and Snoopy and their friends, Peanuts was nevertheless intended originally for adults only. Schulz's jokes are humorous and with dignity, the characters received their due, and the whimsical adventures with Snoopy and Woodstock never fail to make you grin.The animation is not as fluid and enthralling as it was in the first two Peanuts movies, but it is a step-up from the sketchy drawing in "Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown." The color palette used here is bright, rich with hues, and pretty to look at. Not since "2001: A Space Odyssey" has a dialogue-free docking scene been so absorbing.This is the second-best of the four Peanuts movies. Heed My Advice Charlie Brown and Don't Come Back!. The title is the best part of this third and final installment of the "Peanuts" set of films. This time most of the major characters only have token appearances as Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Peppermint Patty and company head to France as exchange students. A good year for film indeed :DThis is the 4th and last theatrically released movie based on Peanuts to date. The title just shouts different and that is what I love about the two other Peanuts movies (Snoopy, Come Home!! and Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown!!) Because it sounds so expressive and inviting. Bon Voyage Charlie Brown is not only my favourite Peanuts movie; it's one of my ALL-TIME favourite films!I guess the best place to start is the plot of the story. The opening starts in France at a local bar when a man (the Baron) with a cane comes out to his car and drives home to an old creepy looking château; we then see a girl in the château writing a letter. Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Woodstock, Linus, Marcie and Peppermint Patty (my favourite Peanuts character) are chosen to go to France for two weeks as foreign exchange students representing their schools. Marcie, having learnt a bit of French, reads the letter saying he has been invited to stay at a château called "home of the bad neighbour". The gang rents a car that Snoopy drives (of course, he can do everything!) Marcie and PP stay with a boy named Pierre and Charlie, Linus, Snoopy and Woodstock go to the château but strangely they cannot go inside and have a suspicion they were not invited by the Baron. Ed Bogus and Judy Munsen rock the soundtrack; one of my favourite scenes is when Judy Munsen sings the beautiful "I want to remember this" as the kids travel by train to Dover from Victoria Station in England, gazing upon the gorgeous landscapes and towns' only Europe has and Snoopy's interaction with an English cab driver is both funny and in my opinion, the best animated scene in the movie. Near the end of the movie the château is engulfed in flames with only Linus and Violette trapped inside and Snoopy is pulling an old fashioned fire hose across the river to the château and Woodstock is sprayed out and plays a violin while all this is going on! It's funny but strangely placed.In closing, Bon Voyage Charlie Brown is Peanuts animation at its best; with the exceptions of "She's A Good Skate, Charlie Brown," and the sequel to Bon Voyage "What Have We Learned, Charlie Brown." With American animated movies coming out today, with all its CGI, fast pace, celebrity casted, popular music and rhetoric writing, this film is a real breath of fresh air and an animation treasure. It takes them toooo long to get to France, plus once they get to France I had a feeling that the writer (I still can't believe it was Schultz) didn't know what to do once they got there.Peanuts is best made in 30 minute episodes, not 80 minute movies. Go home Charlie Brown, you are at your best there.

tt0276751

About a Boy

Will Freeman (Hugh Grant) is a 38-year-old bachelor who prides himself on being "cool". Thanks to royalties from a successful Christmas song that his father composed, Will does not need to work to maintain his leisurely lifestyle. He spends most of his free time smoking, watching television and reading about pop culture.The story begins when Will's friends Christine (Sharon Small) and John (Nicholas Hutchinson) give birth to their second child; when asked if he would be the child's godfather, Will bluntly refuses, insisting that he "really is that shallow". In an attempt to avoid spending time with Christine and John, he meets Angie (Isabel Brook), a single mother. After sharing a brief relationship with her, Will comes up with the idea of attending a single-parents group (SPAT - Single Parents Alone Together) to meet potential female partners. As part of his ploy, he invents a two-year-old son named Ned.At one of the single parents group meetings, Will meets Suzie (Victoria Smurfit) and attempts to court her. His pursuit of the single mother takes him to one of the group picnics where he meets Marcus (Nicholas Hoult), the son of one Suzie's friends. Marcus is a 12-year-old, introverted and eccentric boy with a depressed and suicidal mother, Fiona (Toni Collette). At the picnic, Marcus accidentally kills a duck with a stale loaf of bread while trying to feed it, and when a park keeper questions him about it, Will tries to pass it off (the duck) as already dead whilst trying to sink the body so as to not upset the children. When Suzie and Will return him back home, they find Fiona in the living room, overdosed on pills.After this incident, Marcus begins to be uncomfortable with staying at home, due to his mother's condition. He follows Will, and deduces that he is single, childless: essentially, the complete opposite of how he presented himself. He appears on Will's doorstep, trying to blackmail threaten Will into dating his mother, in hopes that Fiona will no longer be depressed if she has a boyfriend. This doesn't work, so Marcus just hangs out at Will's apartment after school, much to Will's initial dismay.After many afternoons of an apathetic limbo, Marcus is chased to Will's apartment by bullies, and Will begins to realize the importance of his presence in Marcus's life. He starts helping Marcus to fit into the modern adolescent world by taking him shopping to buy shoes. Unfortunately, these shoes only get stolen a few days later, causing a fight between Marcus, Fiona and Will.At school, Marcus becomes friends with a Goth girl called Ellie (Natalia Tena) and develops a crush on her. Will also develops a crush on someone, a single woman called Rachel (Rachel Weisz). Will pretends Marcus is his son in order to appear interesting to Rachel. At this point Marcus asks Will for clarification of the difference between a girl that's a friend, and a girlfriend. Will replies that it is all to do with sex. Marcus ponders this and decides that if he is able to be with Ellie often and tell her things, he doesn't care about the idea of sex. Will initially scoffs at this, but later remarks to himself "Yes, I wanted to touch Rachel. But at this moment, if I had the choice...I'd settle for the less and the more that Marcus wanted."Eventually Will reveals to Rachel that Marcus is not really his son, and the relationship ends. Marcus comes home from school one day to see his mother sitting on the couch crying. He attempts to unburden himself to Will, who is unreceptive as he is still upset about the breakup with Rachel. Will tells Marcus that he can't help him and the two have a fight. Marcus decides that the only way to help his mother is to sing at the school variety show - an act which Ellie deems "suicide". Will continues his superficial existence but realizes that it doesn't fulfill him the way it did before. He remarks "...there was only one thing that meant something to me: Marcus. He was the only thing that meant something to me. And Fiona was the only thing that meant something to him. And she was about to fall off the edge." Will crashes a SPAT meeting and implores Fiona not to commit suicide again. She assures him that she has no plans to do so in the immediate future. Fiona reveals that Marcus is going to sing at the school show and the two rush there to stop Marcus from committing social suicide. At the show, Will sees Rachel in the audience as her son is performing in the show. Will makes his way backstage in an attempt to stop Marcus from singing. Marcus is unswayed and says "My mum wants me to sing it. It'll make her happy." He then proceeds to sing a shrill, out of tune and piercing rendition of "Killing Me Softly". The audience of school children taunts him until Will comes onstage with guitar to accompany Marcus for the rest of the song. With Will's assistance, the school children accept Marcus' performance, giving him mild applause at the end. Seeing this, Will continues to perform an unnecessary solo, with the intent that the school children would remember the performance only for his involvement, and not Marcus'.The film ends at Christmas the next year. The festivities are at Will's place where Marcus, Rachel, Rachel's son Ali, Fiona and Ellie are present. "Every man is an island," Will remarks, an idea that he had adhered to religiously at the beginning of the film. "But clearly, some men are part of island chains. Below the surface of the ocean they're actually connected." The idea of Will marrying Rachel is brought up, and Marcus seems unenthusiastic. The film ends with Marcus's explanation of his reaction: "I don't know what Will was so upset about. All I meant was I don't think couples are the future. You need more than that. You need backup. The way I saw it, Will and I both had backup now. It's like that thing he told me Jon Bon Jovi said: "No man is an island."

comedy, realism, whimsical, dramatic, cute, flashback, feel-good, psychedelic, romantic, entertaining, storytelling

train

imdb

tt0061809

In Cold Blood

It is November 13, 1959. Perry Smith, a dwarfish, dreamy, soft-spoken man of Cherokee Indian and Dutch descent has been paroled from prison for the past few months. He's on a Greyhound Bus drifting from an unknown location to Kansas City and strumming his guitar. A little girl is fascinated by his strumming, but after he spots her, she walks away. He is to meet up with an old prison buddy, Willie Jay. But he's also expecting to meet with Dick Hickock, another former prison buddy from the local area that had written him a letter about a "perfect score" they could make in western Kansas and that he will meet him at the bus terminal.Dick Hickock is a charming young man from a simple farm family that own a small tract of land and live just outside of Olathe, Kansas, a suburb of Kansas City. His father is ill and dying of cancer. He informs his father that is coughing badly outside the outhouse that he will get them a better place. With his rifle in the backseat of his 1949 Chevrolet, he is ready to pick up Perry and begin his journey.At the Greyhound terminal in Kansas City, Perry phones the prison chaplain, Reverend James Post, inquiring about his friend Willie Jay. Perry is upset that he has not yet been released from prison and the chaplain warns him not to set foot into Kansas, since his parole has a condition that he is not to do so.Out in western Kansas in the town of Holcomb, near Garden City, we are introduced of a prosperous farmer by the name of Herbert Clutter and his family. He is a healthy, vigorous, kindly, yet straitlaced man of 48 years of age that has never used tobacco, alcohol, or caffeine in his life and having a glass of milk for breakfast. His beautiful and sweet 16 year old daughter gives him a morning kiss informing him of her busy day ahead and he finds his 15 year old son Kenyon down in the basement, who is sneaking a smoke and painting a box for his older sister's wedding. Herbert smells the smoke and pretends he doesn't know Kenyon is doing it, but knows and dismisses it. Herbert's wife Bonnie is an ailing and frail woman suffering psychosomatic illness and bedridden much of the time.Back at the Kansas City bus terminal, Perry is in the washroom treating his badly scarred knee that he got years ago from a motorcycle accident. Afterwards, he looks in the mirror and imagines himself performing in Las Vegas in a nightclub with empty chairs, but then Dick notices him and gets him out of his trance. They leave the terminal.Dick and Perry are on Interstate 670 entering Kansas. Perry has now broken parole entering Kansas. Dick informs him of the "perfect score" about a rich farmer in western Kansas named Herbert Clutter that he was tipped off on by a former prison buddy, Floyd Wells. He was told that Clutter had a safe with probably 10,000 dollars in it and that they could rob it and leave no witnesses, killing everybody in sight. We get to know these two people, Perry, a quiet, introspective, dreamy, but unstable young man and Dick, less intellectual, but more masculine and practical. Dick assures Perry that it was okay he didn't meet up with Willie Jay, because he is "a flaming faggot".Perry and Dick stop at a hardware store in Emporia purchasing duct tape, rubber gloves, and nylon rope for their victims. At the checkout stand, Dick steals a package of razor blades. They regret not having purchased nylon stockings, but Perry said maybe they could go to a Catholic church and get them after seeing nuns. Dick jokes and says, "yeah, we'll just go barge in like it was a five and dime store".On the trip we simultaneously see the everyday life of the Clutter family and Perry and Dick traveling. Herbert is writing a check to an insurance salesman for 40,000 in case anything happens to him and they have a television repairman come. Perry and Dick stop at a hamburger stand, Perry dreams of his childhood growing up with his Dutch father and Cherokee mother having rodeos all over the southwest, and they arrive in Garden City and stop at a Fina gas station to refuel. Perry is in the washroom gobbling aspirin and wincing from the pain in his leg and Dick steals some snacks at the counter while his car is being fueled. The Clutter family is about to go to bed and soon afterwards, Perry and Dick arrive at the Clutter house in Holcomb. Perry said they should split and not do this, but Dick talks him into it. They are both slightly drunk.The next morning, a friend of Nancy's and her parents are repeatedly ringing the doorbell at the Clutter home, but nobody answers. They cautiously enter the home. The girls father finds a severed phone cord and the girl is screaming. Afterwards, police cars and ambulances arrive at the Clutter home to take away the bodies. The postmistress, Sadie Truitt, is surprised at what's going on.Perry is asleep at a hotel in Olathe and Dick is at his parents modest home eating. He asks his father what happened to the basketball game and told it got interrupted because of a murder that happened in Garden City that's on the news. Dick jokes and declares he's never been so hungry in his life.Agent Alvin Dewey has been in charge of the case and is a local resident. He and another agent, Roy Church, have been dispatched to investigate the scene. They are trying to recover fingerprints and Dewey can't find a clue as to why they have been robbed, because Herbert Clutter never kept large sums of cash on him and did everything by check. They are later at the courthouse in Garden City seeing a slide show of bloody footprints seen of two different kinds of shoes and Dewey informs the men that the press do not get the information. After reviewing the slideshow, Dewey insists he will give only facts, mainly that Herbert Clutter's throat was cut and that the women were not molested. He meets up with a stern, but friendly and easygoing reporter, Bill Jensen, supposedly Truman Capote's alter ego. They converse alone in the courtroom and can't figure out the case, but Dewey informs him the two older daughters will get the insurance, even though it was written the same night of the murder. Agent Church is at the Clutter home with the housekeeper and she discovers that Kenyon's radio is missing.Back at the Olathe hotel, Perry and Dick are listening to the investigation on Kenyon's radio. Perry is disgusted that Dick's prison buddy Floyd Wells lied to him about the money and feels that the story is not true about no clues as to who did the crime. Dick tells him to quit worrying, even though he's a witness.Prisoner Floyd Wells hears the report of the Clutter murders on the radio and is surprised at the 1,000 dollar reward for anybody that has any clue of them. But still the agents have no clue of it. Yet somehow they knew that over 40 dollars in cash was stolen.Meanwhile about two days later, Perry and Dick are shopping in Kansas City. Dick plans to write a lot of hot checks for a fitted suit for Perry, whom he says is about to get married, an expensive ring, camera, and a television set. Afterwards they leave and are on their way to Mexico to never come back, hoping to score there.The investigation continues with men dragging a river near the Clutter home to search for the murder weapon. No success. Dewey and Agent Clarence Duntz go back to the Clutter home and find a man staying there they believe to be a suspect, but instead he turns out to be an escaped mental patient occupying the place.Dewey and Bill Jensen meet at Hartman's Cafe, a small restaurant in Holcomb managed by Bess Hartman, a sassy, no-nonsense woman. Dewey receives an immediate phone call there from Harold Nye, another agent assigned to the case, with a phone call from Lansing, Kansas from Logan Sanford, head of Kansas Bureau of Investigation. There is a confession from Floyd Wells, Dick Hickcok's former cellmate about Floyd being a former hired man for Clutter and how he told Dick about Clutter's place and all the money and a safe that he had and that Dick wanted to rob the place. He explains how Dick was obsessed with the Clutter home, but never took him seriously. Sanford insists on a pickup for parole violation for Hickock and that he's also wanted for passing hot checks.Perry and Dick cross the border from Laredo, Texas into Mexico, believing they are now safe and sound and off to live the good life.Somewhere in Nevada in an auto junkyard with a decrepit trailer, Agents Dewey and Church meet with Tex Smith, a man nicknamed "The Lone Wolf" a reclusive, eccentric, yet courteous 60-ish man that is the father of Perry. They inquire of Perry's whereabouts and if he's seen him, but he says he has not seen Perry since his stint in prison, but they do the math and realize he hasn't seen Perry in years. Smith does most of the talking about Perry's background that he feels he learned his lesson and always taught his kids to be truthful, enterprising, sober, and independent, but that his wife that was a Cherokee Indian that took to drunkenness, sleeping with young men, and the kids living with that and that he put a stop to it. Also telling them of the story when Perry joined him in Alaska after getting out of the Army to prospect gold and building a lodge. The agents find the interview pointless in getting Perry captured and leave.Perry and Dick are living in a decrepit motel somewhere in Mexico. Perry believes that if they sell the car and buy some deep sea diving gear, they can get the buried treasures in the Yucatan Peninsula to get the Cortez jackpot. However, Dick being practical and realistic tells Perry to forget about it and that he's selling his car for $120 to pay their hotel bill, bar, food, and get a bus ticket to Barstow, California. Much to Perry's extreme disappointment, Dick tells him to knock it off, stop dreaming, and that it's all made up.Dewey and Bill Jensen are back at the Clutter home still trying to find out the motive of the murders. Even with a newspaper article written about how such an incident could happen months before, they still can't figure it out. But Dewey insists that once they are found, they'll hang.Dick is enjoying himself at the hotel with a prostitute, while Perry is packing his belongings. Perry takes a glimpse of the prostitute and she reminds him of his own mother. He has flashbacks of his mother sleeping with a younger man and drunk while he and his siblings look on. His father catches his mother in the act throwing the man out, slapping her bare back with a belt, and pouring her alcohol all over her back. It's made evident Perry had a very traumatic and unhappy childhood, despite his love and devotion for both of his parents and siblings.Perry and Dick are somewhere in the California desert hitching a ride. Dick comes up with a plan that Perry sit in the backseat and when Dick asks him to pass him a match, Perry take his belt to garrotte the driver and rob him. An elderly man in a jeep stops, but then drives away and changes his mind. Then Rosey Grier, a black football star of the New York Giants and a friend of his offer them a ride in his pink Cadillac, but they refuse. They end up taking a ride with a traveling salesman they form a friendly relationship with. Dick asks Perry to pass him a match, but just as Perry is about to garrotte the salesman, the man stops the car to pick up a soldier hitchhiking for Christmas.Agent Harold Nye is at the homestead of Walter Hickock, father of Dick, and discovers a 12 gauge shotgun he suspects is the murder weapon. Mr. Hickock tells the man he can't understand how Dick would ever commit such a crime and tells the detective about Dick's history that he's still a good man despite what has happened, but the detective seems disinterested at the testimony and takes the weapon.Perry and Dick end up at a barn in a farmhouse somewhere in Iowa and discover a Pontiac convertible with the keys in it and steal the car. Afterwards, they decide to pass a lot of hot checks in Kansas City and swap license plates to avoid detection. Agent Duntz is in Kansas City and got a report of them buying two tires with a hot check at an auto parts store from a worried clerk and tells Dewey about it. They intend to meet Perry and Dick at the Hickock farm. Duntz is going to meet them at the Hickock farm. Perry and Dick are just about to cross into Kansas through a toll booth, but detect a police car. Perry turns the steering wheel around and he and Dick and go back before approaching the toll booth.Back in Garden City, Alvin Dewey is studying a map of Kansas about their possible travel route, then telephoned that Perry and Dick have eluded detection. He can't figure out why they came back to Kansas, otherwise.Somewhere in the desert southwest, Perry and Dick pick up a boy and his grandfather. Dick is reluctant, but Perry insists on doing it. They go through it and the boy tells them if they pick up a bunch of old soda bottles, they can make some money. They end up picking up numerous bottles. By the time they drop off the boy and his grandfather in Las Vegas, they make over six dollars from it. Perry and Dick are in good spirits and want to gamble the five dollars. Perry picks up his belongings from the local post office he has picked up from Mexico. Before they can go to the casinos, they are arrested by local police.Perry and Dick are in the Las Vegas jail and informed they have visitors. Church and Nye are interviewing Hickock and Dewey and Duntz and interviewing Smith. They are initially believed to think they are being charged with passing a series of hot checks and driving a stolen vehicle, but subconsciously realize they are being investigated about the Clutter murders. Both of them are in separate interrogation rooms making up a story that Perry was to go to Fort Scott to get money from his sister, but it turned out she moved, then they slept with a couple of prostitutes in Kansas City that they don't remember the names of. After Dick is inquired about the Clutter murder case, he flies off the handle. But they know Dick is lying about going to Fort Scott because Perry's sister never lived there and the post office is closed Saturday. Perry is told directly by Duntz directly he killed the Clutter family that day. Dick feels they are putting him on, but after they show him proof of the footprints, he spills the beans and admits Perry did all the killing. Dick faints afterwards.The next day, Perry and Dick are taken from the Las Vegas jail to Garden City, Kansas. Perry tells Alvin Dewey the story of what happened that night. Flashback to November 14, they reluctantly entered the house and did not find the safe, took Herbert Clutter and his son Kenyon down to the basement, with Nancy and the mother upstairs tied up. After a lot of frustration and finding only a small sum of cash, Perry's legs are hurting him and he has a flashback of his father pulling a gun on him saying "I'm the last living thing you're ever going to see". He cut Herbert Clutter's throat, then shot him, then Kenyon, Bonnie, and Nancy Clutter. Perry concludes that his murder of the Clutter's was not personal, he just did it and thought Herbert Clutter was a very nice man.The next day, they arrive in Garden City, Kansas at the courthouse and both are jailed. Sometime later, their court case is presented by the prosecutor as a motive simply for money and that they need the death penalty, because life imprisonment would mean possible parole in 7 years. He also quotes The Ten Commandments "Thou Shalt Not Kill". Per Bill Jensen, the jury declared the death penalty.Perry and Dick are taken to Lansing, Kansas to the death row section. They spend the next five years there living a mundane life entirely of sitting in their cell with a weekly shower and only reading and writing material to keep themselves occupied outside their own thoughts. Bill Jensen narrates about the mundane life on death row before execution and that neither one of them would have ever done the crime alone, but together, they formed a third personality, which is the one that did it. Perry spends most of his time painting portraits and Dick doing research about his rights to not be executed. Three times their case went to the Supreme Court and were rejected.After a little over five years of waiting, Perry and Dick are executed by hanging on April 14, 1965 at the gallows nearby. Dick is the first one and makes a final testimony that he has no hard feelings and is being taken to a better place. During Dick's execution, Perry and Reverend James Post, whom he talked to on the phone at the bus terminal, is present. Perry tells the chaplain about the story of he and his father in Alaska prospecting and building a lodge, but it was a complete failure and not a single client ever came and over time when food was running low, Perry's father got cross and blamed him for being greedy when he was eating a biscuit. They got in a fight and he pulled a gun on Perry saying "I'm the last living thing you're ever going to see", from the vision he had before killing the Clutter's. Perry declares he hates his father, but loves him as well.Dick has now died from hanging and cut down. Bill Jensen declares to a young reporter that the hangings are not solving anything except three families broken up and more speeches from politicians and everyone passing the buck. Perry is brought over in a police car to be hanged. Right after being brought up to the gallows and before hanging, he envisions the leathery and impersonal hangman looking like his father. The trap door opens and Perry is hanged.

suspenseful, murder, flashback

train

imdb

Based on Truman Capote's best-selling book, and with B&W lighting comparable to the best 1940's noir films, "In Cold Blood" presents a terrifying story, especially in that first Act, as the plot takes place largely at night and on rain drenched country roads. The film's final twenty minutes are mesmerizing, as the rain falls, the rope tightens, and all we hear is the pounding of a beating heart.Even with its somewhat mundane middle Act, "In Cold Blood" stages in riveting detail a real-life story that still hypnotizes, nearly half a century later. Veteran writer/director Richard Brooks (ELMER GANTRY) adapted Truman Capote's non-fiction book into a chilling docudrama that retains a disturbing power even today, thirty-five years later.Robert Blake and Scott Wilson portray Perry Smith and Dick Hickock, two ex-cons who, on a tip from Hicock's old cellmate Floyd Wells, broke into the Holcomb, Kansas home of Herbert Clutter, looking for a wall safe supposedly containing $10,000. In a tactic that is both faithful to Capote's book and a good artistic gambit all around, Brooks does not show the murders at the beginning; instead, he shows the two killers pulling up to the Clutter house as the last light goes out, then cuts to the next morning and the horrifying discovery of the bodies. The shotgun blasts and the horrified look on the Clutters' faces as they know they are about to die are more than disturbing enough, so there is no need to resort to explicitly bloody slasher-film violence.Brooks wisely filmed IN COLD BLOOD in stark black-and-white, and the results are excellent thanks to Conrad Hall's expertise. Remarkable, disturbing film about the true-life, senseless, brutal murder of a small-town family, along with the aftermath, and examination of the lives of the killers, Dick Hickok and Perry Smith.No matter how much time goes by, or how dated this film may look, it still resonates the utter incomprehensibility of criminal acts such as this.This really traces multiple tragedies: The tragedy, brutality and senselessness of the murder of the Clutter family, a decent farm family in small-town Holcomb, Kansas; and the wasted, brutal and sad lives of Hickok and Smith.An interesting point is made in the film: that neither of these two immature, scared, petty criminals would have ever contemplated going through with something like this alone. (Dick: "Don't worry baby; we left no living witnesses." Perry, staring at Dick: "I know one.") Of all the great performances in the film, my favorite is John Forsythe as the KBI detective who grows weary from contemplating the evil minds behind the murders of his Kansas neighbors, the Clutters. A close second among the great performances is Scott Wilson, who makes Dick a charming loser going nowhere in life, unable and unwilling to civilize himself to live in society.Certainly this is one of the ten best movies ever made, and the best of all the "True Crime" movies. Because the book is a species of journalism, uncompromisingly anchored in fact, the film cannot help but follow suit, with the added burden that it must faithfully represent on the screen real persons, places and events.The mean lives of Dick Hickock and Perry Smith are documented in stark monochrome. Combined with the cracker-jack direction from Brooks and superb editing in the early scenes (where we see the mundane daily life of the innocent family about to be senselessly slaughtered beautifully intertwined with the plotting of the two hapless killers), a rich brooding atmosphere is created that sets the stage for riveting suspense (even when everyone knows how this is all going to end due to the fact its all based on real life events). It's also great to see in this day and age how brilliantly staged a harrowing murder scene can be depicted where the graphic nature of the act is transmitted to the viewer subliminally with nary a drop of blood shown on screen.The film is also anchored nicely by Robert Blake's eerie performance as the more sympathetic yet senselessly brutal side of the killing duo. I dare you to erase from your mind the stark image of the rain's reflection from the window flowing down Robert Blake's pallid face in lieu of actual tears.The only thing hampering "In Cold Blood" is the slow moving middle act where the killers are on the lam and the forced nature of the social commentary at the end. This movie is just as haunting today as it was in 1968.I have seen In Cold Blood many times and will probably see it many more times.........one of my favorite movies of all time............When Robert Blake was going through the trial of the murder of his wife, I could not help but think about his role in this movie........... I just saw this film again and it's still a masterpiece after almost 40 years.Robert Blake and Scott Wilson in their greatest on-screen performances as two cold-blooded killers who slaughtered a family of 4 for a mere 40 dollars. There are no heroics or wild police chases, just a realistic look at the crime, the capture, and the executions which inspired the award winning novel by Truman Capote, In Cold Blood.The murders of the family are the most brutal in film-history, yet avoids the blood-bath so common in today's pictures. Richard Brooks excellent 1967 film of Truman Capote's novel IN COLD BLOOD is a perfect companion piece to Philip Seymour Hoffman's Oscar winning performance in the 2005 CAPOTE. Tremendous black--and-white nighttime cinematography, and plenty of it, highlights this supposedly-true life account of a 1950s murder in Kansas in which an entire family was wiped out by two men.The story was written by Truman Capote, so you get the very Liberal anti-death penalty message at the end of the film, which is ludicrous knowing the facts of this case. Sure the direction is sleek but I couldn't help feeling some of the sermons of the movie's conclusion would have been at home in a horrible delinquent movie like "The Violent Years".Still, this movie is a perfectly good filming of the book and one of the earliest American examples of the kind of cinematic thinking that made so many great movies in the 1970s.. True story of a homespun family from Holcomb, Kansas murdered in their home late one night by a pair of two-bit hoods is cannily put together, brilliantly photographed (by Oscar-nominated Conrad Hall) and edited with sly precision, but director-screenwriter Brooks can't avoid an old-fashioned kind of finger-wagging (with Bible quotes in the courtroom); he pummels away at the sordidness inherent in the exposition, yet allows the criminals to emote and sound off, become "human", barely avoiding the literary, built-in apologia for their behavior (they were thrown away by society). The performances are all good, and Brooks is deft at skidding along the edges of 1967 permissiveness, but there's something about dramatizing this case which doesn't quite work (neither here nor in Capote's book): by giving so much time to the killers, probing their minds and so forth, too much depth and character is attributed to two soulless murderers. As most viewers know, this movie is based on Truman Capote's book about the famous murder of a Kansas farm family (the Clutters) by a couple of young guys during a misguided robbery. With the recent release of the movie "Capote" based on Truman Capote, who was the creator of the documentary "In Cold Blood", the American people have cultivated a new found fascination with this film!! The omission of "In Cold Blood" in 1967 as one of the five Best Picture nominees is one of those inexplicable instances, especially when one of the nominations that year went to the wretched and unwatchable "Dr. Dolittle." While only an insomniac or masochist would tune in to that Rex Harrison disaster, Richard Brook's powerful adaptation of Truman Capotes non-fiction novel retains its ability to capture the viewer's attention and leave him or her completely drained by the final fade out. As a child star, Blake sold the lottery ticket to Bogart in that John Huston film.) The film, like the book, is definitely slanted towards the killers and has an anti-capital punishment tilt, although the remorselessness of the murderers somewhat negates that sentiment despite the difficult-to-watch final scenes. Some have criticized the film because it does focus on the criminals, their backgrounds, and lives, while the Clutter family, which was literally murdered in cold blood in the middle of the night, come across as one-dimensional characters of little import. Based on Truman Capote's classic 1966 book, "In Cold Blood" recounts the murders of the Clutter family in rural Kansas at the hands of two deluded ex-cons who flee as fugitives across the country.Capote's "In Cold Blood" is among my favorite books, and Richard Brooks's film adaptation is a mostly-faithful adaptation that captures the calculated, cold sensibility of the source material. Like the book, it shifts narrative perspective intermittently, traversing past and present from the perspectives of the killers and their helpless victims.The cinematography is documentarian in style, and the fact that Brooks chose to shoot the film at the actual locations (including the real "murder house") gives the film an even more disturbing veneer to privy audiences. Robert Blake and Scott Wilson turn in two enormously effective performances as the lead antiheroes, and the film's last scenes rival Susan Hayward's harrowing turn in "I Want to Live!"As far as crime films go (true or not), "In Cold Blood" is a masterwork of the genre. Based on actual events chronicled in novelist Truman Capote's striking novel, "In Cold Blood" ends up being one of those deep experiences that asks its audience to think, examine and question various topics that are prevalent in law and order throughout this land. As Richard Hickock, Scott Wilson is no less fine.Like Capote's book, the film opens with Smith and Hickock as they travel to Kansas and brings them to the Clutter home--only to suddenly flash past the crime to detail the investigation that finally resulted in their arrest and conviction. Based on the actual murders of a Kansas family, I nevertheless found the story to be plodding and the acting (aside from Robert Blake and Scott Wilson, who I thought were all right as the killers) to be quite lacking in either emotion or intensity. Capote persuaded him to film the movie in black and white, much like "Psycho." He also literally "moved heaven and earth" to have the Clutter house (the scene of the murders) used. The essential facts in the case don't amount to anything terribly convoluted: Perry Smith and Dick Hickock (here played by Robert Blake and Scott Wilson respectively) met by some luck, conspired to rob a man's farmhouse safe out in Kansas, and after killing a family of four with a shotgun and dagger came away with 43 dollars. These aren't good people, but they aren't necessarily monsters either, at least all the way through.It's also an excellent 'road-movie' as we see Smith and Hickcock on the road down to the Clutter residence (the actual night-time scene of the crime taking place late in the film), then on to Mexico, then back to America towards Las Vegas. And we see Hickcock is this creature of slick confidence (i.e. getting the suit and other things with bad checks), but without any deep-rooted explanation to it all.The streak of fatalism in In Cold Blood is some of the starkest of the 60s, and it's the luck of Brooks to have its stars as Blake in his top-of-the-pops performance (this and Lost Highway, oddly enough considering his real life saga in recent years, his quintessential pieces of work), and Wilson's breakthrough before becoming a character actor. The movie does sentimentalize the Clutter family a bit (especially in Quincy Jones' otherwise superb scoring), and there's a touch of grandstanding about capital punishment toward the end that screams "message." But it's a brilliant, matter-of-fact staging, aided by Conrad Hall's suitably sharp, bleak, moody black-and-white cinematography. "In Cold Blood", adapted by director Richard Brooks from Truman Capote's famous novel, deals with the brutal and senseless murder of a family of four by a pair of hapless criminals. The film excels as a character study of the killers, particularly trigger-man Perry Smith (Robert Blake).The cast includes few recognizable names but they nevertheless bring the story to life with ease. Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood" came back to people's attention with the release of Bennett Miller's "Capote", depicting the author's research into the Clutter murders and subsequent infatuation with Perry Smith (widely considered the first time that a book about a heinous crime essentially made a celebrity out of the perpetrator). Robert Blake and the recently deceased Scott Wilson - nowadays recognizable from "The Walking Dead" - depict Perry Smith and Dick Hickock as a pair of men who feel like they have no other hope in the world, so they pull off their infamous crime.The characters say and do things that must've been shocking for viewers at the time. Haunting Quincy Jones musical score and terrific acting by Scott Wilson and Robert Blake as Dick and Perry, the killers. The viewer will invariable perceive Dick as being more unstable, immature, and generally feel like Perry would not have been pulled into this nightmare but for Dick and his need to be somebody and pull off a big score.Based on a true story with particular attention to accuracy, In Cold Blood depicts the story behind the brutal and senseless murder of a rural Kansas family one cold, windy night, because Dick has bought into an age-old rural myth about prosperous farmers having a safe full of cash in their home. Perry Smith (Robert Black) and Dick Hickock (Scott Wilson) murder the Clutter family in Kansas in 1959.In Cold Blood is just about flawless. Scott Wilson and Robert Blake portray the two twisted young men responsible for the awful carnage that took place in the Clutter home that night and the film details their journey from the day of Perry Smith's parole to their judgment day some six years later. 'In Cold Blood' is a film written and directed by Richard Brooks whose story is based on the non-fiction novel of the same name written by Truman Capote. The story involves two ex-convicts Perry Smith and Richard 'Dick' Hickock played by Robert Blake and Scott Wilson respectively. Even today, nearly 50 years later, this is certainly one unique film-experience that still holds up very well.Impressively filmed in a semi-documentary style, In Cold Blood tells the true-life story of 2 young men who senselessly murder the Clutter family for a large sum of money that was supposed to be hidden in a safe in their Kansas farmhouse.Masterfully directed by Richard Brooks, this compelling picture was based on Truman Capote's book of the same name. And for its meticulous attention to detail, the film was shot in the same Clutter house and the actors Perry Blake and Scott Wilson bear uncanny resemblance with the actual killers, "In Cold Blood" is a cold and bold take on banal horror with strong sociological resonance. The story of the Clutter family murders (at the hands of two ex- convicts, Perry Smith and Dick Hickock) in 1959 has become reasonably well- known in recent years, thanks to two unrelated but basically identical Hollywood features dealing with Capote's experiences in writing the novel – 'Capote (2005)' and 'Infamous (2006).' The first film to depict the crime, however, was Richard Brooks' 'In Cold Blood (1967),' which sticks rigidly close to the source material and is all the better for it.Conrad Hall's stark, oppressive black-and-white cinematography forcefully pounds the documentary-like authenticity of the film, which, even so, is occasionally punctured by surreal flashbacks and fantasies that offer in a window into the killers' states of mind. Brooks' film, while keeping the crime investigators and Holcomb townsfolk in relative anonymity, is at its most blisteringly intense when Perry and Dick are on screen, and the performances by Robert Blake and Scott Wilson (dead- ringers for their real-life counterparts) are perfectly and painfully nuanced.In some ways, Capote's richly-detailed brand of journalism works slightly better in print than on screen (and, indeed, Paul Stewart's reporter character is introduced in the final act purely as a cipher for the author's brilliant prose). IN COLD BLOOD has to be ranked as first-rate movie-making, even if the subject matter is about as grim as it gets in the world of make-believe, but film noir fans should definitely find this one a gripping piece of work, based as it is on a true-life crime spree.It opens with Quincy Jones' music under the credits and starkly dramatic views of a highway bus heading toward Kansas City, effectively setting the mood of the film even before the credits end. The performances from everyone came across as natural thus transforming their characters to a near life-like state.This film is about a pair of ex-cons named Perry Smith (Robert Blake) and Dick Hickock (Scott Wilson) who are meeting in Kansas, thus breaking the terms of their parole. In Cold Blood (1967) *** 1/2 (out of 4) Film based on the book by Truman Capote about two cons (Robert Blake & Scott Wilson) who murder a family of four thinking that there's money in their house. Death comes calling twice over in this grim, gripping depiction of the real-life murder of a Kansas farm family and the subsequent arrest and prosecution of their murderers.At its core, "In Cold Blood" is a powerful argument against capital punishment, suggesting that society is no less depraved than killers Perry Smith (Robert Blake) and Dick Hickock (Scott Wilson). Richard Brooks directed this adaptation of the Truman Capote book that stars Robert Blake & Scott Wilson as Perry Smith & Dick Hickock, two ex-cons and current drifters who mastermind a burglary of the Kansas home of Herbert Clutter, whom they believe has a wall safe with $10,000 in it(they are mistaken).

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The Caller

When troubled divorcee Mary Kee sets up home in her new apartment, she stumbles across an old telephone which she quickly falls in love with. Struck by its antique charm, she gives it a place of pride in her home. Before long, Mary begins to receive strange phone calls from a mysterious, unknown caller. Over time, she discovers that the caller is a woman named Rose, and the two strike up an unlikely friendship. However, when Rose claims to be calling from the past, Mary begins to question her new friend's motives. As Rose's phone calls become ever more disturbing, Mary's sense of terror escalates. Feeling haunted in her own home, she cuts all contact with Rose. Enraged by Mary's betrayal, Rose threatens to exact her terrible revenge. Not on Mary in the present but on Mary as a child in the past. Mary finally realizes that she will have to kill Rose in order to save herself. But how can she kill someone living in the past? She fails. Rose pours hot grease on the young Mary Kee causing the adult Mary Kee to wretch with her new burn scars. After this Mary Kee tries to kill Rose by inviting her to a birthday party at a bowling alley she knew would catch fire and burn, killing all in it. Rose misses the bus and the plan fails, so Rose has the young Mary talk to the adult Mary on a day that the old Rose attempted to barge in and kill her. Mary coaches the young Mary to break a mirror and use the shards to kill Rose, thus ending the attack and the calls, but Mary's abusive husband, Steven reappears, she asks him to leave or he may be sorry, as he denies to go Mary kills him.

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I saw this at Cinequest in San Jose, in the gorgeous California Theater, but this movie would look good in the homeliest cineplex. This is the rarest of thrillers: one that makes its impact through careful character studies and a refusal to give up its secrets. Frank Langella gives a sterling performance as the corporate whistle-blower marked for death, subtle and surprising in its emotional power. Elliott Gould isn't quite as effective as a private detective/birder, but he is very watchable as he watches his subjects, both human and avian. "The Caller" actually looks more like a fine French drama, in its attention to detail and the deft use of its child actors. Definitely worth watching!. An interesting film to contemplate. This was really quite a good movie, but not necessarily one for "consumers" of movies not accustomed to dialog between characters, or those who expect the meaning to reside primarily in the plot. In this film, the minute details of who is trying to kill the protagonist and exactly why, is purposely left vague. This is a character study, and examines the fundamental truth, that each of us is isolated in the universal moments of their life, such as death. Simply sharing that moment with someone, confirms the profound meaning of the human connection. I also appreciate that this film presents mature actors in an way that does not reduce them to stereotype. Other cultures, still portray a broad spectrum of characters in their films, allowing different age groups and generations to interact in meaningful ways. It's refreshing to see this in an American film.In summing up, I think this movie has more meaning for those more than half-way through their journey in life.. " If at the end of your life, you find yourself waiting, you've lived a good life ". I have watched the film life of Frank Langella beginning with 'The Twelve Chairs' back in the 70s'. The film is entitled " The Caller." If you are expecting a lot of action, thrills or explosive drama, this is not one of them. Instead, what one sees is the story of an aged Executive who has seen enough corporate destruction to fill his conscience and like most humanitarians, wants to atone for his part. Langella plays Jimmy Stevens an ex-CEO of a multi-Billion dollar corporation which continues to destroy 3rd world countries without remorse. Planting the seeds of failure within the corporation, Stevens knows he will be marked for death. Realizing he has become a target, Jimmy hires private investigator Frank Turlotte (Elliott Gould) to be a witness during his last days. The movie becomes a death watch for a man who has learned in his youth, that death, even when slow in arriving, is death none-the-less and there is nothing to do but wait and reminisce. Touching in its inception, the film is a remarkable heartfelt legacy of humanity realizing its own destruction. This film will no doubt become a milestone for Langella which will culminate in becoming a Classic. This film is not about corporate scandal, suspense or mystery; all those elements were simply the vehicle to get to the point: Death & how one deals with inevitable death. The story is extremely contrived and overly elaborate, which became dull and frustrating because every single character, item or action is just a device to metaphor.At the end, the plot really isn't important nor the characters because the film intentionally presents every one as a wooden puppet without the slightest emotion or expression (The golden rule of filming art: do not smile, remain expressionless, and add bleak).It ends as you expect it to: The same death metaphor and the same dreadful indictment against the capitalistic brutalities in every other film.. The plot has many elements that are similar to The Conversation but they are much more direct. I believe this allowed the characters to be more compelling as the viewer's brain isn't constantly spinning in an effort to solve the puzzle. Like most of the characters you'll probably know how things are going to end early on. Usually I would be disappointed in a movie that I knew the outcome only minutes after it began but the strong performances allowed me to attach myself to theme of the finite nature of our existence. I would've liked to have seen Laura Harring's character introduced sooner and the relationship further developed but I understand that not being much to it was the point.That is all pretty general but if you like these movies and or performances I think that you'll enjoy The Caller.As previously stated The Conversation has many similar elements. Elliot Gould is every bit the equal of Gene Hackman, although I doubt any of the young male actors become Harrison Ford.The Fall has a similarly age mismatched relationship with a precocious young girl struggling to come to terms with very adult issues.Frank Langella's performance reminded me of a less menacing Laurence Olivier in Marathon Man. Maybe it was the WWII age character roaming around NYC? I also found a connection between the mother and Yoda but I don't necessarily think this is for Star Wars fans. I throughly enjoyed each of those movies and feel that The Caller can easily be mentioned in the same breath with any of them.. A Good Film, but Very Slow. Don't walk in to "The Caller" expecting any explosions or nudity, because you won't get it. (In fact I believe only one gunshot is used in the film).Frank Langella and Elliot Gould, arguably two of Hollywood's most underrated, star in this sleeper thriller that follows Jimmy Stevens (Langella), an energy analyst who had recently sent out damaging information to his company via e-mail. He realizes that he will most likely be executed because of it and he has a Private Detective (Gould) follow him on what will most likely be his last days, the Detective unaware that the man who hired him and the man who he's tailing are the same.I liked "The Caller", but it ran a bit slow. Langella and Gould have two of the most relaxing voices and demeanors on the planet (at least to me) so their many scenes of dialog were almost fascinating. But the lack of almost any action will probably ward off any Die Hard or Rambo fan. Use "Public Enemies" for an example; a fine film that may talk too much and not thrill enough.The central theme of the film seems to be death, and it is represented very well in the flashbacks of Langella's character. He is a haunted man who is ready to meet his maker, and ready to end it by outing the company he works for. Langella and Gould are perfect for their roles."The Caller" is a very good film if you are in a thinking mood, but not if you are ready for any amount of action. I always think to myself , 'if I can bear to watch a movie 5 times or more then it's not so bad', and this movie was for me extremely watchable but mainly because of the great actors involved, Frank Langella and Elliott Gould. I suppose if it had been made with lesser talent, a contrived story like this would have been hard to take, but it is interesting how the two men come together after 60 plus years, in order for both to seek closure from a destroyed childhood in Nazi occupied France.It's as mysterious and compelling as any other drama I've seen of this sort. Laura Harring, who plays Langella's lover, is one of the most sensuous actresses around, she's perfect in the part, as enigmatic and subtle as Elliott Gould and Frank Langella.. A great film for film students to watch as it's been said one can learn the most from the most bungled projects. The endless use of trite symbolism, pointless bits of plot, total lack of character development make this a mess based on someone's unedited, overloaded psyche.What might suck you in as it did me, is that Langella and Gould are fine actors and always interesting to look at. How many times have we seen that f trope? Wow, one of the main characters likes children....what a heckuva guy! Wow, someone feels guilty for helping a corporation kill innocents in pursuit of profit (when does that ever happen in real life?). Elliot Gould and Frank Langella have cut their credibility in half with me (though everyone should see him as Nixon) for taking whatever money they took to star in this thoroughly inept, amateurish tangle.. This is one of those films that never gets off the mark. It has an interesting premise, but then it's characters stop communicating. I'm kind of an embrace life guy and if we are going to go out, do it in a blaze of glory. Here we have a man resolved to die. He determines it is necessary to disguise his true identity to perform his mission, but in doing so he loses the faith of the caller. The caller cannot clearly explain what it is he hopes for from the arrangement, which jeopardizes the partnership. I wish I had it so I could have shot myself and saved myself from watching this pretentious piece of refuse. This movie is dull, uneventful, and slower than a snail. The first 45 minutes seemed like they took 3 hours to watch. It goes nowhere, is poorly written, and is filled with trivial scenes which simply waste your time and are not germane to the plot.Do yourself a favor and do not waste your money nor time on this wreck of a film. After reading other peoples reviews all I can figure from those who rated this nonsense highly are so high on their own farts they can't see straight.. The Caller? Obviously no one was at home in this film.. I've seen thousands of movies and this with out a doubt ranks down there way at the bottom. Please save your time and just take a nap or something; I've seen home movies better than this. Now, the actors were okay; the story line was horrible. The scenery was ordinary, the traffic was as good as I've seen. It's just about as interesting as watching grass grow. Superb acting; subtle plot. This film is very different from the one characterized in the posted review. So different that I wonder if the reviewer watched the film or was told about it. The protagonist,Jimmy, beautifully acted by Frank Langella, was not seeking suicide. Jimmy's friend Lulu helped him survive as a Jew in WW2 France. In a carefully written and photographed sequence, Lulu bears witness to the death of a civilian murdered by Nazis, thereby giving meaning and history to that death. Jimmy hires Turlotte/Lulu (played by Elliot Gould with amazing subtlety) to bear witness to his life and death, thereby making Jimmy's act sacrificial. Jimmy was murdered by contract killers hired by an executive from the corporation. (I always wondered who paid, and why they invested, enormous sums to mediocre artists for their drivel) There are more errors both factual and intellectual in the posted review, but if you have read this far I urge you to see "The Caller" as it is time well spent.. Characters are introduced just to look nice. The little girl in the park, the attractive blues singer who I suppose the main protagonist is having an affair with – who are these people and why are they in the movie? At the end of the movie as he lies dying, there is an aerial shot of the Statue of Liberty - why? There are a lot of other art shots for the sake of prettiness that annoy you as this film drags on. I was hoping for some kind of wrap-up but there was none.I like Frank Langella but the mood is very somber and this film has no real meaning to me.. In order to begin with the good : the movie is beautifully filmed, with interesting imagery and vivid locations. Some of the minor themes are unusually brave for a thriller, such as modern capitalism's godawful record with regard to Third World countries. Finally protagonists Langella and Gould deliver beautifully nuanced, compelling, nay riveting performances. However, I rather get the impression that both are such fine actors that they could glue audiences to their seats simply by reading from a 1995 "State of the Union" Digest... Whether the movie itself is riveting is quite another matter. I would answer "no", although other viewers (and reviewers) will be sure to disagree. There is an unusual central conceit here, but in my opinion it is not as profound, worthwhile or captivating as it thinks it is.Still, the movie does at least treat the viewer as a fully-grown adult who is capable of watching a slow-moving story without great big dollops of gore, violence or jump scares. 90 Minutes of Wasted Time.. I Cant believe i Wasted 90 Minutes of my life watching this,No Action,Not Thrilling,Garbage.This film is very different from the one in Other Reviews. So different that I wonder if the reviewer watched the film or was told about it by Somebody involved in the Making of it??.. The protagonist,Jimmy,was not seeking suicide. A contract murderer was hired by his company to stop him from doing further damage to the them. A contract murderer was hired by his company to stop him from doing further damage to the them. He was convicted in conscience by guilt over what his company was doing, which was gaining control of Third World nations and sanctioning ruthless acts against the people. Jimmy's friend Lulu helped him survive as a Jew in WW2 France.Lulu bears witness to the death of a civilian murdered by Nazis, thereby giving meaning and history to that death. Jimmy discovers through a newspaper article that Lulu has grown up to be a witness, a detective who sees and carries the stories of what he has seen.. Jimmy discovers through a newspaper article that Lulu has grown up to be a witness, a detective who sees and carries the stories of what he has seen.. This is one of those films that just lays there and screams "LOOK AT ME! I'M SO DAMNED MEANINGFUL, AREN'T I?" Before it was halfway over, all I wanted to scream back was "NO! The plot is largely built on a mystery that it all but gives away within the 1st 15 minutes. T he viewer is left to just sit there and stew, waiting for the film to finally get around to what you already know is coming. And when the plot isn't dawdling over non-mysterious mysteries, it relies on contrivances straight out of a 1970s political thriller. Nothing the main character does makes a lick of sense. Two essentially brand new characters are introduced at the midpoint of the movie to keep dragging the exhausted narrative along. Oh, and Elliot Gould walks around with a mustache that looks like it's trying to eat the lower half of his face.The story begins in 1944 France as two young boys flee from the war into the woods, jumps forward to post 9/11 New York City and an old dude riding around in a town care and then flashes back to 1940 France where a tow-headed boy talks about fairies with his mother. After that inauspicious beginning, I should have known what I was in for.The old dude turns out to be Jimmy (Frank Langella), a financial analyst who is a cog in the global machine that traps developing countries into inescapable debt. Then, in a not terribly clear manner, Jimmy double crosses his associates and when he knows they're planning to kill him, asks for two more weeks to live. That's so Jimmy can disguise his voice and hire a private investigator named Frank (Elliot Gould) over the phone. Jimmy asks Frank to follow him around and report what he sees, with Frank not knowing he's spying on the guy who hired him. And yes, it turns out that Jimmy and Frank are the two young boys from 1944 France. The movie doesn't make that explicit until later on, but there's never any other explanation offered up.The whole Frank following Jimmy for Jimmy thing peters out after a while, and that's when we're fully introduced to Eileen (Laura Harring), Jimmy's sophisticated girlfriend and Lila (Anabel Sosa), a young girl that Jimmy has befriended in a very non "To Catch A Predator" way. Laura Harring is impressively sexy, except when she's doing some very karaoke-ish night club singing, but Eileen and Lila are really just there to give Jimmy an excuse to explain the whole Jimmy-Frank mystery that anyone in the audience with 1/4th of a brain had already mostly figured out on their own.The film ends with the bad guys trying to kill Jimmy and Frank driving a mid-sized pleasure boat, of all things, to the rescue. By this point, I was so disgusted with this whole thing that I desperately wanted the monster from Cloverfield to show up and eat everybody.Frank Langella and Gould are superb actors. Here, however, they're tasked with finding interesting ways to be dull. The effect is a little like watching someone comb and style their own pubic hair. Even when you recognize they're doing a good job, it's still not anything you want to look at.I suppose if The Caller hadn't spelled out early on the "secret" relationship between Jimmy and Frank, hadn't revealed to the viewer that Jimmy was the one who hired Frank and didn't clearly illustrate why Jimmy was doing what he was doing, this might possibly have been a slightly intriguing motion picture. What it ends up being is proof that if you start out with an utterly ridiculous and even more obvious story, you can try and film it in the slowest, most self-important way possible and the ridiculous obviousness will still overwhelm any attempt to class it up.

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The Ghost and the Darkness

In 1898, Sir Robert Beaumont, the primary financier of a railroad project in Tsavo, Kenya, is furious because the project is running behind schedule. He seeks out the expertise of Lt. Colonel John Henry Patterson, a British military engineer, to get the project back on track. Patterson travels from England to Tsavo, telling his wife, Helena, he will complete the project and be back in London for the birth of their son. He meets British supervisor Angus Starling, Kenyan foreperson Samuel, and Doctor David Hawthorne. Hawthorne tells Patterson of a recent lion attack that has affected the project. That night, Patterson kills an approaching lion with one shot, earning the respect of the workers and bringing the project back on schedule. However, not long afterwards, Mahina, the construction foreperson, is dragged from his tent in the middle of the night. His half-eaten body is found the next morning. Patterson then attempts a second night-time lion hunt, but the following morning, another worker is found dead at the opposite end of the camp from Patterson's position. Patterson's only comfort now is the letters he receives from his wife. Soon, while the workers are gathering wood and building fire pits around the tents, a lion attacks the camp in the middle of the day, killing another worker. While Patterson, Starling and Samuel are tracking it to one end of the camp, another lion leaps upon them from the roof of a building, killing Starling with a slash to the throat and injuring Patterson. Despite the latter's efforts to kill them, both lions escape. Samuel states that there has never been a pair of man-eaters; they have always been solitary hunters. The workers, led by Abdullah, begin to turn on Patterson. Work on the bridge comes to a halt. Patterson requests soldiers from England to protect the workers, but is denied. During a visit to the camp, Beaumont tells Patterson he will ruin his reputation if the bridge is not finished on time and that he will contact the famous hunter Charles Remington to help because Patterson has been unable to kill the animals. Remington arrives with skilled Maasai warriors to help kill the lions. They dub the lions "the Ghost" and "the Darkness" because of their notorious methods of attack. The initial attempt fails when Patterson's borrowed gun misfires. The warriors decide to leave, but Remington stays behind. He constructs a new hospital for sick and injured workers and tempts the lions to the abandoned building with animal parts and blood. When the lions fall for the trap, Remington and Patterson shoot at them; they flee and attack the new hospital, killing many patients and Dr. Hawthorne. Abdullah and the construction men leave, and only Patterson, Remington, and Samuel remain behind to face the marauders. Patterson and Remington locate the animals' lair, discovering the bones of dozens of the lions' victims. That night, Remington kills one of the pair by using Patterson and a baboon as bait. The workers celebrate, though later Patterson dreams about his wife and infant son visiting him in Tsavo, only for them to be killed by the remaining lion before he can get to them. Waking from his nightmare the next morning, Patterson discovers that the remaining lion has dragged Remington from his tent and killed him; Patterson and Samuel cremate Remington's corpse on a pyre at the spot where he died. Grief-stricken and desperate to end the carnage, the two men burn the tall grass surrounding the camp, driving the surviving lion toward the camp (and the ambush they set there). The lion attacks Patterson and Samuel on the partially constructed bridge and after a lengthy fight, Patterson finally kills it. Abdullah and the construction workers return, and the bridge is completed on time. The film ends with Patterson's wife arriving with their son, and a narration by Samuel, who informs the audience that the lions are now on display at the Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois. Even today, he says, "If you dare lock eyes with them, you will be afraid".

revenge, violence

train

wikipedia

...Well according to Hollywood anyway, since "The Ghost and the Darkness" actually takes lots of liberties with its story, about the two man-eating lions of Tsavo. In fact the main part of the movie is being played by Val Kilmer, who plays his character in a way like we're used of him; a humble way and he doesn't try too hard to impress in his role, which also leaves room for the other actors to shine and of course allows the story to be told best. A good surround system doesn't hurt here, either.Stan Winston, one of the best special-effects men in the business, lent his talents to this film while Val Kilmer and Michael Douglas are more than adequate in the starring roles and the African with the freckles (sorry, I don't have his name) is really a likeble fellow.Except for the first one, the lion attack scenes are not gruesome and the filmmakers did a nice job a having just the right amount of action and lulls. It's during that reign of terror the Tasvo Lions, weighing some 500 pounds each, lived or dined almost exclusively on human flesh.The film starts with Irish engineer Col. John Patterson, Val Kilmar, sent to Kenya by his British overseer, or boss, the pompous and all full of himself the future Sir, hoping that he'll be knighted by the Queen, Robert Beaumont, Tom Wilkerson. The killings go on unabated and it's when one of the local native leaders Mahina, Danny Cele, is dragged out of his tent and eaten by the lions the rail workers just refused to go back out and lay tracks, to build the bridge, over the Tasvo River.Being like phantoms more then lions the killer cats are immune to anything that Col. Patterson and his native guide Samuel, John Kani, can come up with in both trapping and killing the two giant felines. It's then out of sheer desperation that the "I've never been wrong in all my life" Robert Beaumont, it must have taken a lot out of his giant ego, hires big game hunter Charles Remington, Michael Douglas, to do the job, kill the Tasvo Man-eaters, that nobody including Col. Patterson can seem to do. ***SPOILER*** Remington who after failing to put down the killer cats with both Col. Patterson and Samuels' help goes out on his own, without Col. Patterson's knowledge, only to end up becoming the Tasvo Man-eaters next victim and meal.Far better then many of it's critics and detractors say it is "Ghost and the Darkness" does have it's share of shocks and thrills despite not having the benefit, like similar movies like "Jaws", of having any real and state of the art special effects. There's only one scene where there's a mechanical or fake lion, like the shark in "Jaws", in the movie and that was about the most ineffective scene in which the killer cats attacked in the entire film. But the few scenes where the lions do fully expose themselves, like the dream-like attack on Col. Patterson's wife and son, are truly heart-stopping and as good as anything you'd see a like-wise animal attack film.P.S The notorious Tasvo Lions have been said to have become man-eaters because of an epidemic that killed off most of their food, gazelles zebra and wildebeests, in the area or their hunting grounds. Michael Douglas's Remington, dispossessed of home and family in the American civil war, is an interesting character, but it's Kilmer's British bridge-builder in a time where engineers had to know how to shoot tigers and manage Hindu-Muslim conflicts fully as much as how to put up their structures, who is the focus of the film, and rightly so. That site states that Patterson killed both lions (on two separate occasions).I am inclined to think that the info there is historical and true.Does anyone know anything about Charles Remington ?Great movie. Thrilling as well as handsome adventure story set in 1896 , dealing with of two man-eating lions , hunting together for sport rather than food , as they killed 130 people and nearly derailed the building of the East African Railway . There is eventually formed a team between the brave engineer and a famous white hunter (Michael Douglas ,despite having top billing, he doesn't appear on screen until 45 minutes into the movie) but the legendary lions survive to kill and kill again ; as they still seem to have advantage until a frenziedly breathtaking last reel . John Henry Patterson published a book about his adventures , titled "The Man-Eaters of Tsavo" ; however , Michael Douglas' character Remington as a 'great white hunter' is fictionalized , while Val Kilmer's character John Patterson killed both lions . So successful were these lions, that after killing over a hundred people, the Africans named them, 'The Ghost and the Darkness." A British royal engineer, one Col. John Henry Patterson was commissioned to construct a bridge over the Tsavo river. The film which was made depicting the true story, stars Val Kilmer as Col. John Henry Patterson and is so well done, it is surprisingly real. A story of Col. Patterson building a bridge over the river Tsavo in Africa, and fighting the couple of killer lions and builders scared to death. It's an exercise I find myself doing every time a movie comes out - especially when the movie is supposedly based on fact.When I saw "The Ghost and the Darkness," I had already read "the Man-Eating Lions of Tsavo" and already seen the lions in the Field Museum. The scenes with the lions are brutal, frightening and gory.Although this movie has an excellent cast, it is somewhat damaged by the sudden, awkward and embarrassing appearance of the Executive Producer of the film, Michael Douglas, who tries masquerading as a war-weary soldier-hunter, who is hell-bent on destroying these two man-eating lions. His acting does improve as the movie progresses but his appearance in the film is gratuitous.Douglas's acting leaves a lot to be desired but the movie picks back up, undamaged, as Val Kilmer resumes the lead role again in hunting down these "devil-possessed" lions. But this is denied and he has no option but to take action himself.Based on the book by J.H. Pattereon, entitled, "Man Eaters of Tsavo," the movie stars Val Kilmer as J.H. Patterson and Michael Douglas as Charles Remington. This movie is a based on a true story about the man-eaters of Tsavo i like this movie very much i think story line was great and i think Val Kilmer and Michael Douglas did a great job its a great and 100 percent recommended if u haven't seen it yet go check it out guys its really one the best and have place on the list of my top 50 movies its really great some scenes are pretty scary man-eaters attacking the workers and dragged them out of their tents at night although Michael Douglas character was fictional but he did it very well and Val Kilmer the role Colonel John Patterson very its a great movie and i think best movie ever made about the man-eaters of Tsavo. Set in 1898, 'The Ghost and the Darkness' is based on the true story of two lions in Africa that killed 130 people over a nine month period, while a bridge engineer and an experienced old hunter tried to kill them. But the lions (called the Ghost and the Darkness by the workers) are smart, and disposing of them won't be easy even with Remington in league.This premise is based on a real-life account by John Patterson, and it was practically destined for a movie adaptation. In the late 1800 its a story based on actual event regarding 2 man eaters of tsavo in Africa, who made a havoc but a great terrifying ordeal among the hearts of African and Indian slaves working under the command of imperial British empire in there. Fact or fiction, this movie is worth a price of admission.Val Kilmer plays Col. Patterson, a brave Englishman who is sent by his greedy investor (Tom Wilkinson) to the wilds of Africa to supervise a long-delayed railroad construction. After a series of failures, Patterson aids the help of fortune-seeking game hunter Charles Remington (Michael Douglas in top form) to stop the beasts in his old-fashioned but almost successful attempts.The film is simply a land-bound JAWS, complete with its characters and their attempts to stop the beast(/s). This exciting film which featured magnificent cinematography in the African jungle and sound that set your teeth on edge, was memorable from start to finish.Val Kilmer and Michael Douglas made a great team as they hunted the lions. The film is loosely based on the biographical account of Lt Col John Henry Patterson, played by Val Kilmer in the movie. This legendary huntsman is clearly the equivalent of Jaws's Quint, but unfortunately Douglas OTT-acting doesn't even come close to matching Robert Shaw's performance.Despite the movie's obvious ambition to be a Jaws set in Africa (even down to the POV shots of the lions stalking their prey), I think lots of things work well. Nice story set in Africa based on a real life story about a construction site in the Tsavo region terrorized by two African lions The story is nice Val Kilmer acts perfect as Paterson and Michael Douglas as Remington is good too the movie is nice, edging and scary i mean, after all, i believe that after been eaten by a great white shark think about been killed by a lion must be the second scariest thing...Really nice movie and, like i said, think that this was actually a real story it scares you more because "that happened" which means that nature can be truly scary... Stephen Hopkins direction is good though hardly in the same class as David Lean , William Goldman has written a fairly good script though noit his best even if it does contain the line " God invented alcohol so the Irish wouldn`t rule the world " , we see a couple of British character actors like Tom Wilkinson and Bernard Hill lending weight to the proceedings and the audience are even shocked by Val Kilmar doing a passable Irish accent But then Hollywood decides this isn`t good enough for an international ( Read American ) audience and insert a completely made up character called Charles Remmington to save the natives from man eating lions . Released in 1996 and directed by Stephen Hopkins from William Goldman's script, "The Ghost and the Darkness " is an African adventure based on the true events of two man-eating lions responsible for the deaths of scores of bridge construction workers on the Kenya-Uganda Railway from March through December 1898. The addition of Michael Douglas as a charismatic great white hunter, Remington, is fictional, as Patterson pretty much hunted and killed the rogue lions on his own. It tries to draw the viewer in right from the beginning by claiming that everything that's depicted actually happens - except that if you've done any research on the history of the Tsavo lion attacks, you know that big parts of that claim are simply untrue - the biggest bit of "creative licence" being the creation of the Remington character - an American big game hunter played by Michael Douglas.There was no Remington - so why create him? Stephen Hopkins directed this adventure film that stars Val Kilmer as Col. John Henry Patterson, who, in 1898 Africa, is in charge of building a bridge, but work is halted because two lions have been killing workers, and the locals believe the lions to be avenging tribal spirits. The locations were amazing; the main theme score composed by Jerry Goldsmith was brilliant (a little bit wasted, could be used more here or in another film); some of the action scenes were great with the required amount of tension needed but other ones didn't worked at all (many of the attack scenes were unconvincible although real animals were used); the cinematography of Vilmos Zsigmond was good and bad (the day light scenes were very good, he captured great things, but the night scenes was just like the title, too much darkness). Well this is Hollywood's take on the story, as "The Ghost and the Darkness" (which the native workers labeled the two beasts) is a considerably haunting and hardy old-school colonial undertaking with excellent performances led by a competent Val Kilmer (who beams of respectable confidence as the construction engineer) and Michael Douglas (who pleasurably laps up the role as a scruffy big-game hunter with an memorable entrance).When I was a kid and first saw the movie trailer… it just stuck with me. This true story is very good.Val Kilmer and Michael Douglas and the rest of the cast is very good.The film is superb when it comes to the views of Africa and it is scary.There is one funny part too and I'll talk about that in a minute.To Me it was really wired why the Lions did what they did.The music by Jerryn Goldsmith is great!Now onto the funny part.I always laugh when Remington and Samuel were talking.It goes like this Charles Remington:I'm always considerate. "The Ghost and the Darkness" tells the real life story of Col. John Henry Patterson, a British military engineer, hired to supervise the building of a bridge as part of a railroad project in Tsavo, Kenya, financed by the millionaire Sir Robert Beaumont. Unable to solve the problem himself after several failed attempts, Patterson asks for the help of an expertized, Charles Remington, an african white hunter, but the task won't be easy to take...Michael Douglas is a renowned producer as much as an actor and he knows how to handle a movie, like hiring the right guys for their respective jobs: the legendary Vilmos Zsigmond to photograph the beautiful landscapes and local wildlife of the Songimvelo Game Reserve in South Africa (replacing Tsavo, Kenya where the action takes place); the underrated Stephen Hopkins, a director that always had a great sense of pace and visual style and the two times Oscar winner, the screenwriter William Goldman.Unfortunately, by the time this movie went into production, Douglas was infatuated by his own ego and at the last minute he opted to play the role of a fictitious character that was written as an obscure / eerie white hunter, only in an extended cameo, which the only purpose in the film was to enhance the heroic features of the real life Col. John Henry Patterson, played here by Val Kilmer.Douglas turned a 'special guest star' kind of role in a top billing credited above the lead character and appears in the movie after the 45 minutes mark, playing an extension of his iconic adventurer Jack Colton from "Romancing the Stone" and "The Jewel of the Nile", cracking jokes, being too loud, witty & OTT hammy and seriously harming the dark tone of the movie, especially if compared with the acting of his fellow actors. The minor parts play it fairly well in their underdeveloped roles with Tom Wilkinson stealing the show as the despicable Sir Robert Beaumont, Col. John Henry Patterson's boss.The editing is a bit disjoint, it's rumored that Douglas cut almost 1 hour of the movie to give himself more screentime, and the movie clearly suffers from it, from noticeable plot holes to inevitable loose ends, but even with all its flaws, too much for its own good, why "The Ghost and the Darkness" is so re-watchable as an entertaining flick ?The reason behind that was Stephen Hopkins' mastering of inducing some kind of dreamlike atmosphere through it; his awareness of how suspense works and the well executed staging of some scenes (like the first hunting of Remington and Patterson together), enhancing the thrilling factor in perfect combo with the stunning backgrounds of Africa, attractively & virtuously captured by Vilmos Zsigmond's camera.In short, "The Ghost and the Darkness" could have been a great movie, had Douglas' restrained himself here (both as an actor and as a producer) and Kilmer needed the right timing. Aside from some embellishments and Michael Douglas' character (who was fictitious), the events as described by the real Colonel Patterson are largely based on his memoir of his experience with the rogue lions and the trials he faced in managing railroad workers of different backgrounds to work together.In addition to the suspense and action that involves the lions, some of the best sequences involve the interactions among Patterson, Remington, and Samuel; All done with great dialogue. Set in 1898, this movie is based on the true story of two lions in Africa that killed thirty-five people over a nine month period, while a bridge engineer (Val Kilmer) and an experienced old hunter (Michael Douglas) tried to kill them.I only recently (2015) became aware of the story of the two lions, who I believe are now housed at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. Even though not all the content is real, the idea as a whole is just shocking, and makes you question reality.The film tells a fictionalized account about the two lions that attacked and killed workers at Tsavo, Kenya during the building of the Uganda-Mombasa Railway in East Africa in 1898. Inspired by a true story, the film has plenty of action, gore, some very effective suspense and solid performances by Val Kilmer and Michael Douglas. The Ghost and The Darkness was an excellent film about the true story of the building of a bridge being stopped by two man-eating lions. The Ghost and the Darkness is based on a factual account of how a bridge building project in the Transvaal was brought to a halt by two man eating lions who killed over 120 people (although figures vary).I had known and was fascinated by the story beforehand and because of that I really enjoyed this film. nature flick in which two men (Val Kilmer and Michael Douglas) try to fight off a lion killing people in Africa.

tt1945084

Everly

We open to the sounds of a woman being assaulted. A naked Everly (Salma Hayek) enters her bathroom, her body shaken from sexual abuse. She flushes the toilet to cover the sound of her taking off the top. Inside, in a plastic bag are a phone and a gun. She calls her police contact, Detective Roberts, frightened. Getting a voicemail, she leaves him a message, telling him, He knows.Inside the bag is also a locket with a picture of a baby, which makes Everly cry. She then calls another number, getting the voicemail of Edith (Laura Cepada) and Maisey (Aisha Ayamah). Everly hangs up without leaving a message. The men outside her bathroom door are getting more aggressive, telling her to come out now. Everly reaches for the gun, and puts it to her head, intending to commit suicide. However, one of the men breaks through the door and a shot is heard.It turns out she shot the men that broke through the door. She then goes outside, and shoots the other five men dead, though getting shot in the process. Christmas music plays on the speakers, making it clear the film is taking place during the holidays. Everly's upstairs neighbor, Mrs. Havendash, yells at her to keep it down. Everly can only look up in amazement. She scoffs before collapsing to the ground in shock.Everly hears a knock on her door. A tenant on her floor, Anna (Gabriella Wright) asks if everything is all right. Everly says 'yes'. Anna comes in and sees all the dead bodies and Everly pointing a gun at her. Anna says she's sorry and quickly leaves.Everly goes back into the bathroom and calls Detective Roberts again. She screams into the phone for him to call her, and explain what is going on, even if to tell her she is on her own, and he sold out like the rest of the corrupt cops. Everly inspects her wound, and sees the blood pouring out. She hears her phone ring, only to realize it isn't hers. It is the phone of one of the men she killed. Eventually all the men's phones ring and the same man is calling; Taiko (Hiroyuki Watanabe) the crime lord that owns Everly.Everly takes the phone of the dead man on the sofa and answers it. Taiko realizes immediately that it is Everly and tells her he left her a gift. Everly spots a large red box and opens it. It contains the head of Detective Roberts. Everly is horrified, realizing she is truly on her own. Taiko then reveals that Roberts was only the beginning and then states, the address of Edith and Maisey; Everly's mother and daughter. Taiko says he has his men waiting at their apartment, waiting for his command. Everly looks at the phone in shock and begs Taiko not to hurt them. She tells him that hes right; she should die for her betrayal. Taiko pretends to agree to not harm them, only to turn around and say he will allow Maisey to live long enough to turn her into a child sex slave for his pedophilic clientele. Everly's rage boils over and she screams FUCK YOU! at Taiko and destroys the phone.Everly grabs her phone and furiously dials her mother, over and over, until she picks up. Everly rips up the floorboards in her kitchen to retrieve a large bag of money she has hidden away for the past couple years. Finally getting Edith on the phone, she warns her mother that men are waiting for them and she needs to take Maisey and run. Edith doesn't understand what she is talking about, but then begins to hear men beating on the door, trying to break in. Over the phone, Everly hears Edith get Maisey and barely escape the apartment into their car. Gunshots ring out and Everly freezes, waiting to hear a response. However, Edith and Maisey escape the apartment. Everly tells her mother to meet her downtown. Edith says she will call the police but Everly tells her he owns the police. Edith wants to know who she is talking about but Everly tells her mother she doesn't have time to explain.Everly hears the elevator ding and checks the hallway. A man with a shotgun is clearing the hall. Edith is yelling into the phone telling Everly she disappeared for four years and she wants an explanation. Everly crouches to the ground and fires on the man, knocking him back. Everly gets back on the phone, telling her mother that she did not abandon them. Everly tells her that she is going to give them enough money to disappear and if they don't, Edith will be killed and Maisey will be sentenced to a life of misery. Everly tells her mother to call back when she arrives at the meeting place.Everly hears a cell phone in the next apartment. Looking through bullet holes, she sees her co-worker Zelda (Caroline Chikezie) get a call from Taiko who places a bounty on Everly. Zelda grabs a pair of sais and heads over to Everlys door. Everly waits with one of the dead mens machine guns but she can't control the kick and sprays bullets wildly. Zelda races in and tries to stab Everly with the sais. Everly then forces Zelda to be skewered by one of her own weapons. The shotgun guard comes in and laughs at Zelda so she throws one of the sais at him almost hitting him. Everly goes for the other but gets dragged away by Zelda. As she is being dragged away, Everly is able to grab a gun and fires at Zelda. She misses and Zelda falls down. Everly then rolls over and shoots Zelda in the head.Everly hides behind her kitchen counter only to be confronted by another hooker who is about to shoot heronly to be killed herself. Everly looks up, only to be shot at by Elyse who mistakenly shot the other woman and is looking to collect the bounty too. Everly sees the phone of the second dead hooker and sees that Taiko put a fifty thousand dollar bounty on her head. Everly tries to reason with Elyse, willing to buy her freedom. Just when Everly is about to convince her, Dena (Jennifer Blanc) comes in, and Dena and Elyse argue over who will kill Everly and wind up shooting each other.Everly looks out to see Elyse dead, and Dena badly wounded. Despite trying to kill her moments ago, Everlys compassion overrides her survival instincts and she tries to administer first aid. Anna comes back in with a gun. Everly says she knows Anna wants to kill her, but she can help Dena first? Anna and Everly try to help but Dena quickly dies. Anna and Everly point guns at each other. Anna doesnt want to hurt Everly, but if she doesnt, Taiko will kill her. Everly scoffs. "Look around, I can kill you too", she says.Everly tells Anna that she knows she's going to die tonight, but she has a mother and a daughter to keep safe and needs the time to make that happen. Everly speaks to Anna, noting she was a mother once too which only makes Anna more unstable. Everly tells Anna she rather not give Taiko or one his men the satisfaction of killing her and would rather let Anna do it. Anna questions why she wouldn't just run, but Everly says that Taiko will never stop hunting them until Everly is dead. If she dies, he wont care anymore. Anna nods and tells Everly she will give her two hours to make her final arrangements before delivering herself to Anna to die.Everly sees the shotgun the guard left behind and picks it up. As she walks back, her next door neighbor charges out of the room. Everly quickly shoots her dead and shuts the door."That's a lot of dead whores", the man on the couch, only known as Dead Man (Akie Kotabe) says. Everly is shocked that he is still alive, seethes in rage at his comment. "You don't get to call them that. Get up", she says but he wont. It turns out the bullet that hit him has severed his spine, making it impossible for him to move or feel pain. Dead Man inspects Everly and tells her that her wound is rather minor compared to his. Dead Man asks for a glass of water and Everly begrudgingly gives him one. She uses some liquor to sanitize a wound on her hand and winces in pain. Everly sees Dead Man apparently smiling at her pain and takes away his water.Everly looks outside and sees four of Taiko's men and an attack dog outside waiting for her. Nevertheless, she grabs a pistol, the shotgun, and her bag of money and goes to the door. Tell Taiko to lick my balls, Everly says as she opens the door. A shotgun blast nearly hits her and she closes the door. One of Taiko's men calls her a bitch. Everly opens the door and fires off a shotgun round. "I'M NOBODYS BITCH!" she screams, heading into the next door apartment. We see it is the shotgun guard with a new weapon. He then pulls out a grenade and throws it into the room Everly went into. The explosion throws her back in her apartment. The shotgun guard has the drop on her but the Dead Man distracts him so Everly can pull out her pistol. She then shoots him in the genitals and the chest, killing him.Everly gets a call from her mother saying she is at the meeting spot. Everly says she is on her way.Everly hears sirens and curses. She looks outside to see police on their way. She locks her door and turns on her television which is hooked up to security cameras for the whole building. Dead Man cannot believe she has a system like that. Everly shrugs. You know how much he likes to watch, Everly deadpans. Everly watches as the police evacuate the building with the rest of tenants save for the delusional Mrs. Havendash. Everly, seeing the coast is clear plans to run. Dead Man requests that Everly kill him so he doesn't have to face Taiko, and comments he didnt participate in her gang rape. Dead Man says he was only following orders which Everly says that of course absolves him of responsibility. Dead Man says no, but Taiko has made him do horrible things including human trafficking and sexual slavery, by putting the fear of being killed into him. That is Taiko's main weapon; the fear of death and having the ruthless nature to always carry it out at his leisure.Everly goes to leave, but Dead Man begs her to destroy the tape before Taiko sees it. Everly looks back and realizes that there was even a camera. Dead Man warns her not to watch it but Everly does. We don't see anything but we hear the audio of her screaming and Everly's pained horrified reaction. Dead Man looks on in stoic remorse. She puts the tape in an alcohol drink and lights a match, destroying it. Everly points a gun at Dead Man. Our worst day could be a blessing in disguise, he says. Everly leaves him without killing him and makes her escape. Dead Man watches on the camera feed and actually cheers her on, hoping she will be able to make it out. However, at the last moment she is caught by the police officers still in the building. They work for Taiko too. They throw her back into the apartment, telling her Taiko will deal with her soon enough.Dead Man asks her what she will do now, and Everly tells him to shut up. Dead Man tells her a proverb his grandfather used to say, which gives Everly the idea to make Edith and Maisey covertly come to her apartment, get the money and disappear. Realizing the place is filled with corpses, Everly hides the bodies the best she can and cleans up the blood. In addition, she gathers up all the weapons; the pistols, the shotgun, the grenades, and a heavy machine gun and hides them throughout the apartment. She then takes a shower and squirts soap into her wound, making her cry out in pain. She then tends to it with a bandage kept in place with duct tape. Putting on a sun dress, Everly asks Dead Man if he thinks Maisey will like it. Dead Man replies that she perhaps should wear something a bit more practical given that her fight is not over. Everly agrees and changes.Dead Man asks for a final request; a cigarette. Dead Man says he doesn't understand how she got to the police. Everly explains that they came to her; a cop arrived undercover as a plumber and convinced her to turn on Taiko. She was frightened every minute thinking Taiko would find out but went along with the idea that if he was out of the way, she could finally be free and rejoin her family.Everly gets a call from Edith, who is walking into the building. Everly coaches Edith on how to fool the Yakuza men into going up to the seventh floor. However, Edith slips at one point, giving the man in the elevator suspicion. Everly races to the elevator, grabbing one of the sais still embedded in the hallway and hides as the door opens. She then stabs the man, getting into a hand to hand brawl. Everly eventually gets the upper hand and stabs the men dead in the throat and gets another gun in the process. Edith and Maisey come down via the staircase and go to Everly's door.Everly opens the door and says hi to her mother and Maisey, overcome with emotion. Edith asks if they can talk inside, but Everly firmly tells her that she has to take the money and go. However, Edith forces her way inside, and will not take no for an answer. Everly gives Maisey a long overdue Christmas gift; a large Pink bear which Maisey loves. Maisey shows Dead Man the bear and he says it is very beautiful, like you (obviously feeling deep remorse and shame for what he put Everly and her family through). Everly once again tries to make her mother leave, but Edith will not leave without answers and pulls Everly into the bathroom to get them.In the bathroom, Edith screams at her for abandoning both her and Maisey, for not contacting them, and putting her through unbelievable stress and heartache. However, Edith is just glad that Everly is alive. Still, Edith wants to know what happened. Everly tells her mother that there are so many things she wants to tell her, but there is literally no time. Everly does tell her that she was taken against her will to be someones slave and she has been locked up in the apartment for four years. Edith, even without the full picture, realizes the scope of her daughters torture and tells her she is so sorry.Maisey is with Dead Man and begins to look around. Not wanting her to see anything horrible, Dead Man distracts her with the Itsy Bitsy Spider song.Edith asks who Taiko is. Hes the Devil, Everly replies. Edith asks what he did to her. Did he torture you? Edith asks. Everly says she was one of the lucky ones; she wasnt trafficked overseas or sent to a dungeon to be raped constantly which makes Edith recoil with horror. Everly says that her punishment was losing her child, her family. Edith tells Everly they are leaving together, but Everly says she needs to leave without her. Edith hears a phone ring and discovers three of the dead Yakuza men, the very men that raped and planned to murder her daughter. Everly tells her that is what Taiko is; he is a bringer of death and asks if Edith finally understands why she needs to leave. Edith nods yes.Dead Man, quite near death, wakes up to see Maisey is gone. He calls out to her, only to find she has found the box with Detective Roberts head. She wants to open it but Dead Man says that will not be wise, and yells out to Everly.Back in the bathroom Edith realizes that Everly will not be leaving alive. "Sorry Mama", Everly says.Everly finally hears Dead Man and rushes out, and stops Maisey moments before she opens the box. As they tend to Maisey, Edith gasps and Everly looks to see that Dead Man finally succumbed to his wounds. Everly closes his eyes and appears to have a moment of sadness for him, given he spent his last hours apologizing for his role in Everly's plight and in his last breath, shielded a child from the horror he took part in. They cover his body with a sheet.Everly hears a dog bark and realizes Maisey went into the hallway, where a guard and attack dog wait. Everly carefully grabs Maisey and runs into the apartment, handing her to Edith. The dog attacks Everly but gets confused, biting Dead Mans leg instead. The guard tries to tell the dog to kill Everly but he doesn't understand. Everly grabs a grenade and throws it into the hall, and the dog mistakes it for a ball and runs after it. The guard tries to stop the dog, but the grenade explodes, killing them both.Everly checks the security feed to see an elevator of Yakuza men, plus one in the staircase are coming up to kill them. Everly grabs a grenade and the shotgun, surprising her mother. Everly goes to Anna's door and begs her to open up and shield her family. Anna finally opens the door and says she is doing it for Maisey and that their agreement still stands. Everly says she understands and shuts the door. The Elevator opens and the men stare at her. The one in the staircase rushes out, so Everly shoots him, knocking him into the elevator. Using their disorientation to her advantage, Everly throws a grenade inside, and as the door shuts, it explodes, killing all inside and causing the elevator to fall to the ground floor. Everly looks to the cameras, to now see there are now a team of heavily armored killers waiting for her. As she goes for a gun, she doesn't notice a man in a white suit enter the building. Then the power goes out.A man in a steel cage is wheeled in along with the man in the white suit, who calls himself The Sadist (Togo Igawa). The Sadist lets the caged man, The Masochist free, who charges Everly. Everly shoots him several times, only for The Masochist to fall on top of her. Unable to move, The Sadist disarms Everly and puts her in the cage, binding her arms with rope with the help of his four feudal costumed helpers.The Sadist describes himself as a makeup artist and outlines his specialties; sulfuric acid, battery acid, gasoline, and sodium hydroxide, all of which will be used to disfigure and torture Everly. To further toy with her, he pretends to pour acid in her eyes when it is only water. Meanwhile, Mrs. Havendash makes noise upstairs so The Sadist orders one of his men to shoot her. The man fires into the roof, killing her.The Sadist begins his work, making his men use a stun gun on the cage to disorient Everly. He then pours acid on her hand, near the rope which begins to fray it. Then he pours some on her leg, burning skin and making her cry out. Before he can pour it in her eyes, Edith shows up and kills two of The Sadists helpers before being knocked out. The Sadist orders Edith to be brought to a nearby chair, in order to torture her in front of Everly. The Sadist pours gasoline down Ediths throat while Everly struggles with the frayed rope. She finally breaks free, and grabs a gun from one of the helpers, killing him, wounding The Sadist, and killing the other helper. Everly makes her mother induce vomiting to throw up the gasoline when The Sadist attacks again. When he tries to kill Edith with a sword hidden in his cane, Everly disarms him and pours acid down his throat. It liquefies his body from the inside out. The Sadist calls it a fitting end as his guts drip out of him and he hits the floor, dead.Everly gets a call from Taiko. Everly asks if he has had enough. Taiko says no, he has been enjoying himself for the past few hours. Everly looks across the street at the building and sees Taiko sitting with one of his men in a sniper position. He had been watching the entire time, and could have killed her at any point but chose to let her fight continue. Taiko then says it is now time to let her truly suffer and has his sniper shoot Edith. Everly holds her mother as she dies in her arms. Taiko laughs maniacally telling hes not doing with her yet.Everly, having enough, pulls the large machine gun out of the oven and walks over to the window. Taiko sees this and tells her that is not a good idea. "Fuck You", Everly says, and sprays the building with machine gun fire. In response, Taiko's man shoots a LAW Rocket into the apartment, engulfing it in flames. Everly is only able to find a safe spot with seconds to spare. Taiko calls out to Everly and when she doesn't immediately respond, he beheads his sniper for denying him Everlys death. Everly then walks out to the window and glares at Taiko. Taiko then leaves the building he is in.Suddenly, smoke grenades fill the apartment and Everly runs to take cover. A four man squad enters her apartment. Hiding under the floorboards, Everly covertly kills three of the men. As the second squad enters via the windows, Everly shoots one out of the apartment window before being shot and subdued by the remaining men. Taiko enters, and orders Everly to be put on the bed with a noose around her neck, and then tells his men to leave.Taiko then takes the sword and slides it around Everly's body, taunting her. Everly says if he is going to kill her, just do it already. Taiko says it wasnt going to be that easy. Everly asks him "why though?" He was there the entire time, and could've ended it hours ago. Perhaps he cannot bear the thought of her dead after all. Taiko then cuts her cheek and says perhaps he will get Maisey to watch Everly die. Taiko asks Everly if her daughter knows she is nothing more than a used up whore. "Keep my daughter's name out of your mouth!" Everly screams, kicking him in the face.Taiko swings his sword but only winds up cutting the rope, freeing Everly. He then digs his finger into her new bullet wounds, wanting to continue his punishment. He throws her over the bed, and slings his blade into the floor making it stick. He tells Everly dying by his blade is not an honor worthy of her and pulls out a small knife. Taiko tells her he intends to take her back tattoo as a souvenir. Everly sees a shard of glass and reaches for it. She gets it and breaks it off in his leg. As he pulls out a gun, Everly grabs a taser from one of The Sadists helpers and shocks Taiko several times. As she holds a gun on him, Taiko says if she kills him, Maisey and her will never be safe. Everly hands him the small blade and tells him to "Die with honor. Do it yourself". Taiko pretends to comply, then throws the blade into her shoulder, wounding her. But Everly got off a shot in return, grazing his head. As she pulls the blade out, Taiko gets ready to charge her. Taiko runs towards her, but Everly grabs his sword and stabs him completely through his body. She then proceeds to twist the blade, then pull it out vertically, cutting him haphazardly in half.Back in Anna's apartment, Anna has put Maisey in the closet with her bear, and tells her to be quiet and don't move. Anna, though unwilling to harm a little girl, isn't above stealing Everly's money and running. First though, she calls 911 to report Maisey's location. However, someone breaks into her apartment and kills her. The 911 responder hears it all and sends units to the apartment.Maisey leaves the closest, oblivious to Anna, dead, right behind her. She goes outside in the hallway, calling for her grandmother. Behind her, is The Masochist, still alive (he is the one who killed Anna). Maisey closes her eyes and tries to calm herself while The Masochist is standing behind her with a meat cleaver telling her to turn around. A gun shot is heard, and The Masochist drops dead.Everly is in the hallway, with a gun. She calls over to Maisey, telling everything is okay. Maisey tells Everly that she knows she is her mother, that she has her picture in her room. Everly gives her daughter her locket and tells her to think of her. Maisey asks why Everly was gone so long. Everly tells her she missed every moment and never stopped thinking about her. Everly tells Maisey that she loves her, always. "I love you Mommy", Maisey replies.Maisey looks at Everly. It appears she has died from her wounds. In that moment, the real police show up (i.e. ones Taiko hadn't corrupted) with EMTs. A SWAT officer pulls Maisey out of the building as the EMTs work on reviving Everly. A slow pan of the building shows the destruction of the past few hours. As the camera pans up to the sky, an EKG flat line is heard. That flat line turns into a heartbeat rhythm. A loud gasp is heard. It appears that Everly will survive after all and will be able to build a new life with her daughter.

violence, revenge, comedy, murder, sadist

train

imdb

tt1568346

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Note: this is an English-language adaptation of the Swedish novel trilogy by Stieg Larsson. But with the same setting in Stockholm, Sweden.On his birthday, Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer), retired CEO of Vanger Industries, receives a pressed flower in the mail from an anonymous sender and phones retired inspector Gustaf Morell (Donald Sumpter).Co-owner of the magazine Millennium, Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) is swarmed by reporters as he leaves a courthouse, having lost a libel suit leveled against him by corrupt businessman Hans-Erik Wennerstrom (Ulf Friberg). His reputation destroyed and his life savings gone, Blomkvist returns to the office and informs his co-owner Erika Berger (Robin Wright), who is also his lover, that he is resigning.Dirch Frode (Steven Berkoff), the attorney of Henrik Vanger, meets with Dragan Armansky (Goran Visnjic) at the headquarters of Milton Security, having requested a background check on Blomkvist. Armansky has arranged for Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara), a girl in her twenties with multiple tattoos and facial piercings who is his best researcher and computer hacker, to come in and personally report her findings on Blomkvist.On Christmas Day, Blomkvist receives a phone call from Frode summoning him to the Vanger estate on Hedeby Island in Hedestad for a face-to-face meeting with Henrik. Upon his arrival, Henrik explains that he is interested in hiring Blomkvist to investigate the murder of his niece Harriet Vanger, who disappeared from the island over 40 years ago. Before she vanished, Harriet would give Henrik a pressed flower for his birthday every year, a tradition that he believes has been continued by the person responsible for her disappearance. Convinced that someone in the family murdered Harriet, Henrik will allow Blomkvist to conduct his investigation out of a cottage on the island, under the guise of writing a memoir about Henrik and his life. Blomkvist is reluctant to accept, until Henrik offers him incriminating evidence that would validate his claims against Wennerstrom.Meanwhile, Lisbeth pays a visit to the home of her legal guardian Holger Palmgren (Bengt C.W. Carlsson) and discovers that he has had a stroke. Ruled legally incompetent as a child, Lisbeth is a ward of the state and she is placed under the guardianship of lawyer Nils Bjurman (Yorick van Wageningen), who takes full control of her finances.When her laptop computer is damaged during an attempted mugging at a local metro station in which she savagely beats her would-be attacker, Lisbeth goes to the apartment of Bjurman to get funds for a replacement, who forces her to perform sex acts on him in exchange for access to her money. One night, when she requests money for food, he has Lisbeth come to his apartment, where he handcuffs her to his bed and proceeds to rape and sodomize her, unaware that she has secretly recorded the crime using a hidden camera on her backpack.Taking up residence in the cottage, Blomkvist begins his investigation of Harriet, taking particular interest in a notebook of Harriet's that has a list of five names and a corresponding five-digit number for each of them. Speaking with Morell, the chief investigator who was called in when Harriet first disappeared, Blomkvist is informed that they are simply random local phone numbers. But a surprise visit from his daughter yields unexpected results, and he discovers that the names all belong to victims of unsolved murder cases and the numbers refer to specific bible verses in the Book of Leviticus that each depicts the different methods used in each killing.Lisbeth takes revenge on Bjurman. She visits him at his apartment again, asking him for money for rent. When he lets her in, she tasers him. He wakes up to find himself with his mouth taped shut, tied spread-eagled on the floor, and naked in his own bedroom. Lisbeth sodomizes him with an large steel bar and tells him how she recorded the previous night's rape. She tells him she intends to release it all over the Internet if he doesn't allow her to control her own finances and apply to have her status of legal incompetence rescinded. Before she leaves, she tattoos I AM A RAPIST PIG on his chest and informs him that she will kill him if he ever brings another woman to his apartment, involuntarily or voluntarily.Just as Blomkvist begins to suspect that he is on the trail of a serial killer, Henrik falls ill and Blomkvist must now answer to Frode and Martin Vanger (Stellan Skarsgård), brother of Harriet and current CEO of Vanger Industries who also lives on the island. Blomkvist requests a research assistant and Frode recommends Lisbeth, revealing that he paid for a background check on Blomkvist, which he demands to see. After reviewing the file, Blomkvist realizes that Lisbeth hacked into his computer and pressures Dragan Armansky into giving him her address for a face-to-face meeting.Meanwhile, Lisbeth goes to a local nightclub for a drink when she gets picked up by an equally outgoing woman named Miranda Wu, whom the flattered Lisbeth responds to her advances and takes LSD with her before they both return to Lisbeth's apartment where they spend the night together.The next morning, Blomkvist shows up on the doorstep of Lisbeth's apartment where he asks for her help with his case. Lisbeth is initially suspicious of him, but she relents when he reveals that he needs her assistance in finding a serial killer of women. She agrees.While he is waiting for Lisbeth to come to the cottage, Blomkvist takes a stroll across the island and is shot at by an unseen gunman, sending him fleeing back to the cottage where he finds that Lisbeth has arrived and even begun to set up surveillance cameras. After treating his head wound, Lisbeth strips naked and the two of them have sex, despite the initial reluctance of Blomkvist.While Lisbeth is off collecting information about each of the murders, Blomkvist discovers photos from a parade that Harriet attended on the day she disappeared, which imply that she saw something that frightened her. Visiting a woman who was also present at the parade, Blomkvist finds that she has an obscured picture of a mysterious man standing across the street from Harriet, whom he believes to be the killer. Once Lisbeth arrives on the island and presents her information from each murder, Blomkvist asks Frode and Martin for access to their corporate archives, in hopes of finding a connection between the company and the different locations of each killing.Scouring the archives dating back to the 1940s, Lisbeth discovers that Gottfried Vanger, the late nephew of Henrik, was in the same town as each of the women during the time they were murdered, with the exception of one victim who was killed two years after Gottfried downed in the lake outside his home on the island.Back on the island, Blomkvist pays a visit to Henrik's brother Harald Vanger (Per Myrberg), a recluse who is shunned by the rest of the family for being a Nazi, and asks to see some pictures he took from the days after Harriet first disappeared. One photo in particular catches his attention, because the person in the photo is wearing the same school uniform as the mysterious man from the parade. Blomkvist asks Harald to identify this man and he says that it is Martin when he was only a teenager.Back at the archives, Lisbeth begins to notice that Martin is visible in the background of news clippings of Gottfried visiting each of the towns on business, having accompanied his father on his travels. She then realizes that the final victim, killed two years after the death of Gottfried, studied at the same school as Martin, leading her to believe that he took after his father.Unable to reach Lisbeth due to poor cell phone reception, Blomkvist decides to break into Martin's house alone and look for clues, but Martin sees him. Martin invites Blomkvist in for a drink, and then leads Blomkvist at gunpoint to a secret basement where Martin gases him, knocking him unconscious. Marin chains Blomkvist and harnesses him to an overhead rail system. Martin casually reveals to Blomkvist that he used the basement to murder all his victims, and that he even had a girl captive in the basement when he met with Blomkvist and Frode a couple of days prior.Lisbeth returns to the cottage she has been sharing with Blomkvist during their research and looks through his research. She concludes Martin may be at the center of the girls' disappearance. She checks the cottage surveillance cameras and sees Martin looking for Blomkvist.In the basement, when Blomkvist suggests that Martin killed Harriet, Martin becomes furious and admits that he has no idea what happened to Harriet. He places a plastic bag over Blomkvist's head and prepares to kill Blomkvist, but hesitates when he is about to remove Blomkvist's pants. Lisbeth appears behind him and hits Martin across the face with a golf club. Martin falls to the floor and then escapes. Lisbeth grabs Martin's pistol and tries to find him in the house, when he flees in his car. Lisbeth chases him on her motorcycle, and when he attempts to run her off the road, he loses control of his car and crashes. Lisbeth walks towards the car, pistol in hand, but the car explodes and burns, killing Martin.With Martin dead, Blomkvist pays a visit to Anita Vanger (Joely Richardson) in London, who was the best friend of Harriet, but she is surprisingly unaffected by the news. Confronting her further, Blomkvist discovers that she is, in fact, Harriet. When she was a teenager, her father Gottfried would repeatedly rape her and eventually Martin began to do so as well. After fighting back one night and drowning her father in the lake, Harriet thought the nightmare was over, until she saw Martin at the parade, watching her intently from across the street after leaving school. Determined to get out, Harriet turned to Anita for help, who smuggled her off the island and whose identity Harriet assumed once she died several years later. Harriet has also been the one sending Henrik the flowers, intending for them to be a sign to him that she is living well.After Harriet returns to Sweden and back to the island for a tearful reunion with Henrik, Blomkvist discovers that the evidence Henrik has against Wennerstrom is useless, having passed the statute of limitations. But Lisbeth reveals that she has hacked into his computer and offers Blomkvist the evidence he needs, which he uses to convince Erika Berger to publish another article exposing Wennerstrom. When Wennerstrom goes on the run once the allegations and evidence become public, Lisbeth travels Europe in disguise and converts all of his funds into bonds which she takes for herself, making it appear as if he has emptied his accounts and taken it all for himself. His criminal associates are none too pleased and, in a matter of days, news breaks that Wennerstrom has been found dead.Having done all of this for Blomkvist, Lisbeth intends to declare her love for him by presenting him with a motorcycle jacket she saw in an old photograph on his computer. But, when she arrives at this apartment, Lisbeth sees him happily walking off with Erika, prompting her to throw his gift into a dumpster and then drive off on her motorcycle.

dark, suspenseful, gothic, murder, mystery, violence, atmospheric, flashback, psychedelic, action, revenge

train

imdb

The lights dim, the movie begins with a brief prologue, and the zany and incredibly weird opening credits begin, set to a creepy cover of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song." From the beginning, we are in for a wild ride as Stieg Larsson's incredibly popular novel "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" is brought to life on screen.Scorned journalist Mikael Blomkvist is called upon by Henrik Vanger, a very wealthy man, while writing a book. Together, Mikael and Lisbeth go on a dark, eerie journey into a world of crime, Nazism, and corruption that will lead them to Harriet's assassin.I walked into "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" with almost no knowledge of Larsson's novel or the Swedish film made a few years before David Fincher's version. The end result is ultimately an extremely satisfying, brutal, and complex thriller thanks to great direction by Fincher (known greatly for his work on "Seven," "The Game," and "The Social Network"), excellent writing, and an impeccably chosen cast.After only a few years, the character of Lisbeth Salander has become an attention-grabbing heroine that is as iconic as Edward Cullen of the love-it-or-hate-it "Twilight" series. We're not sure of who is Harriet's killer, or if Harriet is even dead, until the last half hour of the film, and when we do find out the twist, it leaves a stupendous impact.After cementing his reputation in brutal crime thrillers, and surprising us with "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and "The Social Network," David Fincher was the right man for the director's chair. "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" isn't any different as Fincher adds his signature touch to the movie.Of all of the people they could have chosen to play these roles, the casting director landed in a pot of gold. Getting her big break in the underrated remake of "A Nightmare on Elm Street" and later starring in Fincher's previous film "The Social Network" (giving a dynamite performance in the opening scene), Mara has sealed her future with many more promising and exciting roles because of her portrayal of Lisbeth. Overall, Mara gives a sensational, fearless, dedicated, and electrifying performance that guarantees an Oscar nod.Being released during the cheery time of the holidays, "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" is not a feel-good film, by any means. For me, the modifications to Lisbeth's character weren't severe enough to put me off.The Swedish version captured a cult following for a reason and I would recommend both to anyone who has an interest in darker gritty movies that have a raw intensity to them. It's also true whether Lisbeth is played on screen by Noomi Rapace (Swedish films) or Rooney Mara. These changes may irk those fans who are a bit more loyal to the books, but Fincher surely wanted to offer more than a simple re-telling of the story.Daniel Craig plays Mikael Blomkvist, the journalist hired to solve the 40 year old mystery of the disappearance/murder of Harriet Vanger, niece to Swedish millionaire Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer). A brilliant performance from Rooney Mara only elevates the film to greater heights The Review:Ill cut to the chase: this is everything fans of the books could have hoped for, its miles better than the already good Swedish film, its more faithful to the novel, in some places it actually improves on the source material.With "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" David Fincher has put his trademark darkness to fantastic use. Fincher, who directed films such as Fight Club, The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, and most recently The Social Network (my favorite film of 2010 and what I thought should have won over The King's Speech), has a fantastic eye for filmmaking and has always impressed me with his movies, save for Se7en which I wasn't as huge a fan of as everyone else was and even on that film I enjoyed a good bit. You throw in the writer of Schindler's List and Gangs Of New York, add actors like Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer and so many others, a score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (who also scored The Social Network), and base it off the best selling book by Stieg Larsson (that's right, this isn't a remake but rather a re-adaptation), it all equals out to, in my opinion, the best film of the year by far.Now the first thing I want to say about this movie is Rooney Mara's performance. It really sucks you in, and Steve Zaillian, the writer of this movie, structures the film in a way that is both similar and different to the Swedish version, therefore doing what I hoped this film would do, which was taking something that I already knew about and had watched before and made it to where it was still interesting and there were changes made to where I didn't know how it was going to turn out. The editing, the direction, the shots, everything about this movie succeeds, making it a near perfect film.Now one small complaint I have about this film stems a little bit from me viewing the Swedish version, in which they reveal a little more about who Lisbeth is and one of the things she did in her past that made it so troubled. I've never read Stieg Larsson's millennium novels, so I can't say how faithful this film is to the original material, but I am a big fan of the Swedish adaptation by Danish filmmaker Niels Arden Oplev. Whether or not this version is better can be argued but it certainly is a solid film… Rooney Mara, with her skinny body and goth hairstyle and excessive piercings and tattoos and her attitude, I think Mara manages to give a more complex Lisbeth Salander than Noomi Rapace's portrayal. The US remake of "Dragon Tattoo" is inferior to the original in every aspect of film-making: script, acting, directing, cinematography, music, editing--even credits. Rapace makes Lisbeth as fascinating as she is in the novels; Mara succeeds in making her only weird and sullen.The cobbled-together editing and crutch-like flashbacks make one wonder why Fincher decided to disrupt the original's great flow, energy and clarity with such ineffectual modifications, modifications that sap the story of its power. Although beautifully shot in the lavish Finsheresque style, the story of a talented young investigator who teams up with a journalist to unravel a 40 year old mystery belongs in an episode of Inspector Morse rather than in a 3 hour long attempt to warp time.From the completely out of place opening sequence up, I was thoroughly annoyed that the film couldn't grab and hold my attention for even more than 3 consecutive scenes. Having just seen the film I am at a loss as to why so many critics have given it a positive review.I hated the product placement........Rooney Mara was way out of her depth.............the script buried the story with a who's-who of the family........it also included some of the original book's sub-plots (which the Swedish version quite rightly left out)...I thought the 'jokey' chat between Lisbeth and Mikael laboured............the title sequence would have been better attached to an 'Alien 5'...I could go on..as for the changed end, actually I missed it as I walked out while Lisbeth and Mikael were following someones computer activity....another attempt at humour (Amazon,Solitaire) (I have seen the original (Extended Version) and can honestly say that it is far better.)PS 04/01/2012 Watched the original again tonight....No contest :-). The score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, whose work in Social Network I loved in it's unconventional appropriateness, felt totally out of place here and really grated on me quickly.With that slick, well-designed opening credits sequence accompanied by the very impressive cover of "Immigrant Song", I thought this was going to be a pretty exhilarating journey but two hours and forty minutes later I realized that those opening credits were the best thing about the film. well well i thought that after destroying Let the right one in (Låt den Rätte Komma in) by making such a s**t remake Hollywood won't do it similar things anymore but they had to like always they need to destroy things Girl with dragon tattoo (Män Som Hatar Kvinnor) is great movie, great acting and directing everything, so David Fincher thought he can earn so made re-make of the same movie with same story just with Hollywood stars who honestly sucked in this, special girl who acted Lisbeth she ain't up knees to Noomi Rapace who did same role in original, anyway this is one more tragedy that come from united states of Hollywood from directors who don't have anymore ideas so they are stealing from others and when u doing a re-make you need to do it better if u can't get the f*** of it,,,,,,,, if u really wanna do favor to people don't do other two from trilogy. Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara have perfected talking without moving one's lips.The story was not nearly as well explained as in the Swedish movies. There's nothing remotely Swedish about the two main characters, Daniel Craig as Mikael Blomqvist and Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander. Christopher Plummer is an outstanding addition, Craig and Mara aren't good substitutes for the characters in the Swedish film, and the plot simplifications obscure the story. First of all; I admit I was biased going in ( in favor of the original Swedish film; why remake a movie made only 2 years ago? As I expected: David Fincher's American version is cleaner than Niels Arden Oplev's Swedish version, and that's the huge difference between them, also that's the huge difference between what is produced in Hollywood from what is produced outside Hollywood.My review is ONLY about the movie itself and not as an adaptation, so doesn't matter for me right now which one is more faithful to the book or not, but instead, which one of them has a better development since both are using exactly the same source.Unfortunately this is not an occasion like Capote (2005) and Infamous (2006), I mean, the same story but with open possibilities for several point of views. He gave another dimension to a genre that was stuck, he kinda recreated the serial killer genre formula and the word "suspense" got another depth in movies such as Se7en (1995), Fight Club (1999) and Panic Room (2002), movies that had become responsible for some changes about the way thrillers are produced since then.Making an American version of Stieg Larsson's novel (or maybe a remake of Niels Oplev's Swedish version) seems a little vain in Fincher's hands. And in the other hand you have just an expensive sugar water.Swedish version was not afraid to be shocking, and as I said before, American version is cleaner, softer and also more didactic, truly a version made for those ones who do not like think too much while watching a complex movie, as another one said "Hollywood dumbs things down, making everything transparent and easily digestible for 10 year-olds". So let's believe that what he stated is true, in that case he should have watched Swedish version before just to figure out how this movie should have been made.While Oplev's version is suspenseful and holds your attention from the beginning to the end, events and subplots are tied linearly and brilliantly never forgetting the importance of both characters, Fincher's version is boring and his storyline seems disconnected. A waste of time and money, a shameless and bad made copy of Swedish version, and the most revolting thing is that Fincher's version will become more popular and called original, believe me.Those ones who are claiming this to be an "amazing adaptation" or the "best movie of the year", clearly haven't watched the Swedish trilogy or even cared for that.Leaving the theater I realized how Gus Van Sant's version of Psycho (1998) now seems so good.. And I've read much better mysteries that could have been made into films.I think the Swedish version is a rather good film that removes some of the book's tedium, but it's still nothing that I'd label as an "enduring classic" or some such hyperbole.I think this version, now I have the context of the real film, the original, is a steaming abortion and frankly rather embarrassing:The opening credits are idiotic, grating, and inappropriate: telegraphing that wheels had fallen off.Rooney Mara's performance is shockingly, appallingly bad. I don't know.Daniel Craig mailed-in his performance.Everyone but Craig has absurd Swedish accents but speak in English.The music is god-awful, sorry Trent but it is, it's totally wrong for the film.It's almost a shot-for-shot remake of the original, but in a purely colour-by-numbers, box-ticking way.Everything is More, Bigger, Longer, like a Spielberg effort. The best movie would have been a mix of both, the American version could have been awesome if they just understand how important the casting of Lisbeth is (for those who did not read the books, you'll see what I mean in the next 2 movies - I really feel like she is much more important then Blomkvist in the trilogy).. It's so blatant it's incredible the script got past the final draft.Full of plot holes, the acting is lacklustre and the cinematography that people have been talking of is over rated I think.It was really very predictable that this would be the outcome - I'm a massive fan of Fight Club and Se7en but Fincher didn't cut the mustard with this.It's clearly been done for a North American market - OK fair enough - but when the original is so much better to remake it barely a year after its original release is madness.Daniel Craig doesn't even attempt a Swedish accent making him seem totally out of place. Finally I caught 20 minutes of the "The girl who played with fire" Swedish version on HBO.Was the movie good enough?Did Noomi Rapace justify the character of Lisbeth Salander. Then came the news of English version of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" directed by David Fincher, starring Daniel Craig as Mikael Blomkvist and Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander about whom I had never heard before. I have seen the Swedish film, now this English speaking version, but never read the book. As for performances, I thought Daniel Craig came across well.Whilst watching this film and since leaving the cinema, I have found it impossible to not compare this English version to its Swedish predecessor. Nevertheless his contribution was worthy of note, and Fincher has made a good looking film here, and really undertaken a courageous act in making this story around two years after the highly successful Swedish version. Although I come to understand the plot is more faithful to the novel, the poor editing and the awkward pace had only succeeded in messing up the flow of thought by the lead characters and their actions, subsequently, appeared distorted to the audience...thus giving the effect that some of the conclusions or deductions arrived at were abrupt and lacked ample reasoning, and some of the actions were nonsensical (because they happened too quickly or lacked proper follow-through), all of which were more clearly explained in Män som hatar kvinnor.I am not even going to credit acting performances...yes they SHOULD be better than the 2009 version, given the fact that the actors have the privilege to improvise from the first movie, but aside from Mara who did a great job dramaticizing the role of the main character, the rest are just mehhhh.... Having read and enjoyed the book and Swedish movie, I waited to see this film on pay-per-view, which is kind of good news considering ticket prices these days. I have not watched many foreign films with English subtitles, so, if you haven't already read the book or seen the American film version, I highly recommend the Swedish movie.. Which is funny considering the American version has a longer run time.As a reader of the book I recognized the full story behind things they only glance over and I would have felt better about this movie if they were left out. It's an American product, based on the Swedish film of the same name in 2009, itself based on the Stieg Larsson novels about a wildly eccentric 23 year old woman, Lisbeth (Rooney Mara), who has the investigative skills of Sherlock Holmes and the prowess of La Femme Nikita.Daniel Craig plays a disgraced journalist, Mikael, engaged by a powerful family to answer one of its darkest secrets and at the same time get revenge on his courtroom antagonist, who caused his disgrace. It can be put short: If you have seen the original Swedish version don't waste your time watching this one.Forget all the talk about "this is not a remake - this is a new adaptation". I haven't read the book or seen the Swedish version, but this film definitely made me interested in seeing it (and its sequels) which is all you can really ask for in an adaptation. Having watched the Swedish version first, I was very impressed and surprised by how good this American adaptation actually is.Daniel Craig is excellent as the journalist Mikael Blomkvist and plays the understated leading man role to perfection. However it is a movie which you rather it not end due to the entertaining characters and the intense visual situations which you wish to look away from, but you can't.When it comes to the characters, I found that Rooney Mara played a much better Lisbeth than Noomi Rapace. It is easy to say that this was better than the Swedish version of this film, and partly thanks to the performance by Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander. The portrayal of Lisbeth, as directed by Fincher, and as portrayed by Mara, is a huge disappointment, and not true to the character in the book at all.There were other missteps in this version as well. However, I think Craig made a good Blomkvist in the end.Noomi Rapace is a far better fit for Lisbeth than Rooney Mara.

tt0087957

Purple Rain

The film opens at the First Avenue nightclub in Minneapolis where the band 'The Revolution' is playing their song "Let's Go Crazy". The lead singer, The Kid (Prince) has an energetic style that the people seem to dig. Arriving at the nightclub is aspiring performer Apollonia (Apollonia Kotero), who wants to see the manager. He's not there, so one of the ladies that works there takes down Apollonia's information. After The Revolution is done playing, Morris Day and The Time begin to play, the former having a rivalry with The Kid.The Kid lives at home with his mother (Olga Karlatos) and his father (Clarence Willliams III), a mixed race couple. The father physically abuses the mother, and strikes back at The Kid whenever he tries to defend her.The next day, Morris and the club's owner Billy (Billy Sparks) discuss getting a new group to replace The Revolution since people are getting tired of The Kid's schtick. Morris wants to organize an all-girl group, and Billy appears to be on board.The Kid pursues Apollonia. He takes her for a ride on his motorcycle and rides to a nearby lake, where he tells her he will help her break out if she gets into the water of Lake Minnetonka. Apollonia strips down to her underwear and jumps into the water. The Kid then says that it's not Lake Minnetonka. He gets on his motorcycle and begins to ride away, leaving Apollonia naked and pissed off. However, he stays and lets her climb back on.Two members of The Revolution, the bass player Wendy (Wendy Melvoin) and assistant guitarist Lisa (Lisa Coleman), frequently write music for the band and ask The Kid to give it a listen, but he never does and he continues to refuse to use their music, which causes tension between the band. The Kid mocks their sentiments using a puppet.Morris approaches Apollonia to join the girl group. He buys some fancy champagne and tries to convince her that The Kid can't help her kick-start her career since he can hardly get his own career off the ground. As The Kid performs, he watches the two of them sitting together. With The Revolution, he sings "The Beautiful Ones," which brings Apollonia to tears.After the show, The Kid brings Apollonia to his home. He plays a record track in his room that sounds like a woman moaning erotically, but he tells Apollonia that the woman is crying, and he is just playing the track backwards. The Kid then passionately kisses Apollonia and they make love for the first time.A few days later, Morris eventually persuades Apollonia into joining the group. She goes to The Kid's home and gives him the news. He reacts by angrily slapping her the same way his father does to his mother.The Kid learns from Billy that he plans to cut one of the acts for the club. This leads The Kid to go on a motorcycle ride to have time with his thoughts (while "When Doves Cry" plays). This is cut between moments of memories he shared with Apollonia. When he returns home, he finds his mother on the front steps crying. He enters his home to confront his father. The Kid finds him in the basement smoking a cigarette and playing the piano. He learns that his father has composed several musical pieces of his own, but he claims to have not written them down. When he asks his son if he has a girlfriend, The Kid says 'yes', and his father tells him not to get married.Back at the First Avenue, The Revolution performs "Computer Blue", with The Kid acting out like he's getting a blowjob on stage. The audience doesn't appear to be digging his music. Apollonia and Morris show up. The band starts playing the very provocative "Darling Nikki", which makes Apollonia uncomfortable and humiliated. After she leaves, The Kid goes into his dressing room and starts taking out his anger. Billy enters and criticizes him, comparing him to his father and his own failed musical career.Soon, the girl group, Apollonia 6, make their debut at the club. Their song, "Sex Shooter", is a hit, and Billy continues to hint at The Kid that they'll be taking his spot. After the show, Apollonia and Morris (who is drunk) are walking together. The Kid comes to get her on his motorcycle once Morris starts to get fresh. They ride by a bridge, where The Kid starts getting aggressive with Apollonia. She leaves him.When The Kid returns home, he sees that the place is a mess, and his mother is gone. He goes down to the basement, and his father shoots himself in the head with a handgun. But the wound only grazes his head. The medics take him away. The Kid starts raging out in the basement, whereupon he discovers his father's compositions. The following morning, he picks up a tape of a song that Wendy and Lisa wrote, "Slow Groove". It inspires him to start composing.That night, The Time plays their set to a satisfied crowd. After the performance, Morris goes by The Revolution's dressing room and tauntingly asks The Kid, "How's the family?" His buddies laugh, but Morris quickly regrets what he said.The Revolution goes up to play. Before the song, The Kid announces that they're playing a song written by Wendy and Lisa, which he dedicates to his father. The song is "Purple Rain". It thrills the crowd so much that even Billy sheds a tear. Once the song ends, The Kid goes backstage and plans to hop on his motorcycle, but he hears the enthusiastic cheering and goes back, where the other musicians congratulate him and cheer him on. He sees Apollonia as well, who appears to have forgiven him. He returns to the stage and plays "I Would Die 4 U". This is cut between scenes of him visiting his father at the hospital with his mother, as well as Apollonia visiting The Kid in the basement.The film concludes with a shot of The Kid giving the audience one more intense look.

cult, violence

train

imdb

Such conditions have existed in the realm of film vehicles for music stars since the genre began, (with some mind-boggling examples of the worst of the lot offered by every star from Elvis, to Frankie Avalon, to Vanilla Ice.) What you watch these movies for is not the deep plots, solid writing or impeccable direction. It's for those moments of electricity that leap off the screen, strike you right in the butt and have you dancing in your theater seat, as the magic of a performer at his or her peak, in their heyday, turns a few minutes of film into a literal celebration of life.Such is the case with PURPLE RAIN, the one film that, as far as I'm concerned, effectively captured the raw essence of the good ol' "ME" Decade.In a thinly-disguised version of the events that shaped his career and his life, The Purple One starred as a brilliant songwriter and musician simply known in Minnesota music circles as "The Kid." There are three distinct storylines, all of which have been around since Mickey and Judy put on shows for the neighborhood. One documents the intensive rivalry existing between Prince's band and the Time, fronted by the charismatic poseur and self-described "Lay-deez Man" Morris Day, (who in a satirical and self-effacing performance, manages to effectively steal every scene he is in.) The battle is waged nightly at Minneapolis' legendary First Avenue Club, (where Prince really did get his start with other leading lights like Andre Cymone, Jesse Johnson and Morris).In the second, the two frontmen battle even harder for the affections of new-girl-in-town Appolonia (Appolonia Kotero, in her debut, and biggest screen role to date.)The third reflects "The Kid's" struggle with his inner demons and the source of his problems dealing with his career and his personal relationships: the volatile, strained marriage between his equally brilliant but tragically broken father, Francis L. Prince's chart-topping, Oscar winning song score found The Artist at his dazzling best, and director Magnoli made a wise call including as much scintillating concert footage as possible.The Battle of the Bands sequences are wondrous to behold, with both The Revolution and The Time at their tightest, loosest and funkiest all at once. Even the vocally-deficient, amply-augmented Appolonia 6 (formerly Vanity 6) sparkles.The remaining cast all do the best they can with what moments they're given, the standouts besides Williams III and Karlatos being the hysterical rapport between Day and Time mascot Jerome Benton, and some refreshingly confrontational moments between "The Kid" and former bandmates Wendy and Lisa, which threaten at times to edge into the territory of cinema verite, rather than just popcorn-driven melodrama.But capturing one of the decade's defining cultural touchstones is the true purpose of PURPLE RAIN, and to this day, you can talk to people who can still remember where they were and what day and time it was the first time they heard "When Doves Cry." With "1999" running a close second, this was Prince's masterwork, and even though he still produces material with flashes of profane, profound, funk-fueled brilliance, he still has yet to top the creative bar he raised for himself and everybody else back in 1984.. A much undervalued film that tells the story of a young musician caught in an ever-declining spiral of domestic violence.At times difficult to watch, while Morris Day is portrayed as the misogynist, Prince as the knight on (motorcycle) steed, he is still called upon to twice beat a woman as part of the screenplay. Prince's best film with Oscar-winning music, it sees him at his zenith, and it's saddening to realise that, even though he would make some fine albums, he would never again capture this high.Post-Script, July 2016: Seeing this film again, it was clear that I'd been watching it through Purple-tinted glasses. As a big-time Prince fan of the last three to four years, I really can't believe I've only just got round to watching "Purple Rain". It even makes Michael Jackson seem inanimate even in his peak years.Prince shows you how to win the girl of your dreams - drive her to a lake, make her jump in, then drive off - absolutely hilarious stuff in hindsight.Some of the scenes are very 1980s and unintentionally hilarious but this adds to the film's overall charm. Not terribly different from many of the 1930s-era "backstage musicals," Purple Rain sports a contrived plotline that sees Prince (in the film referred to only as The Kid) battling rival musician Morris Day for the affections of new-in-town beauty Apollonia and a shot at stardom through a secure spot on the bill at legendary Minneapolis club First Avenue. The Academy Award winning song score (irrefutably one of the best rock albums of the 1980s) and Prince's enigmatic, magnetic personality are undoubtedly the chief components in Purple Rain's sturdy cult, but for viewers of the right age, the youthful angst, flip attitude, and bold sexuality of the film will prove to be irresistibly attractive.. The movie as a whole is cool, with great performances by Morris Day and the Time, Apollonia (Sex Shooter) 6, and of course, Prince and The Revolution. Ok, so it may not be the award-winning "movie of the year" type-film (apart from the brilliant soundtrack that I think won a few awards), but it is a really great film about 'The Kid' (Prince / O( take your pick) and the happenings around him living in Minneapolis, playing his music. True the acting leaves a tad to be desired (barring Morris Day and especially Clarence Williams who are both pitch perfect), but the movie is still great and among the best to come out of the 1980s. He is an expert showman and it was one of the best concerts that I've experienced.My Grade: A DVD Extras: Disc 1) Commentary with Director Albert Magnoli, Producer Robert Cavallo, & Director of Photography Donald Thorin; Theatrical Trailer; Trailers for "Under the Cherry Moon" and "Grafitti Bridge" Disc 2) A 12 minute featurette on the First Avenue Club; "Purple Rain: Bachstage Pass (a half hour featurette on the movie which i'll review later on it's page); "Riffs, Raffs, and Revolution: the Impact and Influence of Purple Rain" 10 minute featurette; 30 minutes of MTV's Premiere Footage (when MTV didn't suck donkey balls); 5 Prince music videos (Let's Go Crazy, Take Me With You, When Doves Cry, I Would Die 4 U/ Baby I'm a Star, and Purple Rain); 2 Videos by The Time (Jungle Love and The Bird); and a music video for "Sex Shooter" by Apollonia 6Eye Candy: Apollonia shows her fine ass titties. Things get so bad that some reviewers actually seem to think Morris Day and Jerome Benton can act; more accurately, they simply stink less than what surrounds them.This movie is clearly just a vehicle for the ego-absorbed Prince to preen and sneer his way through badly-written, badly-directed and poorly-lit material. It's a perfect album, it starts out with Let's Go Crazy(appropriate for the beginning as it's a great party song and very up-tempo), Take Me With U(a fun pop song...), The Beautiful Ones(a cheerful ballad, probably the closest thing to R&B on this whole album), Computer Blue(a somewhat angry anthem towards Appolonia), Darling Nikki(one of the funniest songs ever, it very vaguely makes fun of Appolonia), When Doves Cry(the climax to this masterpiece), I Would Die 4 U, Baby I'm A Star, and, of course, Purple Rain(a true classic, a very appropriate ending for this classic album) The movie and the album are both very good. Second, without the plot element of Prince's movie relationship with his abusive father, the musical climax wouldn't work as well as it does -- so those reviewers who say that only the music is good have, once again, missed one of the points -- specifically, WHY it is so good...because all of the music in this film has a plot element backdrop that makes the music more effective. Oh dear,this film is so bad I had to laughNow I haven't come on here to slate this film I'm just giving my opinion but this film sucked big time.The story line is pathetic and the acting isn't much better,Prince's acting is OK but still leaves a lot to be desired.His supporting cast are terrible and strangely enough I've not seen them in anything else decent since.the only reason i bought this film was for the performance of purple rain itself and if i ever watch it again i'll skip straight to that chapter.the song purple rain would be in my top 5 ever shame about the movie.Granted its not as bad as Spice World thats a minus 1000 but this film left me feeling empty and screwed of 8 English pounds!. And it's not all so dark, the movie has some great music, band performance scenes, and sexy fun scenes between Prince and Appelonia.. Then Prince came along with his music & movie and painted the world purple for a brief moment in time. This happens a lot, and since The Kid gets beat up by his father everytime he tries to intercede, he stays down in the basement and turns up the volume sky high.PURPLE RAIN is a towering achievement, one of the best musicals I've seen. PURPLE RAIN is a wonderful movie and Prince is electric, but he doesn't seem like the kind of guy who'll take orders.DGSTAR STAR STAR STAR (out of four). Most every element of the movie is grossly inferior, plain and simple.There are two redeeming qualities - Morris Day's self parody role as Prince's rival is wonderful, especially since the real "The Time" was a far better band than Prince ever put together. Only 32 years later we hear that Prince is now deceased.So we watch the film Purple Rain in his memory once ...than twice. But we grow to understand through Purple Rain that the unselfish Prince gave most of himself.The film outlines his troubled young life, his abusive father, and most importantly his love for music. I was no big fan of Prince but I did like the three big songs from this movie--"Purple Rain", "Let's Get Crazy", and "When Doves Cry". As you'd expect there's a big climax, where the self-obsessed Kid reaches out by for once selflessly performing Wendy and Lisa's song (in reality his own), the title number, partly to expiate his pain over his family strife and also, naturally to win the girl, but the music is so good and the staging so strong that you believe it and all the 'happy ever after" boxes it ticks as it goes.Which is pretty much the story of the film and it wouldn't be the first "musical" where the songs carried the movie, but there were rarely songs as good as these doing the job.. Other than that, Purple Rain is just a long MTV video, which is only partially salvaged by Prince's and his rival, Morris Day's good material for the soundtrack. Bar some of the questionable acting (there musicians at the end of the day), this in the words of Quentin Tarrinno is "The best rock movie ever made...period"Think 8 Mile, but without the rapping - a young musician, trying to prove himself to the local community, whilst struggling to cope with a broken home and a rival band. But look to the absolutely fabulous and energetic performances by Morris Day and The Time, so good and fun as counterpoint to the terrific music of Prince and his band, and of course ultimately the undeniable virtuosity of Prince himself.. Purple Rain is an excellent,unforgettable Rock N'Roll Musical Classic and one of the greatest Rock N'Roll movies of all time that combines great,stylish direction and a classic album and soundtrack that makes Purple Rain Prince at his best.Set in Minneapolis,Minnesota,Purple Rain tells the story of The Kid(Prince),a talented but troubled musician who's the leader the group The Revolution and while The Kid rocks out with his band he has a upsetting personal life. The Kid then meets and falls for an aspiring singer and dancer Apollonia(Apollonia Kotero)while competing with rival musician and singer Morris Day(Morris Day)and trying to make it to the big time.The year 1984 is one of the most iconic and unforgettable years in the history of pop culture and not only that it was also an incredible year for movies,music and television. The ending of Purple Rain(which is the final 20-30 minutes)is fantastic and one of the best endings I have ever seen in a film and is filled with great music that is brilliant and powerful and will stay with you forever. Wonderful direction,Magnoli.The soundtrack by Prince And The Revolution is one of the greatest and most unforgettable albums and soundtracks of all time with amazing songs such as the title track Purple Rain,When Doves Cry,Let's Go Crazy,Computer Blue,Darling Nikki,The Beautiful Ones,Take Me With U,I Would Die For U and Baby I'm A Star. So the story basically plays off of that competition aspect of their rivalry rather than their friendship which shows the true competitive side of what occurred at club "First Avenue" for it's time.Another reason why this movie is good is due to the fact that some of the situations that occur in the movie are actually based on events that Prince has gone through in his life with the music aspect and the personal. To this day, my friends and I still jam to the Purple Rain soundtrack and pretend to be Prince and the Revolution.Now the movie itself, I just meant what I said in the title, because for the most part, this movie itself is made by the music. The film contains many of Prince's great hit songs like "Let's Go Crazy," "When Doves Cry" and the title song "Purple Rain." And it was also great hearing Morris Day and The Time, who also perform some of their great hit songs. The plot, such as it is, involves Minneapolis musician "The Kid," who clashes with family members, professional rivals, and his own ego; the film is obviously based on The Purple One's own life.The film is really nothing more than a feature-length music video marking Prince's acting debut; he is essentially playing himself here, and is surprisingly charming. Anywho, I remember watching this film when it came out in 1984, (the good old 80s) and thinking at the time it wasnt a bad film, but the musical performances are stunning. Prince plays The Kid, the front man of the band called the revolution, who is so into his own thing that he's isolating everyone including his band mates, which is bad for the business of the 7th street club they play at, cause he's not packing them in, but good for Rival band, The Time lead by Morris Day who uses this as part of his plan to become the one and only headliner at the club and to steel the Kid's love interest, Apollonia form him on both a romantic and professional level.The Story is well played out, but the real draw and what makes the movie great is that it's basally a long music video for the entire Purple Rain soundtrack. It maybe a disservice to call the album a soundtrack as listening to this music play as the movie progress it what gives the film a quality that still makes it worth checking out after 32 years (That and watching Morris Day and the time perform never gets old, ever!)So, it is pure 80s nostalgia, at it's best, but it's not as corny as you'd think, thanks to the wonderful contribution of music Prince as brought to the universe. And the music was some of "Prince's" best songs they carried this film making it a winner as a viewer can see a time when "Prince" had just became a worldwide known star as "Purple Rain" would show.. Then of course comes the hook, and it's here that it takes on an iconic, gets-in-your-head quality.That song is maybe the most Music-Video-y of anything in the Purple Rain film, as it comes about midway through the movie and reflects Prince - aka "The Kid" but he's just Prince really - at a moment when he is uncertain of what to do as he's done the wrong thing by the woman who should be his love, Apollonia, and he still has the same strife at home going on with his parents. And then there's two more songs to finish off and you leave on a high and a buzz.Those live performances, and the music in general, including those basic but awesome dance tracks from The Time, make up what's so special about the movie and Prince in general. Purple Rain is a great film if you are a 40-something music lover who partied to Prince music in the 1980s. Prince is a bad actor, but his performance, especially of Purple Rain/I Would Die 4 U make it worth sitting through the film. But it is a good film, made even better with the soundtrack - absolutely brilliant soundtrack - and with such an incredibly strong 80's feel to it.The acting from Prince is not too bad, Apollonia is not the greatest though, but Mr Morris Day was fantastic. His character alone stole every scene and really gave the movie a surprise highlight.So again I say, if you love the 80's or you like the soundtrack (the Purple Rain track sends shivers down the spine when blasting), definitely check the film out. Morris Day steals every scene as Prince's greatest rival and Apollonia Kotero just looks good, but little else, as the love interest. Morris Day steals every scene as Prince's greatest rival and Apollonia Kotero just looks good, but little else, as the love interest. Morris Day overacts extremely at times and Prince seems to mumble all of his lines like another rock musician who had many a bad performance in a movie (Elvis). If you could only use two performances to show what pop music in the eighties was about, you would not do much better than to show Prince's renditions of "Purple Rain" and Let's Go Crazy" in this movie.

tt0101889

The Fisher King

Jack Lucas (Jeff Bridges), a cynical, arrogant shock jock talk radio host, becomes suicidally despondent after his insensitive on-air comments inadvertently prompt a depressed caller to commit multiple murders at a popular Manhattan bar. Three years later, while heavily intoxicated and depressed, he attempts suicide. Before he can do so, he is mistaken for a homeless person and is attacked and nearly set on fire by ruffians. He is rescued by Parry (Robin Williams), a deluded homeless man who is on a mission to find the Holy Grail, and tries to convince Jack to help him. Jack is initially reluctant, but comes to feel responsible for Parry when he learns that the man's condition is a result of witnessing his wife's horrific murder at the hands of Jack's psychotic caller. Parry is also continually haunted by a hallucinatory Red Knight, who terrifies him whenever he shows any confidence.Jack learns that Parry had slipped into a catatonic state following his wife's death and had remained there for a few years. When he emerged he seemed obsessed with the tale of the legend of the Fisher King, a form of which Parry recounts to Jack. The legend varies, but all iterations possess three elements: the Fisher King was charged by God with guarding the Holy Grail, but later incurred some form of incapacitating physical punishment for his sin of pride, and had to wait for someone to deliver him from his suffering. A simpleminded knight named Percival, referred to in the movie as "The Fool", healed the wounds with kindness to the king, asking him why he suffers and giving him a cup of water to drink. The king realizes the cup is the grail and is baffled that the boy found it, as demonstrated in the closing exchange: "I've sent my brightest and bravest men to search for this. How did you find it?" The Fool laughed and said "I don't know. I only knew that you were thirsty." Echoes of the legend recur throughout the film, but in a continually shifting manner, so that it sometimes appears that Lucas is Percival to Parry's Fisher King, sometimes vice versa, and sometimes that one or the other is re-enacting part of the story with another character (most obviously in Parry's self-assigned quest to obtain the Grail from the man he believes is its guardian).Jack seeks to redeem himself and help Parry find the Grail and find love again. Jack sets Parry up with a woman Parry has been smitten with from afar, Lydia, a shy woman who works as an accountant for a Manhattan publishing house. Jack successfully introduces them to each other and sets up an equally successful dinner date (Jack and his strong-willed girlfriend, Anne, join them). Following dinner, Parry declares his love for Lydia but is once again haunted by the Red Knight. Parry tries to escape his hallucinatory tormentor but is attacked by the very thugs from whom he had earlier rescued Jack. The beating is not fatal but causes Parry to become catatonic again.Jack promises to find the Grail for Parry. He infiltrates the Upper East Side castle of a famous architect and retrieves the "Grail", a simple trophy. When he brings it to Parry, the catatonia is broken and Parry regains consciousness. While he and Jack lead the patients of the mental ward in a rousing rendition of "How About You?", Parry is reunited with Lydia and Jack (who had earlier broken up with Anne for dubious reasons) reunites with his love as well.=====================The story opens in a radio broadcast studio where arrogant and cynical "shock jock" Jack Lucas talks to a caller about the banality of the social scene in New York City (where his show is broadcast). The caller tells Jack about a bad date he'd had recently, sounding quite despondent over being rejected by a woman. Jack tells him, in a largely dismissive tone, that social status dictates that the caller will never be successful if he tries to enter this woman's more aristocratic social circle. Jack's show ends for the day and he returns to his lush penthouse where quarrels briefly with his girlfriend (whom leaves) and admires himself, repeating his tagline ("FORGIVE me!!). Jack turns on the news and finds out that the despondent man he'd been talking to had killed several people in a popular Manhattan restaurant with a shotgun. Jack is devastated, blaming himself for the man's breakdown.Three years later Jack is off the radio & morbidly depressed, living with a woman, Anne, who owns a video store downstairs from her apartment. Jack drinks heavily and works part-time for Anne. When Jack offends a chatty customer, Anne tells him to go back to her apartment and get some rest. That night, Jack, while watching a television show he's produced based on his radio experiences, insults Anne, saying that he's only lived with her for sex. Anne storms off and Jack leaves the apartment, taking a bottle with him. Mistaken for a bum on the street, a small child gives him a wooden Pinocchio doll. Jack ends up near the Manhattan Bridge at the East River, feeling suicidal with cinder blocks tied to his ankles. While he prepares himself to jump in the water, he's attacked by two young men who believe he's a vagrant; they beat him severely, douse him with gasoline and intend to burn him alive. Just as they light a match, they are attacked by another bum who speaks much like a medieval knight and wields a non-lethal bow and arrow. Several other bums join him and sing "How About You?" and Jack's would-be killers are quickly outnumbered and defeated. One of the killers is captured and tied up by the vagrants' leader and left to be victimized by anyone who comes along. Jack is initially terrified of the leader, who is suddenly kind and takes him to a safe area under a bridge, populated by more homeless men. Jack spends an hallucinatory night with them, even impressing them all when his coat briefly catches fire, causing him to dance around in a panic.The man takes Jack back to his home, the maintenance room in the basement of an apartment building. The man tells Jack his name is Parry and that he's a knight on a sacred quest; Perry believes the Holy Grail is in the home of a prominent architect living in a castle-like building on the Upper East Side. Parry also hints that he is often visited by the "little people", hallucinations that advise him on the quest. Parry, however, is terrified of the Red Knight, a large, monstrous enemy that rides a black horse and breathes fire. Jack also notices that Parry has a small shrine dedicated to a young woman to whom he's infatuated, however, Parry yanks him away from the shrine when he discovers him there. Parry believes that Jack has been sent to aide him in his quest. Jack tells Parry openly that he's crazy and leaves. As he walks out he meets the building manager who at first thinks Parry has invited someone to live with him. The manager tells Jack that Parry used to live in an apartment in the building a few years ago before his wife was murdered. The manager goes on to say that Parry's wife was killed in the same tragic restaurant shooting incident that Jack believed he caused.Jack goes back to Anne's apartment, finding her distraught at his disappearance but happy to see him alive. He explains what happened the previous night and how he was attacked. Jack realizes that much or all of his depressive state can be relieved if he helps Parry. He asks Anne about the Holy Grail and she pontificates on the nature of good and evil and God and the Devil. The two of them have sex. Later, Jack tells Anne that he feels he's cursed because of the trouble he believes he caused Parry and she tries to comfort him.Jack revisits Parry's home and is met by the manager who tells Jack more about Parry: his real name is Henry Sagan and he was a professor of medieval studies at Hunter College. After his wife was killed, he fell into a catatonic state and lived in an asylum on Staten Island. One day he simply awoke from his catatonia and became Parry. He was taken back to his old apartment building where the manager allowed him to live in the basement. The manager also tells Jack that Henry was deeply in love with his wife.Jack finds Parry in the Midtown area of Manhattan, sitting atop a parked car, oblivious to the alarm blaring. Jack offers Parry money for compensation, however, Parry gives it to another homeless man. Jack is angry, but Parry grabs him, pulling him behind a column. A woman, Lydia, has emerged from the skyscraper, the same woman that Parry had built the shrine to in his home. She is at once clumsy and awkward, finding it difficult to negotiate her way past people and through the building's revolving door. Parry and Jack follow her to a Chinese restaurant where they watch her through the window. Later, she stops at a news stand, where she buys a new novel, a habit that Parry has noticed; she buys a new book every few days. After she returns to work, Parry tells Jack that he's "deeply smitten" with her but lacks the self-confidence to approach her. Just then Parry's nemesis, the Red Knight, appears. Jack cannot see the monster; it is a hallucinatory manifestation of Parry's own fear that only he can see. However, Parry yells that the Red Knight is uncharacteristically afraid of Jack and drags Jack along on the chase. They race through Central Park until Jack, lagging behind, finds Parry sitting on a rock. Parry tells Jack that their combined effort has frightened the Red Knight off. The pair hear screaming and happen across another homeless man who had buried himself in the dirt of a horse trail in the park, hoping that riders will trample him. Jack and Parry take him to a homeless shelter where Jack comforts the man while Parry tries to stir the other patients into song. Jack talks briefly with the man they rescued who tells him he's a cabaret singer and a veteran who watched all his friends die.Later, back in Central Park on the Great Lawn, Jack lays on the grass with Parry next to him. Parry is nude, unafraid of the danger in the park at night, and gazes at the clouds and stars and tells Jack the story of the Fisher King, who once possessed the Holy Grail but lost it, grew old and became depressed. The king was saved by a passing fool who gives him a drink of water; the cup he uses is the Grail itself and the king is revived. Parry says he has a vague memory of a lecture he gave on the story as a professor before his mental breakdown. Jack suggests that Parry needs to be introduced to Lydia and says he'll help him.Jack returns to Anne's place and formulates a plan to have Parry meet Lydia socially. He poses as a contest official and tells Lydia she's won a free membership at Anne's store. Lydia is not so easily fooled and hangs up on Jack. Jack sends the cabaret singer to Lydia's office; the man does a flamboyant musical number informing Lydia she won the membership.Lydia shows up at the video store. Parry is there too, posing as an employee. Lydia's membership is squared away and Parry helps her find a few movies to rent. She doesn't find any she'd like but notices that Anne has a fancy manicure. Anne tells her that she does her nails herself and she'll do Lydia's for a reasonable fee. Lydia agrees and Anne invites her to her apartment that night. Jack will meet them there later with Parry and they'll all go to dinner. Jack gives Parry his wallet to pay for dinner.Anne and Lydia talk about Lydia's need for self-confidence. Jack helps Parry clean up for dinner. The four go to a Chinese restaurant where the plan to get Lydia and Parry together is successful. Jack and Anne go back to Anne's place and Parry escorts Lydia home. Lydia expresses many assumptions about Parry, believing that he'll stay with her one night and leave. Parry tells her that he's quite in love with her and promises to contact her again. As he leaves, Parry's abnormal fear hits him, he sees the Red Knight and runs screaming into the night. He ends up at the same spot where he found Jack when Jack attempted suicide. A few moments later, while Parry lies on the ground, twitching uncontrollably, the same two punks who tried to kill Jack find him - both are standing on either side of the Red Knight. The punks beat him severely.The next day Jack calls his old radio agent and tells him he'd like to get back on the air. Anne comes on to Jack, however, Jack asks to talk to her seriously; Jack thinks that he needs to break up with her because his career may once again take off. Anne is instantly furious and upset and argues with him. Just then, Jack receives a phone call from the police; they found Jack's wallet on Parry when he was brought to a hospital. At the hospital, Anne and Jack find out about the assault and that Parry has become catatonic again. Parry will be remanded to a mental hospital until he regains his mind.Jack settles quite easily back into his previous life as a radio host, however, his arrogance and insensitivity have mellowed greatly. He is also in talks to produce a television talk show. While in a meeting with a TV executive, Jack leaves unexpectedly and visits Parry, bringing him the Pinocchio doll he'd gotten from the child. Jack tells Parry that he knows Parry wants him to steal the "grail" from the castle on the Upper East Side, however, he also refuses to do it. Jack demands that Parry wake up, to no avail, and finally promises to undertake the dangerous mission.Using Parry's plans and notes, Jack makes use of a slingshot to carry a rope and anchor to a parapet and the high tower of the castle. He makes it inside and creeps down the long staircase. About halfway down, he sees the man who shot Parry's wife and recoils at the hallucination. Jack finds the castle's study and the Grail, which turns out to be a trophy given to a "Lanny Carmichael". Jack hears a noise behind him and finds Carmichael slumped in an easy chair by the fireplace, having taken an overdose of medication. Jack tries unsuccessfully to wake the man up, choosing instead to leave by the front door, tripping the security alarm.Jack once again visits Parry and gives him the cup. Exhausted, Jack slumps on Parry's bed and falls asleep. Some time later, Parry's fingers, holding the cup, begin to caress it. Parry wakes up and tells Jack that he really misses his wife.The next day, Lydia visits Parry and finds his bed empty. Parry and Jack are leading the other patients in a rousing rendition of "How About You?". Parry sees Lydia crying and hugs her, asking her why she looks so sad. Jack continues to lead the other patients in song.Jack goes to Anne's store and reconciles with her, admitting he loves her. She slaps him but accepts him back into her life. The story ends with Jack and Parry nude in Central Park, watching the clouds and laughing.

comedy, murder, thought-provoking, suicidal, flashback, insanity, psychedelic, melodrama

train

imdb

A touching yet humorous tale, THE FISHER KING brings together amongst the best performances given by Robin Williams and Jeff Bridges, as well as Terry Gilliam's finest directorial effort. Solid supporting performances by Amanda Plummer and Mercedes Ruehl round out a great film that ranks among my personal favorites.Bridges portrays an arrogant radio shock-jock, who's big mouth and flippant comments send a disturbed listener on a murderous rampage, thus ending his career. Terry Gilliam has made a lot of good films and a couple of great ones(namely Twelve Monkeys and Brazil)this, though could well be his best.Why ?For starters there is the cast.Jeff Bridges,officially the most underrated actor of his generation, giving a performance that veers from one end of the spectrum to the other almost imperceptibly.From comedy to tragedy and back again.Robin Williams- a great comedian and a better actor than he is given credit for.Fair enough he does tend to go through spells of making films primarily for his kids (Mrs.Doubtfire, Hook, Jack) but when he does decide to buckle down and do a serious role he rarely disappoints (Good Will Hunting, Insomnia, Dead Poets Society).It is with this role though that Williams gives what is the best of his career to date,as Parry. She wants to be his saviour, and yet he comes in the shape of a homeless madman, prone to dancing naked in Central Park and seeing floating fairies whilst defecating.The Fisher King is a movie about hope, despair and redemption, and all of the human conditions that fit in between.It contains one of the most inspired,beautiful scenes in recent memory,as Grand Central station transforms from a dingy,noisy concrete hole into a luscious, gorgeous ballroom, simply because of Lydia, Parrys love, the one thing that keeps him grounded in any semblance of reality.The chinese restaurant double- date in which Parry connects with her for the first time is both funny and touching, and makes what comes after even more tragic. Coming From A Completely Different Direction Than Any Film Remotely Like It. The Fisher King can be viewed as an oddball dramedy like several others during one's initial viewing, but then suddenly you're struck by the hallucinations of Robin Williams's character, namely the sight of the large, outlandish, scorching red figure of a demonic knight coming to kill him. And with that in mind, thinking outside the box along with Terry Gilliam and Richard LaGravanese, one shouldn't even think of the brief sporadic fantasies the film splashes at us here and there as anything so jolting.Jeff Bridges turns in a fantastic, despicably likable performance. Bridges, who I have always thought of as a very good actor, has my kudos for understanding to the point of successful portrayal a type of person who is rarely completely understood.Robin Williams, constantly underrated at this point for his self-indulgent bombast and personally difficult, nonstop communication of his sense of humor, is proved in this, as well as several other films I could mention, that he has true talent and feels his characters to the very core and projects as such. When she is suddenly accosted by the attention and adoration of these other three people, she reacts, and I feel like I know many people who would react the same way.The Fisher King is in my opinion the first great film Terry Gilliam ever made. I know that at the time he was heavily involved in Comic Releif and this story about mentally ill homeless men and acceptance of all types of people really fits the PC Comic Releif mentality, but he really did a great job here, portraying Parry, a man lost in fantasies of knights and ladies.Jeff Bridges is very Howard Stern-like as Jack Lucas, the insulated, rude talk show host. When it gets reported that the man had done this after a remark by Lucas, Jack knows that his career is over, but also realizes how he has been affecting people.Some years later, Jack is wondering the streets and meets Parry (Robin Williams), a homeless man whose mind is gone. THE FISHER KING (1991) **** Robin Williams, Jeff Bridges, Mercedes Ruehl, Amanda Plummer, Michael Jeter, Tom Waits. Brilliant tragic-farce about a shock jock radio personality (Bridges in top form and criminally overlooked for an Oscar nod!) who goes over the brink into madness when he inadvertently causes a tragedy that he ends up reliving when he comes upon a homeless man (Williams equally brilliant, Best Actor nominee) that has become that way due to his actions. Possibly Gilliam influenced by his early work for Monty Piton(Monty Piton and Holy Grail) turns Parry to a character who seeks Holy Grail, however in this case Grail is just a symbol, symbol which will allow Parry to return to sanity and forget the tragedy which happened to his wife, the tragedy which links to Jack… However before the search for Grail begins the movie prepares us to this point. However the question in the movie is what real power is, Jack having fun in his pent house, Parry dancing naked in the central park of New York, finding true love (by the end of the movie everything comes to this point), or maybe simply the human relations? A former self-absorbed radio personality ,the popular DJ Jack Lucas (Jeff Bridges), suicidally despondent because of a terrible mistake he made, when a nutty man carries out a slaughter that takes place in a popular New York bar after hearing the radioman speak against Yuppies. This touching and stirring film contains nice performances from Jeff Bridges as a radio man dejected by remorse and Robin Williams as a homeless become crazy after witnessing his wife's violent death in the bar shooting . The film cast includes three Oscar winners: Robin Williams, Jeff Bridges and Mercedes Ruehl; and three Oscar nominees: Tom Waits, Dan Futterman and Richard LaGravenese. It's a good picture but relies heavily on the lovely romance between Robin Williams and Amanda Plummer , and the relationship between Jeff Bridges and Mercedes Ruehl ; lacking adventures and action . And then there is the unique Robin Williams as Parry, in one of the best performances of his career, no doubt supplying much of his own dialogue.The Fisher King is Gilliam's second masterpiece. This is the one for which Robin Williams should have received an Oscar; for as Parry, the victim of a senseless tragedy, he is nothing short of brilliant in `The Fisher King,' directed by Terry Gilliam and co-starring Jeff Bridges (who also gives an Oscar-worthy performance here). Gilliam has created the perfect mood and atmosphere to tell the story of successful radio talk-show host Jack Lucas (Bridges), and the homeless and mentally unhinged Parry, whose lives intersect in the wake of an act of unconscionable violence that leaves them both barely clinging to the memory of a reality that no longer exists for either of them. In the Fisher King, Robin Williams is basically an insane homeless man who saves Jeff Bridges from being burned to death. "You find some pretty wonderful things in the trash" -- ParryThe now-classic waltz scene in Grand Central never fails to touch me in some almost- indescribable way, signifying to me the hidden beauty that lies unnoticed, unrealized, beneath the grit of everyday life, because we never think to look for it.And it's a metaphor for the characters in the movie, too - most are deeply flawed, damaged, whose faults are made plain - yet Gilliam finds and reveals their inner beauty - their dignity, their worth, their joy, their wisdom.The movie is, by turns, screamingly funny, touching, and frightening - the threatening manifestation of Parry's memories, and Parry's terror at it's approach is hair-raising - and affecting, as the nature and source of the monster is revealed.Despite the sudden changes in perspective and tone, Gilliam manages this deftly, and with subtlety. The dialog is often rich and revealing, and Gilliam's distinctive visual sensibility, while muted, remains recognizable - the film is beautifully shot.The acting in this is superlative - Robin Williams, Mercedes Ruehl, Jeff Bridges, and Amanda Plummer all deliver incredible performances - yet Michael Jeter's scenes were perhaps the best of all, his laugh-until-you-cry scenes were just stunning.When you look at Gilliam's filmography, you can't help but notice this constant - he has great actors, delivering some of the best performances of their careers - for instance, I still think the performances by Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt in "12 Monkeys" were among their very best in their careers - this cannot be coincidence.. The film is set in a time when video cassettes were a massive rage.Terry Gilliam has even attacked the media for their alleged misuse of power and authority.In this film Robin William shows us one of the most original ways of correcting one's wrong doing.On the technical front there are unusual camera angles which provide visual pleasure of high adrenaline rush-skyscrapers and areas where homeless people live.This film might soon achieve cult film status because of its material.The message of this film is extremely simple:Anyone can become a homeless person any where,any time under any circumstances.This is because a tragedy can strike anyone,anytime,any place.So be nice and kind to your dear ones in order to love them forever.. Although it features an outstanding cast, it's often misunderstood as simply a drama, or a dark comedy, but no genre can really describe the type of movie Gilliam has created here.Like most Gilliam films, especially Brazil, a large focus is placed on the Goddess figure (in this case, Lydia), the fear of an unspeakable horror and the gradual overcoming of that fear (the Red Knight), and the constant interplay between the fantastic and the mundane. Gilliam's talent is giving us a different sort of glimpse inside something we all take for granted, teetering somewhere between the magical and the mad.There's no need to rehash the plot - if you haven't seen it, The Fisher King is a brilliant movie that everyone should see, and I hope its reputation only improves as time goes on.. Director Terry Gilliam's halfhearted return to Earth includes all the ingredients for what could have been a whimsical romantic fantasy, despite all the illogical, contrived plot tissue about how an acerbic, selfish New York City radio host (Jeff Bridges) redeems himself by rescuing a soul in worse peril than his own. The film was written like a small, offbeat character study: loony street-person Robin Williams, who imagines himself to be a medieval knight on a mythical quest, saves Bridges from suicide, and Bridges returns the favor by arranging a date between Williams and the painfully neurotic Amanda Plummer. This film tries to be complicated and different than the others,one of these films that make you change your life,such as other Robin Williams' films ,for example Dead Poets Society,however this film is just that,a try.All they show is a bunch of weird people whose lives have been ruined for one reason or another and make then play their roles in a "circus" half real and half fantasy with a pretentious typical fairy tail touch,including the unexpected ending.. Less important: A perfect scouting, Jeff Bridges playin' the role of a sarcastic, ironic, miserable,don't-give-a-crap-about-life, but also sensitive and good character and, as always, Robin Williams playing weird, funny, but also educated, clever and profound man whose success couldn't be measured by the brands he wears or the numbers on his credit cards. "The Fisher king" was my favorite, mostly because here Gilliam manages very well to create a moving and emotional tale without missing that eccentric atmosphere of his previous movies, even if in this one there wasn't nothing of fantasy or science fiction. Terry Gilliams masterpiece The Fisher King brings an outstanding cast, to perform in an outstanding movie. It's a modern tale, with stunning performances by Robin Williams, Jeff Bridges, Mercedes Ruehl (which won the Oscar for best actress in a supporting role on account of her performance in this movie) and all the rest. I love Robin Williams and Jeff Bridges is an excellent actor, but this movie was bitterly disappointing. I couldn't finish that movie, but I still decided to give this one a chance, solely because it stars two of my favorite actors, Jeff Bridges & Robin Williams. The pictures of the "red knight" that stalked Parry in his mind at least and that wouldn't let him go, even when he thought he had finally escaped and started to return his life to normal with his budding relationship with Lydia (Amanda Plummer.) Those images have a haunting quality to them; they don't easily leave you after the movie's over.After the imagery, it's the performances that stand out in this. As I mentioned, Robin Williams was brilliant as Parry, and Jeff Bridges was almost his equal as Jack - the former radio shock jock whose off the cuff comments led an insane man to shoot up a bar , which led to Parry's wife being killed in front of him and resulted in his insanity. Something of a surprise to watch for the first time 20 years after it was released, THE FISHER KING has all the dazzling visual and verbal complexity you would expect of a Terry Gilliam film but a plot that hangs together rather more cohesively than some of his other movies. A warm and touching drama from visionary director Terry Gilliam, with just the right amount of magical whimsy to make it unique without being cloying.Jeff Bridges and Robin Williams give wonderful performances as a shock-jock radio DJ and the homeless vagrant with whom he strikes up a friendship. Throw in some holy grail legend, a red knight (the manifestation of Parry's past), interesting characters and romancing subplots and you got yourself an adventurous, sometimes hilarious and heart-warming movie.Personally, I think this is Terry Gilliam at his best.. Terry Gilliam directs this quirky, busy heartfelt tale of a homeless former professor(Robin Williams)obsessed with medieval history and his relationship with a jaded guilt-ridden ex-radio DJ(Jeff Bridges). Jeff Bridges plays a radio DJ called Jack Lucas who becomes a friend with a deranged homeless man Parry (Robin Williams).Parry wants to find the Holy Grail and Jack helps him with that.Mercedes Ruehl plays Jack's girlfriend Anne Napolitano and Amanda Plummer is Lydia Sinclair, the woman Parry is interested in.Terry Gillian's The Fisher King from 1991 is an excellent movie of many genres.It has drama, comedy, fantasy and romance.The movie has excellent actors.Bridges is brilliant.Ruehl won an Oscar from her role.Plummer is great and Williams is amazing.Robin turned 50 years old the 21st of July and he has been in so many great movies.This is one of the best ones.There are so many great scenes in the movie and the dialogue is excellent.The movie is also very touching and in some parts very funny.This is a must see for everybody who likes good movies.. Although uniquely original, the script seems a little too unrealistic but the fine performances from all involved, (particularly Ruehl and Plummer) makes this 1991 fairytale -- both funny and sad and sometimes even scary -- a watchable film that is sure to put a smile or two on your face.AA: Mercedes Ruehl AAN: best actor (Robin Williams), art direction, score, screenplay. And they are true barring their own sad and deep sorrow and insanity like us.It's one of the coolest Jeff Bridges movie (I think), and Robin Williams expertise. It's much closer to the world we understand ourselves, which immediately allows us to draw closer to the characters in a way that seems difficult in his other, more surreal visions.The hugely underrated Jeff Bridges is excellent as the fallen-from-grace DJ trying to hold on to his own mind while Robin Williams delivers what must surely be seen as a career high performance (along with Good Will Hunting) as the madman with a little more personal history than first meets the eye.It's tempting to consider this movie as a mental autobiography of sorts on the part of the director; as a renowned eccentric himself, Gilliam clearly delights in the madness of the characters which he so caringly creates and surrounds us in from the start of the movie, and shows how close to the surface the madness in all of us really is. You finish watching this film feeling like you've just seen a really good story, had your emotional muscles exercised a bit, and even been given a bit of food for thought about the workings of the mind.And then there's the bit in Grand Central Station. While not the absolute best I've seen from Robin Williams, Jeff Bridges or Terry Gilliam, THE FISHER KING is still wonderful tale of friendship, love, and loss. talking about a man's quest to get rid of his guilt (Jeff bridges) and then when he meets someone whose pain he has been inadvertently been the cause of (robin Williams) - this movie is a must see for all of us who think that the grail in a sense talks about redemption, and release from past guilts. It is certainly a flawless cast, immaculate cinematography (A fantastic scene involving Ballroom dancing in Grand Central station) and a great script.One of the central themes of this movie as well as other Terry Gilliam films is madness, makes you wonder doesn't it?. Terry Gilliam has always claimed that the main characters of his films represent him at that time in his life, with The Fisher King this statement could not be more clearer. The story of The Fisher King involves Bridges character Jack Lucas, a successful New York "shock jock" about to make the transition to his own TV show before one of his on-air statements inspires a terrible tragedy. You have a Melancholy Ex-radio Host (Jeff Bridges), A semi-insane, semi-genius homeless man (Robin Williams), The quiet reclusive accountant (Amanda Plummer), and all the other memorable yet important characters that come in and out of the story like bacteria under a microscope. Jeff Bridges gives a great performance and Robin Williams an outstanding one.

tt0083190

Thief

Frank (James Caan) is a highly experienced jewel thief and hardened ex-convict who has a set structure to his life. With a pair of successful Chicago businesses (a bar and a car dealership) as fronts for his lucrative criminal enterprise, Frank sets out to fulfill the missing part of his life vision: a family beginning with Jessie (Tuesday Weld), a cashier he has begun dating. After taking down a major diamond score, Frank gives the diamonds to his fence, Joe Gags (Hal Frank). However, before Frank can collect his $185,000 share of the score, Gags is murdered by being pushed out of a 12th-story window for skimming off mob collection money. Barry (James Belushi), Frank's friend and associate making the pick-up, discovers that a shady plating company executive Gags was working for, Mr. Attaglia (Tom Signorelli), is responsible for Gags' murder and stealing Frank's payoff. In a tense confrontation at Attaglia's plating company, Frank demands his money back. This leads to a face-to-face meeting with Attaglia's employer, Leo (Robert Prosky), a high-level fence and Chicago Outfit boss. Unknown to Frank, Leo has been downing Frank's "merch" from Gags for some time. He admires Frank's eye for quality fenced goods and professionalism, and wants him taking down contract scores all over the country working directly for him, offering Frank large profits. "I'll make you a millionaire in four months," Leo states at their jargon-filled meeting, which is monitored from a distance by police surveillance – as well as a hidden Barry armed with a rifle, in case the meeting goes bad. At first, Frank is reluctant to consider Leo's offer, not wanting to "deal with egos" or the added exposure. But later that night at a coffee shop, an emotional bonding with Jessie changes the game when she agrees to be part of his life after he relates a harrowing tale of prison survival by way of a toughened mental attitude. To hasten his plans, Frank now agrees to do just one big score for Leo, telling Barry that this will be their last job. With a little help from the paternal Leo after being rejected at the state adoption agency, Frank is even able to acquire a baby on the black market, a son he names David after his recently deceased mentor and closest friend from prison, nicknamed Okland (Willie Nelson). Things start heating up on account of Frank's new association with Leo. After resisting a shakedown from a group of corrupt police detectives, then subsequently ditching their surveillance, Frank and his crew are soon involved in a large-scale West Coast diamond heist organized by Leo. All goes well with Frank's "burn job" and he is expecting the agreed-upon sum of $830,000 on $4 million wholesale of unmounted stones. But when Frank returns from the job, Leo tosses him an envelope containing less than $100,000, the "cash part" according to Leo, who says he has invested the rest of Frank's cut in shopping centers, an idea Frank had flatly rejected. In addition, Leo sets up a Palm Beach score for Frank in six weeks without consulting him. An irate Frank bluntly tells Leo that their deal is over, takes the envelope of cash as he leaves and demands the rest of his money in 24 hours or "...you will wear your ass for a hat." Frank drives to his car lot unaware that Leo's henchmen have already beaten and captured Barry, and are waiting in ambush for him. In the set-up, Frank is knocked out with the butt of a carbine and Barry is killed by several shotgun blasts from Carl (Dennis Farina), one of Leo's main enforcers. Frank awakens with Leo staring down at him, surrounded by his henchmen. Leo coldly informs him that he, Jessie, their child, and everything he owns are Leo's property. He threatens to prostitute Jessie and "...whack out your whole family" if Frank does not continue working for him. Leo warns Frank to "tighten up" and focus on his responsibilities; meanwhile, his henchmen dispose of Barry's body, dumping it into a plating tank. Frank goes home to contemplate his next move, gradually sinking into a hardened apathy akin to his prison days. He coldly orders an uncomprehending Jessie out of their house, telling her their marriage is over. He instructs an associate to drive her, the baby and $410,000 in cash somewhere where they cannot be found, informing Jessie more money will be coming at regular intervals, but that he will not be joining her. With nothing to lose, Frank blows up their home in a fiery nighttime blast using high-explosive charges. He then drives to his business establishments and does the same, destroying his bar in a violent explosion then setting fire to his car lot. Armed with a pistol, he quietly breaks into Leo's house in a peaceful neighborhood and pistol whips Attaglia in the kitchen. Frank hunts for Leo, who is hiding, armed with a .357 Magnum revolver. Leo is inevitably located and gunned down. Frank then pursues Attaglia as he tries to escape from the house, but is promptly confronted in the front yard by Carl and another henchman. In the ensuing gunfight, Frank is shot, but manages to kill the trio. Frank loosens what appears to be a ballistic vest he was wearing beneath his jacket, and walks away into the night.

comedy, suspenseful, neo noir, murder, cult, violence, atmospheric, psychedelic, revenge

train

wikipedia

Michael Mann's best movie, with James Caan' best performance. Cann is helped by a superb supporting cast, who on the surface may seem a motley bunch, but all are very good - Tuesday Weld ('Who'll Stop The Rain'), Jim Belushi (his movie debut), a memorable cameo from country legend Willie Nelson, and especially a fantastic turn from Robert Prosky. Everything about this film is wonderful from the musical score by Tangerine Dream to the dark lighting effects to the authentic detail about the life of a thief ( I read that Michael Mann actually used real life thieves as technical advisors to this film!). Starting with The Insider, I was intrigued by his camera-work and the use of music to compliment a scene.With Thief, his directorial debut, he shows what movie fans will be in store for over the 30 years. Thief, made way back in 1981, was Michael Mann's directorial debut and it is a fascinating heist film that has a lot more to it than you might think. It's about the type of relationships a person needs to have in order to live a rewarding life.James Caan stars as the expert thief named Frank. From the great performances to the breathtaking score by Tangerine Dream, this is a film that is full of Mann trademarks from start to finish. Music is by Tangerine Dream and cinematography by Donald Thorin.Frank (Caan) is a tough ex-con and expert jewel thief. He's working his way out to a normal life, but after being lured to a big job for the mob, he finds plans on both sides severely altered.For his first full length theatrical feature, Michael Mann announced himself to the film world with some distinction, and in the process showed everyone what style of film making makes him tick. But Frank, as smart, tough and savvy as he is, seems to thrive on the edge of things, with Mann giving him earthy and honest dialogue to engage us with, marking him out as an identifiable every man protagonist who just happens to be an exceptional thief.Mann's attention to detail is on show straight away, none more so than with the two key safe cracking jobs that are undertaken. If Frank doesn't work for his boss, he will kill his wife (Tuesday Weld), his best friend (James Belushi) and destroy his entire life.Written and Directed by Michael Mann (Ali, Heat, The Keep) made an stylish character drama is that extremely well directed and acted by the cast. Michael Mann's atmospheric and realistic profile of a seasoned professional thief (Caan in a brilliant turn) out for one lucrative score with a dream to lead a normal life with some dire circumstances standing in the way. With Thief, Michael Mann distilled his crime film style into an archetypal, haunting aura that would go on to influence not only his excellent later work, but other filmmakers as well, everything from Refn's Drive to the police procedural we see on television today. Thief weaves the age old tale of a master safe cracker(James Caan in a beautifully understated performance) the high stakes at risk of him performing one last job to escape, with said stakes represented as his angelic wife (Tuesday Weld) and newborn son. Thief, for me, belongs that special subcategory of Mann's career along with Heat, Miami Vice and Collateral, (Public Enemies doesn't get to come in this elite cinematic treehouse club, it didn't do anything for me) that are very special crime films. Unfortunately, in 'Thief' James Caan has Jim Belushi and a soundtrack by Tangerine Dream.Why did Michael Mann cast the 'Belush'? The jewel heist that Frank (James Caan) and Barry (The Belush) carry out for Leo (Robert Prosky) could have been as great as the heists pulled off in 'Rififi' or 'Le Cercle Rouge', but nooooooooo, they had to use KORG synthesizers!!!!Caan does receive some help from a good, yet underused supporting cast, most notably from his wife Jessie (Tuesday Weld) and best friend Okla (Willie Nelson) who is terribly underused, and from Leo the mob boss (Robert Prosky).One of the standout scenes in the film occurs when Frank brings Jessie to a diner and spills to her the secret of his profession. James Caan plays a highly talented thief who wants to leave his talents behind but equally magnetic people like Robert Prosky and Willie Nelson provide lucrative and nostalgic links to the past respectively.With a very fine and pulsing Tangerine Dream score, Michael Mann gets a justified excuse to continuously set high and low expectations for the viewers. Michael Mann gives a preview of what would come in his later directed works, "Miami Vice" and "Heat", and sets the stage for later stylized, crime-romance flicks.Basically the plot has been done to death by now, but back in the early '80s it wasn't so cliché. James Caan is as angry as he ever gets, Tuesday Weld is down-key and melancholy, Robert Prosky plays an unusually vulgar crime boss, Willie Nelson looks like he's about to cry every time you see him, and Jim Belushi comes across as a dopey, likable man-child. Thus Frank (like Montana) is complex because he is both unlikable and angry and yet a far better person than his criminal counterparts in the underworld."Thief" is certainly recommended for any fans of James Caan, Michael Mann, underworld crime-thrillers, or any of the films mentioned above.. Long before Michael Mann made big budget, heavy handed deadly serious clunkers like Heat and American Gangster there was Thief a relatively low budget heavy handed deadly serious clunker in all its tortoise paced glory featuring James Caan and Tuesday Weld. Weld looks medicated and the rest of the cast properly surly and threatening following the patented Mann formula that has changed little in thirty years.Overlong, stilted and gratuitously violent like the rest of Mann's oeuvre it does have the added bonus of one of the most obnoxious music scores (provided by Tangerine Zoo) in film history. Master crime thriller director Michael Mann makes his big screen debut here and scores with a taut and gripping character study of career criminals. Mann as usual shows his intricate eye for realism and detail, from the heist sequences, to the action, and also the fantastic dialogue scenes, particularly those involving Caan's initial courtship with the gorgeous Tuesday Weld, as Jessie. There is also a pulsating and atmospheric score from Tangerine Dream.Thief is one of those brilliant movies that are generally ignored by the usual glitzy award ceremonies, yet feature performances, directing, and writing of such power that put to shame many of the seemingly politically nominated movies each year. Mann a master of the crime thriller and the dark, tortured psyche first hit it big with this film which features the best performance in any of his productions from James Caan. James Caan gives the best performance of his career in this compelling, though overlong, drama that first showed off Michael Mann's talent as director. The film revolves around James Caan's safe- cracker Frank, a career criminal looking for one big score before retiring. We are given little background to his character, but, like the rest of the film, the history is embedded within every frame.Mann, wanting the film to be as close to real-life as possible, employs real cops and criminals as actors, reversing their roles to further blur the line between the 'good' and 'bad' guys. With Thief, it feels like we are thrust into this very real but secret world of crime, where Frank, who works alone when possible or employs his entrusted friend Barry (James Belushi) when necessary, agrees to work for shady crime boss Leo (Robert Prosky, who, along with Belushi and Farina, makes his film debut).With so much time spent with Frank (he appears in every scene), a lot rests upon Caan's shoulders, and he thankfully delivers what is undoubtedly his greatest performance. The result is a technically slick and compelling drama.James Caan is superb in the lead role of Frank, a seasoned professional thief who specializes in jewelry and cash. Young, John Kapelos, Mike Genovese, Nathan Davis, and Michael Paul Chan; future 'C.S.I.' star William Petersen and former Chicago cop Dennis Farina also made their feature film debuts here.Especially noteworthy are the cinematography by Donald Thorin and the typically atmospheric music by Tangerine Dream. Becoming closer to his dream of leading a normal life, a professional safecracker (James Caan) agrees to do a job for the mafia, who have other plans for him.Being Michael Mann's feature film directorial debut, "Thief" showcases many of the cinematic techniques that would be his trademarks in the years to come: the cinematography, utilizing light and shadow to give the proceedings, especially those taking place in the darkness of night, a sense of danger. An Excellent,Underrated Classic From Michael Mann And One Of The Best Crime Dramas Ever Made With a Brilliant Performance From James Caan.. Thief is an excellent,underrated classic and one of the best Crime Dramas ever made that is filled amazing direction,great performances from James Caan and rest of the cast,a fantastic script and a terrific soundtrack,Thief is Michael Mann and James Caan at their best.Based on the novel The Home Invaders:Confessions Of A Cat Burgler by Frank Hohimer and set in Chicago,Illinois,Thief tells the story of Frank(James Caan),an ex-convict and money and jewel thief and safe cracker who after years of being a Thief wants to get out of the life and start a new one with his girlfriend Jesse(Tuesday Weld). But when Frank is offered a to do a job for a local crime boss named Leo(Robert Prosky),getting out of his life being a Thief will be harder than he thought.Released in 1981,Michael Mann's amazing directorial debut Thief while earning rave reviews was a failure at the Box Office and overlooked by film goers. But over the years Thief has become a Cult Classic and seen as one of the best Crime Dramas ever made and helped define the filmmaking style of Michael Mann. Frank is such a great character because while he is tough and gritty and a master thief he is likable and complex personality that is not Black and White but with a gray area and moral ambiguity that's in the spirit of Film-Noir almost to the point where you are rooting for him get out of the life and start a new one. Great job,Mann.The score by Tangerine Dream is amazing,powerful,intense and one of the best scores I've heard in a film and truly adds to the film. Fantastic score from Tangerine Dream.In final word,if you love Michael Mann,James Caan,Crime Dramas,Film-Noir,Action Films or films in general,I highly suggest you see Thief,an excellent,underrated classic that is filmmaking at it's best. Michael Mann's brilliant script and stylish direction are great eye candy and James Caan gives a stellar performance. Powerhouse acting by James Caan in a superb Michael Mann's movie. First feature film of Michael Mann, the ones whose movies i always liked to say the least.All in all, "Thief" is a pure movie gem. Robert Prosky makes out well with his performance as the sad-faced Leo. I can't believe I am saying this, but Willie Nelson does a great job as the master thief who acts as a father figure towards Frank. James Caan stars as "Frank," a tough professional safe-cracker who prefers to work alone, but finds himself trapped between an organized crime family and a squad of corrupt police. Mann goes for realism all the way, and styles it heavily with great camera work, a pulsing Tangerine Dream score, and great performances all around, especially Caan, and Robert Prosky as Leo, the big shot who handles the fence for half of Chicago. Michael Mann is a great director and his first theatrical film does not disappoint.If you loved his other pictures "Heat", "Collateral" and "Miami Vice" behold, this is the very film that started it all; Big Cities, Bright lights, crime and pretty women. Akin to John Boorman's "Point Blank" or Mike Hodges' "Get Carter" (1971), the viewer of "Thief" is seduced by the director to like the bad guy (anti-hero).Two, the director Michael Mann had a rare ear for good music. Much later I realized that this talent was the foundation for the Mann's brilliant use of Elliot Goldenthal's riveting music in the "action" sequences of Mann's 1995 film "Heat." Three, the director could elicit a rare but marvelous performances from James Caan, and pick three extraordinary debut screen performances from Robert Prosky (which was truly remarkable), Jim Belushi, and William Peterson. That's Mann's rare talent—to churn out memorable performances from minor characters and Prosky's turn in this film is a delight to watch.Mann's writing ability comes to the fore in "Thief," if one studies the dialog between Frank (Caan) and Jessie (Tuesday Weld) where Frank proposes to Jessie. A "master thief" (James Caan) is trapped in a vice created by on-the-take cops and the neon signed Mr Bigs that run him and also the local big-time-heist business.Crime will always appeal to B league directors such as Micheal Mann because they allow anything to happen at any time. Robert Prosky is VERY impressive as the crime boss Leo.The only thing I didn't like is the undeveloped love story between Frank and Jesse (Tuesday Weld) . I personally believe this is James Caan's best work ever by a landslide,, The soundtrack is awesome,, Tangerine Dream,, really knocks it out of the park,, you have a mid level con man/ thief trying to get by in everyday life,, being a crook,, and a decent family man in the process.he decides to take one more job for the Mafia,, but they unfortunately for him have other plans.. Michael Mann's feature length debut "Thief" was a very impressive beginning which showcased the talent of its leading man James Caan in this luminously clinical heist / character drama where a professional diamond thief finds himself caught between an organised crime mob and that of his personal life. There's quite an acidity to the script (as there's a lot more going on than just the job in what eventuates is something like a day in the life of a thief) and the performances are realistically pitched with excellent support by Tuesday Weld, Robert Prosky, Willie Nelson, James Belushi and Denis Farina. Editing, production design are all excellent, and Michael Mann makes full use of the Chicago locations in particular, and blends this with a meticulous attention to realism (he used real life thieves and police as advisers on this project) within the context of the highly stylised photography in the way he uses locations, background action, and the low-key and grounded nature of cast performances.While acting performances are very good all round, the focus of the film is James Caan, and he doesn't disappoint. Support is OK but all of them really come a far second behind the lead of Caan.Mann gives the film a great feel. Michael Mann's first film, Thief stars James Caan as a professional diamond looter. "Thief" was Michael Mann's first and best film. James Caan plays a master thief who, as the film opens, is on the job. The last 15 minutes is where most of the action is as the soundtrack blares with the great Tangerine Dream music and no dialogue whatsoever.Mann's talent is evident from the start and it's no surprise that he would go on to make other great films like "Manhunter", "Last of the Mohicans", "Heat", and "The Insider". Michael Mann's accomplishments as a film director have given respectability to a man heretofore known mostly as the creator of television's ``Miami Vice.'' He's been justly recognized for his work on ``Manhunter,'' ``The Last of the Mohicans'' and ``The Insider.'' What you may not know is that he made a very good movie in 1981, three years before ``Miami Vice.'' That was ``Thief,'' starring James Caan, Tuesday Weld, James Belushi and Robert Prosky. Leo is so influential he can offer Caan anything even a baby for Jessie(Tuesday Weld) and himself.The score goes down and Caan thinks he's free, but Leo wants more.....A richly stylish film set on the streets of Chicago, married superbly by a sparkling, industrial rock music score by German band, Tangerine Dream.Some of the safe cracking scenes are truly memorable & realistic - too realistic in fact, since a lot of English police authorities wanted some of the scenes showing various tools cut from the movie.They weren't!Caan is ably supported by a rather underplayed but decent performance from his pal, James Belushi. James Caan as Frank gives one of the best performances of his career in this movie , watch the scene where he describes his prison experiences and the scene in the adoption agency , an excellent performance , oh and the rest of the cast give a good showing too in this violent , gritty , foul mouthed thriller . Thief is a very good crime drama, coming from the master of the genre, Michael Mann.Thief is the story of Frank, a used car salesman and part time safe cracker, who likes to do things his own way, but by chance, gets drawn into a deeper criminal underworld that he doesn't want to be a part of.The success of the film lies in its realism, and its central character, Frank is a real character, full of depth, someone the audience can relate to and want to come out on top. James Caan & Robert Prosky give good performances in Thief, a movie that dates itself by taking away all the glitz and glamour that's associated with high-dollar thieves in today's films (and this is a Michael Mann movie!). Thief is a wonderfully directed and well acted film starring James Caan. Also, we get James Caan's best performance to date, stylish cinematography from Donald Thorin, and a great electronic score from Tangerine Dream.

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Neko no ongaeshi

A young girl named Haru awakens to another day, where it seems she's a few steps behind everything. Rushing to school, she comes in late for class, to mocking laughter from her classmates, and even from one guy in her class whom she has a crush on.After school, walking home with her friend Hiromi, Haru curses her misfortune. As they walk down a busy street, they see a dark cat carrying a small box in his mouth. In the middle of the street, the cat drops it, and attempts to pick it up, unaware that a large truck is heading towards it! Haru grabs her friend's lacrosse stick, and running into the street, saves the cat, before collapsing into some bushes and breaking the lacrosse stick. Unseen by anyone but Haru, the cat then stands on it's hind legs, and thanks her for saving him. It then gets back on all fours, and rushes off. When Haru relates the incident to Hiromi, her friend can scarcely believe it either.Later that evenin, Haru tells her Mother about the incident. Her Mother explains that it sounds like something that happened when Haru was little. Supposedly, a dirty white kitten was following her as she ate fish crackers. Haru then took pity on the kitten, and gave her the whole box. Haru's Mother claims that Haru told her that the kitten talked to her, but Haru doesn't recall anything like that happening.Later that night, Haru hears something outside, and sees a procession of cats walking down the street. Then eventually stop outside Haru's house, and she comes outside. Among the procession are the Cat King, his Prime Minister Natori, and a servant cat named Natoru. Natori explains that the Cat King thanks Haru for saving his son, and she is presented with a scroll, that gives information about numerous gifts she will receive for her good deed.The next day, Haru wakes up, wondering if it was a dream. Her ponderings are soon put to rest when a number of things happen. Her friend Hiromi has awoken to find numerous lacrosse sticks outside her door. At Haru's place, cat tail plants surround their house, and as she heads to school, a number of cats chase after her (Haru surmises that she must have some catnip on her). At school, she is freaked out when she finds a number of individually-boxed mice in her shoe locker.Getting over the shock, she goes about the day, taking Hiromi's clean-up duty upon her request. While taking out the garbage, she sees the guy she has a crush on, walking by with his girlfriend. This distracts Haru and she trips and falls, feeling more miserable than the day before. Suddenly, she sees the King's assistant, Natoru, who becomes shocked when Haru yells at him regarding the 'gifts' she has received. Noting that she seems upset, Natoru offers to take her to the Cat Kingdom for a personal tour, and even tells her of the additional gift she will receive for her good deed: the chance to marry the Cat King's son, Prince Lune. This shocks Haru, who then starts to wonder if being among cats wouldn't be so bad, since they seem to have very few responsibilities. Natoru takes this as a 'yes' answer, and rushes off, leaving Haru distraught at the idea of her (a human girl) marrying a cat! As she panics, a disembodied voice tells her to find a white cat at the crossroads, who will lead her to the Cat Bureau.Haru goes to the specific location, where she finds a large white cat. The cat doesn't say a word, but she follows him through all sorts of little nooks and crannies, until he reaches a small embankment of shops that almost seem doll-like in size. Here, the large white cat gets up on his hind legs, and heads to a small storefront. As he does so, the setting sun catches on the windows surrounding them. The front door of the building opens, and a cat in a suit emerges, giving his name as Baron Humbert von Gikkingen, but Haru decides to just call him 'Baron.' Baron cites the large white cat as Muta, and as they talk, a stone statue comes to life, which Baron says is named Toto.Baron invites his guests into his home, where Haru explains about her predicament, and how a strange voice told her to seek out the Cat Bureau. The Baron decides that he and Muta will make a visit to the Cat Kingdom in regards to Haru's request for their help. However, the Baron requests that Haru never forget who she is, as this will be very important. As they speak, there is a knock at the front door. Haru answers it, only to find Natoru there, and a number of cats who carry Haru off, intending to take her to the Cat Kingdom. Muta manages to catch up with them, but Baron and Toto lose their trail.Haru wakes up in the Cat Kingdom, where she finds she has shrunk to the size of a cat. Looking around, she is met by a white cat named Yuki, who pleads with Haru to leave the Cat Kingdom at once. However, Natoru appears, and takes both Haru and Muta to the King's palace.Haru is taken to be dressed to meet the King, while Muta is escorted to a banquest hall, where he gorges on a number of foods. As Haru changes, she is then met by the King, who is overjoyed that she has chosen to marry his son. However, Haru explains her trepidations, since she is a human, and the Prince is a cat. The King and Natori smile, telling her that that is no longer a problem, since Haru is now half-cat. Haru looks in a nearby mirror, and is shocked to see that she has somehow turned into a cat! Running from the room, she finds Muta, stuck in a bowl of catnip jelly, unable to move.Even though Haru is still upset over being turned into a cat, she is taken to the main dining room, where the King attempts to cheer her up with a number of entertainment acts. When none seem to please Haru, he has the performers tossed out a nearby window. Suddenly, a masked strange comes forward, promising to cheer up Haru. As the band strikes up a waltz, Haru dances with the mysterious stranger, feeling more at ease being a cat. This feeling causes her to grow whiskers, which makes her gasp. The masked stranger then tells her not to forget who she really is, as he said so before. Suddenly, the Cat King calls for the music to stop, demanding to know who the stranger is. He removes his mask to reveal the Baron! The Cat King sends his troops to take down the Baron and retrieve Haru, but this quickly fails. In the ensuing scuffle, Muta is freed from the bowl of catnip jelly, and joins the battle.Off to one side, Yuki appears and hastens Baron and Haru to her. She explains that there is a way for Haru to regain her human form, and helps her and the Baron escape through a secret entrance, which leads to a maze outside the castle, of which a large tower extends from it's center. Yuki explains that if they can get to the top before a specific time, they will be able to return to their world.Muta then joins them, and they set out going through the maze. However, the King sends a number of troops, and tries to throw them off course. His plans fail, and Haru, Baron and Muta make it to the tower, climbing up it's outer stairway. Just when it seems they've made it halfway-up, the King detonates the tower, causing the mid-point to plummet to the bottom!Haru, Baron and Muta are then met by the King, though the reunion is short-lived when Prince Lune arrives, along with a contingency of soldiers. The King explains to the Prince about Haru, but the Prince explains that he wishes to marry Yuki. He then hands her the same box that Haru saw him with on the street. The box contains some fish crackers. Yuki then explains that they are just like the kind that Haru gave her when she was a kitten, and thanks her for helping her all those years ago.The King finds this very moving, but then tries to see if Haru will marry him instead. Haru angrily rejects his advances, and Muta happily proclaims that he admires her spirit.The King, not one to be spurned, still tries to claim Haru, but Muta and Lune's soldiers prevent him from advancing, and Haru heads up the nearby steps for the top of the tower. Baron also confronts the King, and wins in a duel against him, before hearing Haru cry out from the top of the tower...which leads to the other world, but whose opening is several hundred miles up in the sky! Muta and Baron rush to her aid, but not before she falls over the edge.They freefall towards Haru's hometown, when a flock of crows appears, courtesy of Toto. Haru makes it safely down, and they say their goodbyes, with Haru admitting that she has a bit of a crush on Baron, before he takes off.The next day, Haru's Mother awakes, and is shocked to see that Haru is up before her, having already prepared breakfast. Later on, Haru meets up with Hiromi, who happily tells her friend that the guy she has a crush on has broken up with his girlfriend. However, instead of being excited at this, Haru shows no concern, as this is now unimportant to her. It appears that her experience has allowed her to become more independent.

romantic, flashback

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imdb

tt0043899

Pandora and the Flying Dutchman

In 1930, fishermen in the small Catalan port of Esperanza make a grim discovery in their nets, the bodies of a man and a woman. The resultant ringing of church bells in the village brings the local police and the resident archaeologist, Geoffrey Fielding (Harold Warrender), to the beach. Fielding returns to his villa, and, breaking the "fourth wall", retells the story of these two people to the audience. Esperanza's small group of English expatriates revolves around Pandora Reynolds (Ava Gardner), an American nightclub singer and femme fatale. All the men love her (or believe that they do), but Pandora is unable to love anyone. She tests her admirers by demanding they give up something they value, citing Geoffrey Fielding's quote that the "measure of love is how much you are willing to sacrifice for it." One of her admirers (Marius Goring) even commits suicide in front of Pandora and her friends by drinking wine that he has laced with poison, but Pandora apparently shows indifference. Pandora agrees to marry a land-speed record holder, Stephen Cameron (Nigel Patrick), after he sends his racing car tumbling into the sea at her request. That same night, the Dutch captain Hendrick van der Zee (James Mason) arrives in Esperanza. Pandora swims out to his yacht and finds him painting a picture of her posed as her namesake, Pandora, whose actions brought an end to the earthly paradise in Greek mythology. Hendrick appears to fall in love with Pandora, and he moves into the same hotel complex as the other expatriates. Geoffrey and Hendrick become friends, collaborating to seek background information on Geoffrey's local finds. One of these relics is a notebook written in Old Dutch, which confirms Geoffrey's suspicion that Hendrick van der Zee is the Flying Dutchman, a 16th-century ship captain who murdered his wife, believing her to be unfaithful. He blasphemed against God at his murder trial, where he was sentenced to death. The evening before his execution, a mysterious force opened the Dutchman's prison doors and allowed him to escape to his waiting ship, where in a dream it was revealed to him that his wife was innocent and he was doomed to sail the seas for eternity unless he could find a woman who loved him enough to die for him. Every seven years, the Dutchman could go ashore for six months to search for that woman. Despite her impending wedding to Stephen, Pandora declares her love for Hendrick, but he is unwilling to have her die for his sake, and tries to provoke her into hating him. Pandora is also loved by Juan Montalvo (Mario Cabre), an arrogant, famous bullfighter, who murders Hendrick out of jealousy. But as soon as Montalvo leaves, Hendrick comes back to life as if nothing had happened. He attends the bullfight the next day, and when Montalvo sees him in the audience, he becomes petrified with fear and is fatally gored by the bull. Before dying, Montalvo tells Pandora about his murder of his romantic rival, leaving her confused. On the eve of her wedding, Pandora asks Geoffrey if he knows anything about Hendrick that will clear up her confusion. Once he sees the Flying Dutchman preparing to sail away, he hands her his translation of the notebook. However, the Dutchman's yacht is becalmed. On learning the truth, Pandora swims out to Hendrick again. He shows her a small portrait of his murdered wife. She and Pandora look exactly alike. Hendrik explains they are man and wife and that through her he has been given the chance to escape his doom, but he rejected it because it would cost her death. Pandora is undaunted, however. That night, there is a fierce storm at sea. The next morning, the bodies of Pandora and the Dutchman are recovered.

romantic, murder

train

wikipedia

Sure, there are flaws, mostly in the script which occasionally seems to think it's smarter than it actually is and goes for the sort of intrusive voice-over narration that never fails to annoy, but also in scenes where Lewin's decisions as director become frustrating and in the score which is generally quite good but often overbearing.Regardless of its flaws, "Pandora and the Flying Dutchman" is a literate, creative, fairly original, and exceptionally well-acted film, with the exceptional feature of being photographed by Jack Cardiff OBE, who was on quite a run going into this film having photographed the three Powell/Pressburger classics from the 40's: "A Matter of Life and Death", "Black Narcissus", and "The Red Shoes" as well as the underrated if not exactly great 1949 Hitchcock offering "Under Capricorn". James Mason and Ava Gardner are really excellent here in the lead roles.I was not looking forward to "Pandora and the Flying Dutchman" but I found myself very pleasantly surprised by it. Ava Gardner, never more beautiful and just about to emerge as a star, is the Pandora of the title, a night-club singer and femme fatale, engaged to be married to a gentlemanly racing car driver (Nigel Patrick), but with a hotheaded bullfighter (Mario Cabré) eager to win her. A perfectly delicious and contentedly cruel Pandora (Ava Gardner) here lives the great life, she has both the world land speed record holder and Spain's champion bullfighter after her, both of whom she treats callously. For The Flying Dutchman, his Lazarus-like wandering of the globe can only be stopped by his falling in love with a woman who is prepared to die for him.The movie tries to portray itself as quite clever but at times falters, with a classics professor who cannot pronounce "Phoenician", and quotations from the Ruba'iyat that are a little screwy in terms of context. Pandora's response to the Dutchman quoting the ending of Matthew Arnold's Dover Beach suggests that she hadn't fully grasped it, and he only half-grasped.On the other hand Marius Goring, who is underused, gets a good line from Webster's The Duchess of Malfi: "I know death hath ten thousand several doors / For men to take their exits; and 'tis found / They go on such strange geometrical hinges, / You may open them both ways" It probably helps if you understand that the last line is a reference to suicide versus involuntary death, which requires Dover Notes for me, and perhaps most viewers! And yet although the film is quite the most outrageous love story, Lewin does provide a brief counterpoint, when John Laurie's mechanic, quite wonderfully cocks a toast to Sheila's Sims' Janet when she epically denounces Pandora's way of life at a celebratory dinner.A feature of Technicolor films, which is always nice to see, is that the directors generally didn't take colour for granted. The movie manages despite many absurdities (the Dutchman has a 17th century photograph) to hold together well, even with the central absurdity, which is that the love that Pandora has for Hendrik van der Zee, is basically groundless, we're never even shown how it came about.. The mystical romance between a society girl (AVA GARDNER) and a man condemned to roam the seas and only hit port every seven years (JAMES MASON) is brought to the screen with handsome production values and gorgeous Technicolor. NIGEL PATRICK is excellent in the pivotal role of the man who loves Pandora unwisely.Albert Lewin, the director, seems drawn to these kind of other world stories, having done some of his best work in the fantasy genre, as for example with THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY. The mystical elements aren't drawn together too convincingly but seem more like pieces of a puzzle that are missing and will never be found.Ava Gardner was at the peak of her beauty and is well cast as Pandora in a role that might have easily been played by another star of that era, Rita Hayworth. Mason manages to look grimly determined on cue and gives an effortless performance as the Flying Dutchman, but this is a film that is not likely to have wide appeal outside of patrons who can appreciate its artistic leanings.Nevertheless, it's a "must see" for fans of either Ava Gardner or James Mason even though their characters are not as strongly realized by the scriptwriter as one could wish. cause ,though a bit too long,"Pandora" is an unique film .It is part of those movies in which love refutes everything ,including space and time.It is continuously constructed and when it's over we have the strange feeling of having come full circle."Pandora" is wrapped in mystery and it renewed the genre which "Peter Ibbetson "and "portrait of Jennie" had pioneered in the thirties and late forties which "Somewhere in Time" (based on a Richard Matheson novel) would continue in the eighties.Ava Gardner,the most beautiful woman of that era (and for me the most beautiful woman of all time) is ideally cast as the female lead.Who else could play such a gorgeous creature ?James Mason gives a tormented heartrending performance.Albert Lewin made few movies but the best of them (the picture of Dorian Gray" "the private Affairs of Bel-Ami" ) are worth seeking out.The only real horror is "Saadia" which even Michel Simon could not redeem.Ava Gardner and James Mason would play another legendary couple (real this time):Francis-Joseph and Elisabeth of Austria.("Mayerling",Terence Young,1968). Albert Lewin's independently produced and directed UK film PANDORA AND THE FLYING DUTCHMAN (1951) is one of the most ethereal and haunting love stories ever filmed. Every seven years he is permitted to re-appear on land briefly, to attempt to find a woman who will agree to die for him, thus freeing him from his curse of sailing the seas for eternity.Those who's taste in movies runs to to things like "Speed II" and "Prom" will probably not like this one. But what would Ava give up, would she give it all up for a man she truly loved?That questioned is answered if not to everyone's complete satisfaction in Pandora and the Flying Dutchman. She's a cool one Ava, one guy commits suicide over her, Nigel Patrick trashes a perfectly good car to prove something to her, even Harrold Warrender who has a sort of Van Helsing like role is not immune to her beauty and charm.But the guy who's really taken with her is James Mason, the legendary Flying Dutchman. He gets to port once every seven years to search and he's put in on the northern coast of Spain this time.The color photography by Jack Cardiff is nice, the scenery is almost as beautiful as Ava. But I think for this film to work, a more innocent type rather than the worldly Ms. Gardner would have to have been written into the story.. It still obviously wan't the most expensive movie to shoot, judging by its visual qualities but it helps that movie that it was being shot at location rather than in sound-studio somewhere.Ava Gardner and James Mason are both obviously some capable actors but because I just wasn't drawn into the movie and it's story I also didn't really got into their characters. James Mason plays the Flying Dutchman-Hendrik van der Zee--who is doomed to sail the seas until he finds a woman who will die for him. The beauty of Ava Gardner is awesome in the role of a woman that does not love any man until she finds the doomed captain Hendrik van der Zee, falling in love with him and becoming capable of an ultimate act of love. Hendrick is soon found to be the 17th century Flying Dutchman, cursed to wander the world forever, unless he meets a woman willing to die for him.Lewin does a good job both on the screenplay and direction, though both have flaws, and the music is a little overpowering at times. Man Ray did the paintings.The title tells the story: a cursed sailor from the past (Mason), doomed to sail the oceans forever, finds himself drawn to modern Spain, where a singing American playgirl (Gardner) is tormenting male expats, including an English race car driver and a local matador while an archaeologist investigates. A British fantasy-drama draws inspiration from the legend of the Flying Dutchman, a ghost-ship can never approach port and is doomed to sail forever in the sea, and revamped by writer/director Albert Lewin into a lachrymose romance between a Dutch captain, the selfsame Flying Dutchman, Hendrick van der Zee (Mason), and a drop-dead gorgeous Pandora Reynolds (Gardner), in a fictitious port town Esperanza, Spain.Pandora is surrounded by admirers, some of them are expatriate Britons, one of them even gulps a poisoned wine and kills himself in the occasion of the first anniversary their acquaintance, to the dismay of her indifference, and she doesn't even care to raise an eyebrow. Only in the fantasy, maybe, so one night, beckoned by a mysterious ship anchored near the beach, Pandora swims to the ship and finds Hendrick, the sole being on board, is uncannily drawing a painting (a work made by Lewin's friend Man Ray) with exact her image, there are connections between them far beyond this life, as it will reveal, Hendrick is a perpetual wandering soul on the sea, under the curse that only a woman who is willing to die for him because of uncontaminated, unconditional love, can he be set free from the eternity of exile for his blasphemy and spur-of-the- moment sin. Here, the whole foolish and intrinsically jaundiced perspective of treating beautiful women as the ultimate sacrifice to assuage men's guilty over their own idiotic wrongdoings, is ghastly behind our times, which tolls the death knell for this otherwise handsomely and picturesquely shot piece of supernatural romance in Technicolor by cinematographer Jack Cardiff, its close cousin should be William Dieterle's PORTRAIT OF JENNIE (1948).The opening, has already given away the forbidding end, and the film is mostly narrated by Pandora's friend, a British archaeologist Geoffrey Fielding (Warrender), who is in the safe age range to stay as a bystander with a morally superior eye, and sometimes by Hendrick himself, to cursorily introduce his past to viewers, those orations are ornate and over-literary, James Mason has been ill-fitted for the role, dour, ponderous and a complete misfit for Ms. Gardner's glamour turn, but as it always the case, whether it is Clark Gable in John Ford's MOGAMBO (1953), or Richard Burton in John Huston's THE NIGHT OF THE IGUANA (1964), Gardner can hardly find an equal worth her divine beauty and unrestrained candour, she is Pandora in real life, that's a tailor- made role of her no doubt, but the movie only resounds with a disappointing meh, no torrid flamenco, record-breaking car-racing, or corrida extravaganza can save the damp squib.. A strange yacht brings intriguing "Flying Dutchman" James Mason (as Hendrik van der Zee) into her life. Gardner and the location photography by Jack Cardiff are the main attractions.***** Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (2/51) Albert Lewin ~ Ava Gardner, James Mason, Nigel Patrick, Sheila Sim. A film that attempts with some success to bring an old mythical tale to life in our times.. Their apparent desire for one another was flat, uninspired and way off the mark.Set on the very picturesque, Mediterranean side of coastal Spain - Yes. I will admit that this decidedly expensive production (Gardner's umpteen gowns, alone, must've cost a small fortune) certainly contained some fine camera-work, throughout, with its many, many blue skies and equally blue waters.But, alas, the facade of impressive Technicolor cinematography certainly wasn't sufficient enough to detract from the fact that the "Flying Dutchman's" story (along with its ludicrous characters and their absurd dramas) was nothing but stuffy, boring and pretentious nonsense of the highest order.And, to add insult to injury here - I was not in the least bit convinced that Gardner's character could competently play a piano (as a singer she sure hit enough bum-notes) and that Mason's character was, in fact, supposed to be an accomplished artist. James Mason is the titular Dutchman, cursed to sail the seas for eternity unless he can find a woman who will die out of love for him - enter Ava Gardner.A very strange yet compelling tale with Mason wonderfully sad as the man who longs for love and death and Gardner, gorgeous and much in demand from various suitors who cannot decide on what she wants ie will she / won't she go with him?Certainly odd and now has something of a cult following.. Romatic tosh of the campest kind but then it was written and directed by that most florid of film-makers Albert Lewin and told, in contemporary terms, the story of the legend of the Flying Dutchman, condemned to roam the seas until he found a woman willing to die for him. He's James Mason at his most inscrutable and she's' Ava Gardner at her most glamorous and others camping it up in the cast include Nigel Patrick, Harold Warrender and Marius Goring though the main reason to see it is Jack Cardiff's gorgeous cinematography. James Mason as the Flying Dutchman meets his final common fate with Ava Gardner.. A fascinating variation on the old story of the Flying Dutchman and his eternal damnation, which only a true love can save him from, here Ava Gardner at her most intoxicating, while the Dutchman couldn't have been anyone better than James Mason, who later also played Captain Nemo, almost the same character. It's a well written story by the director of other similar cases, like "The Moon and Sixpence" and "The Portrait of Dorian Gray", both with George Sanders, somewhat spiritually related with James Mason with the same kind of more bottoms than one, and this is perhaps Albert Lewin's best film, succeeding very well with his characters, especially James Mason and Ava Gardner - I don't think I ever saw her more to her advantage, and still she is not entirely sympathetic here. This tragic legendary story of the Flying Dutchman is expertly woven into a wonderful drama about the tale of a beautiful but spoiled destructive lover, night club singer Pandora Reynolds, the beautiful femme fatal played by Ava Gardner. She is immediately attracted to him and finds a new meaning to her life abandoning her selfish, spiteful deceit with her past life and her other suitors including jealous bull fighter Mario Cabre who kills Mason not knowing he has immortality and where Mason then shows up at a bullfight shocking the performing Cabre, and distracting him so, that he mortally wounded by an attacking bull.Harold Warrender as archaeologist Geoffrey Fielding provides a brilliant narration of this story throughout the movie and holds it together with gentleman expertise.The final part of this movie is absolutely moving with the fatal love scene between Mason and Gardner culminating in the cracked hour glass in which they succumb to their mortal qualities in a storm where their lives are consumed and he is released from his imposed curse of wandering the seven seas for an eternity until he could find a woman who was prepared to die for him. You also learn that Gardner is some sort of reincarnated version of the lady Mason murdered--hence, cursing him to his fate."Pandora and the Flying Dutchman" is a lovely film, as the color stock used is quite nice and makes the leading lady (Gardner) look her best. James Mason fits perfectly in the mysterious role of the fictitious Captain Hendrik van der Zee. And, the alluring Ava Gardner is the perfect siren. Then, the role of the narrator could be eliminated and we would have a tight enough story that viewers would have been able to make sense of it without the narration.My five stars are for the good acting overall, especially that of Mason and Gardner; and for the setting, scenery and production aspects of the film. And like the poem, the film speaks more infinite statements about that unique passion between Ava Gardner at the peak of her never equaled beauty, and James Mason, more tormented and desperately in love than ever.The film's magic is transcended by the setting: the country of flamenco, gypsies and bullfighting. His face is devastated as he only tries to ignite her hatred to preserve her life."Pandora and the Flying Dutchman" is about "a man unable to die and a woman unable to love". Pandora and The Flying Dutchman is directed by Albert Lewin, produced by Albert Lewin and Joseph Kaufman, has a screenplay by Albert Lewin, photography by Jack Cardiff and stars James Mason, Ava Gardner, Nigel Patrick, Mario Cabre, Harold Warrender, Shelia Sim and Marius Goring.Haunting, poetic, romantic and moving Pandora and The Flying Dutchman is one of the most beautiful films ever made. Ava Gardner is at the height of her beauty and James Mason is at his most intense and brooding.Set on the coast of Spain in the 1930's the film begins with some local fisherman discovering two dead bodies, a man and a woman. Archaeologist Geoffrey Fielding(Harold Warrender)is also intrigued by Van Der Zee and becomes more and more convinced that he may be the cursed Captain.You're not sure for a while whether Van Der Zee is the cursed Flying Dutchman or just a lonely man with some mystery and sadness in his life and if Pandora and Fielding are reading too much into the odd things about him.This film is a love story like no other and the entire cast give brilliant performances.. Gardner is beautiful looking but obviously has her inability to truly love any man until she finds the unlikely one, Mason is good as the mysterious man who is later revealed to be a cursed sailor who does not want his love to be hurt by his punishment, it is an interesting story of legend mixing with strangeness, it may be a bit barmy and an acquired taste for modern audiences, but it is certainly a most watchable romantic fantasy drama.

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Persepolis

At the airport, Marjane is unable to board a plane to Iran. She then takes a seat and smokes a cigarette. She reflects on her childhood, full of politically driven conflict. As a young girl, Marji lived in Tehran and wanted to be a prophet and a disciple of Bruce Lee. Her childhood ambition is the general uprising against the Shah of Iran. Her middle-class family participates in all the rallies and protests. Marji and a group of friends attempt to attack a young boy named Ramen, whose father, a member of SAVAK, killed Communists for no particular reason. One day, Marji's Uncle Anoush arrives to have dinner with the family after recently being released from his nine-year sentence in prison. Uncle Anoush inspires Marji with his stories of his life on the run from the government, a result of rebelling. Political enemies cease fighting and elections for a new leading power commence. Marji's family's situation does not improve as they are profoundly upset when Islamic Fundamentalists win the elections with 99.99% of the vote and start repressing Iranian society. The government forces women to dress modestly, including wearing a head scarf, and Anoush is rearrested and executed for his political beliefs. Profoundly disillusioned, Marji tries, with her family, to fit into the reality of the intolerant regime. The Iran-Iraq war breaks out and Marji sees for herself the horrors of death and destruction. The Iranian government begins implementing ridiculous laws that create blatant injustices. Marji witnesses her father threatened by rifle-wielding teenaged government officials and watches her critically ill uncle die after an unqualified government-appointed hospital administrator refuses to allow him to travel abroad for medical treatment. The family tries to find solace in secret parties where they enjoy simple pleasures the government has outlawed, including alcohol. As she grows up, Marji begins a life of over-confidence. She refuses to stay out of trouble, secretly buying Western heavy metal music, notably Iron Maiden, on the black market, wearing unorthodox clothing such as a denim jacket, celebrating punk rock and other Western music sensations like Michael Jackson, and openly rebuts a teacher's lies about the abuses of the government. Fearing her arrest for her outspokenness, Marji's parents send her to a French lycée in Vienna, Austria, where she can be safe and free to express herself. She lives with Catholic nuns and is upset with their discriminatory and judgmental behavior. Marji doesn't make any friends, and ultimately feels intolerably isolated in a foreign land surrounded by annoyingly superficial people who take their freedom for granted. As the years go by, Marji is thrown out of her temporary shelter for insulting a nun and is driven out into the streets. Marji continues to go from house to house until ending up in the house of Frau Dr. Schloss, a retired philosophy teacher. One night, her grandmother's voice resonates, telling her to stay true to herself as she leaves a party after lying about her nationality, telling an acquaintance that she was French. Her would-be lover reveals his homosexuality after a failed attempt at sex with Marji. She engages in a passionate love affair with Markus, a debonair native, which ends when she discovers him cheating on her. Marji is accused of stealing Frau Dr. Schloss' brooch, she becomes angered and leaves. She spends the day on a park bench, reflecting upon how cruel Markus was to her. She discovers that she has nowhere to go. She lives on the street for a few months. Eventually, she becomes ill and contracts bronchitis, and almost dies. Marji recovers in a Viennese hospital and returns to Iran with her family's permission and hopes that the conclusion of the war will improve their quality of life. After spending several days wasting her time watching television, Marji falls into a clinical depression. She attempts suicide by overdosing on medication. She falls asleep and dreams of God and Karl Marx reminding her what is important and encouraging her to live. Her determination is renewed and she begins enjoying life again. Marji attends university classes and parties. She enters into a relationship with a fellow student. Marji notices that her situation has gradually worsened and that Iranian society is more tyrannized than ever. Mass executions for political beliefs and petty religious absurdities have become common, much to Marji's dismay. She and her boyfriend are caught holding hands and their parents are forced to pay a fine to avoid their lashing. Despite Iranian society making living as a student and a woman intolerable, Marji remains rebellious. She resorts to personal survival tactics to protect herself, such as falsely accusing a man of insulting her to avoid being arrested for wearing makeup and marrying her boyfriend to avoid scrutiny by the religious police. Her grandmother is disappointed by Marji's behavior and berates Marji, telling her that both her grandfather and her uncle died supporting freedom and innocent people and that she should never forsake them or her family by succumbing to the repressive environment of Iran. Marji, realizing her mistake, fixes her mistakes, and her grandmother is pleased to hear that Marji openly confronted the blatant sexist double standard in her university's forum on public morality. The police raid a party. While the women are arrested, the men escape on the rooftops. One of the men, Nima, unwittingly hesitates before one of them jumps, consequently falling to his death. Her family decides that Marji, after her friend's death and her divorce, leave the country permanently to avoid being targeted by the Iranian authorities as a political dissident. Marji's mother forbids Marji from returning and Marji reluctantly agrees. Marji states that this would be the last time she saw her grandmother who died not long after her departure. Marji is shown collecting her luggage and getting into a taxi. As the taxi drives away from the south terminal of Paris-Orly Airport, the narrative cuts back to the present day. The driver asks Marji where she is from and she replies "Iran," showing that she's kept the promise she made to Anoush and her grandmother that she would remember where she came from and that she would always stay true to herself. She recalls her final memory of her grandmother telling her how she placed jasmine in her brassiere to smell lovely every day.

comedy, avant garde, murder, flashback, psychedelic, autobiographical, humor, philosophical, romantic, historical, storytelling

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wikipedia

Traditionally animated in black and white flashbacks, it tells the story of a French-speaking woman's childhood and young adulthood in Tehran, Iran, and in Vienna during the 1980s and '90s.Marjane Satrapi grew up in a family of revolutionaries against the Shah's regime and the Islamic government that subsequently took hold, and the film literally illustrates her feelings and thought processes as a little girl, following her as the government control in Iran got more and more strict. Educated in a French school, she and her family are rapidly alienated from the so-called revolution; she is sent to Vienna to continue her education, falls in with a group of punks and eventually returns both depressed and disillusioned to Teheran where, with other university students, she must submit to the rule of extreme Islamists.The story covers a great deal of ground from the point of view of a young pro-Western culture radical, and is told with humor and intelligence. She laughs at herself as much as at the semi-lunatic Guards of the Revolution.Satrapi's hold on reality is much strengthened under the influence of her highly honest grandmother who teaches her not co compromise, not to betray and not to give in.This is no fairy tale with flying horses and beautiful princesses, but a serious, unsentimental and sometimes brutally honest film covering, among other events, the story of the millions of Iranians and Iraqis who died in a now forgotten seven year war around the Persian Gulf.. Persepolis tells the amazing story of a young girl growing up in Iran around the time of the Islamic Revolution. Using a unique style of animation, that closely follows the style of the graphic novel, the audience is pulled into a world that is much different than the world they are used to.Marjane's story is often times humorous and often times heart breaking without resorting to heavy handed sentimentalism that is often seen in Hollywood movies. However, the life with the fundamentalist in the government is repressive and she leaves her country again to live in France."Persepolis" is an interesting animation where the contemporary history of Iran is disclosed through the eyes of the lead character. With the help of artist Vincent Paronnaud, the stylized drawings have become a motion picture which has already conquered critics and won several awards (the Jury Prize in Cannes being one of them).The film's strict adherence to the book's style makes for simple but powerful viewing: the simple pictures ensure the story doesn't need to be filtered, but can be understood right away, while the use of black and white provide the images with a strength that would otherwise be missing. The choice of animation proves to be particularly effective in a most unusual choice for this kind of film, namely fantasy sequences: there is a hilarious moment, for instance, when Marjane, during a stay in Vienna, looks back on her disappointment in love and sees her ex-boyfriend as a depraved freak; live-action would have ruined that scene, undoubtedly. As seen in Clint Eastwoood's Iwo Jima double bill, the line between "heroes" and "villains" is very thin, and the film never misses the opportunity to show how bad our own society can be: Marjane ends up hating Europe more than her home-country, and at the beginning a flashback shows the British government's role in manipulating Iranian politics for money's sake. In the end, this movie is far from being a movie about Iran, but only tells an individual life, crying for freedom in a country were a woman can't reach it, but transfigured by personal memories and a strong animated point of view, that uses all the techniques and styles a comic-book adaptation could offer.. In a individually visualized way this animation picture shows Marjane Satrapis personal biography and gives you an idea about the historical background of the Iran and the way of living in this part of the world. It's a movie that creates believable souls, not characters, whose laughs and tears, triumphs and tragedies ultimately become your own, because its main character follows a quest that all of us can identify with: finding our place in the world.Marjane Satrapi grew up in Iran in the last days of the Shah. No amount of live action, however well done, will be able to render so starkly the brutality of the Shah's troops, so lovingly and so beautifully the minor irritances of first love, and the way that the tragedy of heartbreak segues into the childish petulances of resentment, and the freedom and bewilderment of a life adrift."Persepolis" is a wonderful, humane and bittersweet film, simply put, an experience to be treasured.. Movies don't come much more boldly original or stylistically unique than the animated hit "Persepolis," an autobiographical tale of life under a totalitarian regime as seen through the eyes of a spirited Iranian girl named Marjane Satrapi, who, after immigrating to France, wrote the graphic novel upon which the film (co-directed by Satrapi herself) is based. Unfortunately, as is so often the case with revolutions, the new regime - in this case, the fundamentalist Islamic Republic led by the Ayatollah Khomeini- turned out to be even more cruel, dictatorial and repressive than the one that got overthrown.As the central character in the movie, Marjane is both an observer of and a participant in the many events that play out in the story, as any number of her own relatives and neighbors fall victim to the systematic purging of all those who refuse to adhere to the present regime's newly enacted draconian measures (women must go out in burkas and head scarves, lovers are not allowed to hold hands in public, etc.) - while those who remain behind live in constant fear that they will find themselves in jail or up in front of a firing squad for a simple, perhaps even inadvertent, code violation. Yet, despite all the bleakness and repression, hope and freedom of thought somehow miraculously flourish and prevail in the human heart, as exemplified by Marjane who refuses to yield her rebellious spirit (she buys bootleg Iron Maiden CDs from hawkers on the street) to the forces that would suppress and imprison it.In terms of style, "Persepolis" relies on old-school cell drawings rather than computer graphics for its animation. Persepolis is a lovingly,hand drawn animated feature film from France, that tells the story of a young girl growing up in Iran,the daughter of left wing revolutionary parents,during the Islamic revolution. It is a good way of animating because not only does it visually engage but ti also makes the material more meaningful as well.Persepolis is not an easy sell on the face of it but the reality is that it is a charming and really well delivered personal story that also plays out the modern history of Iran as a broad, inescapable backdrop to Marji's life (which of course it is). Rather than a film exposing the tyranny of the imams - though there is a bit of that - Persepolis turned out to be the story of how official repression - whether by the Palevi Shahs or by the revolutionary imams - seriously disrupted the upper middle class life of an Iranian girl and her extended family. The film skillfully moves through about 20 years of her life during which Iran underwent major repressive changes.I don't know whether the writer (Marjane Satrapi) purposefully westernized the character or whether the depiction is accurate (my guess is that it's mostly the latter). The movie feels like it ends a bit prematurely without any further info, but you can read about the real life Marjane on the Internet.It's a drama-oriented animated film and I'd say it's definitely worth watching.. Adapted from a four-volume graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi in the style of Spiegleman's Maus, Persepolis is a sensitive animé about a young girl's coming of age during political and social revolution. Using high contrast black and white hand-drawn animation in shifting styles, the film unleashes a torrent of memories of people, places, and events from Marjane's life that reveal the universal emotions of loss and loneliness that accompany exile.Told in voice-over and flashbacks, Satrapi recounts her tortuous physical and emotional journey over the last twenty years in a mixture of memories, history, and imagination. Adjusting her veil, Marjane walks away and the screen turns from color to black and white as the young woman reflects on her life as a child in the early days of the Iranian Revolution after the Western-supported Shah has been deposed in favor of an Islamic fundamentalist regime. The movie-makers paint an image of a normal country, just like all others under the influence of the West, and filled with people trying to get along with the oppressive theocracy that still rules there.In the center is Marjane, a young Iranian girl from an intellectual family. It is not difficult to understand the growing number of accolades that are being bestowed upon Persepolis, directed by Vincent Paronnaud and Marjane Satrapi, which is based upon the graphic novel of the same title by Marjane, as it recounts in autobiographical terms, the growing pains of the author in a world that had undergone tremendous change in the last few decades.Yes, not many films take on the political and social context of Iran head on, and what more doing so in very acute, straightforward, no holds barred terms. Rather, it's a long hard look at the oppression and changes for the relative worse, and summarizes quite succinctly the turmoil that its ordinary citizenry had to endure in their day to day lives, but yet, always have that glimmer of hope to cling onto, and the joys of taking pleasure in the simple things in life.The story is told through the perspective of author Marjane Satrapi from the time she's a young child, and life as she knew back then forms the baseline where changes are measured against. With Persepolis, the background of the Iranian war and even growing up in a state of "terror" (or, for a big chunk, feeling the guilt of being away from one's home as this goes on), isn't necessarily the main focus.It's much more universal in essential terms, which is why I as a 23 year old white guy connected with it practically as strongly as I did to the quintessential coming-of-age film The 400 Blows. And she has to still cope with being a girl, then a teen girl, and finally a young adult.It's all the more harrowing because Marjane Satrapi, the author of the original comics and the basis for the tale, goes for three things: 1) she wants to stay true to a subjective (but potent) view of Iranian society, of the impact of the war and the Shah and a existential crisis coming this way and that, 2) while doing this she puts in little stinging bars of satire, with Marjane as an adolescent donning "Punk is Not Ded" on her back and sneakers, the "puppet" presentation with the story of the Shah, and other smaller touches that come at surprising moments, and 3) enlivening it with an animation technique that's simple in characterization (smiles drawn with small lines, contours very concrete), but with the abstractions, the things that make animation "Pop", she makes some distinct, cool challenges to stir the pot (just watch when Marjarie and the other girls run from some cops after a party is busted, a character doesn't make the jump, and the view stays on the moon and sky, straightforward like a kids book).And, as well as with these three, you get the bond between the little girl and her grandmother, and it's not contrived or with the granny some super-being of sentiment or too wacky (that's left to the woman in Vienna with the retard dog). The flick has autobiographical influences and tells the story of a young girl growing up in a country filled with tension, shattered by war and disintegrated by many revolutions and changing governments.The movie shows us the happy sides of the life of an innocent child, the tragical sides of a young girl leaving her country in despair, the courageous side as the girl fights for her dreams and her freedom, the philosophical and moral sides as she meets many old and wise personalities and learns a lot about Islam and Catholic religion, anarchy and communism, disco music and heavy metal, the melancholic sides as she faces death and isolation and the sides of uncertainty in the very end.The movie is highly educational and very interesting from a cultural and historical point of view but the main force are its vivid characters that are precisely and with much feeling becoming alive in this "avantgarde" comic strap. The story is based on the real life of Marjane Satrapi, so the film starts with the little Marjane as well: the viewer will first see everything with the eyes of the young Marjane, later as she grows up, she (and the viewer as well) will become aware of the brutality, the crimes and the violence of the war Iraq-Iran and of the revolution, since some of her relatives had been arrested and killed by the government. Winning the Jury Prize at Cannes in 2007 and even getting a surprising Oscar nod in the Best Animated Feature category, PERSEPOLIS is more of a dramatic biography of one girl's life as she runs away from her country and her Iranian heritage.Most Americans are probably used to animated films being light, funny, or a combination of the two (thinking along the lines of FINDING NEMO). Alone and lost in a world that doesn't understand her, Marjane must learn to live her life while worrying about what's happening back home (she leaves Iran at the behest of her parents and travels around Europe, going to school and working odd jobs).The gripping story is told all from Marjanes point of view, making the viewer care tremendously about this young girl as she creeps into womanhood. "Persepolis" is a visual delight, a thought-provoking, powerfully moving real story of an Iranian girl (Marjane Satrapi) and an entire nation divided by war and intolerance during the hard times of the Islamic Revolution. Marji's intelligences shows the hypocrisy of the Islamic regime throughout her live, how she is a permanent outsider and how a young girl/woman longs to be free.Persepolis is a story about growing and the writer directors Vincent Paronnaud and Satrapi do show with great effect the impact of the revolution and the war, the pointless nature of the Iran-Iraq war, the politics and society of Iran and most importantly the personal and human drama involving Marji and her family. This story of the life of an Iranian girl growing up into the oppression of her home country seems like it would be about that, but somehow this film manages to be about nothing despite so much going on. Co director Marjanne Satrapi, born in 1969 into a progressive middle class Iranian family, tells how as a young girl she witnessed the fall of the shah, the coming of the Islamic regime, the brutal Iran-Iraq war, how she was sent during the mid 1980s to Austria by her family, where she saw first hand some of the nihilistic life style of European youth, how there she fell into drugs and almost die after a doomed love affair, how she returned to Iran in the early 90s, enrolling in the university and getting into an ill fated marriage before going to exile to France. Well, i'm intending to write a piece which deserves the labeling "in a nutshell": Despite the nearly-impossible-to-deny Sharply strong points, say the amazing and exciting story-telling, marvelous (and even considerable as a revolutionary ) animation, and admirable sarcastic yet hurting humor, and literally many more, there's a "Climax" laying there: As a 20 years old still-living-in-there Iranian, i must admit more-than-98-percent accuracy of this narration...Yes, scenes you are watching while feeling secured ,and probably wondering if all the events described can be really true, are parts of my every-day seen...there's nothing exaggerated in there to your surprise, and to my sorrow, there are a lot of delicate (and again hurting) points that i believe is beyond the understanding (meaning being able to make them out ) of people who have not Felt and Lived the bitterly horrible of this atmosphere...This is a perfect and Highly must-see movie, that not only gives you the pleasure of watching a really Real art, but also makes you aware of "what Really is going on...", which left me with this seemingly unanswerable question that: should i really be happy about release of this movie or not.... Growing up amid wars and repression in 1970s and 1980s Iran proves challenging for a free-spirited girl in this animated drama based on the real life experiences of co-director Marjane Satrapi. Poignant coming-of-age story of a precocious and outspoken young Iranian girl that begins during the Islamic Revolution.The graphic novel "Persepolis" was very widely read. Co-directed by Marjane Satrapi, who based this on her experiences as a young girl growing up in Iran, it tells a story about the struggle to find one's identity in a rapidly changing world. Iranian expatriate Marjane Satrapi's 'Persepolis' graphic novel series (2000-2003) recounts her life to age 24, when she left Iran with her family's blessing for the last time and went to live in France (1994). Persepolis is a very original, creative, animated story about the coming of age of a young middle-class woman in Iran. The story is done in flashbacks and most of the animation is in black and white except at the beginning and the end of the film when the narrator is speaking in the present.Persepolis allows us to view Iran from the perspective of a very sophisticated, middle-class family in Tehran, specifically the childhood, adolescence and young adulthood of the film's scenarist, Marjane Satrapi. *Contains semi-spoilers: Summarizes part of the plot*Based on Marjane Satrapi's graphic novel of the same name, "Persepolis" is an animated autobiographical film that tells the story of a young Marjane growing up during the turmoil of the Iranian Revolutionary War in the early '80's and '90s.

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Kill Kill Faster Faster

'Kill Kill Faster Faster' is a contemporary film noir inspired by the critically acclaimed novel of the same name by Joel Rose. Produced by rising UK outfits Aria Films and Full Circle Films. Director Gareth Maxwell Roberts has written the screenplay with author Joel Rose. The film runs for 93 minutes and was completed in June 2007. Kill Kill Faster Faster is a New York tragic love story - streetwise, stylish and desperately, savagely sad. Joe One-Way serves a life stretch for the murder of his teenage bride Kimba. Inspired to write by Clinique, his cellmate and mentor, Joe writes the play White Man: Black Hole. NYC film producer Markie Mann pulls strings to have Joe paroled, contracting him to write the screenplay. Fleur is Markie's wife, a one-time hooker and ex-con, who cant help but fall for kindred spirit Joe. Their attraction is irresistible. Fleur is Joe's salvation. Propelled on a journey of obsession, guilt and lust, Joe struggles between the pull of heroin, his violence and the desire to redeem himself in the eyes of his estranged twin daughters. Joe One-Way soon discovers that life on the outside may be too dangerous even for him.

revenge, flashback

train

imdb

Dark, turbulent, touching, brilliant...... I was lucky enough to be invited to a pre-release screening of KKFF and where so many of these occasions have been disappointing, this was ninety-odd minutes well spent to say the least. Based on the novel by Joel Rose of the same name, it's the story is of Joe One-Way, a recovering heroin addict and convicted killer who is granted early parole due the arm-twisting, string-pulling antics of New York movie producer Markie Mann. Markie read the play Joe wrote whilst inside and wants to make it into a film. Things seem on the up for Joe until he meets Markie's wife, Fleur whose past is not unlike his own and their immediate connection seems to burn up the furniture from the off. Through a series of flash-backs, we see Joe go from being the young-and-in love occasional smack-dabbler, through to full-blown addict whose young wife can no longer bear to live with him and subsequently, the prison inmate who becomes inspired to write through his relationship with Clinique, his Jamaican cell-mate (played with a combination of cutting dry humour and eerie menace by Shaun Parkes). Upon his release Joe has to make good and combat his demons while at the same time putting them to paper as the pressure mounts for him to complete his script.While the film is exceptionally dark in places - Director Gareth Maxwell Roberts pulls very few punches in highlighting the obviously negative aspects of drug-abuse and prison life - it's an ultimately brilliant and touching tale of a man seeking redemption for the many terrible things he's done. Gil Bellows (who we've seldom seen on the big screen as of late) really comes into his own with the portrayal of such a conflicted character, seemingly leaving behind forever the fluffy, handsome persona he'd carved out during his years on Ally McBeal. Other notable performances are from Esai Morales whose presence as Markie is electric from the minute he arrives spouting producer talk with borderline-Wiseguy attitude, and Lisa Ray as Fleur whose sole purpose for being seems to be making every man in the audience fall in love with her.I'm told the film is being geared up for release in late 2008 and my advice to any self-respecting film lover is to see it at your earliest opportunity.. captivating, great editing with some new ideas. A true dark noir movie and a very graphic film, nice storyline of a man pursuing redemption, that may have just left it all too late. Visually there are some really nice scenes artistically amazing as to what can be done with a minimal budget. Full marks to Gareth Maxwell Roberts and team, I look forward to the next project with new ideas although hopefully more British actors would be great. Lisa Ray looked lovely not seen her before and hope to see her again in the future. Subject all interesting Sex,Drugs and Violence. Bring it on. I would definitely say to rent this one and check it out if you're in the mood for a semi moody noir.. Magnificent, fantastic, did I say splendid ?. I started to watch this movie expecting nothing, just another movie to watch, but since the first twenty minutes, the artwork and main character, who is enigmatic, doesn't talk much, really got me in this movie.I really liked this movie, it was dark, beautifully acted and really touching. It's a bit slow but the immersion was complete. The directing was awesome by letting us know bits by bits the story leading to the conviction of Joey and his life behind bars. The music was really great and very well incorporated into the scenes. The ending was unexpected with a twist I didn't see coming. It's not the kind of movie we see often.. Very thrilling movie with great ending. This movie really surprised me. I had my doubts about it at first but the movie got better and better for each minute. It is maybe not for the action seeking audience but for those that like an explicit portrait of a very strange criminal, man, lover and husband. If you're not a fan of bad language or sexual content this really is not for you. The storyline is somewhat hard to follow sometimes, but in the end I think it made everything better. The ending was unexpected since you were almost fouled to think it would end otherwise. As for the acting I think it was good. It will not be up for an Oscar award for long but it at least caught my eye. Gil Bellows portrait of a prison man is not always perfect but it is very entertaining. Shaun Parkes portrait of Bellows prison mate Clinique is great and extremely powerful. On the downside I think I will put Esai Morales portrait of Markie.Take my advice and watch this movie, either you will love it or dislike it!. kill kill!. This movie is damn hot. Ok yes, the main dude is not all that likeable, but the passionate love scenes are creative and steamy as hell. Even the prison ones are legit hot. Or maybe I'm just kinda sick. But this really is a well acted and poetically shot movie - based on a little known but super tight book. I loved this film, which sends all kinds of messages and makes you think about loyalty in a way that will leave your jaw hanging open.. sex scenes good. lisa ray is seen with a man in bed room later she goes to the toilet and sits in closet . the man enters the room and kneels before her and kisses , lisa the man lifts up the woman's skirt and it is implied that he performs cunnilingus. They get up, she lifts up her skirt and he drops his pants, and they have sex standing up, his butt visible.before the first thrust she orders to GET INSIDE HER , man now filled with sexual feeling bursts his emotion his erected thing goes inside lisa a sound of satisfaction is given and she starts moaning violently as the man cont to thrust her severely and collapses on her back , lisa is deeply satisfied his performance and compliments him by saying i felt you swell you have touched ma heart. The only reason I finished watching this movie.... ...was so that I could, in good conscience, tell everyone how horrible this movie is. I barely made it through twenty minutes before I started thinking to myself,"Wow, this is pretty bad.". And, to be honest, I would've given this movie 1 star if it wasn't for Esai Morales (though he had very little screen time). He's the movie's only well-acted role, which is a shame because I really like Gil Bellows...or at least I thought I did.While watching this I started thinking back to his part in "Shawshank Redemption" and realized it wasn't as good as I thought it was. Problem: his jail-house/tough guy act seems like it's just that, an act; his dialogue sounded like he was doing a very poor impression. Has he ever met someone who speaks like his character was SUPPOSED to? I doubt it, but maybe he should have.And, to make matters worse, they've managed to inject a little jail-house philosophy and make it seem nothing short of contrived, especially when you consider that the rhetoric was being spouted by a "rasta" who's accent was so strong that it seemed unnatural.I wouldn't normally slam a movie like this, but when I saw the movie it had a fairly favorable review. I felt like I was cheated and lied to, and I thought I should try to save someone the misery of having to watch this movie.I say BOOOOOOOO.. Don't waste your time!!!. The movie uses a cutting edge title for a lame story. Kill Kill, would have been nice. The movie incorporates taboo scenes to make the viewer move back in their chairs. The scenes are unnecessary and choppy. The movie is something a novice screen writer could have conjured. Just a waste of movie props and network money. I have to write 10 lines of text to critique this film when it is not worth 10 lines of my time, but I have to push on to let the people know to avoid the nonsense. If people are counting on you to choose a good movie for movie night, pick something else. If you have a soul don't damage it by subjecting yourself to this filth.

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The Man Who Would Be King

In 1885, while working as a correspondent at the offices of the Northern Star newspaper in India, Rudyard Kipling (Christopher Plummer) is approached by a ragged, seemingly crazed derelict, who reveals himself to be his old acquaintance Peachey Carnehan (Michael Caine). Peachy tells Kipling the story of how he and his comrade-in-arms Daniel "Danny" Dravot (Sean Connery) traveled to remote Kafiristan (in modern-day Afghanistan, the province is now known as Nuristan), became "gods", and ultimately lost everything. Three years earlier, Dravot and Carnehan had met Kipling under less than auspicious circumstances; Carnehan, a former Colour sergeant of the Queen's Own Royal Loyal Light Infantry, pickpocketed Kiplings's pocketwatch but was forced to return it as he was a fellow Freemason. Carnehan claims to be an expert in "whiskey, women, waistcoats and bills of fare." Both Dravot and Carnehan are in the process of blackmailing a local Rajah by posing as newspaper correspondents of "The Northern Star" newspaper-which outrages the real correspondent (Kipling). In order to save their lives, Kipling has the local district commissioner detain both Dravot and Carnehan - who obliquely blackmail the commissioner himself. Despite being accomplished gun smugglers, swindlers, fencers of stolen goods, conmen, and blackmailers, both of them are bitter that after fighting to make India part of the British Empire, they will have little to return home to except dead-end jobs. Both Dravot and Carnehan turn up at Kipling's office and explain their biggest gamble yet: feeling that India is too small for men such as themselves, they intend to travel to Kafiristan, a small and remote country in order to help a local king overcome his enemies, overthrow him, and become "gods"/rulers themselves before stealing various riches and returning to England in triumph. After signing a contract pledging mutual loyalty and forswearing drink and women until they achieved their grandiose aims, Peachy and Danny (taking along twenty Martini Henry rifles) set off on an epic overland journey north beyond the Khyber Pass. Kipling, after attempting to dissuade the men, gives Dravot his masonic emblem as a token of brotherhood. Over the next few weeks, Dravot and Carnehan travel through Afghanistan, fighting off bandits, blizzards, and avalanches as they make their way into the unknown land of Kafiristan (literally "Land of the Infidels"). They chance upon a Gurkha soldier who goes by the name Billy Fish (Saeed Jaffrey), the sole survivor of a missing mapping expedition sent several years earlier which had been lost in an avalanche. Billy speaks English as well as the local tongue. Acting as translator and interpreter of customs and manners, he smooths the path of Dravot and Carnehan as they begin their rise, offering their services as military advisors, trainers, and war leaders to the chief of the much-raided village of Er-Heb. Dravot and Carnehan muster a force to attack the villagers' most-hated enemy, the Bashkai. During the battle, Dravot is struck by an arrow, but is unharmed, leading the natives to believe that he is a god. In fact, the arrow was stopped by a bandolier hidden beneath his clothing. As victory follows victory, the defeated are recruited to join the swelling army. Finally, nobody is left to stand in their way, and they are summoned to the holy city of Sikandergul, where the chief high priest, Kafu Selim, sets up a re-enactment of the arrow incident, to determine whether Dravot is a man or a god by seeing whether or not he bleeds. When Dravot flinches, the monks grab him and open his shirt to stab him, only to be stopped by Dravot's Masonic jewel. By coincidence, the symbol on the jewel matches one known only to the highest holy man, the symbol of "Sikander" (a linguistic corruption of Alexander the Great), who had conquered the country thousands of years before and promised to return. The holy men are convinced Dravot is the immortal son of Sikander. They hail him as king and lead the two men down to storerooms heaped with treasure (gold, silver, diamonds, emeralds, rubies, among various jewels) that belonged to Sikander, which now belongs to Dravot. As months pass, Carnehan is anxious to leave with the treasure before winter arrives and closes the mountain passes (and before the natives learn the truth about them). Dravot is against it, however, and develops delusions of grandeur. First, Dravot 'suggests' that Carnehan bow to him like the others, ostensibly to "keep up appearances" in front of the natives and continue the deception. He adjudicates disputes among local people and villages, and issues proclamations overseeing their administration. He begins making plans to turn the land into a modern country, to the extent that he envisages eventually meeting Queen Victoria "as an equal." Resigned that Dravot's mind is made up, Carnehan decides to take as much loot as he can carry on a small mule train and leave alone. Meanwhile, Dravot decides to take a wife after seeing the beautiful Roxanne (Shakira Caine), despite Carnehan's strong warnings. Roxanne, having a superstitious fear that she will burst into flames if she consorts with a god, tries frantically to escape, biting Dravot during the wedding ceremony. The bite draws blood, and when everyone sees it, they realize that Dravot is not a god but a man after all. The angry natives pursue Dravot and Carnehan. When it becomes clear that the battle is lost, Dravot and Carnehan offer Billy a horse to escape, but Billy refuses and wishes them luck before courageously charging into the mob with a kukri single handedly. Billy is killed amidst the mob and Dravot and Carnehan are soon captured. Dravot apologizes to Carnehan for spoiling their plans, and Carnehan forgives him. Now resigned to his fate, Dravot is forced to walk to the middle of a rope bridge over a deep gorge as the ropes are cut. Carnehan is crucified between two pine trees, but he is cut down the next day when he survives the ordeal. Eventually, he makes his way back to India, but his mind has become unhinged by his sufferings. As Carnehan finishes his story, he presents Kipling with Dravot's severed head, still wearing its crown, thereby confirming the tale.

avant garde, satire, murder, historical fiction

train

wikipedia

Terrific performances by Caine, Connery and even Christopher Plummer, who gives a brief, but good performance as Rudyard Kipling, the man who wrote the short story this film was based on. Even his lesser work has value, and his best films, which certainly includes THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING, are unforgettable.The tragicomic tale of two ex-Sergeants turned confidence men with a grand scheme to fleece a near-legendary kingdom had been a 'pet' project of Huston's since the forties, and he'd spent years tinkering with the script, planning to film it with Clark Gable and Humphrey Bogart in the leads. As Dravot (Connery) tells him, "We are not little men", and India, bound up in British bureaucracy (as well as becoming too 'hot' for them) could never provide the immensity of riches they dreamed of.Huston eschewed the 'traditional' approach to adventure films, with cardboard heroes performing near-impossible deeds until the inevitable 'happy ending', and grounded his story in reality, which disappointed any viewers hoping KING would simply be a variation of GUNGA DIN. The explorer Robertson, whom Billy Fish reports has having died, did not die in real life but was rescued by a British military force in 1895, after Kipling wrote his story.The people of Nuristan are believed to be descendants of Alexander the Great, who came there in 328 BC, just as the movie states. Besides Connery and Caine, it has many memorable characters, like Christopher Plumming as Kipling.Stan Huston directs, and I think it shows. Without Huston, this film would have undoubtedly faltered; his steady and determined hand guides this film from the hazards of superficiality without sacrificing entertainment and adventure.He does not create a great film single-handedly though, as Connery and Caine, who both give tremendous performances, bestow upon Peachy and Daniel immense likability despite their scoundrel airs. Overall, it was worth the wait.Based on Rudyard Kipling's short story, "The Man Who Would Be King" is a tale set in the 1880s at the height of the British empire's rule in India. With beautiful locations and a wonderful musical score by Maurice Jarre, "The Man Who Would Be King" is not only one of Huston's best, but is also one of the best films to come out from the 70s that still had a certain feel of stories that had a feel of a time long gone when film audiences were able to enjoy films that had everything. Outside of the obvious reflections on the immoral and absurdly hypocritical nature of early British colonialism, it's just a damn entertaining movie.But you have to think that Rudyard Kipling, who grew up under British rule in India, was certainly trying to shake some sensibilities when he first wrote the story as part of an 1890 package called The Man Who Would Be King and Other Stories, nearly a century before it was made into a film and during an era when the British Empire was still very much a reality.From the perceptive realization that even the staunchly important Masonic Lodge -- which had infilitrated every aspect of Britain's upper classes -- could be easily corrupted; to the arrogance as Sean Connery's character Daniel Dravot, who elevates what he sees as mere social superiority into a god-like status; to the inevitable humbling of both men at the hands of the 'savages' they profess to rule, the film is ultimately about the humility all men should exhude, particularly in the face of the unfamiliar.Kipling's tale also preached tolerance, though you might not consider that to be the case based on the film's climax: consider that if Daniel and Peachy had shown an iota of respect for the religion that they instead decided to fleece, how differently the tale might have played out.The film owes much of its success to the chemistry between Caine and Connery, who regardless of later plaudits, gave the finest performances of their careers. As examples, witness the zenith of Peachy and Daniel's hazardous trek through the mountains played out in full panoramic detail, only to be followed 90 minutes later by the tight shot of Kipling's face, the revulsion fairly etched into every crease as we reach the climax.But perhaps the true hero of this film was Boaty Boatright, who also cast Connery's classic "The Wind and The Lion." He managed to take some of the most strident, forceful personalities in the film industries, threw them together and came up with a film about humility. Plummer is good in a minor role but this is the Connery/Caine show all the way.Overall this is a great story that is well told by director Huston. In the film, two ex-soldiers of the Royal English Army are in India, Daniel Dravot (Sean Connery) and Peachy Carnahan (Michael Caine). They both tell the impressed if a little doubtful Rudyard Kipling himself, merely a journalist at the time (Christopher Plummer by the way), that they, being pretty much without any real place to go or things to do as disgraced soldiers (lots of crimes such as theft and blackmail), have a plan: to go to Kafiristan, which is a country few know exists and hasn't been inhabited by any kind of real ruler since Alexander the Great. It's remarkable how astute the commentary is in the film, while at the same time not detracting from the action or the power of the performances.The Man Who Would be King is elegant and harsh, with a beautiful and harrowing Maurice Jarre score (if not as iconic still as fantastic as Lawrence of Arabia for him), and memorable for its star power and how its story is really about something. The flick tells the tale of Daniel Dravot (Sean Connery's favorite film character , though John Huston also considered Richard Burton) and Peachy Carnahan (Michael Caine , though also was deemed Peter O'Toole) , two ex-soldiers in India when it was under British rule. There Daniel becomes a king and attempts to marry a princess (Shakira Caine, this is the only feature film to co-star Michael Caine and wife) under High Priest Kafu Selim (Karroom Ben Bouih was 103 years old when he made his first and only film appearance , when he saw some of the footage he declared that now he would live on forever.Long live and spectacular adventure with an extraordinary duo , Connery and Caine , they form the best pair of all time . Using the old Irish folk tune, the Minstrel Boy for background, John Huston made himself one old fashioned movie of adventure and romance like we rarely see today.Of course this film rises and falls on the charm and chemistry of its two leads, Sean Connery and Michael Caine. You would certainly never find a woman like that in The Man Who Would Be King--it is the TRUE essence of a film about MEN in a MAN'S era.Michael Caine and Sean Connery are, for lack of a better word, geniuses in the art of filmmaking. Who could forget Michael Caine's attempts to instil weapons drill in to a group of uneducated tribesmen or his tuneless singing of the line "Who followed in his trail " as Connery falls to his death from the rope bridge.Performances from both leads are a delight,both seem to have their tongues firmly in their cheeks,which makes for a most enjoyable watch.Huston's direction is for my money spot on and it would have been interesting to see his first choice actors (Gable and Bogart)taking the leads . A sarcastic comment on European colonialism, but most of all: an absolutely magnificent adventure about the two adventurers Daniel Dravot (Sean Connery) and Peachy Carnehan (Michael Caine), with ambitions of becoming kings of whatever country that may want them. His final scene is a memorable close-up after Caine has told him the truth about the harrowing end of their adventure.Although highly entertaining at times, it's easy to see why this story of two con men is not considered to be one of John Huston's greatest. Based on a short story by Rudyard Kipling, The Man Who Would Be King tells the story of two friends; Peachy Carnehan (Michael Caine) and Daniel Dravot (Sean Connery) that go to Kafiristan in order to rule the country as kings and become rich in the process. The film switches between the two sides of it's story with great ease, and the smaller, more intimate side of the story is actually complimented by the epic battle sequences that run alongside it.This movie is headed by two of the very finest actors of all time - Sean Connery and Michael Caine (both British too, I might add). This is a first rate historical adventure film, which also succeeds as a grim morality tale with the addition of a clever framing story.Top British stars Sean Connery and Michael Caine team up as a pair of vagabond soldiers in India, who are out to scheme their way to fame and fortune. Fortunately help is on hand from Christopher Plummer and Saeed Jaffrey, who take the acting honours in supporting roles.The reliance on action means the script plays a minor role and it's a shame there isn't more interplay between the characters - the storyline is very strong and would have accommodated more scenes with an emphasis on dialogue.These are minor quibbles though, and 'The Man Who Would be King' is still a very good film - potentially it could have been a classic though.Michael Caine's stunning wife Shakira plays Roxanne, the modern incarnation of the wife of Alexander the Great, and makes an impression despite having no dialogue.. John Huston had long cherished the ambition of making a film of Rudyard Kipling's novella "The Man Who Would Be King". Later suggestions were to use approached Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas, or Robert Redford and Paul Newman, but Huston was eventually persuaded to use British actors and Michael Caine and Sean Connery were cast.The film is set in the India of the 1880s. Director John Huston, actors Sean Connery, Michael Caine, and Christopher Plummer, the supporting cast, the story, everything.The story is that Peachy (Caine) has returned to India to tell Rudyard Kipling (Plummer) about his adventure with Danny (Connery). Naturally, most movies with Michael Caine and Sean Connery (who were probably perfect for the job) would be good just for the acting, and add to that Christopher Plummer. The Man Who Would be King, which came together with an ideal cast and script based on a Rudyard Kipling story is perhaps John Huston's best film. Some would argue in defense of African Queen, or the visually eloquent Moulin Rouge, which is my second favorite Huston product, but give me a rousing, escapist tale, well conceived, written and produced with a shining cast, and I am there.Huston was not a William Wyler, nor a Billy Wilder or Frank Capra, whose films soar, but here, with the conjunction of Kipling, Michael Caine and Sean Connery as two British sergeants in the Victorian days of old India and British empire he fired off a keeper. The plot, based on Rudyard Kipling's short story, has two ex-sergeants of the Indian Army, Daniel Dravot (Sean Connery) and Peachy Carnehan (Michael Caine), setting off from British India in the late 19th-century to seek their fortune in Kafiristan."We are not little men", Carnehan tells Rudyard Kipling (Christopher Plummer) before setting off on their quest, and this isn't a little movie; it has size to spare. Of course these days, 50 years later, "The Man Who Would be King" is as politically incorrect as they come; it probably was in 1975 when Huston made it, but not so much in 1888 when Rudyard Kipling wrote the story and the British Raj still ruled.However, for those who can see it as the pure adventure it was intended to be, it is a unique experience. This is one of those movies about which they say, "they just don't make them like that anymore." Director John Huston, a legendary master who had had this film in his head for over 20 years when he finally made it, delivers a multi-layered masterpiece- it is a brilliant character study, a social commentary, a political allegory, a tragic comedy (or a comic tragedy, depending on your perspective), an exploration of the ironies of fate, and a thrilling adventure story. The scene I just described isn't even the highlight of "The Man Who Would be King", John Huston's glorious adventure movie, but it serves to make my point, the film is fun and politically incorrect, so old-fashioned it is actually ahead of our time. And the two con-men are put in a place where a series of misunderstandings will allow them to be seen as Gods or kings, and just when you think you've seen all, the movie provides a completely new story in Kafiristan.And this is where lies my only "problem" with the film, if problem is the word, I am Moroccan, so I can't be fooled by the shooting locations, the locals look nothing Indian or Afghans but pure Moroccan natives, but it's in the language that my suspension of disbelief was challenged, the people don't speak in Arabic but in Moroccan dialect, so I was pleasantly surprised to realize I could understand the people of Kafiristan. These are two of the finest actors based on their own credentials, but here they put all that aside and give us two characters that have been through a lot together and are willing to put it on the line in order to find their dream: head for the mountains of Kafiristan and make themselves kings of the country.As the adventure starts out, we see the two friends meeting up with the famous British writer Rudyard Kipling (Christoper Plummer) who seems to have some important words for these two. Here the mountain dwellers believe the rouge white fellows to be Gods, and thus things are about to get very interesting indeed.Written by master writer Rudyard Kipling, directed by behemoth John Huston, and starring British legends Sean Connery & Michael Caine, there really isn't any way this film could have failed, sure enough the picture exudes a classy structure that is coupled with deftly smart writing. And of course, it stars can't-fail actors Michael Caine and Sean Connery, who do a fine job of balancing comedy with a social commentary on the "white man's burden" that made the British Empire great but awful too.Who should see this film:-- action movie buffs: this one's safe for you-- drama / art buffs: a must-seeI'll give "The Man Who Would be King" a stands-the-test-of-time 9 out of 10.. Four things combine to ensure this movie's greatness - the literary craftsmanship of Rudyard Kipling, the directorial stature of John Huston, and the incandescent chemistry of acting greats Sean Connery and Michael Caine. Since then I have re-watched it several times, and never failed to get something new from each viewing.The camera-work, directing, script and story are all fantastic, as is the ensemble acting from all involved, but without doubt the thing that makes me vote 10 on this movie is the relationship between Daniel (Sean Connery) and Peachy (Michael Caine). " Using Rudyard Kipling (Christopher Plummer) as the capstone of this tale, he relates how Two English ex-soldiers, (Sean Connery and Michael Caine and a guide, named Billy Fish (Saeed Jaffrey) journey to far off Kafiristan, to establish their own kingdom. Rudyard Kipling is a correspondent at the offices of the Northern Star newspaper.Then unrecognizable Peachy Carnehan enters and tells his story.Kipling has met Peachy and his friend, Daniel Dravot in the past.He tells how they traveled to remote Kafiristan, how Danny became a god and how they lost everything.The Man Who Would Be King (1975) is a John Huston classic.It's based on Rudyard Kipling's short story.Sean Connery and Michael Caine are perfect as Danny and Peachy.They both represent the British gentleman type, and they both have an enormous amount of charisma.Christopher Plummer does great work as Kipling.Saeed Jaffrey is terrific as Billy Fish.Moroccan actor Doghmi Larbi is great as Ootah.Michael's wife Shakira Caine is amazing as Roxanne, the woman Danny wants.I saw the film two days ago on Tuesday.I had seen it once before.It's a great adventure movie, that has got some drama and some comedy as well.A great scene is where they're about to be robbed but they're wiser than them, and get their three mules.And their survival story in the cold mountains is amazing to watch.And the battle scenes look amazing.If you're looking for a perfect adventure movie, this is your pick.. Well told fairy tale, starring the best two British actors Michael Caine and Sean Connery. Now it has three.The Man Who Would Be King benefits greatly from the chemistry between Michael Caine and Sean Connery.They play two scoundrels, British soldiers in 19th century India who go looking for adventure and riches.The film is framed by Peachy (Caine) narrating his story to Rudyard Kipling (Christopher Plummer.)Peachy and his friend Daniel (Sean Connery) make a treacherous journey to the mountainous region of Kafristan that is located near Afghanistan. Directed by venerable and acclaimed director John Huston, the film starts from a series of exotic South-Asia vistas, then bumps into a rapid hustling with Christopher Plummer as the avatar of the renowned writer himself intermingling with Sean Connery and Michael Caine's Daniel Dravot and Peachy Carnehan, two British solider resigned from the army and going to try their luck in Kafiristan. It`s not often a 70s flick starring either Sean Connery or Michael Caine can be described as good , never mind great but THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING is a great film . The Man Who Would Be King (1975)Plot In A Paragraph: Daniel Dravot (Connery) and Peachy Carnehan (Michael Caine) are two British soldiers in India. Director John Huston had long been a fan of the original short story by Kipling and had wanted to make a movie of it for some time.

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Grease 2

It is 1961, two years after the original Grease. The first day of school has arrived and the T-Birds and the Pink Ladies dance and sing as they enter the high school ("Back to School Again"). The Pink Ladies are now led by Stephanie Zinone (Michelle Pfeiffer), who feels she has "outgrown" her relationship with her ex-boyfriend Johnny Nogerelli (Adrian Zmed), the arrogant and rather immature new leader of the T-Birds. A new arrival comes in the form of clean-cut English student Michael Carrington (Maxwell Caulfield) (a cousin of Sandy Olsson from the previous film). He is welcomed and introduced to the school atmosphere by Frenchy (Didi Conn), who was asked by Sandy to help show Michael around. Frenchy reveals she has returned to Rydell to get her high school diploma so she can start her own cosmetics company. Michael eventually meets Stephanie and quickly becomes smitten with her. At the local bowling alley, a game ("Score Tonight") turns sour due to the animosity between Johnny and Stephanie. Stephanie retaliates by kissing the next man who walks in the door, who happens to be Michael. Bemused by this unexpected kiss, Michael asks her out, but he learns that she has a very specific vision of her ideal man ("Cool Rider"). As he realizes that he will only win her affection if he turns himself into a cool rider, Michael accepts payment from the T-Birds to write term papers for them; he uses the cash to buy a motorcycle. Following an unusual biology lesson ("Reproduction") given by Mr. Stuart (Tab Hunter), a substitute teacher, a gang of rival motorcyclists called the Cycle Lords (most of whom are members of the defunct Scorpions) led by Leo Balmudo (Dennis C. Stewart) surprise the T-Birds at the bowling alley. Before the fight starts, a lone mysterious (unnamed) biker appears (who is Michael in disguise), defeats the enemy gang and disappears into the night ("Who's That Guy?"). Stephanie is fascinated with the stranger. Meanwhile, Louis (Peter Frechette), one of the T-Birds, attempts to trick his sweetheart Sharon (Maureen Teefy), one of the Pink Ladies and Stephanie's friends into losing her virginity to him by taking her to a fallout shelter and faking a nuclear attack ("Let's Do It for Our Country"). The next evening while working at a gas station/garage, Stephanie is surprised again by the Cool Rider, and they enjoy a romantic twilight motorcycle ride. Just as Michael is about to reveal his identity, they are interrupted by the arrival of the T-Birds and Pink Ladies. Before Michael leaves, he tells Stephanie that he will see her at the school talent show, in which the Pink Ladies and T-Birds are performing. Johnny, enraged by Stephanie's new romance, threatens to fight the Cool Rider if he sees him with her again. The Pink Ladies walk away haughtily, but this has little effect on the T-Birds' self-confidence ("Prowlin'"). At school, Stephanie's poor grades in English lead her to accept Michael's offer of help. Johnny, upon seeing them together in a discussion, demands that Stephanie quit the Pink Ladies to preserve his honor ("rep", reputation). Although still enamored with the Cool Rider, interactions with Michael reveal that she has become romantically interested in him as well. Michael ponders over his continuing charade he puts on for Stephanie ("Charades"). At the talent show, Stephanie and the Cool Rider meet but are ambushed by the T-Birds who pursue Michael on their respective motorcycles, with Stephanie and the Pink Ladies following in a car. They chase him to a construction site which conceals a deadly drop, and the biker's absence suggests that he has perished below, leaving Stephanie heartbroken and inconsolable. Johnny and his T-Birds remove the competing Preptones preppie boys by tying them to a shower pole in the boys' locker room and drenching them. During the Pink Ladies' performance in the talent show ("Girl for All Seasons"), Stephanie enters a dreamlike fantasy world where she is reunited with her mystery biker ("(Love Will) Turn Back the Hands of Time"). She is named winner of the contest and crowned the queen of the upcoming graduation luau, with Johnny hailed as king for his performance of "Prowlin'" with his fellow T-Birds. The school year ends with the luau ("Rock-a-Hula Luau"), during which the Cycle Lords appear and begin to destroy the celebration. However, the Cool Rider reappears. After he defeats the Cycle Lords again, he reveals himself to be Michael. Initially shocked, Johnny gives him a T-Birds jacket, officially welcoming him into the gang, and Stephanie accepts that she can now be with him. As a reward, Michael and Stephanie kiss for their new love for each other. All the couples pair off happily at the seniors' graduation as the graduating class sings ("We'll Be Together"). The credits start rolling in yearbook-style, as in the original film.

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wikipedia

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The Beast of War

A rustic Afghan village in a dry, rocky terrain. The villagers look up to the sound of jet airplanes, explosions rock the hillside and buildings and a group of three tanks approach, firing and destroying more of the village. People and goats run for their lives. An Afghan man fires an anti-tank round but misses. Women pelt and hammer a tank with stones until a yellow smoke canister is deployed, the poison gas drives off the Afghans. The gas-masked soldiers get out and continue to ransack the village.Major Daskal (George Dzundza) a tank commander exits and fires his machine gun at another tank being attacked. Koverchenko (Jason Patric) runs to aid the other tank. An Afghan elder is captured and dragged to Daskal's tank and placed under the tread. An interpreter, Afghan tank crewman Samad (Erick Avari) demands to know where the mujaheddin are. As the women wail the village elder is crushed.The three tanks depart but Maj Daskal's tank misses a left turn and heads into an area surrounded by high ridges. Back in the village the menfolk return to see the destruction. Taj Mohammed (Stephen Bauer) is distraught and laments to his uncle Akbar (Kabir Bedi). A group of modern rebels arrive on motorbikes, led by Taj's cousin, Moustafa (Chaim Girafi) with his Ray-Bans, AK-47 and cigarettes. Moustafa reports the tank is lost in the valley of the jackals. Taj is now the village Khan as it was his elder brother who was crushed. His sister-in-law-to-be Sherina (Shoshi Marciano) brings out an old rocket propelled grenade (RPG) launcher to help avenge the deaths.The lost Russians stop to get their bearings. Major Daskal's map is partially burnt and doesn't have all the details. Koverchenko and Samad chat and Samad admits he doesn't believe in Muslim paradise. Suddenly the tank is attacked by the Afghans on the ridge, the Major fires a round close to the mujaheddin as the tank moves away. Moustafa fires the RPG but misses by a mile. Taj is angry and demands the RPG as the rebels squabble. Uncle Akbar has a leg wound but the Afghans continue to follow the tank.Hot and thirsty the Afghans approach a waterhole, one of them bends down to drink, Taj finds an empty poison box but it is too late and the drinking man suffers an agonizing death. Hidden in bushes not too far away the tank aims at the group by the waterhole. The round misfires and the men quickly evacuate. Maj Daskal suspects Samad had something to do with the misfire. The Major and Koverchenko enter the tank to clear the round. The shell is placed on the ground with a grenade booby trap. The tank continues on it's way.An Afghan finds the tank shell and blows his arm off when he moves it. Taj tells the others to leave the man food and water but Moustafa puts the badly injured man out of his misery. A pack of dogs and the village women arrive at sunset to bury the man.The walking Afghans come up to a man chanting by a large bonfire. He thinks Taj is David come to slay Goliath, the tank. The Russians have camped for the night and Koverchenko and Samad play chess and talk. Samad explains the Afghan philosophy of nanawatai, where anyone, even a sworn enemy can request sanctuary which the Afgans are obliged to provide. Golikov (Stephen Baldwin) and Kaminski (Don Harvey) fight and Maj Daskal discovers Kasminski has been drinking the brake fluid (alcohol) in his canteen. The Major also rips the last page from Koverchenko's diary.A grenade drops down and the Russians take cover. In a wild firefight the panicky Russians manage to get in their tank and drive away blindly. They stop again some distance away, Golikov has a face wound from shrapnel. Once again Maj Daskal is suspicious of Samad. They do a 360 degree sweep with all weapons as they fire tank rounds, flame thrower and machine gun after the perimeter security devices indicate intruders. Samad is sent to investigate. All he finds is a dead goat.At a river Daskal prevents Samad from his prayers and forces him to check the riverbed by walking into the water. While waist deep the Major kills him with a burst from the turret machine gun. Koverchenko is enraged and records the incident in his diary. Daskal rants about giving to the motherland, he fought as an 8 year old against the Germans in WW2 and was called "Tankboy". The three younger tankers start to discuss mutiny. Koverchenko reports they now have no food or water and running low on gas and leaking oil. After another argument Koverchenko is tied down and left on a slab rock with a grenade under his head. Koverchenko pleads with Golikov to let him loose to no avail.Uncle Akbar notices Sherina and the other women are following. Sherina has some C4 and grenades. The dogs find Koverchenko and nip at his heels, as he moves the grenade falls and goes off but Koverchenko is unharmed.Taj expresses doubts to his uncle as he leaves the injured older man behind. Motoring down a wide open area Daskal sees the Kandahar road up ahead in his binoculars. The Russians rejoice! But they have to stop, a large deep chasm blocks the way forward.Koverchenko bakes in the sun, now the Afghan women find him and start to stone him. Desperate, Koverchenko pleads for Nanawatai and the women stop. The men arrive and Taj grants the sanctuary and wonders why the Russians left him. At mealtime the Afghans prepare food and allow Koverchenko first dibs. The RPG is damaged and using simple language and gestures Taj gets the Russian to repair the launcher. Koverchenko also agrees to help destroy the tank.A Russian helicopter lands near the tank. The two young men are happy to board the aircraft but Major Daskal demands they get off, they are "tankers" and have to drive back. The pilot provides some jerrycans of fuel and says they have to go back the way they came. Golikov and Kaminski are stunned as the helo flies away in a cloud of dust. Hiding in rocks the Afghans are happy to see the tank come back. Taj lays out a plan to attack.The tank travels thru the night, Kaminski reports the engine overheating in the morning. At the waterhole the helo is there on the ground. The pilot and crew are all dead, not knowing the water was poisoned. In the distance the Afghans approach, Major Daskal sees Koverchenko running with the mujaheddin. The tank won't start, dead battery. The machine gun is out of ammo. Daskal begins a manual turret traverse cranking a handwheel. The tank fires an anti-tank round over the Afghan's heads, Koverchenko gestures and tells them to spread out. The tank starts up and moves away before Koverchenko can get a shot with the RPG. The Russian notices an oil trail and races after the tank. The tank has to follow a winding path in the canyon while the pursuing Afghans can take a straight line shortcut over the hills. Daskal notices them following and shoots at the ridges, finally the main gun runs out of ammo.Taj and Koverchenko get ahead of the tank and try to aim the RPG. Koverchenko fumbles but gets a shot off, a direct hit on the muzzle of the main gun. The tank continues to the Pass and apparent safety. Taj appeals to Allah and an explosion above sends a rockslide down onto the tank. It is stopped. Sherina and her women look down from above. The tank is disabled as the right tread is broken. Noticing leaking fuel, Koverchenko sends a firebomb that explodes under the tank. Golikov and Kaminski panic and Daskal issues them with grenades, he wants them all to suicide together. Kaminski refuses and the two younger men manage to disarm the Major. The three Russians get out with their hands up surrendering. Golikov gets on his knees disgusting both the Afghans and Daskal. Koverchenko taunts the Maj but uses his nanawatai protection to allow the Russians to leave on foot. At the crossroads Daskal pauses and falls behind the other two, the angry Afghan women approach screaming.At the burning tank Taj gives Koverchenko a souvenir rifle. Sherina arrives all bloody and apologizes to Taj. Another Russian helo arrives and the mujaheddin scatter. Taj calls for Koverchenko to come with them but he puts on the horse collar sling and is lifted up in the air.

revenge

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imdb

Allegedly came out during a change of administration at COLUMBIA, and they knew not what to do with it, and at a time when the 'blockbuster' mentality was starting to become the norm, THE BEAST may have played in what, five cities for a week or two.....they say the most valuable gems can be the hardest to find...and THE BEAST is no exception to that maxim...This is as close to a 'foreign film' out of Hollywood as you are going to get...the story brings the conflict between people forward, and makes the action incidental-virtual guaranteed bankruptcy for a US film today.And as for the actors speaking English-I think the producers realised they were close enough to no profit by having one language being subtitled as it was-the whole film being subtitled would have seen no financing at all, probably.-That just doesnt fly in H-town....'art-house' kiss of death... The main character comes to understand this during the film, finally telling his Soviet commanding officer that "we're the Nazis this time."During the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the United States funded, supplied, and trained Mujahadeen forces. Reynolds captures the essence of man's struggle with right & wrong, good & evil, on several levels in this realistic depiction of the Soviet-Afghan conflict. The movie then operates subversively against this natural tendency throughout the remainder of the story.The hunting of the tank by the Mujahadeen has an almost mythic quality, except for the fact that the T-62 is real and it has a human crew. And leading that crew is the tank commander whose entire life was shaped by his experiences in "The Great Patriotic War" against the Nazis when, as an 8-year-old, he was used by Russian troops in Stalingrad to help kill German tanks. Dzundza, Patric and Bauer, although lesser-known among the 'gods' of Hollywood and together with a cast of very capable unknowns, have conspired to make a high-calibre testament to the evil of war and the resiliency of life and spirit in war's midst.Others may fault the movie as they will: Soviet tankers with American accents, incorrect tank, inaccurate terminology, made in Israel, et al; The plot outshines all that. The conflict here is totally between a group of local Afghan mujahideen and the crew of a lost Soviet tank struggling to find their way out of a valley in which they're trapped. (The image of the lost tank may well be a symbolic representation of the wider war - the Soviet Union being hopelessly lost in Afghanistan.) The movie features a fairly graphic portrayal of the horrors of the battle from the point of view of both sides, as well as of the growing weariness of the Soviets, who - with the exception of their gung-ho and somewhat insane commander - want nothing more than to get out of this country as fast as possible. Opening with an example of an atrocity by the tank crew against the inhabitants of a small Afghan village, the movie follows the mujahideen as they seek revenge against their invaders.The performances in this movie were absolutely first-rate, headed by a fantastic piece of work by George Dzundza as the insane commander Daskal, who willingly kills his own men if he takes a dislike to them and who refuses a chance to escape via a Soviet helicopter that chances upon the lost crew, choosing instead to get out with his tank and his crew. Jason Patric was equally good as Koverchenko, a member of the tank crew who finally turns against Daskal, and eventually finds himself aligned with the mujahideen in a quest for his own personal revenge against Daskal.The Russians in this movie speak English (thankfully without fake accents) while the Afghans speak whatever their particular native language is with subtitles, which suggests to me that the Russians (and how they respond to their increasingly hopeless situation) are the focal point of the movie. This movie try to deal with a nature of war as it self and does it to my mind pretty good.Well, these guys in a tank were not Russians in any manner. Tanks could be used as support, but there is no way massive tank attack would be enforced without commandos on foot or vehicles guarding them as it was shown (well, armament has always been a virtue for soviet commanders not soldiers).But as I already said, in general this movie is totally worth to see.. The good: Beautiful desert scenery, photography that really stands out, emotional soundtrack (though dated at times), powerful acting, great storyline and convincing character development The bad:Nothing worth mentioning! The film, a drama with some action and no large scale battles, manages to whet the interest, build suspense, deliver some wartime ironies, and provide slivers of insight into what war in Afghanistan must be like - something much more relevant today than during the Russian occupation. and proves that terrain may often be the greatest adversary an invading army has to conquer.and you get to feel just how impregnable a tank feels to foot-bound infantry--you feel its awesome firepower and how dangerous it is in the attack, and the potential sacrifice inherent in an infantry assault on on this impregnable beast.and at the bottom of all these realities lurks the ultimate occupier's question, "how come we're the Nazis this time?".and then there is George Dzundza. The film's insistence on demonizing the Soviets and employing them as a force of pure evil makes this a rather bad source of information on Afghanistan.A well made piece of Cold-War trash in my opinion. I knew nothing about this film when I decided to watch it-I was interested in tank warfare, and movies about that are thin on the ground. The first pleasant surprise was that (in the print that I saw) the Afghans' dialogue is subtitled (rare in a pre- 2000 Hollywood film), and that the Russian characters speak plain American English. This is not really intended to say that the two conflicts are identical, but rather serves as a tool to convey a broader anti-war message.As the film begins, we are in an alien desert setting with the Russian tank crew speaking only in Russian and committing a series of terrible deeds. When you can get used to the Soviet soldiers having American accents, this is an excellent war movie, with some great camera-work and editing, some nice twists and turns and, and I'm not sure if this was just me, a subtle vein of black comedy. an underrated gem.deserves at least an 8 on IMDb.greatest achievement of the film is to allow us to empathize with the afghans as well as the Russian soldiers ,although we know that Russia has the negative image here.also we get to understand the pathetic condition of the Afghanistan.apart from these achievements as a movie also the film entertains and thrills you to the core with its awesome climax.definitely in my top 10 war movies of all time along with Tae gukji, My way,spr, Platoon, Full metal jacket, Deer hunter, Cross of iron, Letters from iwo jima and The thin red line .definitely a 10 out of 10 for me.. The echo of Vietnam is powerful of course, and the film is a very rare and amazingly prescient attempt to bring some mass-media insight into something that we see all the time on the news, but hardly ever in the movies: Afghanistan was maybe the beginning of the new East-West contest of Humanism vs Islam, replacing after 1989-91 (and this film was made in 1988!) the old contest of Capitalism vs Communism. It's a wonderful tale about war, the men who do them (a fanatic old tanker wonderfully played by George Dzundza, the intellectual Jason Patric, the dumb one and the coward one), good and evil on each side and intelligence. I was surprised as well by Kevin Reynold's work (far from waterworld), by the musical theme, and the shots of this movie.Dzundza ("Tank boy")should have won an Oscar for his interpretation of this villain, victim of war and sticked to his tank.. I've never watched a war movie about the Soviets in Afghanistan before, and this was not a let down! The actors all give great performances, especially Jason Patric who plays the protagonist and George Dzundza who plays the twisted commander that leads the tank crew. It shows the tank crew as simply soldiers following orders; the movie depicts the barbarity of war without antagonizing either side. Made in 1988, it tells the seemly simple story of a Soviet tank crew who gets lost in the middle of the unforgiving wilderness of Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion and bloody war that occurred there. That's certainly the question being asked by the young soldier Konstantin (Jason Patric in another great performance), who slowly begins to become a thorn in Daskal's side with all his questioning, especially as Daskal grows more paranoid and unjustly distrustful of the crew's Afghan liaison officer Samad (wonderful character actor Erick Avari). But the movie doesn't just show the workings of the tank crew, it also intimately shows the Afghans who are following them, showcasing the conflicts of interest and power dynamics within their group, and their hunt for "the beast", as they call the tank. "The Beast" is probably one of the most unique war films ever made, in that here you have an American made movie that deals with a foreign war that we were not fighting in at the time - though we were giving significant support to various groups within the Afghan Mujahadeen - and one that was being fought by our arc rival at the time, the Russians or Soviets. Sadly, though, "The Beast of War" is a movie that managed to fall through the cracks, perhaps because of the unique subject matter of the film, which is a shame, for as the United States tries to bend Afghanistan to its will and bring it into the modern age, "The Beast" is able to fully show the hopeless situation the Soviet Union found itself in, and why we, my fellow Americans, probably won't have much luck there either, when all is said and done. For this and other reasons that I simply cannot put into words at the moment, "Beast of War" is a film that should be seen at least once in your life, not only because of its story but stellar acting, be it Patric, Don Harvey, or Steven Baldwin of the Baldwin brothers! For me, the tank commander's acting is significant.It is not hard to infer that screenplay writer is not well informed about Afghan war realities. There is a world of difference not only in speech but in mannerisms, characteristic's and attitude between Americans and Russians; it is a fatal flaw in the movie to expect the viewer to accept otherwise: a bit like, for example, having a cowboy and Indian film with the latter played by Polish people! This is another dumb American war film made during the Cold War attempting to show the Russians as Barbaric Soldiers, and in the end Jason Patric sides with the Afghans against his crazed tank commander played by George Dzundza. If you have recently watched the 2014 movie "Fury" I would strongly suggest "The Beast" as another and I would say superior film about claustrophobic, brutal warfare centered on one tank crew left to fend for themselves in hostile territory, much like in Fury. I liked this movie far better than Fury which has too many Hollywood restrictions on it to be credible, especially the more Fury unfolds, the more BS they incorporate."The Beast" takes place during the decline of Soviet power in Afghanistan and the military is bugging out but this crew is still on patrol and has their commands to follow. Well filmed story from the Afghan-Soviet war. "The Beast" is one of the best war films, showing what it is really like to be a tank crew member. It is the only war movie covering that time, 1981, of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan to shore up their puppet government in Kabul, that I have ever seen or know of. I'm not sure where the film was actually shot, but it looks convincing enough to be Afghanistan.The only real criticism I have of the movie is the Afghani subtitles are displayed a little too quickly for me to read them; however, the storyline is simple enough that one can guess at what they said anyway.. Dvd really gave justice at the great Douglas Milsome's Cinematography and camera work;that story ,about crudelity of war, is telled with great sense of reality and each time that I watch this film I hate George Dzundza Crazy Real Bastard's role,a great performace! A surprisingly excellent war film about the Russian invasion of Afghanistan. The film very realisticly portrayed the war itself, but the people in the movie acted too "American". Soviet soldiers do not act like the actors did, but I guess it can be forgiven since the movie was made for an American audience. Very realistic war film about Soviet tank and Afghan mujahideen fighters chasing it, seeking revenge for the destruction of their village. More complex and intense than it might sound, not like typical Hollywood war films.Filmed in Israel, perhaps at the Negev desert and it has the most detailed tank action in movie history. Probably the only American made war story about the ex-Soviet Union's own Vietnam- Afghanistan. I rate this movie very highly for several reasons; 1) It is the only film I know of that deals with the Soviet invasion directly instead of as a backdrop, 2) It depicts the Afghan people's culture as simultaneously hard and unforgiving as well as compassionate and civilized, a dichotomy that explains why Westerners have such a hard time understanding foreign customs 3) It represented the communist Afghan aspect of this war as well as the racist contempt the Russians had for the people they supposedly were fighting for (shades of another superpower debacle!)4) the battle and chase scenes were harrowing 5) It showed the important role the Afghan women played, albeit in perhaps a Hollywood-hyped fashion 6) It showed that revenge, morality and conscience sometimes make uncomfortable bedfellows and finally, 7) the acting was very good, especially Stephen Bauer's convincing portrayal of a Pashtun-speaking Afghan tribal leader. The movie charts the struggle between a Russian tank commander, whose crew manages to get lost in the desert during the soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and the Afghan fighters against him who want to blow up the tank. One of the few Hollywood films (never mind 'Rambo III') to exploit the Soviet-Afghan war pits the crew of a wayward Russian tank against a handful of rebels bent on vengeance, with the beast of the film's title becoming the machine itself: a fully armored Goliath challenged by the sticks and stones of a primitive nation. In a nutshell it's a movie about a Russian tank crew against a bunch of Afghan Mujahedeen. That happens all the time, especially with lowly trained, poorly educated people such as the afghan fighters during the soviet war in Afghanistan.I'm sure there's a bit of cold war propaganda thrown in the mix (mostly thinking about the tank commander here, can't say much more without spoilers), but ultimately, what's interesting is that the soviets in this aren't all "bad" guys, by far, neither are necessarily the Mujahideens- if I'm not mistaken, the United States supported those during the Soviet Afghan war, yet this movie depicts some bad guys among those as well. The tank gets lost in the desert.American movies often tackle various American wars. The bad thing about owning a tank is all your friends want to borrow it when they invade a country.However, the invading vehicle in this action movie is on loan from the Soviets.During their invasion of Afghanistan, a Soviet tank - lead by Commander Daskal (George Dzundza) - loses its bearings following a raid on an Islamic radical village.When pacifist Taj (Steven Bauer) finds his father murdered by the communists, he's forced by the village to retaliate.In pursuit, he encounters a tank crewman (Jason Patric) jettison by his crewmates (Stephen Baldwin, Don Harvey) for mutiny.In exchange for sanctuary, the crewman must repair Taj's anti-tank gun.Despite little attempt at masking their American accents, the manly cast of this underrated and action-packed adaptation of the stage play manages to convey the message of mercy during wartime.Incidentally, isn't the national symbol of Russia an invading tank?Green Lightvidiotreviews.blogspot.ca. Stress and tension keeps rising between the tank crew.Very little-known anti-war movie. The film is compelling on many levels, and it will stick with you for a long time after you see it.The film centers around a five-man Soviet tank crew hopelessly lost in Afghanistan after taking part in a vicious raid on a tiny village. "The Beast" is the DVD title, but this movie is also known as "The Beast of War." This film revolves around the story of five Russians whose tank is separated from the others when the Soviet Union invades Afghanistan in 1981. Kevin Reynolds's "The Beast" tells the story of an Mujahadeen group with a mission: to capture and destroy a Soviet war tank or as they call "The Beast". But it's a very original film with action scenes and a political criticism (little things), and also a story about how mankind acts in times of war. And that's how he was saved and he learned to trust his old enemies.Desite the cruelty shown at the beginning (the scene involving the tank and the guy crushed by it was very impressive) it's a excellent movie, easy to sit through, very entertaining for audiences who like war films and a thought provoking film for those who enjoy a good criticism about honor, cruel commanders, loyalty and wrath of gods. Overlong but memorable war movie follows a seemingly doomed Soviet tank crew during that country's invasion of Afghanistan.

tt0219699

The Gift

Set in the fictional town of Brixton, Georgia, young widow and mother of three young boys Annie Wilson (Cate Blanchett), is the town fortuneteller. The town is abuzz with the disappearance of Jessica King (Katie Holmes), fiancée of Wayne Collins (Greg Kinnear), the school's principal.As the search for Jessica begins, the local police and Jessica's father, Kenneth King (Chelcie Ross), enlist Annie's help to see if she can solve Jessica's disappearance. Annie is unable to produce a vision, largely due to the presence of Sheriff Pearl Johnson (J. K. Simmons), who looks upon Annie's trade unfavorably.Annie later receives a vision that Jessica has been murdered and her body weighed down by a chain and thrown into a pond. She also sees a fiddle player, white lilies, and a split-rail fence. She goes to Sherrif Johnson with her findings, and with the information, Johnson decides to search a pond on the property of violent alcoholic Donnie Barksdale (Keanu Reeves), whose battered wife, Valerie (Hilary Swank), gives permission to search their house as Donnie is away fishing. Donnie returns while the search is proceeding. As the police are ready to give up on the search, they find the naked and chained body of Jessica King. Donnie is immediately arrested.During his trial for Jessica's murder, it is revealed that Jessica and Barksdale had an affair, and Jessica's reputation for promiscuity is exposed in court. The case against Barksdale is strengthened when a scratch on his forearm is proven to have been perpetrated by Jessica during a confrontation at a local bar. Annie also takes the stand, and though her psychic testimony is ridiculed by skeptic defense attorney Gerald Weems (Michael Jeter), Donnie is eventually convicted and sent to prison.A subplot reveals other examples of Annie's "gift". Buddy Cole (Giovanni Ribisi) harbors an intense hatred for his father, and consistently has fits of seemingly unprovoked rage, including incidents with Annie -- one of Buddy's only friends -- and with Donnie Barksdale. Buddy tries to explain to Annie why he hates his father, but Annie is preoccupied and doesn't want to listen to the panicky and vulgar Buddy. He asks her, "If I look into a blue diamond, will I die?" but doesn't elaborate. Unable to understand the question, Annie shrugs Buddy off.Soon after, Buddy's hysterical mother calls Annie to come over, as Buddy has snapped and has his father bound to a chair. Buddy sets fire to his father, and as Annie tries to stop him, he shows her a blue diamond tattoo on his father's navel. It is revealed that Buddy's father took advantage of his son's fragile mental state to force him into fellatio. An ambulance takes Buddy's father away, while Buddy is taken to a psychiatric hospital.Later, Annie receives another vision saying that Donnie is innocent. She asks District Attorney David Duncan (Gary Cole) to reopen the case. Duncan refuses, but Annie counters that she will reveal Duncan's own involvement with Jessica King, as Annie had caught them making out in the women's restroom at a local dance. Duncan offers her money to keep quiet, but Annie refuses, still wanting justice for Barksdale.Annie tells Principal Collins that Barksdale is not responsible for his fiancée's death and that D.A. Duncan will not reopen the investigation. After driving out to the pond that night with Collins, Annie realizes that Collins is the murderer. He confesses to Annie that he was angry after he discovered that she was cheating on him with nearly every man in town. Knowing that she'll go to the police, Collins attempts to kill Annie. Just as he is about to land a fatal blow with a steel flashlight, Buddy Cole shows up and knocks Collins out.Sitting in the car at the pond, Buddy, uncharacteristically calm, returns a handkerchief that Annie had loaned him earlier, and tells her that she is the heart and soul of the town and not to stop doing what she's doing. The two drive to the police station with Collins stowed in the trunk. Annie tells Buddy that he will have to return to the hospital, and he waits in the car while she goes inside to talk with Sheriff Johnson. When Annie explains to Johnson what happened at the pond and that Buddy saved her life, the sheriff informs her that Buddy Cole had hanged himself at the hospital earlier that day. She returns to her car to find Buddy gone. However, Annie still has her handkerchief that Buddy's ghost returned to her.

paranormal, violence, intrigue, murder, flashback

train

imdb

Who could believe that she is Australian?In short, 'The Gift' is well worth seeing, primarily for Cate Blanchett, but also for the supporting actors Keanu Reeves (very impressive and effective) Hilary Swank (underused) and the magnificent Giovanni Ribisi - who is both explosive and reticent as Buddy Cole. In a small town deep in the South, a single mother endowed with a special ability becomes involved with the disappearance of a young woman and has a brush with the supernatural, in `The Gift,' directed by Sam Raimi. Cate Blanchett stars as Annie Wilson, a young widow attempting to raise her three kids and provide a decent life for her family, scraping out a living on Social Security since the tragic death of her husband in a work related accident the previous year. And though it's helped her maintain her home, she soon finds that it doesn't always make for the most pleasant of situations, as when she must advise a young woman, Valerie Barksdale (Hilary Swank), on how to cope with her abusive husband, Donnie (Keanu Reeves), or attempt to help a troubled young man, Buddy Cole (Giovanni Ribisi) come to terms with some sensitive aspects of his life. Then, when a client comes to her to ask for help when his daughter disappears, not only does it take her to the dark side of the human experience, she discovers that certain individuals, including local sheriff Pearl Johnson (J.K. Simmons) do not believe that her `gift' is real.Stylistically crafted and delivered, Raimi's film will keep you engrossed and on the edge of your seat until the very end. As the central character, Annie anchors the film and enables the circumstances in which she is involved to be perceived as real; it's the strength of the film, and it's what makes it all work so well.What also makes it work is the strong performance by Cate Blanchett, who makes Annie so real and accessible, displaying her `gift' with restraint and avoiding the possible pitfall of taking it too far over the edge, which could easily have made it suspect. With consummate skill, Blanchett creates a well rounded character which demonstrates that as an actor, she definitely has a very real `gift' of her own.Ribisi also does a memorable turn as Buddy, with a striking performance in which he creates some disturbing moments that are almost painful to watch; his is a character study of a soul in distress, seeking solace and resolution, and even as he attempts to sort out his life, you are able to sympathize with his plight as you share Buddy's experiences. With films like `Saving Private Ryan' and now this one, Ribisi is on his way to establishing himself as one of the premiere character actors in the business today.Playing somewhat against type, Reeves proves that he can be a good `bad' guy, giving possibly one of his best performances ever as Donnie. It's a good job by Reeves, who deserves credit for taking on a role that is so disagreeable and insensitive.The supporting cast includes Greg Kinnear (Wayne), Katie Holmes (Jessica), Kim Dickens (Linda), Gary Cole (David) and Rosemary Harris (Annie's Granny). Keanu Reeves is very effective as a wife abusing husband and Hilary Swank, Katie Holmes, Greg Kinnear, Giovanni Ribisi and Gary Cole are all very good in their roles. She thinks the wrong man has been put away and now she fears that the real killer is going to come after her.What The Gift benefits from, besides great performances, is tight direction. I was disappointed with how Thorton wrote the court room scenes but that is about all I was disappointed with.The Gift is not one of the best horror films I've ever seen, but it is an enjoyable one and if I had to compare it to another similar one to it, I would have to say that this was better than What Lies Beneath. Greg Kinnear is good and subtle, and Hilary Swank continues to flaunt her brilliant acting abilities as the vulnerable wife of Donny who constantly takes beatings from him, yet still maintains her love for him.The story is very intriguing, revolving around a cast of colorful characters. Although the brutality inherent in the script is laid on with a trowel, "The Gift" has many mesmerizing attributes, not the least of which is Sam Raimi's assured direction and the casting of luminous Cate Blanchett, sensational in the lead. I thought THE GIFT was going to be another of those clichéd tales involving a fortune teller , but as soon as the credits revealed that the director was the underrated Sam Raimi I suddenly started hoping that this was going to be a good film and my expectations were more than satisfied.Raimi is probably best known for his SPIDERMAN blockbuster and the EVIL DEAD films , but I can't help thinking he's far better suited to human dramas like this film and A SIMPLE PLAN . The scene-switching goofs and errors aren't enough to destroy the whole of the film.I like the entire concept of having a crime which was witnessed by a person who wasn't even in the crime scene but witnessed it through her dreams and visions.Despite the fact that movies featuring extrasensory perception of a character is not very unique, what makes this movie really crafted is the great talent of its producers to create an ambiance of mystery without the need of making mainstream plots like having deaths caused by ghosts or monsters haunting for justice.I also liked that they were able to portray spooky scenes without using heavy prosthetic make-up and with just a little of computer generated effects. Cate Blanchett is great in the lead role as are Keanu Reeves, Hilary Swank and Katie Holmes who has a greta nude scene. 4 – Katie Holmes unleashing the "Cruise missiles" at last.1 – First the cast: The "Good" – Cate Blanchett, Greg Kinnear, The "They'll do" – Keanu Reeves, Hillary Swank, Giovanni Ribisi and the "Maybe she'll get 'em out?", Katie Holmes.2 – Sam Raimi almost goes back to his roots of horror with this one, I love when he does straight horror, but he is a very fine director of so-called mainstream films as well, moreso when ignoring the Spiderman series. The plot of The Gift revolves around the disappearance of a young woman from a small backwoods town in the US, and how the various townsfolk are somehow involved or impacted.The primary character is Cate Blanchett as a hard working, penniless mother of three named Annie, who happens to have eerily accurate visions of the future. The strength of Cate in the role is that she is a good actress and makes some of the later visions a little more credible than they might otherwise be - and she also has no issue with wearing some of the dodgiest tracky dacks ever seen on TV.Annie gives readings for many local people, including several regulars who fortunately are professional actors, Giovanni Ribisi as Buddy and Hillary Swank as Valerie among them. The remainder of the film takes a great many twists and turns on the way to clarifying what happened to Jessica and who is ultimately responsible.Among the red herrings and dead ends are many of the signature Sam Raimi "LOUD" moments, indicating things or bad guys may or may not be there, the suspicion and blame of prominent characters, and Buddy has a couple of memorable moments that help to illustrate his insanity.The ending was a little preposterous and hokey, it almost appeared that they run out of interest and just tacked on a "that'll do" ending to get the film in the can. Get a load of the talent involved in the making of The Gift: Evil Dead creator/Spiderman director Sam Raimi called the shots; Best Writing Oscar winner Billy Bob Thornton co-wrote the script; and future Oscar winning actresses Cate Blanchett and Hilary Swank led the great cast that also featured the always reliable Giovanni Ribisi, Keanu Reeves (giving one of the best performances of his career) and Katie Holmes's tits (she might not have won any Oscars, but she's the owner of a magnificent pair of Golden Globes!!!). In fact, The Gift is such a hauntingly effective film, it makes me wonder why Raimi bothered producing a remake of over-rated Asian horror The Grudge when he already had such a truly great ghost story under his belt.8.5 out of 10, rounded up to 9 for IMDb.. So here I am now writing a review because I just can't believe the ratio between known quality talent (Cate Blanchett, Hilary Swank, Keanu Reeves, Giovanni Ribisi, Greg Kinnear, Katie Holmes - for goodness sake think of the movies that could have been made with this line-up!) and end product. When you roll in sweet girl Katie Holmes as the village slut and tidy Brit Cate playing the Bayou welfare single mom, it leads me to guess that the reason for making the movie was to give all these people an opportunity to play a contrasting role with their historical castings.I am seriously going to ask for my rental money back when I return it to the video store, something I have never done before. A friend of mine who saw this with me claims he figured it out 20 minutes into the film, this is highly possible.There is a lot of talent wasted in this boring and predictable "thriller." whoever did the sets should be commended, they are so convincingly sordid that you can almost feel the humidity of this poor southern town. I can say from my experience as a psychic that Billy Bob Thornton makes the psychic's life believably real – and Sam Raimi's directing along with Cate Blanchett's portrayal of Annie Wilson come together to seal the deal. A young woman gets killed in a small town, and Annie Wilson, a widowed mother of three boys, is the only one who can help to find the killer by using her "gift", an ability to see and foresee things supernaturally.The film starts out fine, introducing the characters one by one, and aptly creating the atmosphere of a typical southern urban town. Billy Bob Thornton can't write, Keanu Reeves can't be menacing, and Katie Holmes can't be slutty, but that didn't stop all three giving it their best shot.I suppose I'm mainly surprised by the overall positive response this film received. The director fills it with every 'scarymovie' camera trick in the book, but it's the story that doesn't work.There is some over acting- Ribisi as the local 'slow' character chews upa lot of scenery, and Greg Kinnear explores new areas of stiff, butoverall I just felt sorry for all these people wasting their time on allthat nothingness. Except for Hilary swank of course lol, did stupid things i mean, but she really played her role great too, it was funny seeing her like that, but cate blanchett did an amazing performance! Kate Blanchett had a very good performance and, as someone else mentioned, does carry the film.There are a lot of good actors playing secondary roles in this movie. He focuses on his actors, which give good performances, especially Cate Blanchett and Keanu Reeves as a wife-beating redneck, but they cannot change the fact, that we have seen this many, many times before. Anyone who loves a good slice of southern Gothic murder mystery should check out Sam Raimi's The Gift, one of several films in the eclectic scoundrel's ouvre which made a departure from his usual brand of chaotic horror. Great entertainment.Cate Blanchett stars as Annie Wilson, a young widow with three sons to raise -- her husband was killed a year before the story in a work-related accident. Aussie Cate Blanchett as a single Louisiana mom/widow of three teenaged sons who tells fortunes to make ends meet; Hillary Swank as the beaten wife; Keanu Reeves as the evil, loose handed redneck husband (there's a change from Bill & Ted Excellent Adventures and The Matrix, though not as much from The Watcher - he seems to go for more sinister roles nowadays); Gary Coleman (The Nighthawk) as an ambitious prosecutor (he looked like he aged really well); Giovani Ribisi as the "troubled" Buddy (who gives the best performance); Katie Holmes as the spoiled heiress who can't seem to stop running around (she even gets really naked)...It seems like the actors really enjoyed the challenge of playing unusual characters that stretch them outside their usual screen personas. Yes the ending of this filming was predictable, but I loved it anyway.In particular I found the characters of Annie Wilson (Cate Blanchett) and Buddy Cole (Giovani Ribisi) engaging. If they hung a big sign on the killer that said `MURDERER', it couldn't have been more obvious than the way director Sam Raimi constructed the story around Billy Bob Thornton's screenplay.Kate Blanchett does a good job as the fortune teller, although I wouldn't put it on a par with `Elizabeth'. Annie Walker (Cate Blanchett) is a psychic who reads cards for a living, she begins to get haunted through her visions by a murdered woman called Jessica King (Katie Holmes) and when the police ask for her help in the investigation she is forced to use her powers to save herself from becoming the next victim of the murderer.Cate Blanchett is fantastic in the role, capturing the character with an Ora of mystery and intrigue; she is well supported by Katie Holmes, Keanu Reeves, Giovanni Ribisi and Hilary Swank. Some of the actors really surprised me with strong turns, including Katie Holmes as the spoiled, baby-faced débutante Jessica; Greg Kinnear as the seemingly stalwart Wayne; Keanu Reeves especially visceral and chilling as unrepentant wife-beater Donnie; and Giovanni Ribisi as the deeply troubled Buddy.In the smallish role of Valerie, Hilary Swank makes her moments count as she cringes from Donnie's scarifying dominance over her. An A-List cast lead by Cate Blanchette delivers solid performances, even if it is difficult to buy Keanu Reeves with a Southern accent.It's an interesting attempt to combine the dramatic elements of 'A Simple Plan' with the supernatural, horror elements of Raimi's earlier works, the ones that made him famous: 'Evil Dead' and 'Evil Dead II'.There are plenty of twists, enough to keep you guessing, and this is not a predictable movie despite what the naysayers may try to make you believe (the ones that sit the whole movie trying to guess the end, and when one of their twenty guesses prove right, they scream, "I TOLD you!"). The gift is certainly a good movie.And for the first time since Ocean's Eleven(THE NEW VERSION) a big group of famous actors and actrises work together with sintony.It's a regular movie with a cliché story but the performances takes the movie to a high level.Cate Blanchet is the best playing the widow who has visions from a murder.Katie Holmes is cute and sexy playing a denny and spicy girl.I laugh with the `24 hours crazy' Giovanni Ribisi, he's wonderful.Reeves is creepy in the picture,he really scares!Sam Raimi is definately a good director he never disapoint us,specially now with Spider Man playing at the cinemas.A curiosity about `The Gift' is that J.K.Simons and Rosemary Harris are in this film and in the Spider-man too.Raimi has a gift for doing movies.8 out of 10.. Maybe i'm wrong but it's the first movie i watch with a lot of big names and that ends up really good : Hillary, Keanu, Katie, Cate, Kinnear and Ribisi really push their original characters and thus the movie never lost quality. Anyway, seeing that Sam Raimi, the director of the cult "Evil Dead" series and more recently the "Spider Man" movies was at the helm for "The Gift", I thought I'd give it a shot despite my concerns.When a young woman (played by a very sultry Katie Holmes) disappears, the police are baffled as to what has happened to her. Besides Blanchett, Greg Kinnear, Giovanni Ribisi, Hilary Swank and Katie Holmes all put in good performances. While he's nowhere near as impressive as the movie's star, he puts in a dominant performance with the help of good direction.Speaking of direction, Sam Raimi does an awesome job crafting a tight thriller with supernatural and horror elements. "The Gift" stars Cate Blanchett ("The Missing") as Annie Wilson, a widowed mother of three who uses her psychic powers to tell fortunes for her local townsfolk. Cate Blanchette was awesome, and Keanu Reeves was all but recognizable as 'stereotypical redneck.' I think a lot about the success of the movie is that it keeps the audience interested in the story by being a mystery, ornamented with scares and 'visions.' It's a good movie to rent and watch at night. Kate Blanchett in particular is at times mesmerising, Keanu Reeves is frighteningly convincing as a wife beating Red-Neck, Katie Holmes proves that she can play the man-eating vixen as well as her sappy Dawson's Creek character, and Giovanni Ribisi is also thoroughly convincing as the towns gibbering, unstable yockel.All in all, I think that Raimi has created an thoroughly entertaining, suspenseful movie, that will leave the audience on the edge of there seat, and send the pulse racing! Keanu Reeves is actually good (don't expect his typical routine), Hilary Swank follows up her Oscar with a strong performance, Greg Kinnear is excellent (we need to see more of him) and Katie Holmes tackles her first adult role and does well (showing some skin does help a little). I liked it, Sam Raimi is a great director and Thornton a good writer but I have to say that he wasn't inspired this time. But what does work is Cate Blanchette, which "The Gift" fittingly revolves around and which, by her strong faithful character, makes this film worth watching.. This movie is along a serious tone of Raimi's as A SIMPLE PLAN is, and like A SIMPLE PLAN both films are great story telling.The acting is also very well performed.

tt0036809

The Falcon Out West

A society detective turns cowboy to solve a Texan's murder.Tom Lawrence A.K.A. The Falcon (Tom Conway) is enjoying an evening out at a New York night club when he is approached by Mrs Irwin (Joan Barclay), who asks him to prevent her Ex-husband Tex Irwin (Lyle Talbot) marrying gold digger Vanessa Drake (Carole Gallagher). Tom doesn't want to get involved with this but Tex, who is dining at the club with his entourage, suddenly collapses on the dance floor and dies. The Falcon examines the body and is surprised to find a rattlesnake bite on the arm of the dead man and an empty wallet in his pocket. Inspector Timothy Donovan (Cliff Clark) arrives at the club to investigate the murder but Tex's attorney Stephen Hayden (Don Douglas) requests that Donovan postpones questioning Vanessa until she recovers from the shock of her fiancée's death. After Vanessa has left the table, Tom notices that one of the two train tickets he found on Tex's body has gone. Tom pockets the other ticket and when Vanessa boards the train to Texas she is surprised to find The Falcon waiting for her in her compartment. She tells Tom that the answer to Tex's death is to be found in Texas and so The Falcon agrees to go with her to Tex's ranch.When they arrive at the Texan train station The Falcon and Vanessa are greeted by Donovan, his assistant Bates (Edward Gargan) and Hayden. Donovan tells Vanessa that he is waiting for extradition papers to take her back to The Big Apple and then accepts her invitation to join her at the ranch. Also there to meet Vanessa is Dusty (Lee Trent), Tex's foreman, whom Tom recognises as being present at the night club just before Tex died. Dusty has brought a stagecoach to the station to transport Vanessa and her party to the ranch, but the gunplay of a group of rowdy ranch hands startles the horses and they bolt with the coach and it's passengers. They are rescued by Marion Colby (Barbara Hale), the daughter of Tex's partner Dave Colby (Minor Watson), who halts the spooked horses and then leads the coach of passengers safely to Tex's ranch. However, they find the ranch in darkness and seemingly deserted so Marion invites them over to the Colby ranch for dinner but Hayden enters Tex's ranch and discovers that the safe has been opened and the contents are strewn across a table.At the Colby ranch that evening, Tom follows Marion into a backroom where she is hiding a set of baggage checks - evidence that she and her father were in New York at the time of Tex's death. When Tom confronts her Marion explains that they had gone to the city to try and persuade Tex not to marry Vanessa but their attempt had only led to an argument and they had left the club before Tex's death occurred. Suddenly a scream is heard and everyone rushes out onto the patio where Vanessa claims someone just tried to kill her with a knife. Tom, Donovan and the others search for her attacker but can find no-one and as it is late they return to Tex's ranch only to discover Mrs Irwin there. She announces that she is going to move back into the ranch until the estate is settled. Tom notices a bloodstain on Irwin's sleeve. Later that night The Falcon goes to his bedroom only to find a scalp dagger embedded in his door, pinning a scalp to the door. Vanessa tells Tom that it is an old Comanche death warning.The next morning Tom goes to show the scalp to Colby, assuming that it has come from Colby's extensive collection of Indian artefacts, but when he mentions what Vanessa told him Colby informs him that the Comanche did not take scalps. Donovan arrives and tells everyone that they must gather at Tex's ranch later that day. When everyone is assembled at the ranch at 3pm Hayden presents Vanessa, Mrs Irwin and the Colbys with papers from Tex's safe, asks them to examine them, then he leaves the room. While they are reading the paperwork Donovan notices that Mrs Irwin is bending the papers in the exact same manner as the papers taken from the safe were bent and he accuses her of breaking into the safe. At that moment Eagle Feather (Chief Thunderbird), the Irwins Indian manservant, enters with news that Hayden is unwell. Rushing to his room the group are helpless as they watch him succumb to snake bite poisoning and die. Donovan persists in accusing Mrs Irwin of the murders until they all go outside and someone takes a potshot at him. They discover that the shooter is Red (Perc Launders), one of Colby's men. Donovan now suspects Colby and goes over to his ranch to question him.At the Colby ranch Tom discovers an Indian medicine bag containing the deed to Tex's ranch and a poison ring in the shape of a snake. Colby admits that he took the deed from the safe because Tex had discovered that Vanessa was cheating on him and so had changed his mind about who to leave his property to. Colby claims that he owns an identical poison ring in his collection but that it had gone missing months ago, but Donovan does not believe him and arrests him. Donovan escorts Colby out to a waiting car, but Tom stays behind and accuses Vanessa of murder. He says it was her who had pinned the scalp to his door to try and frighten him off and that she killed Tex because he had indeed discovered that she was cheating on him and was going to call off the wedding and not give her the ranch. Vanessa is about to plunge the fangs of her poison ring into Tom's arm when her lover Dusty enters and orders Tom at gunpoint to go to the car. Outside meanwhile, Colby's ranch hands have freed their boss from Donovan and are on their way to the ranch house. Dusty sees them coming and orders Tom back inside, before going back into the house The Falcon hangs the snake ring on the outside of the door. When Donovan and Colby's men see it they surround the house and a gun battle breaks out. In the confusion The Falcon manages to disarm Dusty by slamming the door onto his gun hand and Tom then arrests Vanessa. Later, at the train station Tom and Marion are saying goodbye to Donovan and Bates as they board the train back to New York when a beautiful woman steps down from the train and asks The Falcon for his help.

murder

train

imdb

tt0100201

Mr. Destiny

The story begins on "the strangest day" of Larry Burrows' (James Belushi) life (his 35th birthday) consisting of a series of comic and dramatic misadventures. Larry, who blames all of his life's problems on the fact that he struck out during a key moment of his state high school baseball championship game on his 15th birthday, wishes he had done things differently. His wish is granted by a guardian angel-like figure named Mike (Michael Caine), and appears at various times as a bartender, a cab driver, and so on. Larry soon discovers that Mike has transferred Larry into an alternative reality in which he had won the pivotal high school game. He now finds himself rich and (within his company) powerful, and married to the boss's (Bill McCutcheon) sexy daughter Cindy Jo Bumpers (Rene Russo). At first, his new life seems perfect, but he soon begins to miss his best friend Clip Metzler (Jon Lovitz) and wife Ellen (Linda Hamilton) from his previous life; he also discovers that his alternative self has created many enemies, like Jewel Jagger (Courteney Cox), and as Larry's problems multiply, he finds himself wishing to be put back into his old life. The story begins with Larry's car, an old Ford LTD station wagon, stalled out in a dark alley. Suddenly the pink lights of "The Universal Joint," a bar, come on. Larry goes inside to call a tow truck, and tells bartender Mike his troubles. He reviews the day he just had, which ended with his getting fired after discovering his department head Niles Pender's (Hart Bochner) scheme to sell the company under the nose of its owners to a group of naive Japanese investors. He tells Mike that he wishes he'd hit that last pitch out of the park, after which Mike fixes him a drink called "The Spilt Milk." The Spilt Milk was a drink that gave him his wish that he hit that home run in that championship game. Larry leaves the bar, walks home (his car apparently towed) and discovers someone else living in his house, which is now fixed up (previously his yard and driveway were muddy and unfinished). Mike appears as a cab driver and drives him to his "new" home, a mansion in Forest Hills, explaining that he did in fact hit the last pitch and won the game. He soon discovers that Cindy Jo is his wife and he's the president of his company, Liberty Republic Sporting Goods. Being a classic car buff, he's shocked to find that he owns a collection of priceless antique automobiles. Larry soon discovers that Clip has a low-level job in the accounting department and is quite insecure, as opposed to the jokester he was before. Ellen is shop steward (in both realities) and is married to another man. Jewel, a forklift operator in the previous reality, is now Larry's mistress and his secretary. Ellen hates Larry and he discovers that the union is threatening a walkout due to massive layoffs and increased production, since Niles is selling Liberty Republic in both realities. Seeing Ellen, he realizes how much he misses her and agrees to all the union's demands, providing Ellen agrees to dinner at his favorite restaurant. She reluctantly agrees, and Larry eventually convinces her that they were married in a previous life. After discovering that Larry has agreed to union demands, Niles takes revenge, by telling both Cindy Jo and Jewel of Larry's dinner date with Ellen. He then plots to kill Larry at the office that night. However, company owner Leo Hansen arrives to deliver a note to Larry, announcing his termination, and Niles kills him by mistake. Discovering the note, Niles calls the police who attempt to arrest Larry for Leo's murder. Larry escapes while jealous Jewel creates pandemonium outside in her attempts to shoot him (and shoots out a number of police cars in the process), leading to a police chase. Larry is eventually cornered in a dark alley but the pink glow of "The Universal Joint" comes on and he runs into the bar. Unable to find Mike, Larry attempts to make the "Spilt Milk" himself, the ingredients clearly aged. The flashing lights of the police cars appear and Larry surrenders but instead of cops, a tow truck driver named Duncan enters (the police car lights now tow truck lights). Confused at first, Larry sees Mike back behind the bar and realizes he's back in his old life. Larry thanks Mike for everything and, upon exiting the bar, suddenly realizes that the deal with the Japanese investors is happening shortly. Driven by Duncan to company headquarters, Larry barges into the boardroom, decks Niles and exposes his scheme just as Leo is about to sign the deal. Thinking everyone forgot his birthday, Larry returns home (which still has the muddy driveway and lawn) to a surprise party with his family and friends in attendance. Soon after, Cindy Jo and her husband Jackie Earle (Jay O. Sanders), the company president arrive. Jackie offers Niles' job to Larry, plus a company car, a new Mercedes and he accepts. Back in the past, young Larry is about to leave the stadium, still upset about the loss, when he's approached by a mysterious stranger (Mike) who reassures him that everything will be alright. Larry thanks him for the reassurance, but walks off wondering who Mike thinks he's kidding.

psychedelic, alternate history

train

wikipedia

DESTINY without giving a nod of appreciation to each and every cast member, from the goodhearted James Belushi to the murderous Courtney Cox. This movie lacks the gravitas and scale to make it a great film, but it's a fine cheer-up on a rainy afternoon. Living the part of your life you wished were better is something that many of us have wished we could do, but for Larry Burrows, it becomes reality in "Mr. Destiny."Jim Belushi definitely played his best part in this well-done film about second chances. Burrows is the kind of person that lets everyone go ahead of him, with out trying to get ahead himself.The chemistry between Belushi and Linda Hamilton as Ellen is very charming, something that many loving couples have. From James Beluchi and Linda Hamilton to Michael Cane ,and we can spend the whole movie recognizing actors, wich is also fun.So i don´t have much more to say, except that i really recomend this movie.Very simple, but very good and very cute too. Belushi gets the chance to live part of his life differently, but ends up realizing that what he had was going to be just as good or maybe even better. Michael Caine plays a sort-of angel who lets Belush see what life would have been like if he had "made it big". Jim is at his best with a good story and supporting cast; seems like real chemistry between him and Hamilton. Ok, so it borrows a little from "It's a Wonderful Life", but that was 44 years prior to this film, so why not a new attempt. He finds out when, unbeknownst to him, Caine serves up a motion potion in a glass that gives him a mansion, the prom queen (Russo) as his wife, and makes him president of the sporting goods company he's been canned from. He never fully adjusts, and in a plot development that doesn't kill the movie but is still odd, he tries to court his wife (Hamilton) from his real life, who is now married to someone else. The good move is that they don't spend too much time on it, as basically they rip of "Ghost", with Belushi constantly telling Hamilton things only she could know. Also good work from the big and recognizable cast, as Belushi is very likable, VERY attractive ladies chosen, and Caine is perfectly easy going as the title guy. Convinced that his life would have turned out better had he made a home run instead of a miss in a ball game in his high school years, he gets the chance to see how his life would have turned out had he hit that ball. And what a difference it did make.A simple and charming little sleeper, Mr. Destiny plays it's It's a Wonderful Life scenario in good fashion. Linda Hamilton and Michael Caine give good support and an array of familiar faces (Rene Russo, Jon Lovitz, Courtney Cox, Hart Bochner) add to the pleasure. This movie is one of my favorites because it makes me think of all the choices I have made and how my life would change if my choices had been different. It plays right into the " Multiple Universe " theory.The only thing that doesn't ring true is how Larry Burrows ( James Belushi)has such a hard time understanding what is going on, that everything has changed.. As far as the movie, when we made it we had no idea what it would be like but after seeing it i fell in love with it because really tells the story of "what if" as good as I ever had seen it, including the great It's a Wonderful Life. I got to meet the wonderful actor Michael Caine while shooting scenes at an old minor league ballpark where Larry's boyhood scenes were played and replayed. You can feel Larry's pain after he enters into the new world Mr. Destiny gives him after hitting the homer, and as he wants so badly for people to believe he is not this bad guy everyone thinks he is. But eventually he wins people over but by then he wants his real life back so badly, especially his wonderful wife, played so beautifully by Linda Hamilton..and he wants his dog back! I actually like this movie even though I don't fancy James Belushi very much. In this movie, you can actually see several big names on the rise, Linda Hamilton and Courteney Cox namely; Caine's was already big of course. Michael Cane is the mysterious bar tender who not only listens to Belushi's "story", but has a "cure" for all of Belushi's middle class problems: A magic potion to bring about an avalanche of changes in Belushi's life.Flashbacks show a 15 year old horribly ashamed of causing his High School Baseball Team's Championship defeat. Reading the various external reviews of Roger Ebert and other well-known film critics makes me hesitate to admit how much I love this movie, even though I only have a dubbed-into-Japanese video version of it.Apparently, many critics seem to take it as a minus that the story premise has been used before, most famously in the very great "It's a Wonderful Life." To me, a great premise is a great premise no matter how many times it's used, and I'd be happy to see more movies using this particular premise--the discontented man who gets a chance to gain a fresh perspective on his own life through a bit of "divine magic."I suppose folks and critics of a more intellectual bent are not as pulled into the story, but I don't go to movies to critique them with notebook in hand--I go to movies to throw myself into them and let them take me where they will. Jim Belushi does a great job as an "average Joe" kind of guy who wonders if his life hasn't gone as it should. James "I did some things to Farrah Fawcett" Orr co-wrote and directed this movie about an ordinary, average guynamed Larry Burrows who thinks his life would have beenincredibly different if he hit a homerun at a key baseball gamewhen he was 15. But thanks to mysterious and magical bartenderMike, Larry gets his wish, yet soon realizes that his new lifeisn't exactly as he hoped it would be.I must say, this movie really impressed me. An obvious remaking of It's a Wonderful Life, this movie tries very hard to endear itself to us, and it kind of succeeds. I guess he remembers this seemingly small moment of his life because it made a big impact on his subconscious side, but I doubt a grown man would yearn for one single act from high school. And the most surprising fact of all is that with his new life, that Larry has always wanted...he finds himself lusting after his old wife, Linda Hamilton; proof that sometimes money and a great-looking yet shallow wife don't make up everything in a man's life, like an intelligent wife and love and true happiness. Just like "It's a Wonderful Life" showed the audience a man's life is what he makes it, and that every person has an impact on people, "Mr. Destiny" shows us that material wealth is not the same as spiritual wealth, a lesson taught us over and over again, but never quite so fluffy, forgettable and truly sweet as it is shown us in "Mr. Destiny.""Mr. Destiny" is never exceedingly hilarious, but it is a sweet, good-natured comedy that never takes itself too seriously. But there are only so many times you can single-handedly rip off a famous film, and "Mr. Destiny" knows this, and plays right to the fact. But there are only so many times you can single-handedly rip off a famous film, and "Mr. Destiny" knows this, and plays right to the fact. James Belushi plays his usual loveable role as a man that has his past changed by Michael Caine and then has to live with the results.The supporting cast would now probably cost more to employ than the movie did to make. Courtney Cox of Friends fame, Rene Russo from Lethal Weapon (ironically alongside the woman who parodied her in National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1 in the form of Kathy Ireland), Linda Hamilton and Jon Lovitz all turn in good performances in a movie which gives us a glimpse of the stars before they were bankable.Overall, the movie will not be remembered as anyones best, as its poor showing at the box office suggests, but equally all the cast have made worse. Jim Belushi is such a likable actor, I can't recall anything I've seen with him that I didn't enjoy...He's an everyday Joe...This movie is fun, it's no masterpiece of film by any measure but, for an hour or so of escapism and a decent bit of entertainment its worth a view.It's an homage to the beginning of the end of an era...No internet jokes, no stupid cell phone references, barely PC stuff...The message is to just enjoy what you have...That's a message well learned...In conclusion, Just grab your popcorn and a beer or whatever, sit back and watch...From 2017 aug.. Walking into the nearest bar to wait for the tow truck, Larry happens upon barman Mike, who unbeknown to Larry is about to change his life for ever.......The alternate life premise in cinema is hardly a new thing, stretching back to the likes of It's A Wonderful Life and showing no signs of abating with the quite recent Sandler vehicle that was Click. Kinda re-worked version of 'It's a Wonderful Life" With James Belushi as Larry a man who constantly thinks what his life could have been like if only he'd hit the home run in that crucial baseball game as kid. Michael Caine offers him the chance to live his life as if he had, and even with the big house, prom queen wife and kids, Larry still misses the way things were. Maybe a old story and certainly not a classic, but it does have it's moments as Belushi enters his new office, in life version 2, he approches a desk that looks like the bridge of the Enterprise, not finding an on/off switch he sits down and as all the lights come on comments in surprise "hey whadda know, my desk is wired to my ass!!" and as he scares the life out of the chauffeur by screaching to a halt in the company parking lot with the word "See I told you we'd beat that train didn't I All the cast do pretty well, Belushi as the confused Larry, not quite sure if the new version of his life is what he really wants, Linda Hamilton as his original wife, who seems to be the thing Belushi misess most, Rene Russo as the prom queen wife Belushi gets in life 2, and Courntey Cox as a psychotic spurned secretary/fork lift driver, who is having an affair with Larry in life 2, but of course Larry doesn't know this.Most of the cast are big names now and probably make more in one film that the entire budget of this one, still it's fun to watch. I am not exactly huge fans of any of the people involved in "Mr. Destiny," but fantasy films with creative plots have the tendacy to win me over, despite the cast(such is also the case for the film "Delirious.")James Belushi stars as a "loser" who thinks his life might have been just a little bit better if he had just hit the winning home run in a high school baseball game. In this movie, Jim Belushi gets to see how his life would have been if he HAD hid that home run back in high school. He would have been married to rich prom queen Rene Russo (excellent!!), instead of labor-representative-woman-of-the-people Linda Hamilton (pre-buff era, but still great looking), He would be rich and live in the Biltmore mansion in N. It kind of became a "therapy" for me with a personal experience of my own.A thirty-five year old man laments over a high-school baseball game in which he "missed the ball" and his team lost. He thinks about it 20 years later, "if only I'd hit that ball" and how his life would be better because of it. That was in 1987.Through the years, even now sometimes, I think "If only I hadn't hit my leg I would've never worn those stupid tights." Now I don't sit and think my life would be any better or even any different had I made it, but seeing this movie made me realize that we never really know how different things may be by changing one little thing way back in the past. The relationship they have in his first life is much like the relationships men have with their best friends.I also enjoyed Jim Belushi's narration: "Why is it that every time you have your best friend in a headlock and kissing him on top of the head, a beautiful woman shows up?"One good highlight in this movie: Rene Russo in lingerie! Jim Belushi is having a mid life crisis, nothing is going right, when his car goes out on him..he goes into an empty bar where Michael Caine shows him what life wouldve been like if one event in high school had come out differently.. The intended lesson "you never know what you have until you've lost it" is itself lost under a heap of garbage that largely just shows Belushi's character to be self-serving and ignorant, making you wonder why Mike/Mr. Destiny takes such pains to grant him any appreciation for his life which, even from the beginning, showed no real setbacks. A number of reviewers viewed this as a remake of the 1946 Christmas classic, "It's a Wonderful Life." But the alternative in that film was that the lead character had never been born. This one has a change of life pivot on a baseball game and one pitch to a 15-year-old ball player, Larry Burrows. Most of the movie is with the grown up Burrows, 15 years later, played by Jim Belushi. The film has a great cast that, besides Belushi, includes Michael Caine, Linda Hamilton, Jon Lovitz, and Hart Bochner. Amazing for I have seen the first half of this movie 3 times, and finally watched the ending on TBS.. So now I finally got to watch "Mr Destiny", in which the version of the music I heard never actually appears at all (even if there are certain - lesser - variations on that theme!And that strange circumstance maybe tells one most of what one needs to know about this James Belushi-Michael Caine-Linda Hamilton (and gorgeous Courtney Cox) movie, which - from today's perspective anyway - seems mainly trite, implausible, tame, lame and neither quite funny enough, nor quite thoughtful enough. And in the end that's a pity, because Belushi's Larry Burrows character comes over as reasonably genuine, and there are hints in here of a better movie trying to get out. James Belushi, Linda Hamilton, Hart Bochner, Jon Lovitz and Michael Caine star in this 1990 fantasy-comedy. Belushi (The Principal) plays Larry, a mild-mannered guy who likes his life, but wishes what it would've been like if he had hit a baseball years prior. This is a good film that obviously resembles "It's a Wonderful Life," Belushi is great in it as well as David Newman's score. James Belushi delivers an ingratiating performance as Larry Burrows, an average-Joe junior executive at a sporting goods company who just can't live down a pivotal moment in his life. Now, he has a pleasant life, married to a union rep (an adorable Linda Hamilton), but he still always wonders about what could have been.Then, during one bad night (the night of his 35th birthday), he chances to meet magical bartender Mike (Sir Michael Caine), who is somehow able to transport Larry to an alternate reality where Larry hits the winning ball, marries the prom queen (Rene Russo), and is the president of the company. Much humour is derived from Larry (who still retains his original personality, flummoxed that he could have turned into such a jerk) adjusting to a new life.Sir Michael is just right in the role of the "destiny-bender", maintaining a light touch at all times. At that point in the film, Belushi's character is going through all sorts of emotions, and you feel like you're on the roller-coaster with him.The film is often predictable and doesn't have that many laugh-out-loud moments, BUT the direction is sharp, and the film is undeniably fun.I love all the heart and meaning, and the casting really pulls the whole thing together.Belushi is the king of under-rated B movies. The main character gives us an answer at one point, but I think it would be ten times better if it was made 10-15 years later and done a totally different way. While there are a lot of clichés and some avoidable jokes, the cast and script are solid enough to entertain and this is a legit feel good, full of morality and spirituality movie.Belushi acts well as the guy who has been haunted by missing this ball during this fateful night but it's Michael Caine who plays the most intriguing character...As Mister DESTINY !I Love the scenes in this bar coming out of nowhere and at night. The key is that their behavior and level of antagonism is reflective of the different actions and personalities of John Belushi, which, in an interesting twist, makes him the villain.The potential of the Rene Russo character is a little lost, one problem with the weight of the movie is that Belushi is in his altered life as a visitor, and the potential feelings (good or bad) he has built for 10-15 years with his other-dimensional wife (Russo) are not present in him, only implied.Another thing that isn't addressed is the sheer insult to Linda Hamilton by having him want out of his life.

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[Rec]²

Reporter Ángela Vidal (Manuela Velasco), and her cameraman Pablo, are covering the night shift in one of Barcelona's local fire stations for the documentary television series While You're Sleeping. While they are recording, the firehouse receives a call about an old woman, Mrs. Izquierdo, who is trapped in her apartment and screaming. Ángela and Pablo accompany two of the firefighters, Álex and Manu, to the apartment building, where two police officers are waiting. As they approach the old woman becomes aggressive and attacks one of the officers, biting his neck. As they carry the injured officer downstairs, they find the building's residents gathered in the lobby. The police and military have sealed off the building and trapped them inside. As people begin to panic, Álex, who remained upstairs with the old woman, is thrown over the staircase railings and seriously injured. The old woman then kills a girl, and the remaining officer, Sergio, is forced to shoot her. Ángela and Pablo begin interviewing the residents, including a sick little girl named Jennifer. Her mother Maricarmen claims she has tonsillitis, and says her dog, Max, is at the vet because he is sick as well. The injured are put in the building's textile warehouse. A health inspector in hazmat suit arrives and attempts to treat them. Suddenly, they become aggressive and start attacking other people. The residents flee and Guillem, an intern, is locked in the warehouse. The health inspector explains that they are infected with a virus similar to rabies, and the time in which the disease takes effect varies by blood type. He reveals the disease is traced back to a dog in the apartment building, and Ángela realizes it's Max. When the residents confront Maricarmen, Jennifer turns, vomits blood at her mother's face and flees upstairs. Sergio handcuffs Maricarmen to the stairs and proceeds upstairs with Manu and Pablo. They find Jennifer but she bites Sergio, who tells the others to leave him. Manu and Pablo find the remaining residents running upstairs as the infected in warehouse have broken down the door. Leaving the handcuffed Mari behind, they enter an empty apartment along with Ángela, a resident called César, and the health inspector, who has been bitten. César mentions that there might be another way out through the basement, where there is a large drain that is connected to the sewers, but says the keys are in Guillem's apartment. The infected health inspector then bites César, forcing Ángela, Manu and Pablo to escape and fight their way up to Guillem's apartment on the third floor. Having found the key, Ángela and Pablo leave the apartment and find Manu among the infected. The pair are chased upstairs, and take refuge in the penthouse. They discover a tape recorder which explains the virus' origin. The penthouse' owner was an agent of the Vatican. He was researching and isolating an enzyme believed to be the biological cause of demonic possession. He located a possessed young girl named Tristana Medeiros, kidnapped and brought her to the penthouse for research. During this time, the enzyme mutated and became viral. The agent, having no other options, sealed Tristana in the house, presumably to let her die of starvation. Pablo reaches up with his camera to record around inside the attic. An infected child swipes at the camera and breaks its light, shrouding them in complete darkness. Pablo turns on the night vision and discovers a sealed door. Tristana, now a blind and horribly emaciated figure, emerges and searches the penthouse for food. Ángela and Pablo try to escape, but Pablo is killed by Tristana and drops the camera. Ángela then picks it up and looks through the screen. Seeing Tristana eating Pablo, she panics, trips and drops the camera. The camera continues to record as Ángela is dragged into the darkness screaming.

violence, murder, claustrophobic

train

wikipedia

REC 2 takes the supernatural elements of the first movie and further explores them, which sets it apart from some similar zombie-type films. REC 2 Continues The Creepy Atmosphere Of It's Predecessor While Giving Something New. I am huge fan of the original horror film "REC," which of course inspired the American remake "Quarantine." So of course, once I heard that they were making the sequel I was up for it completely. While I'm not sure I could have the same experience with REC 2, the movie is still a great horror film.REC 2 starts almost immediately after the events that took place in the first film, and follows members of the S.W.A.T. team going to the apartment complex from the first film. We learn, without giving too much away, that the virus is much more than what we thought it was, something that leads back to the Vatican and religion in general.While I wouldn't say the second film is as scary as the first, it still carries the creepy atmosphere set up in the first REC. the film turned out okay in the sense that it carried exactly from were REC finished and satisfied me with blood and jumping out of my seat scenes..but i really did't that much, also the demonic creatures, which we end up finding out about, thus creating the background story which wasn't very pleasing but fair. Later on , they meet the TV journalist named Angela Vidal(Manuela Velasco) .This sequel to one of the highest earning horror movies of the last years titled ¨Rec¨ is realized in similar premise to original that is remade by an American adaptation, titled ¨Quarantine¨ directed by John Erick with Jennifer Carpenter, Jay Hernandez and Steve Harris . The first Rec was one of the better horror films i had seen in recent years and because of that success it's no surprise that it spurned a sequel so soon. That makes the movie all the more real.Again, picking up the scenery and sets from the first "Rec" movie makes for a good scenery with a constant underlying sense of dread and claustrophobia.The make up on the infected were good, and the effects were nice as well.Again the camera work was amazing, makes you feel like you are right there in the middle of the chaos. The way the movie is shot works so well, it is like participating in a superb horror game.Now, what I didn't like about "Rec 2" was the whole possession and Christian propaganda approach they had decided to turn the story to. However, that didn't stop it spawning a sequel, which takes place immediately after the events in the first film.If you haven't seen REC then stop reading and watch it now. There are some other characters added a little way into the film, but that feels like an interruption as you've done your best to follow (and care about) the initial team before this new lot are thrown into the frying pan.It's not as good as REC, but in a world of terrible cash-in sequels, it certainly stands out as one of the better ones (which is more than I can say for 'REC3').. The first REC was a taut, economical horror movie that somehow seemed wholly original while combining this decade's most played-out horror movie subject-- zombies-- with this decade's most played-out horror movie gimmick-- filming in the first-person with a hand-held camera.REC 2 ups the originality of the first REC while seemingly keeping the elements that made the first REC scary (well thought-out jump scares and genuinely creepy creature effects), yet still falls completely flat. In a plot that picks up right where the first movie left off, with a swat team preparing to enter the quarantined building after having lost contact with the team sent into the building in the first film, the directors waste no time in getting to the action. Getting to the main point of my LOVE and HATE that I have for rec, I think it was said best from a previous review that the main difference between these two movies....and this may be a semi spoiler behind the infection...is that the first one is more of a scientific infection while the second film is more of a religious infection. 4/10 Third, the review for Rec and horror fans…..If you're not a DIE HARD zombie fan, and loved the first one as a good horror movie, this film may be seen as a pretty cool sequel. This is much more of a hybrid genre film than the original, as the surprising diabolic possession angle inserted at the end of [.REC] is elaborated on here, pretty much swamping the traditional zombie action to take center-stage.Personally, I was not overly bothered by this change in direction – after all, demons are far more interesting than mere zombies! I watched REC last year and i got shocked by its unique vision and story telling with realistic characters in full motion.Easy to say that Descent,REC and Eden Lake were the best horror movies of 2009. I decided to check the reviews here on IMDb and just as I thought..6 out of 7 people already said what I think..Extremely shallow characters from the worst cliché, a poor storyline that practically destroys everything the first REC has built and (from my point of view, the worst of all) the same sequence repeating over and over with the same sound effects and the most annoying camera work ever...I just couldn't continue watching.. The encounter / action sequences are more intense and thrilling than REC.Though i got to accept REC looked more original because of shaky camera movement and the buildup of the story, here in REC 2 it looked more of a normal movie than a real time recording of incidents.Overall a fine horror flick and i will have to admit that it is a perfect sequence of REC. REC2 is a very good example of how sequels should be made: it is fun to watch, is independent enough from its precedent, but it also follows up where REC left off, and it completes the story, even answering some questions that the original movie posited. It is preferable that you should watch REC first before watching REC2, but not absolutely necessary to enjoy this one on its own right.The setting is still the same, as is the scenario: there's a mysterious infection that is turning the people it kills into blood-ravishing zombies (although, as usual in this subgenre, the word "zombi" is never used here, and it could be argued that these are actually zombies -but that's beside the point), and this time, a SWAT squad is entering the building in order to control the infection. The people who watched REC will find some nice surprises along the way in this movie, too.I liked the acting, and I especially enjoyed the three young kids' job, I thought it was excellent.My rating: 9/10.. rec was an awesome movie....after seeing rec...i was looking forward for the next part......i had already made up my mind that the sequel could not have been better than the original.....after watching it....i was proved wrong...seldom it happens that a sequel is even close to the original......the movie incorporates many twists and turns and the fact that it wasn't a biological nuclear threat but a demonic angle....blew me away..compelling me to watch further...things also got interesting when the girl from the previous part is reintroduced ..this movie gave me even more reasons to wait eagerly for rec 3....overall its 8/10....direction6/10....acting 8/10.....cinematography 10/10.....story 8/10..babewatch(for guys) 2/10. "Rec 2" is the second movie of the Rec trilogy and the story continues where the first one finished but in this one we watch a group of SWAT to enter this building with a medical officer to control the situation and to see what happened to the sealed off apartment.I liked this second movie because of the storyline and how that continues and I believe that Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza for one more time did a great job. I loved the first Rec() movie.I loved the sequel as well.It could have been as good as the first movie, but the ending left me feeling like I had been cheated.The acting was good and the tension was high enough to have me leave the room for a smoke.But not for long.This fine horror movie deserves a view, but watch the first movie before the second.Nice little horror flick, even for long time fans of the genre.. There have been other promising horror sequels like Saw, which lost the plot totally after Saw 3.The movie starts off directly from REC and explores more into the origins of the virus. Yes, I didn't like the sequel very much either.REC 2 takes place a couple hours after the first one, but this go around a S.W.A.T. team is brought in along with a professional scientist guy to deal with whatever's going on inside the apartment building. WOW, I loved REC, It had some really scary moments, which made me jump a few times.I didn't think REC 2 will better or even as good as the first, but REC 2 was good as the first but not better.I don't want give anything away from this I really enjoyed how they kinda took story from first changed to something total different and which I think was a great idea and it worked really well.This had some really creepy and some scary moments, which made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.if you seen the end of REC, (you know what I am talking about) with The thing was even more scary in this movie.It actually gave me a bloody nightmare.Great sequel, I have already seen this 5 times , I am going to give this movie 8 out of 10.. This provides opportunity to expand perspectives as and when desired, and works really well when they have to escort a doctor from the Ministry of Health (Jonathan Mellor) into the quarantined building on a secret mission which closes the gaps left open in the first REC.Then there's the other thread involving a group of teenagers who decide to break into the sealed building, and while it's a little bit convenient for them to be equipped with a consumer camcorder, ultimately it works well into the story that's being told, allowing perspectives and equipment so critical to the storyline, to be used to enhance the entire narrative, to give it a little more breadth and envelope that sense of bewilderment quite wonderfully, unless of course you dread another shaky-camera-close-up or yet another camera-dropping-on-the-ground shot, which I have to admit the latter gets done a number of times, making you wish for a cameraman with much sturdier hands, or that his peers could get a grip on themselves and not require the documentarian's help most of the time to settle things.Tension is kept high throughout, even though from the first film experience we know what to expect since familiar locations get revisited again, and the same kinds of rabid zombie/vampire/whateveryoucallit comes charging right in your face. This has the result that the storyline is much more complex and enjoyable to watch.I hope they end the {Rec} series here, but I fear the worst; they most likely milk this cow completely dry as it happens with all horror-flicks... Employing the use of various types of cameras for us to see the events following the first movie unfold was a good move, as it felt they were trying to build upon what they had already done, rather than just rehash.REC 2 is set 15 minutes after the events of the first movie, and follows a SWAT team sent into the quarantined apartment with a doctor to retrieve certain evidence. Balaguero and Plaza have left the ending very sequel friendly as they have planned two final films to finish of their story, REC Genesis and REC Apocalypse.As you can see, I have compared this a lot with the first as it still contains many of the traits that made the original so good. What this movie lacks is good characters, which in the end really hurts the atmosphere of the film as some of the scenes have no emotional impact, and quite frankly some of the characters were downright annoying (the addition of the teenage characters, although it helped the plot along, was the weakest point of the film).Overall, this is a great sequel to a fantastic film, and has established this directing duo as two to look out for in the horror genre. This film itself is full of people acting ridiculously and making stupid noises.Obviously the main scare feature in this film is the classic (make loud noises when people aren't expecting it) and shock them tactic, which actually cheapens the good effects and overall storyline.I can't help thinking that if this had been made by a company like twisted pictures it would have been a great film.. Whilst I am hesitant to give any film a perfect 10, (REC)2 filled my evening with so many genuine scares, heart racing excitement and an ending to die for - I feel it would be a dis-service to this fantastic film to rate it any lower.The same directors from the much loved original are back and wisely, they know this must be much more than (REC) with a SWAT team so a fantastic back story is introduced that throws just what sort of horror movie this is into question. The sequel was definitely very successful in continuing the story of the first.Whereas the first Rec took it's time, slowly and steadily, to scare and shock us completely, to the point that by the ending we are completely stunned, Rec 2 starts off with the same tension from the last half of the original. It was a decent horror, but REC was original, bloody, had guts (in more ways than one), while this sequel is just a pale imitation with a bit of weirdness added to it to keep the audience in check.What can I tell you that will not spoil the film: it is actually not a virus. I 've just watch this movie yesterday and i'm watch rec 2 cause i'm pretty curious about the rumor and hype surround the original rec because i'm never watch rec before and i'm pretty excited because i heard the cinematography is like cloverfield but just the different this horror so i watched this movie for hope just to be really scared because of it's video style just like the blair witch project or any other similar movie and just expected to be something different than other but i'm surprised when i watch the movie i watched it on movie theater and kind of late 10 minutes and after another 10 minutes what i see is just a group of people wandering around and i was kind of confuse with it story because i never watch the original rec and then while finally the action of the movie is begin to started i thought the action scene it's really similar with favorite game i played left for dead and during the movie i kind of laugh because i thought it just weird for some reason i gotta feeling the director kind of got an inspiration from the video game especially for the shooting scene is not bad i think because it's kind of creative and make the movie more exciting and realistic so overall the movie was really good and entertaining despite it's didn't like a horror movie at all more like an action thriller with it gruesome infected in left for dead in my opinion to whom you people who already watch the original rec i think should give this movie a change to be watch or rented although maybe it's not gonna scary as rec but it's worth watching for it's genre. A sequel to a horror movie as good as REC is a tall order. However, I did enjoy this one marginally more than its predecessor thanks to a supernatural plot development that stops it from being just another predictable found-footage zombie/infected movie.In Rec², which continues where the first film left off, a heavily armed SWAT team enters the quarantined apartment building, accompanied by Ministry of Health representative Dr. Owen (Jonathan D. With these films, I don't want to give away TOO many details in case the person reading this review hasn't seen it yet.While the first film relied heavily on atmosphere and telling a story through unfolding horrific events, building up to the last 10 minutes which exposed a huge amount of explanation while remaining some of the most intense moments in horror history.Rec 2 follows a similar pattern but spends more time expanding on the previous film's climactic ending throughout the film. Taking place immediately after the events of the first film, REC 2 may lack the sublime quality of its remarkable predecessor & looks more like a rehash of REC than anything else, it nonetheless manages to be very effective in few sequences, does a fine job in momentarily recreating the nerve-wracking tension of the original and even though it's by no means a worthy sequel, it still fares much better than its cash-grab counterparts.Set in the very quarantined location where the events of previous film unfolded, REC 2 concerns a medical officer & 3-men SWAT team who enter the ill-fated apartment building to get a blood sample from a possessed girl in order to develop an antidote for the deadly virus that's responsible for the demonic outbreak amongst the residents. This is the sequel to the Spanish horror film rec. Continuing right where Rec (2007) left off, a SWAT team outfitted with video cameras are sent into a virus infected quarantined apartment to assist in retrieving some blood samples.The same writer/directors Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza are back on board with an extra writer Manu Díez in the sequel to the excellent Spanish horror flick.

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Atlantic Rim

Following the mysterious disappearance of an oil rig and a reconnaissance mini-submarine in the Gulf of Mexico, scientist Dr. Margaret Adams initiates the Armada Program, which consists of giant robots designed for deep sea rescue. The three robots—piloted by Red, Tracy and Jim—dive nearly 800 fathoms to the sea bed, where they not only discover the mangled remains of the oil rig, but encounter the monster that brought it down. Red pursues the monster against orders from Admiral Hadley, prompting the Admiral to order every naval fleet on the East Coast to converge to the oil rig's site. Red emerges on a beach to warn the bystanders to leave the premises for their safety when he is suddenly attacked from behind by the monster as their fight takes its toll on the city. An F-18 Hornet piloted by Spitfire assists Red in taking the monster down. Red, however, is arrested for disobeying a direct order. He is locked in solitary confinement until he is briefly released by Adm. Hadley and later given a medal of honor for his heroic actions before serving the rest of his confinement. Later, Adm. Hadley is informed by Sheldon Geise of a top-secret sonar program that discovered the monsters that are hundreds of millions of years old and lay their eggs on a mixture of crude oil and saltwater. Two eggs have been discovered; one of which hatched into the monster that Red and Spitfire killed. Adm. Hadley orders a search for the other egg, but he is too late, as it has already hatched, with the monster destroying a whole naval fleet before wreaking havoc on the city. As the monster attacks the naval base, Tracy and Jim scramble to spring Red out of solitary before they are picked up by Lt. Wexler. Meanwhile, Geise informs Adm. Hadley that the President has authorized a nuclear strike on the monster, but Adm. Hadley refuses that decision and orders everyone to evacuate the base. The monster retreats after a Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit drops a payload on it. Adm. Hadley is later informed that another egg has hatched off the Atlantic Coast. Dr. Adams gives the trio special "halo" headbands that neurally link them to their robots, increasing their reflexes by using their direct body movements instead of joysticks. The system's downside is the pilot feeling pain for every damage the robot takes. After a crash course on the new system, the trio fly their robots to New York City to battle the monster. Following numerous refusals by Adm. Hadley to launch a nuclear strike, Geise orders the USS Virginia to launch a warhead. Red intercepts the missile and jams its frequency, saving the city from a nuclear holocaust. In retaliation, Geise threatens Dr. Adams to shut down the robots, but is quickly subdued by Lt. Wexler, despite shooting the Admiral in the arm. During the battle, Tracy loses consciousness when her neural level goes critical. Jim takes Tracy to safety while Red grabs the warhead and the monster before flying them to the atmosphere. He then kicks the monster to deep space, detonating the warhead in the process and sending him crashing back on Earth. The trio and Adm. Hadley celebrate by heading to the local bar for some tequila shots.

violence

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wikipedia

Though the movie was just suffering from being a cheap knock off of "Pacific Rim".The storyline in this movie requires no brain activity, just switch into auto-pilot and watch the movie as the three good guys in their mecha armor suits beat up some colossus aquatic monster that came from God knows where.As for the dialogue in the movie, well it was bad, really bad. And some of the things they say was just downright embarrassing to witness.And the acting in the movie was equally bad. And David Chokachi (playing Red) looked like he was trying to do a reenactment of "American Ninja: The Musical" - if there was such a thing.This is not one of the better movies to make it out of The Asylum's drawing board, not even by a long shot. If you are going to copy something and cash in on something, at least do it properly.For a Sci-Fi movie, then "Atlantic Rim" was a really plain and below mediocre experience. Although I have seen a lot, and I do mean a lot, of questionable and low-budget movies, then "Atlantic Rim" is not the worst amongst those movie, but it is up there on the high ends of the scale.. I can't say the movie was completely predictable because NOTHING MAKES ANY SENSE.I felt like a 5 year old boy was leaping on his bed swinging around his Jedi light-saber telling me, "And then the robots had weapons! The 'Love Triangle' which lasts about 21 seconds.A homeless guy getting jumped in an alleyway by the main characters for no apparent reason.This movie is absolutely dreadful... Well they don't deserve a high grade, I know of 7 year old that make better flicks than this whole movie.Acting is non-existent. If military would be like these people we would all be Germans right now.So many things in this movie make no sense that I cannot even start listing them, it would take too many pages.This is a big waste of time.. There are worse movies from The Asylum than Atlantic Rim, but is that saying much? Atlantic Rim is bottom-of-the-barrel quality, it not only is so badly done in every way but there isn't any novelty value to make it fun, whereas some other terrible Asylum movies did have specks of that. There are worse special effects from The Asylum and they are the least bad asset of Atlantic Rim, the robots are very Power Rangers-like but they do look decent though the sea creature is slapdash and doesn't seem that much of a threat. In other technical areas Atlantic Rim fares worse, the editing and camera work are rushed and frenzied, making some scenes containing action not very cohesive and the sound effects and mixing are muddied. Anybody who expects thrills, fun and a little suspense are better off finding something else, none of those things are in Atlantic Rim. None of the characters are likable, they have cardboard personalities- once you get over the fact that once again The Asylum are using literally every cliché in the book- and are severely undeveloped, to make things worse the soldiers are annoying and the villain is like one from a bad Saturday morning cartoon. Atlantic Rim joins the long list of low-budget movies where a capable actor gives a lousy performance, in this case Graeme Greene, and there are the obligatory beautiful women whose acting talents don't match their looks. I have not been left so fulfilled and in such a philosophical stupor by a film for a very long time.Once you get past the horrendously mid-level acting, the script is so well written I actually haemorrhaged blood into my bladder. I just couldn't believe that there was a market for this, so I came up with a few theories: * internet spoof: a bunch of movie buffs enjoy recreating scene-by-scene a blockbuster with intentionally minimalist SFX for release on YouTube * film school project: a bunch of students set out to recreate a multi-million blockbuster as quickly and inexpensively as possible, in order to learn the ropes What I finally settled on, was that I was watching an animated storyboard, i. I had to admire the actors for acting their hearts out, almost like in a real movie, only much more hammy. What was that crap?, AAAAARRRGGH it was awful, i could only bare watching it for 5m, cheap ass knock off, I could make a better movie without even spending £1. I was amazed at how GOOD the actors were at "ACTING" - OK no lets be honest, they suck, should give up on their carrier and start working at the Burger Kng or something, this movie was ATROCIOUS, not even worth downloading, waste of bandwidth and a waste of space on your Hard Drive, after watching this I had to turn off the TV and computer and start reading something to get it off my head, Damn.Seriously watch it for yourself and judge this crap, then tell me if it was worth it.. Amazing CGI, fighting scenes and generally a brilliant film.Don't get sucked in and confused and watch this one by mistake, that's my advice.. i am die hard fan of sci-fi and "transformer" type movies.so i decided to see that also.but it was huge disappointment if you are going to compare it to some good movie.actors tried but acting was failed to involve audience in film.plot could be more better.graphics were also very bad.hero and villein were seen making joke of discipline of army and their chief (didn't bother about his orders)story line was weak.whole army was failed to kill monster and robots were sent to fight with fist and rods.in short nothing in film succeeded to have impact of any kind on me.really if you are serious films fan.you should not see that.specially "transformers" fans.if you don't have any thing to kill time count stars i promise it will be worth of your time rather then this.. Just watched this dreadful movie which I found to be utter rubbish.Oh yes indeed it is a gutter budget movie full of cheap fx & major poor acting.From the start the storyline was going nowhere & the acting was so wooden. I've never seen Pacific Rim, which this film is clearly a cheap and nasty imitation of, so I must see that, to watch how such an interesting idea can be made into a proper film . I paid 99p to hire this from Blinkbox, perhaps I should ask for refund.It would take too long to list all the flaws in this monstrosity - terrible acting, totally disjointed story, pathetic script, cheap effects to name a few.To would-be film-makers, screenwriters and directors, this film should be mandatory watching showing exactly how NOT to make a good movie.. But also a bit of fun just because of the terrible acting .why was graham green in this film what was he thinking ,a well known decent actor even he looked crap in this .ok so it wasn't terrible dependent on what you were expecting and i got exactly that.the slow wet suit walk in the beginning is hilarious.then there's red the main man ,what a hero , what a bell end ! That they have now changed the title could be only for one of two reasons: 1) Legal troubles with the Pacific Rim people or 2) Atlantic Rim got such a bad reputation they're trying to re-release it under a different name.This is one of the few movies that I would give 3 stars on special effects alone (not great, but interesting)... it all adds up to a "rainy Saturday afternoon when the internet is out" movie.But then, anyone who watches a giant robots vs sea monsters movie made by Asylum and expects anything but goofy really is not acquainted with this company. I gave this one a chance thinking "Hey, even Asylum can't totally ruin a giant robots vs sea monsters movie." And I was right. It's a film packed to the brim with nonsense, featuring some pretty bad CGI monsters and robots and robotic dialogue to match.I like del Toro's PACIFIC RIM; it's a rip-roaring homage to the kaiju flicks of old. The performances are uniformly poor, ranging from the non-starters (like Treach, who was also in the horrendous THE ART OF WAR III) to the weary veterans (Graham Greene, a long way from DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE).The CGI shots are as cheap and amateurish as you'd expect, but at least when the fights start Atlantic RIM does keep you watching - if only a little. Never a good sign when the opening credits start with "The Asylum Presents..." Three crack soldiers are deployed to fight giant sea monsters from attacking the USA using massive manned Transformer type robots. Terrible, wooden acting on display here, cheap CGI effects & incredibly dumb plot, plus there's not actually a great deal of monster action, so it's pretty boring too. The plot is terrible.The acting is terrible.The scene cuts are terrible.The special FX are mediocre, at best.It's actually really funny to watch this movie in it's glorious entirety... Unlike most people who are writing these reviews, I have an awareness of how bad movies can get. You haven't seen the "worst movie of all time" (a shallow phrase I despise), if you haven't watched many dozens of extremely low budget productions. That said, although "Atlantic Rim" is far from being one of the worst movies of all time, I still cannot undo a feeling of embarrassment for my responsibility of ever so slightly increasing its rating, which is 1.7, at the moment. According to the movie that behavior is absolutely fine, commanders will laud you for it and express their pride, as long as you're the best at your job.The action, dialog and special effects are never interesting or engaging, but rather cringe inducing and confusing. The people involved were fully incapable of predicting what the movie would look or feel like when finished. (even in Sharknado the actors are much better).The script itself have no-sens and we can notice that during first 5min of the movie.Seriously after 10min my eyes was almost bleeding just seeing this very stinky movie.Pacific rim was way much better and interesting (at a certain point) then this one.Truth is The Asylum is not capable to release something good and every time they release a film, you can be sure that it will be a mess or an awful version of a movie which was already made 100 times in 100 different way but this time you just don't have to waste your time because you know it will stink.To do a resume : Just don't lose your time to watch it or other movies released by "The Asylum" because it's just a waste of time !. I am one of those types of people who like to watch bad D movies for the horrible funniness of it all but this one had nothing. Well I guess that Asylum is by now notorious for taking a coming blockbuster and quickly making a cheap version with similar name, if it is to fool the audience and hoping to make some money in people watching these by mistake, or if it deliberately making these b-movie adaption and hoping them to become cult or just making a fan base for them, I don't know, maybe it is a bit of both.I had to see it, just to see what they had done, I liked Pacific Rim and didn't think this would do anything better, I was right... ...this is one of the worst ones I have seen, the big monsters, the Kaiju is particularly bad and the inside of the robots looks like something from the eighties or nineties.There are some fun elements not in a comedy kind of way but in a sad and bad kind of way, mostly it is bad effects, bad acting, very cliché and just not working at all.. I watched the full film to see how bad it would get, but words cannot describe how awful this film is in places.Plot starts off similar to Pacific Rim, but just becomes absurd within less than 10 minutes. The acting was awful and very wooden at times and the CGI was very budget (high school project level). I can only imagine them watching the films they parody wishing they could be real movie stars like them. For the five mins of this film that I watched, it looked how I imagine a home movie looks when someone films their kids playing with Rock Em Sock Em Robots. CGI budget must have been entirely used up in one or two scenes as most of the film is made up of people running around a military base and drinking in a bar.So glad I didn't pay to watch this and caught it on a dud channel in the middle of the night.. "Atlantic Rim" is the type of movie that's genuinely terrible... Of course, it's a bargain-basement rip-off of "Pacific Rim," but its special effects are worse than an old episode of "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers." It's funny for a few scenes before it becomes repetitive, and the human drama surrounding the movie's plot is barely worth paying attention to. I work at a branch library and one day as I was checking Atlantic Rim out to one of our older patrons, she said to me, "Whenever I feel down or depressed, I check out this movie and watch it and it always makes me feel better." At the time, I thought that was very strange. I have watched it many many times since then and it gets better with every showing.Amazing action, amazing special effects - just men in robots fighting monsters.Atlantic Rim and Sharknado are the best movies I have ever seen. It takes a movie like Atlantic Rim to touch the soul.. I don't usually write reviews, in fact, this is my second film review ever - but I had to warn people against watching this movie. The acting is appalling, the screen writing is terrible in every way and the cinematography is probably the worst i have ever seen.I find it hard to believe that someone actually saw the script and got to put up the money to shoot this story. In fact, seeing Grahm Green's name plastered to it made me feel sorry for an actor who once played in movies such as Dances with wolves and Die hard.DO NOT WATCH (unless you are into laughing at horrible films). The CGI wasn't half bad and the acting wasn't nearly as terrible as a lot of their other movies.I love Graham Greene and he is a legend but he looked absolutely miserable. It definitely seemed more like a kids movie, not that it's a bad thing but I think they could have done somewhat better.. In many instances, the scenes look like an 80's video game, they are that bad.The robot cockpit sets are basically a small room, decorated with flexible air-conditioning tubes and disco rope lights. Wooden acting from everyone, terrible effects, really really bad story. Badly produced and directed.I thought it was a comedy at one point with disjointed story lines.Really, really, really, really bad movie and I watch the Sci-Fi channel!Scene 1 No background of the robots creation, they just suddenly appear with 3 all American heroes at the helm like Power RangersScene 2 Oil rig taken down and they go find that a big dinosaur done it. Aaah!!!Special Effects - They were really special as in you can see that fire wasn't real and that was awful.Direction - God knows what he had in mind before making this and while getting edited.After watching this movie I had to immediately watch Hangovers to rip off its image.. Unfortunately the script barely holds together.Watch Pacific Rim (the movie it was based on)... Atlantic Rim is what is known as a mockbuster: where they try to imitate a good movie.:-). The robots are so pathetic and thin they look as if carved from cheap aluminum; not heavy metal like Pacific rim. One thing I will mention is the fact I almost always enjoy Graham Greene as an actor and I would have to believe he wanted to pummel the writer and director throughout this farce.I liked Pacific Rim even if it was a bit cheesy because I am an anime fan and that is specifically what they were attempting to achieve. It was as if the directors told the actors: "we're making a movie with giant robots and sea monsters. Terrible acting, cheesy effects, copy cat crap of a movie. It's funny to watch the bad acting. so if you have nothing else to do this would make a great movie to watch... On the positive side, the movie CGI (or at least the monsters and robots) looked...OK. Again, It's kind of embarrassing to watch.I've seen movies with worse production values, with worse acting, even with worse plots. But the writers appear to have no idea how human beings (let alone soldiers) act, or talk, and the screenplay is so obviously a wanna-be rip-off of superior earlier movies that it's (again) kind of embarrassing to watch.. This is by far the worst movie we have seen in a long long time! The acting is so bad and really hard to watch. OK, I saw all of the bad reviews and said, "Hey, this must be a terrible movie without much of anything that I would like because so many other people hated it!". So, I decided to watch it and found out that it was well acted and had a great plot with really, really, dootedly CGI effects. The cast looks like a group of real people rather than modeling school rejects, and the effects were MUCH better than I had any reason to expect. In the case of this movie,the special effects suck, the nonexistent dialogue is horrible, and acting seems constipated.

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Kumonosu-jô

Generals Miki and Washizu are Samurai commanders under a local lord, Lord Tsuzuki, who reigns in the castle of the Spider's Web Forest. After defeating the lord's enemies in battle, they return to Tsuzuki's castle. On their way through the thick forest surrounding the castle, they meet a spirit, who foretells their future. The spirit tells them that today Washizu will be named Lord of the Northern Garrison and Miki will now be commander of the first fortress. She then foretells that Washizu will eventually become Lord of Spider's Web Castle, and finally she tells Miki that his son will also become lord of the castle. When the two return to Tsuzuki's estate, he rewards them with exactly what the spirit had predicted. As Washizu discusses this with Asaji, his wife, she manipulates him into making the second part of the prophecy come true by killing Tsuzuki when he visits. Washizu kills him with the help of his wife, who gives drugged sake to the lord's guards, causing them to fall asleep. When Washizu returns in shock at his deed, Asaji grabs the bloody spear and puts it in the hands of one of the three unconscious guards. She then yells "murder" through the courtyard, and Washizu slays the guard before he has a chance to plead his innocence. Tsuzuki's vengeful son Kunimaru and an advisor to Tsuzuki, Noriyasu, both suspect Washizu as the traitor and try to warn Miki, who refuses to believe what they are saying about his friend. Washizu is unsure of Miki's loyalty, but chooses Miki's son as his heir, since he and Asaji have been unable to bear a child of their own. Washizu plans to tell Miki and his son about his decision at a grand banquet, but Asaji tells him that she is pregnant, which leaves him with a quandary concerning his heir, as now Miki and his son have to be eliminated. During the banquet Washizu drinks sake copiously because he is clearly agitated, and at the sudden appearance of Miki's ghost, begins losing control. In his delusional panic, he reveals his betrayal to all by exclaiming that he is willing to slay Miki for a second time, going so far as unsheathing his sword and striking over Miki's mat. Asaji, attempting to pick up the pieces of Washizu's blunder, tells the guests that he is drunk and that they must retire for the evening. Then one of his men arrives with the severed head of Miki. The guard also tells them that Miki's son escaped. Later, distraught upon hearing of his child is stillborn and in dire need of help with the impending battle with his foes, he returns to the forest to summon the spirit. She tells him that he will not be defeated unless the very trees of Spider's Web forest rise against the castle. Washizu believes this is impossible and is confident of his victory. Washizu knows he must kill all his enemies, so he tells his troops of the last prophecy, and they share his confidence. The next morning, Washizu is awakened by the screams of attendants. Striding into his wife's quarters, he finds Asaji in a semi-catatonic state, trying to wash clean the imaginary foul stench of blood from her hands, obviously distraught at her grave misdeeds. Distracted by the sound of his troops moving outside the room, he investigates and is told by a panicked soldier that the trees of Spider's Web forest "have risen to attack us." The prophecy has come true and Washizu is doomed. As Washizu tries to get his troops to attack, they remain still. Disillusioned with his increasingly unstable leadership, the troops finally accuse Washizu of the murder of Tsuzuki. For his treachery they turn on their master and begin firing arrows at him, also to appease Miki's son and Noriyasu. Washizu finally succumbs to his wounds just as his enemies approach the castle gates. It is revealed that the attacking force is using trees cut down during the previous night to disguise and protect themselves in their advance on the castle.

murder, paranormal, allegory, violence, bleak, atmospheric, psychedelic

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The Wedding Ringer

Jimmy Callahan (Kevin Hart) provides best man services for guys who don't have the friends necessary for a wedding. As Doug Harris (Josh Gad), a successful tax attorney, and his fiancee Gretchen Palmer (Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting) are planning for their wedding day, Doug becomes frantic searching for a best man. He faints and is referred to Jimmy's company, The Best Man Inc., by his party planner, Edmundo (Ignacio Serricchio).Doug is sent to The Best Man Inc., by Otis (Corey Holcomb), which is located under an amusement park. Doug meets Jimmy and asks him to pull off a "Golden Tux" (seven groomsmen) to match with Gretchen's bridesmaids, which has never been done before. Jimmy refuses, claiming he is complacent and doesn't need the pressure. After hearing Doug's plea, Jimmy agrees to be his best man along with a payment of $50,000 and all expenses paid. When going over the formalities for the wedding, Doug tells Jimmy his name is Bic Mitchum.Jimmy recruits some former friends. Fitzgibbons (Colin Kane), a criminal who escaped from a federal prison, agrees to be a groomsman because there will be seven bridesmaids to hit on. Next, he recruits Lurch (Jorge Garcia), a plumber, who agrees to get away from his nagging wife. Lastly, he recruits Reggie (Affion Crockett), an airline security agent, who agrees because there will be good food. Jimmy, his secretary Doris (Jenifer Lewis), Fitzgibbons, Lurch, and Reggie interview people willing to fill the four remaining spots based on their "party trick distractions." They choose Kip (Alan Ritchson), a sexy man with a stutter, Endo (Aaron Takahashi), who has three testicles, Bronstein (Dan Gill), who can dislocate and relocate his shoulder, and Otis, who can say every sentence backwards.Doug, excited, tells Gretchen that "Bic" flew in from El Salvador, and he will be at the wedding. He also presents to her two honeymoon tickets to Tahiti. Gretchen insists that Bic comes to the family brunch. Doug meets Jimmy and they memorize their identities. Doug also tells Jimmy that he must act as a military priest from North Dakota.At the brunch Gretchen's father Ed (Ken Howard) asks Jimmy what part of North Dakota he's from. Doug becomes nervous and almost blows his own cover until Jimmy accidentally sets Grandma (Cloris Leachman) on fire. They take her to the emergency room, and Jimmy makes up a lie to Ed that Doug used to play football. Ed challenges Jimmy and Doug to a football game with some of his old college teammates who will be at the wedding.Doug meets his groomsmen, who he is initially not fond of. Doris gives all of them fake identities, all of which share the last names of famous Los Angeles sports figures (Plunkett, Rambis, Garvey, Alzado, Drysdale, Carew, and Dickerson) which they have to memorize. Jimmy takes the groomsmen on fake photo shoots of skydiving, scuba-diving, bowling, running a marathon, and climbing mountains. As Jimmy realizes Doug is beginning to doubt him, he is taken to Edmundo's house. Doug learns Edmundo's flamboyant personality is just a ruse for better business. Edmundo tells him that the only key is to please Gretchen and her mother Lois (Mimi Rogers) and nothing else matters. To prove to Doug how good he is at being a best man, Jimmy takes Doug to a wedding where the best man (Josh Peck) makes a terrible speech. After, they have drinks and show off their dance moves. The two drink after the wedding and talk. Jimmy said he made an excellent best man speech for a minor friend which led to his career as a wedding ringer. Doug said that his father was an international tax attorney and moved frequently as a child, so he never got to make friends. He also tells Jimmy he's never been on a "guy trip" and just wants a friend to "sit down and have a beer with." When his parents died, Doug took over the business, and work consumed him, leaving him without a best man. Jimmy drives Doug home, and reiterates that they are in a business relationship, and Doug, although hurt, agrees.Jimmy, thinking about what Doug said, is reminded by Doris why he started his business in the first place. She tells Jimmy he needs a real friend for himself, and he is motivated to pull off the rest of the wedding.The next day, Doug is captured by Reggie and Fitzgibbons and taken to his outrageous bachelor party. He is introduced to Nadia (Nicky Whelan), who tries to seduce him. Doug instead befriends her and she later puts peanut butter on his genitals. Doug, who is blindfolded, is unaware that Jimmy and Nadia have a basset hound to lick off the peanut butter. When the prank goes awry, the groomsmen and Nadia race to the hospital and evade a cop chase. When Doug wakes up the next day, Nadia kisses him goodbye, and hints she would like to know him better. Later, the groomsmen play football with Ed and his college football friends, including Joe Namath, John Riggins, and Ed "Too Tall" Jones. A mud bowl ensues and Ed blows out his knee on the last play.At the rehearsal dinner that night, Gretchen's bridesmaids sing a song, while Doug's groomsmen create a slideshow of the fake pictures they previously took, winning Gretchen over. That night, Gretchen, speaking to Doug, notices Bic razors and Mitchum deodarant in their cabinets. She recognizes the familiarity in the last names of the groomsmen and deduces the scheme. She asks Doug about it but he brushes it off, saying Gretchen is paranoid, to which she reluctantly agrees.On the day of the wedding, the family priest cancels and is replaced by Jimmy's old Catholic school principal. Doug hatches an idea where Reggie and Fitzgibbons kidnap the priest and Jimmy officiates the wedding as Bic Mitchum. The wedding reception is initially successful. Jimmy passes Gretchen and congratulates her on the wedding. Gretchen exclaims that the wedding is a disaster because her grandmother has third degree burns, her dad's knee is blown out, the food is bad, the bridesmaids are not attracted to the groomsmen, the zipper on her dress is broken, and she isn't marrying the man she loves. Gretchen confesses to Jimmy she only married Doug because she was tired of having bad relationships and he can easily provide the lavish lifestyle she wants. Doug overhears this in the bathroom and tells Jimmy that he can't go through with the rest of the wedding. Jimmy dismisses Doug's ideas and makes the best man speech. Before Jimmy wraps up his best man speech, Doug stops it and reveals he and Gretchen aren't married since "Bic" is not a real priest. He also tells everyone that his groomsmen are fake. Jimmy, Doug, and the groomsmen try to escape. Before doing so, Jimmy asks Gretchen's sister, Allison (Olivia Thirlby) on a date, which she accepts. Doug pays Jimmy his $50,000 like he promised and they accept each other's friendship. As they leave, Jimmy has an idea.They use Doug's first class honeymoon tickets to Tahiti, taking him on a guy trip where the groomsmen, Edmundo, Doris, and Nadia, who begins her romance with Doug, party in the plane, while Lurch says that he "has a bad feeling about this flight."In a scene at the end of the credits, Jimmy and Doug are seen playing a painful game of tennis.

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imdb

Kevin Hart's best performance and sporadic laugh-out-loud moments, but it ultimately clutches onto the same tropes and beats as other movies of its ilk.. Not financially of course; the guy has been starring in more than a few comedies the past couple years, but critically, none of them (Ride Along, Get Hard, About Last Night) can be called a genuinely great movie. This is Kevin Hart in his element - his most dynamic performance and playing a Hitch-style role where he gets hired to be people's best mans for guys who don't have any friends. Josh Gad plays the loser character, and he and Hart have great chemistry and some very funny back and forth moments. They may have defining traits, but not one of them feels like a fleshed out character.Structure is another problem in this movie because after an excellent setup, it starts going down the list of the same tropes and beats as every other zany wedding comedy. But those moments become less and less often as the movie tries to tie itself neatly with a bow in the third act.The Wedding Ringer is good for a few laughs, but in the end it's just another Kevin Hart comedy that had potential but didn't explore it. It did exactly what it seems it set out to do- make people laugh and have them walk away with the warm fuzzies.The characters have great chemistry on screen, especially Kevin Hart and Josh Gad. The plot is pretty easy to predict, but there are still a few surprises on how some points are executed. There are some great laugh-out-loud moments, even with a couple of cringe-worthy ones (was the view of what the dog chomped on really needed?).All in all, I had a good time watching it. The only thing i can think of that wasn't that great was actually Kaley Cuoco-Sweetings acting, she was a bit annoying in this movie. Josh Gad and Kevin Hart bring the laughs out in this hysterical buddy comedy. He hires Jimmy Callahan, played by Kevin Hart, to provide best men to attend his wedding. A silly funny film that makes for a good laugh and realize the silliness of putting needless pressures on a big day in a man and woman's life. He is easy for the audience to identify with.Kevin Hart is a natural to play the boisterous and gregarious Jimmy, who had to fit in all the tall tales that Doug told Gretchen about his imaginary "best friend" dubiously named Bic. Despite his character's filthy mouth prone to profanity, Hart still manages to be funny and engaging in a potentially annoying role. The lead pair of Josh Gad and Kevin Hart share a vibrant bromantic comic chemistry together that is a lot of fun to watch. This isn't the kind of comedy to sit down with your family and watch (due to the strong language in certain scenes, and moderate nudity) but, if you like raw, oddball comedies, with non-stop "laugh out loud" punchlines, then this movie will suit you perfectly. He doesn't have any friends, so he hires a professional "best man" and his team, so he can offer to his woman the wedding she dreamed of.Josh Gad and Kevin Hart are not first class comedians. The groom, played by Josh Gad, asks the agency for the "Golden Package" so the fake best man (Kevin Hart) recruits his close friends to help him with the job. Budget: $23million Worldwide Gross: $80millionI recommend this movie to people who are into their comedies about a groom who hires a best man for his wedding because he has a lack of close friends. Doug Harris (Josh Gad) is about to be married to Gretchen (Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting), but has no friends he can call upon to be Best Man or Grooms. I knew Kevin Hart would be hilarious cause that is what Hart does no matter what the quality of the actual film is, but the entire movie and it's cast turned out to be humorous as well. The movie opens with Josh Gad looking for a best man after realizing his fiancé has planned an extravagant wedding using lots of bridesmaids. Sort of like an I Love You Man, but with better and more colorful characters, the audience I saw this with laughed so hard at times I couldn't hear the next scene. Above all, I rate this movie a perfect 10, because it's funny, surprisingly refreshing, and a comedy that actually makes you laugh.. Putting on a fake best man relationship I thought would have been stupid, and at times it is, but the concept is a bit of a change from the normal comedy film. Kevin Hart and Josh Gad co-star in "The Wedding Ringer" and we've got intel on whether it should make your weekend watch list.. Any film that Kevin Hart stars in is sure to be funny and The Wedding Ringer co-starring Josh Gad, is no different. However, "The Wedding Ringer" is funnier, much of that due to the actors' on and off-screen chemistry (listen to my interview with Hart and Gad for more intel).In this funny flick, Jimmy Callahan a.k.a. Bic (Hart) is in the business of finding best men for guys who can't find their own. Needless to say, Bic finds a gaggle of guys that Doug dubs as "Goonies" and it's wedding day countdown to snap these misfits into tip top shape so that they are presentable for Doug's in-laws.The plot is predictable but the comedic timing of Hart and Gad makes this film hilarious. I found Kevin Hart to be hilarious in this movie, it was a great comedy and great acting! It's like the movie has a split personality, one good, one evil, both exhausted.The movie opens with the suave, charming pretend best man played by Kevin Hart (is he the "Wedding Ringer" of the title? Anyway, our hero tracks him down to employ his services as a best man for his own wedding - he's an average looking fat guy with no friends who has improbably convinced some blonde babe to marry him: Kaley Cuoco, who has made a career of playing the blonde babe with an improbable connection to quirky geeks and misfits.If you aren't clichéd out by now, it gets worse: Kevin Hart doesn't want take the job! In a wiser comedy, this material could actually be poignant and truthful, but of course it just goes for silly montages showing ridiculous ways of faking photos to convince people they have a history.The movie gets more than a little weird in its reliance on cliché when Hart has to assemble a group of groomsmen who will also pretend to be the loser hero's friends, and exclusively chooses weirdos. Normally a predictable storyline can be excused in a comedy, if the jokes and little skits that fill the gap are actually good, but the sad part was, even their jokes were predictable for the most part; It's hard to find a joke funny, when you can predict the punchline ahead of its delivery.Realistically the only part of the movie I actually thought was funny was a simple little one liner at the end of the movie, which I won't disclose so to avoid spoilers.Only reason it isn't getting a lower score than 4 is because despite the substandard writing, Hart played his role well, as did Josh Gad.. Saw The Wedding Ringer starring Kevin Hart and Josh Gad at Regal Cinemas last night and it was too funny! "Doug Harris" played by Gad is a loner, or man who has no friends, has to show his supposed dream girl "Gretchen Palmer" played by Kaley Cuoco Sweeting that he has some popularity and is not a loser.So to do this, "Doug" is in need of seven best-men for his wedding. "Jimmy" hooks "Doug" up with some weird looking characters that are paid to act like they were his best buddies in an effort to pull of "The Golden Tux" of weddings.During their fake wedding, "Doug" finds out that "Gretchen" doesn't really love him, only wants to be with him because all she had dated were losers, and he is the only one who can provide her with the life she has only dreamed of. "Doug" is with "Gretchen" only because he would never think a girl like her would fall for him, let alone marry.Hart and Gad most definitely have great on-screen chemistry. There are 2 scenes in particular where I literally thought to myself "Have they just given up on this movie and are adding these scenes in because it looks like it would be an absolute blast to act?" Even the plot isn't new; it's a recycled theme and a movie with this plot comes out maybe once every couple of years.AND YET with all the terrible caricatures of people (and women in particular) I actually found myself laughing out loud (literally) in the cinema on more than one occasion. None of the laughs seemed forced, and don't get me wrong it wasn't perfect, but it did give me enjoyment for an hour and a half.Kevin Harts best movie without doubt, much better than Get Hard.. Kevin Hart plays the "Have great speech for hire Best Man" who knows how to impress a groom's newlywed wife and mother-in-law since everyone knows a wedding is always focused on the bride and the bride's mother. Apparently 5 years if enough for Hollywood to think they can get away with basically copy-pasting a plot from another movie (look up "I Love You, Man").You know what they say down there, if you stumble unto something good you should be able to get away with reusing it at least 3 or 4 times.Problem is, it wasn't all that good to begin with. As you've seen from the Synopsis , this movie is about a loner guy named Doug who needs a best man and 7 groomsmen for his wedding .So Jimmy comes to the rescue. The reason this film works is down to the two very likable leads - Gad as Doug & Hart as Jimmy/Bic. They have very different comedic sensibilities, but work great together on screen - I feel this is the first time we're seeing each of them begin to reach their potential. Some great set pieces - meeting the family for the first time, the gridiron match, the Bucks Party, the dance-prep - which let all the cast play a part.I really enjoyed this and have to give it a good rating because the film did precisely what a comedy sets out to do - make you laugh! Kevin Hart and Josh Gad on the other hand looked like they were in separate movies. The Wedding Ringer(2015) Starring: Kevin Hart, Josh Gad, Kaley Cuoco, Affion Crockett, Jorge Garcia, Corey Holcomb, Ken Howard, Cloris Leachman, Jenifer Lewis, Mimi Rogers, Aaron Takahashi, Olivia Thirlby, and Nicky Whelan Directed By: Jeremy Garelick Review He's the best man... The Film is about Jimmy who provides best man services for socially challenged guys, who – for whatever reason – have no one close enough to agree to stand by them on the day of their wedding. Last year was Ride Along which also starred Kevin Hart and now we have The Wedding Ringer, which you should already know is not funny. Hart and Gad have a good chemistry, a bromance as you can see in the dance sequence in that wedding they attend to observe a terrible best man speech. In conclusion I would recommend seeing the film only if you don't have anything better to watch at the moment or if you really likes Kevin Hart's acting.Final score: 5/10.. This was hands-down a 10/10, and not just for the laughs!Believe it or not, Kevin Hart actually does some pretty great acting in this movie, and I hope to see more like it out of him in future movies. But the cast overall, especially the crew that works with Kevin Hart's character in the movie, is so incredibly lovable and memorable that you'll wish you knew a group like that in real life. The story line sweet and simple which makes very little room for too many 'twists', hence there was only one twist towards the end of the movie, which is rather funny and sad at the same time.Overall I'm happy with this movie and would watch it again as it made me laugh but not hard enough. I'm not gonna spoil anything, but the movie steals badly from better movies like Wedding Crashers, Old School and even Usual Suspects and this just came off as bad to me and desperate.Kevin Hart is funny as hell in this one and Josh Gad delivers, but eventually you just realize the Wedding Ringer is just another mediocre, bland and generic comedy.. Still, there are some very funny moments courtesy of Hart and Gad, and my guess is most viewers will enjoy a few laughs, even if they forget most of this once they leave the theatre.Supporting work is provided by Ken Howard, an on-fire Cloris Leachman, Mimi Rogers, Jorge Garcia and Josh Peck. Jeremy Garelick directs "The Wedding Ringer", a comedy film that centers about Jimmy Callahan (Kevin Hart) who provides best man services for soon to be grooms who don't have friends necessary for a wedding. Perhaps I should start at the beginning.The main and stand out stars of the film are Josh Gad and Kevin Hart. 'THE WEDDING RINGER': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)Romantic comedy/Buddy flick about a 'professional best man', who provides his 'special services' to socially awkward grooms in need. The movie is reminiscent of other, similar, romantic comedy/buddy films (like 'I LOVE YOU, MAN' and 'HITCH', most obviously) but it's also pretty funny, and somewhat touching, in places.Gad plays a groom-to-be, named Doug Harris, who can't believe he got a really hot girl, named Gretchen Palmer (Cuoco-Sweeting), to agree to marry him. I'd definitely say it's funny enough to recommend; especially if you like Hart, Gad and romantic comedy/buddy flicks.Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5es95jIdgR4. The Wedding RingerThe Wedding Ringer has all the clichéd recipe in it; from characters to the plot or from jokes to emotions, having said that it also has funny moments and has a great music and Kevin Hart.. When Doug (Josh Gad), a groom-to-be is pressed to find a 'Best Man', he eagerly hires Jimmy (Kevin Hart), a false friend to fill the void.1. The Wedding Ringer starring Kevin Hard, and Josh Gad. The film starts out with Doug Harris (Gad) having a problem. As pointed out, the film delivers what one would expect and is better due to the odd yet good pairing of Kevin Hart and Josh Gad. Although it is somewhat predictable, the humor and comedic jokes do deliver. Josh gad plays the groom and he has very good chemistry with hart that really carries the film. But this film doesn't start with him, it starts with Doug(Josh Gad) about to marry the girl of his dreams(Kayley Cuoco.) Problem is, he isn't too social, and in fact, has no groomsmen or even a best man. The wedding coordinator Edmundo recommends Jimmy Callahan (Kevin Hart) who specializes in playing the best friend role.This starts at a similar place as 'I Love You, Man' but it goes off on a different and dumber route. "The Wedding Ringer" shows Kevin Hart seemingly getting better with each movie.. That's the case with "The Wedding Ringer" (R, 1:41).In his first film of 2015, Hart plays Jimmy Callahan, a best man for rent. It is funny, have good characters (Kevin Hart made me laugh from the very beginning of the movie), the plot is new and original. In "The Wedding Ringer," Kevin Hart plays an enterprising young man who hires himself out as a best man to grooms who can't come up with one of their own. It's an above average comedy whether Kevin Hart movies are good or bad his scenes always seem to shine. The Wedding Ringer is a comedy starring the genres most featured star right now Kevin Hart alongside Josh Gad. This movie has an premise that at first seems pretty interesting and does have the potential to be very funny if done right. - 6.2After watching the film i would have loved this movie to focus more on Kevin Hart's character moving from wedding to wedding as oppose to focusing on just Josh Gad and his wedding. Kevin Hart said before the release of the Wedding Ringer that the film was his best work yet and after watching it I agree with him. The Wedding Ringer is what you get when to add I Love You, Man and Wedding Crashers and the result is a film that will likely headline the best comedies of 2015 and I think it beats Hart's other release in 2015, Get Hard.. . .Kevin Hart aka Jim does a stand up job at his role as a fake best man and Josh Gad aka Doug plays a believable nerd, who is desperate not to lose the women he 'loves.'One of the things that strikes me as odd about most of the negative reviews out there is they claim there is a lack of respect vibe going on and that there is a lot of crude humor.I'm sorry, but did you forget this is an R rate movie? The Wedding Ringer (2015): Dir: Jeremy Garelick / Cast: Kevin Hart, Josh Gad, Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting, Ken Howard, Cloris Leachman: Dreadful laugh-lacking comedy about being true to oneself, and if viewers were true to themselves, they would avoid the real ringer, which is this film. Hart's character Jimmy is a "BEST FRIEND FOR HIRE" (some scenes show him doing speeches in different places making people laugh, smile or cry). There were some funny parts but with a cast of Kevin Hart and Josh Gad we expected more.

tt2005151

War Dogs

January 2008, AlbaniaTwo masked men pull David Packouz (Miles Teller) out of a trunk and start beating him. One of the men holds a gun to David's face. We hear David's voice saying what kind of gun it is, and he adds that he is an international arms dealer.We see clips of American soldiers posing with the gear and weapons. David says that while some people see a hero serving his country, he sees thousands of dollars worth of materials. According to David, that's what war is really all about: money. Anyone who says otherwise is in on it and is supposed to keep quiet.The scene then switches to the year 2005 in Miami, Florida. David is a massage therapist making $75 an hour, living with his girlfriend Iz (Ana De Armas). On the side, David tries to sell bedsheets to a retirement home, but he learns that "no one gives a shit about old people".At a funeral, David reunites with an old friend named Efraim Diveroli (Jonah Hill). They hang out after and try to score some weed from neighborhood drug dealers. Efraim gives them $300 for weed, but they pocket the money and ignore Efraim, showing off a gun to make him leave. Efraim walks to his car and pulls out a bigger gun from his trunk, which he starts firing off in the air to scare the dealers away.David and Efraim discuss Efraim's new line of business - gunrunning. He explains to David how to exploit the war on terrorism for profit. David doesn't want to get involved at first, but when he learns Iz is pregnant, he figures he needs to make more money than he does now. He lies to her and tells her that he and Efraim are selling bedsheets to the U.S. army, which she is okay with.After learning the ins and outs of arms dealing and checking through government contracts, David and Efraim start up their own business, AEY Inc, after getting funding from Ralph Slutzky (Kevin Pollak). Soon, the guys earn themselves a contract with the United States Department of Defense to deal weapons. However, they hit a snag when they have Berettas shipped to Jordan, unaware of Italian-made guns not being permitted to be shipped.Efraim interrupts David during a dinner party with Iz and her friends. They have a conversation outside, but Iz overhears their business and learns the truth about what David is doing, leaving her pissed.David and Efraim travel to Jordan and meet with smugglers that will help them retrieve the guns. They meet a man named Marlboro (Shaun Toub), who drives the guys to their destination. They stop to get gas in Fallujah, where the guys wake up and don't see Marlboro. Efraim finds a dead body inside the station, and sees that Marlboro is siphoning gas. David gets a call from Iz, who appears to forgive David for lying to her, even though the lying does bother her. Moments later, the guys see vans approaching, with men firing guns at them. David and Efraim try to get out of there, despite having an empty tank. Marlboro runs after them and hops onto the truck, filling up the tank as they drive. The guys are saved when a U.S. chopper descends, forcing the mercenaries to stop shooting.The guys meet with Captain Santos (Patrick St. Esprit) to deliver the guns. He commends them for driving through the Triangle of Death, and the guys receive their payment.Pretty soon, the guys are making more money and earning more contracts. They start hiring people to work for AEY, and they start doing business with a man named Henry Girard (Bradley Cooper), who is apparently a legend with closing big deals with the army. David and Iz also welcome a baby girl named Ella. However, Efraim becomes increasingly megalomaniacal, even firing one man on the spot just for correcting him on something.David and Efraim then score "The Afghan Deal", which would allow them to supply the Afghan army with a number of weapons and ammunition. The contract came from China, which is a problem because the U.S. army has an embargo on the Chinese military industry, so Chinese ammunition is banned. Efraim has the ammo and weapons repackaged and shipped off anyway.The guys have a falling out with their business when David and Efraim sort out their share of the payment. When David calls Efraim out on screwing people over, Efraim has the two men from the opening of the movie kidnap David and assault him. David breaks off his partnership with Efraim, especially after Efraim refuses to pay David and Ralph back for thousands of money owed to both of them. David decides to just go back to being a massage therapist.David gets a call from a reporter regarding an investigation into the Afghan Deal. He knows he's in trouble. He heads down an elevator and meets Efraim in there. Efraim tries to make it look like he's sorry and that he considers David a friend, but David sees through the facade, which Efraim admits. David punches Efraim in the face. When they get downstairs, they are greeted by a whole team of FBI agents, and the two are arrested.As the film comes to and end, David's voice-over says that Ralph was in on it with the FBI, but he gets apprehended as well. What did them in, however, was the packaging guy that Efraim never paid, so he ratted them out. Both men were charged with conspiracy and fraud. Efraim was sentenced to four years in prison, while David served seven months house arrest, allowing him to stay with Iz and Ella.The last scene has David meeting with Henry. He starts asking a bunch of questions regarding their deals, until Henry pulls out a case full of money, which he offers to David on the promise of "no more questions."

flashback

train

imdb

I gave it a 7/10 for slow pacing and lack of humor, which is the opposite of what I expected.I'd still recommend it, just don't expect to be blown away.After watching it for a second time I decided to change my original rating from 7/10 to 8/10, mainly because the acting is just great and I respect the fact that the movie made me think about it and made me want to see it again.. I thought this would be a juvenile buddy movie with a bit of war thrown in but it isn't.Jonah Hill has some funny lines and he does a great job with the over the top character but he can be subtly sinister when he needs to be. Hangover/Due Date director Todd Philipps makes a film base on the true story of young, entrepreneur gun-runners David Parkouz and Efraim Diveroli who managed to secure a ridiculous contract to supply arms to the afghan army via the pentagon. The film is highly entertaining, funny in parts but this is not a comedy; its perfectly paced with some great scenes like the duo gun-running across the triangle of death and some nice camera work. The mishandling of the deal and the pair's subsequent falling out was covered in a Rolling Stone article by Guy Lawson, and later in a book by Lawson entitled Arms and the Dudes.David Packouz (Miles Teller) is a pot-smoking massage therapist working in Miami, Florida, dividing his spare time between his girlfriend Iz (Ana de Armas) and trying, somewhat unsuccessfully, to flog the high-quality Egyptian bed-sheets that he has invested in to retirement homes. It's not the first time I've seen either Miles Teller or Jonah Hill in something more dramatic, I just may have assumed their first real outing together in a movie would be more of a straight up comedy.Semi based on a true story of two young guys from Miami who became arms dealers, Miles Teller narrates the story of how David Packouz teamed up with this best friend from the tenth grade, Efraim Diveroli and got in too over his head.I was expecting more comedy from the two rather than just two young stars being entertaining. Teller plays the sympathetic role of a man whose lost in his life at a time when his girl is about to have a baby, and he needs the money.Director, Todd Phillips weaves a story about how people have profited from the war, and done bad things to profit from a bad war. It's almost like the Big Short, with it's explanation about how the arms game really works, but I always felt that the actual story was getting overshadow by the personalities of the two stars worthy of watching.But overall, It is a very funny film and very entertaining, thanks to the Hill, Teller combohttp://cinemagardens.com. Efraim Diveroli (Jonah Hill) and David Packouz (Miles Teller) eventually landed a $300 million contract to arm the Afghan military, but government corruption and some illegal decisions on their part proved to be their undoing.All of this went down only a few short years ago. Phillips stressed that this is not a documentary, but also shared that Lawson–who is more familiar with the story than just about anybody other than Efraim and David themselves–expressed that he was pleasantly surprised with the journalistic integrity of the film.War Dogs is an excellent movie. If you're trying to figure out what kind of a movie this is, picture The Big Short with a slightly lesser known crew.War Dogs did have a lot going for it, namely the talents of Miles Teller and Jonah Hill, as well as the direction of Todd Phillips (The Hangover Trilogy.) Above that the trailers for this film looked fairly funny, but note that almost all of the genuinely funny parts of the movie are contained in the trailer. The movie stands apart from the other recent releases and definitely is a must watch film, and delivers astounding performances by all the actors.On one hand, while it has a well drafted story, on the other hand, the screenplay and direction did their perfect job in rendering a masterpiece of movie.I mean, who believes that the US government invites bids from the normal people for their arms and ammunition requirement. From some shots i even felt like i am watching an action movie which apparently its not one of those The chemistry between the two actor awesome Miles Teller and Jonah Hill are really a good combination for audience , They work really well and i enjoy them a lot throughout the movie. 'War Dogs' is the second movie 'inspired by a true story' that I have seen in the last 24 hours, and is actually the one that I liked better (the other one being 'The Infiltrator'). If I am to chose one easier entertainment with no super-heroes or space-ships, and yet a film that raises serious issues this summer, I will recommend it (but of course, I did not see them all).I am not sure if 'War Dogs' will make it to too many Jewish film festivals, but the two lead characters are Jewish or better say one nice Jewish kid (acted by Miles Teller) and a one Jewish trouble-maker kid (acted by Jonah Hill) who meet about one year after high-school. Performances wise, Hill has never played his obnoxious American arsehole act to such great effect, making his Wolf of Wall Street character practically Paddington Bear, whilst Teller provides fine support as the slightly more restrained other guy. Usual hit-or-miss director Todd Phillips returns after the last couple of force fed Hangover duds, but delivers a steadily paced and solidly entertaining biopic which has been marketed as a "Wolf Of Wall Street" for the "Hangover" fans.The film's plot revolves around two young in-over-their-heads gun runners, told from the perspective of the relative straight man of the duo David Packouz, portrayed by Miles Teller. 'War Dogs' is the latest film directed by Todd Phillips of 'Hangover' fame, a comedy/drama starring Jonah Hill and Miles Teller as a pair of amateur arms-dealers. The choices are quite generic and have been used before under similar circumstances, but they fit the scene they're in and never detract from the experience.Overall, 'War Dogs' is an enjoyable film that is a clear example of style over substance; the performances are good, the script is entertaining and the plot is mostly engaging but a lack of depth hurts the staying power of the picture. War Dogs does its job of presenting its pretty unbelievable story in a pleasing time passing manner.With a stronger script and direction it could well have been a really good film. Jonah Hill and Miles Teller give great performances in this film based on a true story. Although I've put this forward as a criticism this approach is something that I like more than dislike as it does at least make the film a fairly enjoyable experience.As far as acting performances go then this one definitely belongs to Jonah Hill; he basically channels the same character he played in Wolf Of Wall Street and clearly understands what kind of picture that Phillips intend to make. This is based upon true eventsTwo friends David Packouz (Miles Teller) and Efraim Diverolia (Jonah Hill) venture into the International Arms race and deliver on a contract to provide guns to Baghdad, Iraq. By the end of its 114 minutes, it all transpires to a half-baked comedy that barely succeeds to generate good laughs while struggling to make a crucial point about the repercussions of international arms dealing.So this film follows the true story of David Packouz (played by Miles Teller) and Efraim Diveroli (played by Jonah Hill), two Miami natives who reunite as friends after many years of no see. Beyond a pinch of social commentary on the Bush Administration and the established greed and corruption of the lead characters, the film barely reaches any dynamic heights.For a film dealing with the corruption and ill morality of arms business, Todd Phillips at least does a fine job on establishing a comedic field along with the chemistry between leads Miles Teller and Jonah Hill. Diveroli himself is granted by a fine comedic performance by the ever-charming Jonah Hill who bears a solid barrage of bold-mouth vulgar one-liners and political bashing commentary against the Iraq War. Cuban actress Ana De Armas delivers a fine portrayal as David's worried wife who grows hungry for info on the nasty schemes her husband getting involved in, but perhaps isn't given a whole to do, nor is the 'Hangover' star Bradley Cooper as the shady arms dealer who the duo must face when they make an ill-adviced contract deal.War Dogs is a middling rags-to-riches comedy that may generate some laughs to please moviegoers pursuing for an engaging comedic experience, but suffers from Todd Phillips's trite execution on its true story-inspired. War DogsThe worst thing about war profiteering is that the ghosts of your victims haunt your money.Luckily, possessed Benjamins don't deter the amoral marketers in this dramedy.Following a string of dead-end jobs, David Packouz (Miles Teller) decides to take his old high school buddy Efraim Diveroli (Jonah Hill) up on his offer to help him sell small shipments of firearms to the US war effort in Iraq.But when the deals start getting dangerous, then downright illegal, David's conscience and pregnant wife (Ana de Armas) start to influence his decisions.A highly fictionalized adaptation of an investigative article later elongated into a bestseller, War Dogs embraces its dramatized narrative for the sake of light entertainment. Miles Teller and Jonah Hill star in the remarkable true story of two young arms dealers who became way over their head when they try to snag a $300 million dollar deal. Todd Phillips who brought us the Hangover trilogy gives us a reveal of how much money is invested into the US military, and it can be easily intercepted by two twenty something year old's.Watching Jonah Hill and Miles Teller felt like these two had been working together for years and therefore another successful duo seen on screen this year. Hill gives us a great performance unseen by any other young actor trying to be a rich arms trader, but unfortunately carries a very annoying laugh throughout the film.Also making an appearance is the always charming Bradley Cooper who passes the torch to the aspiring dealers in providing his assistance in the trade. This also only really takes place during the middle of the film and from the beginning and end we have the more dark atmosphere of what's going on.All in all War Dogs is entertaining and fascinating in revealing its true story and I'm sure won't let anyone down, but it does not quite make a good balance in humour and drama. This is my review of War Dogs (spoiler free).*** (3/5) Cast: Jonah Hill, Miles Teller, Ana de Armas, Bradley Cooper.Plot: Two men who were best friends in high school decide to reunite and become arms dealers, but as their life they get a deal that could possibly be the best deal for them, however this deal could be a big mistake for these two.War Dogs is sold as a comedy. Although this feels much like the Wolf of Wall Street especially with the narration this mainly comes from David this makes the whole experience a whole lot better.As the story goes on the comedy standards get better and funnier and this also makes for fun dialogue, mainly said by the two lead characters. Based on a real life story of David Packouz and Efraim Diveroli, who won a $300 million contract from the Pentagon to arm America's allies in Afghanistan, the director has done a great job in converting a dry story into an entertaining movie.Jonah Hill keeps up the comedy of the film through out. Take a look at the original Rolling Stone piece, or any other article and you'll see exactly what I am talking about.Jonah Hill and Miles Teller portray the two real life runners, Efraim Diveroli and David Packouz, despite looking nothing like them. Jonah Hill deserves all the praise he is getting for his performance and even more, as his presence takes the movie which could have been done better into what is enjoyable.War Dogs is a biographical crime drama directed by Todd Phillips. With one of those true life stories that you'd never believe had it not actually happened at its disposal, Old School and The Hangover director Todd Phillips and his capable duo of Miles Teller (in need of a hit) and the scenery chewing Jonah Hill (going all method on us) make War Dogs an entertaining and quick-fire experience that shines a light on an interesting aspect of White House law and how strange our modern warfare has become. A dark comedy filled to the brim with deplorable and colourful characters, language and drug addled life lessons, War Dogs is one of those somewhat uneasy hybrids that flirts the line between becoming and out and out drama or an outright comedy and while Phillips at times finds his directional abilities tested in a tale that has a number of different aspects going on at any one time the story of best friends turned gun running business partners David Packouz and Efraim Diveroli is brought to life by Teller and Hill thanks to their considerable talents and the two actors know doubt elevate the material at their disposal to another level.The talents of these two performers has been evident in such tales as Whiplash, The Spectacular Now, The Wolf of Wall Street and Moneyball and while War Dogs won't be going down on their all-time greatest list and Hill has a tendency to take things a little too far (his Efraim is a nigh on irremediably arrogant creature and his laugh is a little much) the two work up a good cooperation on screen and when they're both doing their thing from a near suicidal gun run through the Iraq wastelands or conducting a government meeting while far from clear headed, War Dogs is a film owned by the actors.Who would've thought that two mid 20 year old's with a tendency for drugs, alcohol and massages could've become arms dealers for the United States Government but War Dogs makes good use of its bizarre yet true story and while the film isn't as smart as it perhaps thinks it is, this is a fun and breezy experience that would make for a great double bill with the underrated Nichols Cage starrer Lord of War. 3 ½ golden grenades out of 5. This is a true story about 20-something guys (Jonah Hill, Miles Teller) exploiting a little- known government initiative that allows small businesses to bid on U.S. Military contracts during the Iraq War. They begin raking in big money but soon get in over their heads. For more than fifteen years in the business, starting out with Dreamworks Picture's "Road Trip" (2000), Director Todd Phillips walks the thin red line of controversy by combining a serious world-state war-machinery-benefiting issues in the Middle East with two based-on-real-life-experience characters of David and Efraim, performed by comical tragic beat-matching actors Miles Teller and Jonah Hill, with the latest movie "War Dogs" releasing on August 19th 2016 in the United States to modest box office success.The movie might have deserved a wider audience, because of its fluent too flawless execution in its own right for any department and furthermore the clarified handling by experienced Director Todd Phillips, who seems to have a ball his two action-seeking leads. Jonah Hill's and Miles Teller's performances are the strongest part of War Dogs, and the story itself (especially knowing that it is based on actual events) is engaging enough that it kept me interested all the way through. Out of all Todd Phillips work i like War Dogs better as this film has a good story line based on true events and humor; and it features some of the controversial topics as government arms deals and stuff. War Dogs is a movie that I think is weak, it is weak in comedy, it is not so funny, I did not laugh at it, the script is problematic, the performances are pretty much the same as Jonah Hill until it's different Of other roles, I found him a lot more serious in that film, Miles Telles until just reasonable, and the chemistry of the two does not work as well as it should, the cast still has Ana de armas, Bradley Cooper and etc, the direction of Todd Phillips who did Even good movies, he is average, he loses control of the film during the course, the soundtrack goes to taste, the film does not have memorable moments, and no dialogue, War Dogs is a weak movie, I was never excited to watch it Movie, the more I expected something better. War Dogs is a comedy drama film directed by Todd Phillips which follows two arms dealers, Efraim Diveroli and David Packouz, who receive a US Army contract to supply munitions for the Afghan National Army.This is by no means a memorable film but it serves as platform for two good performances by Miles Teller and Jonah Hill especially the latter who delivers some of the best comic moments of the film.He is almost unrecognizable as Diveroli and Teller and Hill play well off of each other.However the supporting characters come out as rather flat and boring.Todd Phillips is best known for making raunchy comedies like The Hangover or Road Trip but this is his first film that feels more grown up and meaningful.He does a fairly good job here and the cinematography by Lawrence Sher borderlines between flat and breathtaking.There is even a cameo from a particular A-list actor that was enjoyable to see. The two leads Miles Teller and Jonah Hill make the film as you liked THEM (to begin with) but not what they were doing.

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Samâ uôzu

Kenji Koiso (Ryunosuke Kamiki) is a young student at Kuonji High School with a gift for mathematics and a part-time moderator in the massive computer-simulated virtual reality world OZ along with his friend Takashi Sakuma (Takahiro Yokokawa). One day, Kenji is invited by fellow Kuonji student Natsuki Shinohara (Nanami Sakuraba) to participate in the 90th birthday of her great-grandmother Sakae Jinnouchi (Sumiko Fuji). After traveling to Sakae's estate in Ueda, Natsuki introduces Kenji as her fiancé to Sakae, surprising them both. Kenji meets several of Natsuki's relatives and discovers that the Jinnouchis are descendants of a samurai (vassal of the Takeda clan) who challenged the Tokugawa clan in 1615. He also meets Wabisuke Jinnouchi (Ayumu Saitō), Natsuki's half-great-uncle and a computer expert who has been living in the United States since stealing the family fortune 10 years ago. Kenji receives an e-mail with a mathematical code and cracks it. Love Machine, an artificial intelligence written by Wabisuke, uses Kenji's account and avatar to hack the infrastructure, causing widespread damage. Kenji, Sakuma, and Natsuki's cousin Kazuma Ikezawa (Mitsuki Tanimura) confront Love Machine. Love Machine defeats Kazuma's avatar King Kazma and continues to consume accounts in the OZ mainframe, creating catastrophic traffic congestion and disabling electrical devices. Two of Sakae's relatives, Rika (Sakiko Tamagawa) and Shota Jinnouchi (Yutaka Shimizu), discover Kenji's involvement. Shota arrests Kenji, but the congestion causes Natsuki to return them to the estate. Sakae calls associates in important positions in Japanese society and relatives who work in emergency services, encouraging them to work their hardest to reduce chaos and damage, comparing the situation to war. Kenji is able to return control of the mainframe to the moderators and engineers. Wabisuke explains that he sold the program to the United States Armed Forces for a test run. After an argument with Sakae, Wabisuke leaves the estate. Sakae later encourages Kenji to take care of Natsuki during a Koi-Koi match. The next morning, Sakae is discovered dead by Kenji and the Jinnouchis. Her youngest son Mansaku (Tadashi Nakamura) explains that she had angina, and that Love Machine had deactivated her heart monitor. Kenji, Sakuma, and most of the Jinnouchis initiate a plan to defeat Love Machine with a supercomputer using ice blocks as a coolant, while Natsuki and the others prepare a funeral for Sakae. Kenji, along with Sakuma and the others, capture Love Machine, but Shota carries the ice blocks to Sakae's body, causing the supercomputer to overheat. Love Machine consumes King Kazma and redirects the Arawashi Asteroid Probe onto a collision course with a nuclear power plant. Meanwhile, Natsuki discovers a will left by Sakae and reunites with Kenji and the rest of the group. Natsuki has Wabisuke return home before the family reads Sakae's will, asking them to bring Wabisuke back to their lives. Realizing that Love Machine sees everything as a game, Kenji has the Jinnouchis confront Love Machine to play Koi-Koi in OZ's casino world, wagering their accounts in a desperate attempt to stop Love Machine. Natsuki wins several rounds, but gets distracted and nearly loses her "winnings". However, OZ users worldwide enter their own accounts into the wager on Natsuki's side, which also prompts the guardian programs of OZ—the blue and red whales known as John and Yoko—to upgrade Natsuki's account. Natsuki wagers the 150 million avatars given to her in a single hand and critically damages Love Machine, prompting the artificial intelligence to redirect the Arawashi towards Sakae's estate. Kenji attempts to break into the probe's GPS, while Wabisuke disables Love Machine's defenses. After being revived and assisted by several of the Jinnouchi family's avatars, King Kazma destroys Love Machine. Kenji activates the GPS code to redirect the Arawashi away from the estate, destroying the estate's entrance and causing a geyser to erupt. In the aftermath, the Jinnouchi family, celebrating their victory as well as Sakae's birthday, has Natsuki kiss Kenji after they confess their love to each other.

satire

train

wikipedia

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Still Alice

Its Alice's (Julianne Moore) 50th birthday party at a fancy restaurant. She is there with her husband (Alec Baldwin) and children. Her daughter Lydia is unable to come due to an audition.Alice is waiting to be introduced at UCLA as a guest speaker in a Linguistics class. She is world renowned in her field. She starts her talk on how babies learn to speak and past tense irregular verbs. Suddenly, she forgets what she's saying and seems to just lose her train of thought.Later she's in the car playing words with friends. She goes to visit her daughter Lydia (Kristen Stewart) and they go out to eat. Lydia talks about her career as an actress and Alice tries to talk her out of it and back to going to college.Alice comes home to an empty house, (she lives in NYC) and decides to go for a jog. She suddenly stops and forgets where she is. She seems upset and tries to compose herself. After a few minutes she remembers where she is and heads home. Her husband is there and she's upset that he is helping fund their daughter's theater company.Alice goes to the doctor and tells him about her memory problems. He does some memory exercises and asks her about her parents. She does well except for one test. She thinks she has a brain tumor and he decides to do a precautionary MRI.Alice is at home preparing Christmas dinner and doing some practice memory exercises herself. As people arrive she forgets little things like the name of a kitchen utensil. Lydia and her siblings come home also all making small talk. During dinner Alice reintroduces herself to her son's girlfriend Jenny, confusing her, as they've already met.She goes back to the doctor who says her MRI is fine but he wants to do a PET scan to check for early onset Alzheimer's Disease due to her memory issues. Going on with their daily lives, Alice is very upset over the possibility of having the disease. She decides to tell her husband what's going on. He's in complete denial and she has a meltdown.They go to the neurologist together and he gives them the bad news. He wants to test her and her children for the gene. They tell the kids and they take the test. Her oldest daughter Anna (Kate Bosworth) is positive (meaning she will eventually develop the disease). She has been going for fertility treatments and is happy that at least they can test the embryos for the gene.Alice sits with her boss and they read reviews from her students who say bad things about her and the course. She tells her boss she has a medical issue and comes clean. She wants to stay as long as possible in the department.After a jog she, goes to Pink Berry for frozen yogurt by herself and when she gets home John is upset because she forgot about important dinner plans. He was worried about her.Alice goes to check out a nursing home for the elderly with Alzheimer's under the pretense of worrying about her parents. She writes a note to herself in her phone with basic questions such as what is the name of her oldest daughter, and then records herself talking to herself (to be watched later) telling herself to swallow a bottle of pills to commit suicide. In the cell phone note it says to watch that video when she can no longer answer the basic questions.She now has to wear a bracelet that says memory impaired. She is let go from Columbia and she and John go to their beach house. They laugh and reminisce about their lives together. Later, she practices answering the questions on her phone. She is becoming increasingly forgetful, asking John repeatedly about when he is going on a conference and when Lydia is coming. They are supposed to go running but she cant remember where the bathroom is and wets her pants. She cries as she no longer remembers where she is.John has to leave for a conference so Lydia comes to stay with her. Alice tells her a list of things she wants to see before she can't anymore, including Lydia going to college. She decides to read one of her plays that has to deal with AIDS it gives them something to talk about. While going through the plays though, she comes across Lydia's journal and reads it, resulting in a fight.Anna is pregnant with twins. She and Lydia get into a fight over Alice. Alice remembers that she fought with Lydia but doesn't know what it was about. Lydia apologizes to her for snapping, even though Alice doesn't know what shes talking about. They have a heart to heart about what Alice is going through.They go to her play the next night and after the show when they go backstage Alice doesn't recognize Lydia as her daughter. They go back to the doctor with concerns about the pace she is deteriorating. She can no longer remember what a highlighter is for example. She gives a speech about the disease to the Alzheimer's Association that her family is able to watch hoping for a cure.John is offered a position at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. She wants him to delay the job for a year but he can't take off a year for financial reasons. He also doesn't want to take off a year and be at home with her watching her deteriorate. She tries to answer the questions on her phone and can no longer spell the month October. She wakes up in the middle of the night and goes to the kitchen, and is frantically looking for her phone. She takes everything out of the drawers and John goes to her she's panicking because she doesn't have her phone which goes off every morning at 8 to ask her the questions.Anna goes to see her. Alice thinks she's her sister at first. John finds her phone - it was in the freezer with the ice cube trays. Alice thinks she was only looking for it the night before but it had been a whole month. She can't remember how to tie her shoes or what to do with toothpaste. John wakes her up in the morning to help her get dressed. They go to see Anna in the hospital as she just had the babies but her husband is afraid to let her hold them. Back at home they are all trying to figure out what to do. She has a carer now - Elena. Alice is skyping with Lydia and Elena isn't there that day, leaving her all alone. She opens up the video she recorded of herself and hears the instructions about swallowing the pills. By the time she gets to her bedroom however she already forgets what the instructions were so she has to go back downstairs and watch it again until the time comes where she actually needs to bring the computer with her. As soon as she goes to take the pills Elena arrives and she drops them all, forgetting what she was even doing in the first place.John and Alice go to Pink Berry. She can't remember what flavor she usually orders and doesn't recognize Columbia. Lydia has moved back home to NY to help take care of Alice while John leaves to take the job in Minnesota.In the final scene, Lydia reads Alice a story (or monologue from a play?) and as she reads it Alice flashes back to happy times. Lydia asks Alice if she knew what it was about. Alice cannot speak well anymore, and mumbles that it was about love. They hug and we are to presume that Alice continues to deteriorate.

thought-provoking

train

imdb

And while both Baldwin and Stewart have taken the occasional misstep in their respective pasts, both of them once again showed without a doubt their acting abilities and scope, a word linguistics professor Dr. Alice Howland used, albeit with great difficulties, to describe her daughter Lydia (played by Stewart) in one point of the film.And what a performance by Julianne Moore that was! The music is often intense and minimalistic, it feels like it is just an addition to the already rich environment the characters find themselves in and I would love to see at least a nomination at the Oscars for Eshkeri, although I highly doubt it.So, to wrap it up in a nutshell: Still Alice is a wonderful film, an intimate and fascinating study in the field of family drama, and one of the year's best. I definitely hope to see some awards buzz mainly around the cast - both Alec Baldwin and Kristen Stewart deserve it for their delicate and supportive portrayal of husband John and youngest daughter Lydia, respectively, who never gave up on Moore's Alice. And Julianne Moore - well, what can I say - her brutally sad and honest portrayal of Alice deserves to go down in the books of top-notch acting and she will reap the fruits of her work a long time from now (well, mostly, at the end of February, I hope).So it is a nine out of ten stars from me, only because I felt there could have been more screen time for the other children in the Howland family, and therefore the film could have been at least 10-15 minutes longer. But solely on Julianne Moore, Alec Baldwin and Kristen Stewart's impeccable acting, I say this film is among the very best in the subject and also among the best titles this year. If you have lived with the loneliness and the torture of watching someone you love lose his or her mind this movie may just give you the strength to go on.Julianne Moore's performance is particularly compassionate. Still Alice does just that.Taking an exceptionally verbal and smart person and giving her early onset Alzheimer's and watching how she deals with it and how she feels about it made this an exceptional film. So does the always-excellent Julianne Moore, who outdoes herself in an Oscar-worthy performance.The movie's full of highlights: the Skypeing between mom and daughter Kristin Stewart, the relatively healthy Julianne leaving a video for her much sicker self to discover; the question only one person asks: "How does it make you feel?" And extra credit for the double use of Lyle Lovett's "If I Had a Boat.". As an audience we sometimes tend to look away or find ways to ignore people with mental illness, and many films do so by focusing on the reaction of the rest of the family or on the loved ones as if the main character has lost his or her personality. It's not just about the struggle of Alice (Moore), it's also an in- depth and informative medical drama that not only breaks your heart, but provide valuable information and sensitivity to anyone who may know or will know someone in the future.The film tells the story of Alice, a brilliant professor that is diagnosed with early on-set Alzheimer's disease at the age of 50. Still Alice tells the story of a Columbia cognitive psychologist diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease played by Julianne Moore who in my opinion gave the best performance of her career.Kristen Stewart and Alec Baldwin also give very good performances and I think that Ms.Stewart successfully shed the "Twilight" vampire stereotype.Just like any disease, your fight is as strong as your support system. Not only Alice's but Julianne Moore's support system is strong as well with a supporting cast of Kristen Stewart, Alec Baldwin, Kate Bosworth and Hunter Parrish, and a score that never has the audience wondering about their emotions but has them focused on Alice's.An amazing movie I recommend it to everyone. Forgetting something has to be the most annoying and stressful thing that a person could have, but losing your memory by a disease and becoming coming pretty much brain dead is even worse and this movie plays it out very well, because the movie feels real and not fake like other movies that try to do that.The story is about a Linguistics professor in a loving marriage with three grown children starts to forget certain words. Still Alice has to be the most extraordinary film that I watched this year, in a way that the movie could had scenes where it would have dragged out or slowed down extremely, but that all was over shadowed by the amazing performance from a Oscar worthy Julianne Moore and the fantastic writing.Julianne Moore takes this role has a mother who slowly losing her memory by Alzheimer's disease, and Moore knocked it out of the park as she makes a beautifully crafted performance that just boosted up her career as a actress.The cast members like Kristen Stewart, Alec Baldwin and Kate Bosworth all did fantastic performance as well. The movie to me isn't like the best movie of the year or of all time, the movie falls into the great, not into the brilliant.Overall "Still Alice" has fantastic acting from Moore and from the other cast, great directing and writing. It also highlighted the special tragedy when someone who has built a career as a communicator falls prey to the affliction."Still Alice" should, by contrast, carry the label "Sanitized for your protection." Everyone involved is highly attractive, articulate, compassionate and virtually devoid of any flaws that would mark them as human.What's left is a sensitive and appealing performance by Moore as Alice's mind fades from early onset Alzheimer's; her character has just turned 50. Julianne Moore received deserved acclamation for her magnificent work, but the rest of the cast also brings perfect performances, highlighting Alec Baldwin and Kristen Stewart. "But this isn't fair." Lydia Howland (Kristen Stewart)Early-onset Alzheimer's is definitely not fair for anyone, especially 40-year old Dr. Alice Howland (Julianne Moore), noted linguist on the Columbia faculty. Okay, let me just say, Julianne Moore's performance is brilliant in the film; she captures the fear, sadness, helplessness and perseverance of an Alzheimer's patient with tact.Other than Moore's acting, 'Still Alice' felt quite bland and underwhelming to me. It's unquestionable that the subject matter, Alzheimer's, is a worthy topic, and accurately portrayed as far as it went.But as a 'best of 2014' movie it IS NOT.First a stereotypical Hollywood family, secondly a character (Alice) we really don't know very well until after her mental state starts to go awry, third a marriage we also don't know very well although Alec Baldwin does a decent job with the script he has. This and the curious lack of a plot and despite the sadness of the story itself, makes for a very tedious viewing experience, especially towards the end.It's ironic that a film dealing with Alzheimer's Disease should turn out so forgettable. I can't comment as to the veracity of the harrowing toll of Alzheimer's, although I do agree with others that this film feels sanitised, but the piece falls way short of the magnificent acting turn by Julianne Moore which props it up.It reminded me of Cake in this respect, in that a powerful turn of events which could speak for themselves is undermined by shoddy, obvious direction and some bad casting decisions. Now acting is what make Still Alice immensely watchable and Julianne Moore gives the performance of her life time.Still Alice tells story of an English professor whose life changes after she is diagnosed with Alzeimer's disease. Based on the novel by Lisa Genova, Richard Glatzner and Wash Westmoreland's Still Alice is the story of Alice Howland (Julianne Moore), a fifty-year-old Professor of Linguistics at Columbia University who has been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease. Whether it's early on when she's giving speeches or towards the end when she can't remember anything, Moore simply becomes this character and there's not a single frame where you feel as if you're not watching a real person struggling with the disease.The supporting cast is also quite memorable with Baldwin really standing out in the role of the husband. As a film about Alzheimer's Disease, it is a lot less interesting and involving than Sarah Polley's AWAY FROM HER (2006), which featured Julie Christie depicting the onslaught of the condition, and like Ms Moore gaining an Oscar nomination for her work.STILL ALICE, though well-meaning, is a lot more ponderous than Polley's movie. When Alice suddenly finds out she has early Alzheimer's disease, it greatly effects the whole family.It's undoubtedly a well made and heart-wrenching film; with impressively calculated directing and strong performances from all of it's cast (especially Moore, who drives the entire film). Championed by a truly memorable performance from one of the most beautiful, admirable & incredibly talented actresses of our time, Still Alice is a poignant, melancholic & heartbreaking tale that's neatly crafted & sensibly narrated but what truly makes it an emotionally resonant & visually engaging cinema is the fabulous lead show by the lovely Julianne Moore.Based on Lisa Genova's novel of the same name, Still Alice tells the story of Alice Howland; a happily married linguistic professor with three children, who finds out that she is suffering from an early onset Alzheimer's disease. The plot covers the struggle she & her family undergoes during the progression of the disease as she slowly begins forgetting words, locations & even her loved ones.Written & directed by Richard Glatzer & Wash Westmoreland, the film keeps it entire focus on Alice from start to finish & even though it sometimes carry the usual sentimental approach these stories usually rely on, the good thing here is that Still Alice isn't entirely dependent on it. The technical aspects are finely carried out & although there isn't anything special about them, there isn't anything to complain either.Coming to the performances, Still Alice features a commendable cast in Julianne Moore, Alec Baldwin, Kristen Stewart, Kate Bosworth & Hunter Parrish, and although the supporting work is reliable, Moore's performance here is so remarkable that she overshadows everything else that exists in the film. Baldwin brilliantly chips in as her husband while Stewart, Bosworth & Parrish stand in as her children & do a fine job in their given roles.On an overall scale, Still Alice tackles a sensitive subject with sensible compassion & presents Julianne Moore in sublime form. The camera work makes you believe that Moore is trapped in her own world and becomes more trapped as her disease progresses, the close ups and camera movement bring her affliction to life and you can really sympathize with her loss of memory.The film directed by Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland details a college professors (Juliane Moore) struggle with the early onset of Alzheimer's disease as she fights to maintain a life reliant upon her intelligence and intellect. The speed with which she loses the memories she holds dearest have a profound affect upon her husband (Alec Baldwin) two daughters (Kate Bosworth & Kristen Stewart) and son (Hunter Parrish), as they struggle to come to terms with Moore's Illness.This is unfortunately the only thing impressive about this film, the other characters seem to be ignored in a way which is puzzling. The test of realism in a movie like this — the thing that would separate it from a conventional, made-for-television disease melodrama — is whether you can imagine lives for the secondary characters when they aren't on screen." Whether the secondary characters are undeveloped or not, it's Julianne Moore's superlative performance that carries the film. At one point in Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland's "Still Alice," our titular character, played by Julianne Moore, actually states "I'd rather have cancer," echoing what I have long told my friends when we discuss certain diseases. However, with all the films concerning cancer, cancer treatment, and the effects the illness has on people and families, remarkably few films have put Alzheimer's under a magnifying glass and showed the agony that entails with its diagnosis and eventual progression.Thankfully, the writing and directing team of Glatzer and Westmoreland are up to the challenge, and they are grateful to have Moore under their belt as somebody who can bring life to such a disease. This movie is about a renowned linguistics professor and her struggle to cope with early-onset Alzheimer's disease, but not just what she had to cope with but also the effect on her family, very powerful and moving.I Have Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis and I could relate to most of what Alice was going through, very well acted by Julianne Moore. It's one thing to see Alice struggling on her own, but a whole new kind of heartbreak to see it affect husband John (Alec Baldwin) as well as her three grown children (played by Kate Bosworth, Hunter Parrish, and Kristen Stewart). Saw 'Still Alice' to see how Julianne Moore's universally praised performance would fare and also to see how the film would do portraying an illness as cruel as Alzheimers. Still Alice follows Alice(Moore) and her family(Stewart,Baldwin) as they deal with her early onset Alzheimer's disease. With a truly memorable performance by one of the most beautiful, wonderful and incredibly, most talented actresses of all time, Still Alice is a melancholy and touching tale which is perfectly well executed and realistic.Based on the novel by the same name written by Lisa Genova, Still Alice tells the story of Alice Howland; a professor of languages, married with three children, who discovers she is suffering from a disease that seems to be Alzheimer and later is confirmed that it is.The plot deals with the struggle that she and her family suffered during the progression of the disease, as she slowly begins to forget words, locations and even their loved ones.Written and directed by Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland, the film maintains full focus on Alice from start to finish despite using an usual sentimental approach in these stories.Still Alice features an interesting cast with Julianne Moore, Alec Baldwin, Kristen Stewart, Kate Bosworth and Hunter Parrish, and although the support work is good, Moore's performance here is so remarkable that it overshadows everything else in the Movie although Baldwin has played her husband brilliantly, while Stewart, Bosworth & Parrish play the role of their children and end up doing a good job.As a final note, Still Alice deals with a sensitive subject with compassion and sensible and features Julianne Moore in a sublime way.It's an amazing performance, in every scene she enters viewers brains and we feel her pain.I did not expect it to end on a happy ending, the ending is predictable but it very realistic, please let Julliane finally win the Oscar, being robbed 4 times is too much. What makes it different from other films about dementia, such as "Iris" (2001) and "Away From Her" (2006), is that, whereas the earlier works looked at the illness in old age, the eponymous Alice Howland is just 50 when she is diagnosed with early onset familial Alzheimer's Disease. The situation is particularly tragic both because Alice is a professor of linguistics and each of her three children has a 50/50 chance of becoming a victim.There is no way that such a movie is going to have a happy ending, but it is compelling watching because of an excellent script and a terrific performance by Julianne Moore in the title role. I think Julianne Moore and Kristen Stewart needed more scenes together, that's my only real problem with this movie, it's ninety minutes long but it easily could have gone on for another twenty to develop these two characters relationship, it ends with the two of them together but I would have liked to have seen this continue some more, Stewart had great potential in this role but she was sadly underused, and the credits came up too soon. This kind of film couldn't have possibly worked unless every actor gave one hundred percent, and thankfully everyone did, Julianne Moore delivers a breathtaking performance that got her the Academy Award she always deserved, and she has a great cast to support her, with some very powerful scenes with Alec Baldwin and Kristen Stewart that add an extra layer to Alice that was very necessary. The film stars Julianne Moore as Alice Howland, a linguistics professor at Columbia diagnosed with familial Alzheimer's disease. Alec Baldwin plays her husband, John, and Kristen Stewart, Kate Bosworth, and Hunter Parrish play her children, Lydia, Anna and Tom.Dr. Alice Howland (Julianne Moore) is a renowned linguistics professor at Columbia University. Proving once again why she is one of our greatest living actresses, Julianne Moore earned a richly deserved Best Actress Oscar for her work in "Still Alice," a poignant tale of a 50-year-old linguistics professor who is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's. But it seems to me an essential movie, one that opens pathways to understanding while at the same time engaging us in a very human drama on an issue so many of us will one day have to deal with, either as a victim or the loved one of a victim.Incidentally, "Still Alice" makes a fine companion-piece to the equally impressive "Away From Her," a 2007 film on the same topic with Julie Christie a match for Moore as the Alzheimer's-afflicted main character. As depressing as it is to sit through a full movie with conditions like that, the film manages to be pretty inspiring as well, while also being extremely well acted.We know right off the bat that the heart of the story lies with Alice's relationship with one of her daughters, Lydia, played by Kristen Stewart.

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Get Shorty

Chilli Palmer (John Travolta) is a loan shark living in Miami, Florida. When his New York based boss dies of a heart attack, Palmer finds himself working for Ray 'Bones' Barboni (Dennis Farina) an old rival who hates, Palmer. Bones is upset with Palmer for not collecting a loan from dry cleaner Leo Devoe (David Paymer) who was recently killed in an airliner crash. Bones directs Palmer to get the money from Devoe's widow (Linda Hart).Visiting the widow, Palmer realizes that Devoe is not actually dead, but got off the plane at the last minute and has used the accident to fake his death to get out of the loan and, through his wife, collect a $300,000 life insurance settlement from the airline. Devoe has taken the money out of the state, but never sent for his wife. Angry, she lets Palmer know that he is in Las Vegas.Palmer travels to Vegas and meets with a casino chief who tells him that Devoe has managed to gamble his winnings up to $500,000 and has moved on to Los Angeles. The casino chief asks Palmer while he is in L.A. if he can visit low budget movie producer Harry Zimm (Gene Hackman) and remind Zimm that he owes the casino $150,000 for gambling debts.Palmer arrives in Los Angeles and traces Zimm to the house of his sometimes girlfriend, sometimes star, Karen Flores (Rene Russo). Late at night when Flores hears the TV playing downstairs she sends Zimm down to turn it off and he finds Palmer watching Letterman. Palmer delivers his reminder to Zimm about the casino debt and Zimm promises to pay. Palmer is a big film fan and engages Zimm in a conversation about his work eventually pitching him a story for a potential new film... which is a fictionalized version of his hunt for Devoe. Flores comes downstairs to find them talking over drinks and, less than happy with both, and throws them out.Action switches to the airport where gangster Bo Catlett (Delroy Lindo) is meeting a representative of a Columbian cartel, Yayo Portillo (Jacob Vargas) to buy a shipment of drugs. Catlett takes the drugs and gives Portillo the key to an airport locker where the $500,000 in cash is stowed. Portillo, suspecting a set up and that the locker is being watched by the Federal agents, does not go to the locker, but shows up at Catlett's mountainside house. Catlett shoots him and his body falls over the balcony down the mountainside. Catlett sends his bodyguard, Bear (James Gandolfini) a sometimes stunt man, to retrieve the key and hide the body.Meanwhile, Zimm tells Palmer about a movie he wants to produce, "Mr Lovejoy," which has what he thinks is an Oscar winning script. He can't produce it, however, because Catlett has already lent Zimm $150,000 to do a film called "Circus Freaks." Zimm can't return the money because he lost it at Vegas in attempt to gamble it up to $500,000, the amount he needs to buy the Lovejoy script from the late writer's wife Doris Saphron (Bette Midler). Palmer tells Zimm to let him handle the next meeting with Catlett and he will get Circus Freaks put off for a few months. Palmer will get the money from Devoe to finance Mr. Lovejoy.Zimm gets nervous in the meeting with Catlett and Catlett's tough subordinate Ronnie Wingate (Jon Gries). Zimm screws it up so that Catlett finds out about the valuable script and wants a piece of the production. He even offers to give Zimm $500,000 for the picture and suggests he send Palmer to get it from a locker at the airport.Palmer goes to the airport and senses a setup. He tests what is going on by seeming to open the locker with the money when actually he opens the locker next to it. He is grabbed by federal agents, but then released when they realize that they have made a mistake. Afterward, Bear confronts Palmer in the parking lot to get the key back, but is outmatched by Palmer who levels him with a few blows. As Bear recovers Palmer asks him about his stunt work and flatters him by knowing about the movies hes been in. Palmer mentions that he thinks Bear can do a lot better than working for Catlett.The key to making Mr. Lovejoy a success is to get star Martin Weir (Danny DeVito) to sign on. Flores is Weir's ex-wife and still has a good relationship with him. Flores starts to become romantically involved with Palmer and helps him get access to Weir. As it turns out Weir's current girlfriend is Rock star Nicki (Renee Props) an old friend of Palmer's from Miami. Soon Palmer, who is familiar with Weir's work and flatters him, manages to talk him into signing on for the picture. Palmer also interests Weir in playing the fictional version of himself in the story he is developing.Palmer tracks down Devoe and takes $310,000 of the $500,000 leaving him with just his Vegas winnings. Devoe complains, but Palmer tells him if Bones had found him instead Bones would have taken all the money and killed him.Meanwhile, Bones has learned of the money Devoe has scammed from the airline. He comes to LA when Zimm foolishly contacts him and tries to get him to invest in his film. A meeting between the two doesn't go well and it ends up with Bones brutally beating Zimm up so that he has to go the hospital in a cast and head brace. At the same meeting Wingate appears and is shot by Bones, who then makes it look like Zimm killed Wingate in self defense.The fact that Yayo has disappeared along with $500,000 has brought Colombia drug lord Mr. Escobar (Miguel Sandoval) to L.A. with two goons. Though Catlett denies knowing what happened to Yayo or the money, it is clear that Escobar holds Catlett responsible giving him just a couple of days to find both of them or there will be fatal consequences. Desperate, Catlett confronts Palmer to get Devoe's money, kidnapping Flores and taking her to his house until the cash is delivered.Palmer arrives at the house to rescue Flores. Catlett plans to take the money and kill them both, but with Bear's help (Bear has secretly switched sides), Palmer turns the tables on Catlett and sends him flying over the balcony to his death. Something Catlett had planned for Palmer.Bones finally catches up with Palmer and demands Devoe's money. Finding the airport locker key in Palmer's coat, Bones assumes that Palmer has hid the money at the airport. When Bones goes to the airport and opens the locker we see the federal agents close around him.........The scene suddenly switches to an airport set at a movie studio. A voice addresses Bones and when he turns around we see that the character is now portrayed by Harvey Keitel. Threatening him is Weir playing the fictional version of Palmer. Weir screws up the shot and as the movie company breaks for lunch we see that Penny Marshall is the director and Bear a technical consultant with Zimm producing and Palmer and Flores as executive producers. There is a long helicopter pull out shot from the studio and the credits roll.

comedy, neo noir, murder, cult, violence, satire, revenge, entertaining

train

imdb

tt2719848

Everest

The opening text reads that Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were the first two people to successfully climb Mount Everest. Since then, only hundreds of professionals have attempted to do the same, with one in four dying.Set in the year 1996, Rob Hall (Jason Clarke) gathered his team, Adventure Consultants, to go ahead and climb Everest themselves. Rob meets with his team, including experienced climber Beck Weathers (Josh Brolin), Doug Hansen (John Hawkes), Yasuko Namba (Naoko Mori), and co-guide Andy "Harold" Harris (Martin Henderson). Together, they plan to embark on what they hope will be a successful and adventurous expedition.Six weeks before the initial climb, Rob and his team are in New Zealand ready to depart from the airport. He's with the manager of the base camp, Helen Wilton (Emily Watson), and his friend/co-worker Guy Cotter (Sam Worthington). Rob informs his friends that he booked journalist Jon Krakauer (Michael Kelly) to do an article on them, which he was going to do for another expedition team, Mountain Madness. Rob later explains to his team the dangerous altitudes and temperatures of the Death Zone on Everest, which they hope to get past quick enough before things get really dodgy.Before boarding the plane, Rob says goodbye to his pregnant wife Jan (Keira Knightley). Rob promises to return home for the birth. Jan later sends him a message to let him know that they'll be having a girl.The expeditions make it to the bottom of the mountain before heading on up toward the base camp. There, Rob runs into Scott Fischer (Jake Gyllenhaal), the leader of Mountain Madness. He's a bit peeved at Rob for getting Jon to move to their expedition, but is still on fine terms. Later, Rob introduces the team to the camp's doctor Caroline McKenzie (Elizabeth Debicki). She and Rob remind the climbers of the lack of oxygen at the top of Everest, as well as the dangers of hypothermia and hypoxia. We see clips of climbers succumbing to the cold and dying.Beck calls his wife Peach (Robin Wright) from the base camp after he forgot to send her a message for their anniversary. She doesn't like him climbing mountains and has stated that she'd divorce him if he ever climbed another mountain. He didn't listen.Adventure Consultants and other expeditions move from Base Camp to Camp II. They walk across a fixed ladder acting as a bridge bridge hanging over a crevasse. Huge ice chunks break off and slide down under the weight of all the climbers, causing the ladder to shake, making Beck nearly fall over. He hangs on for dear life and is guided by Rob the rest of the way over.Facing some concerns, Rob suggests to Scott that they join their expeditions together to get the to the top safely, and to ascend at a later date. Scott is hesitant, saying that he and Rob have different styles, but he ultimately agrees to the union. The two meet with their teams later to state that they plan on having eight oxygen tanks at the top. Scott's guide, Anatoli Boukreev (Ingvar Eggert Sigurosson), says he won't use oxygen. Rob urges the rest of his team to use oxygen.The AC team gathers in a tent at night to discuss why they're climbing. Doug says that he wants to prove that an ordinary person can do the impossible. Yasuko wants to be the oldest woman to climb Everest.The teams encounter problems on their summit, such as several climbers beginning to fall ill (like Doug and Scott), Beck having trouble seeing due to a surgery he had a year before, and no fixed ropes over the south summit, forcing some climbers to turn back. Beck stays behind on the southeast ridge. Guy, who is scaling the mountain next to Everest, observes Rob and company from his POV and contacts them to make sure they're okay.Finally, some of the climbers start to make it to the very top and mark their spots on Everest. Anatoli is the first to touch the top, and Yasuko puts a Japanese flag on there. Rob contacts Helen back at base camp to inform her and the team that they made it to the top. She and the rest of the camp cheer the team on.Doug is still climbing, despite his health rapidly deteriorating and his oxygen levels dropping. Rob runs into him on the way down and he insists to Doug that it's over and that he gave it a good run, but Doug is not yet satisfied and decides he wants to keep climbing. Moved by his determination, Rob guides Doug to the top.A huge blizzard starts moving toward Everest, spelling trouble for the descending climbers. Rob and Doug get hit as the storm hits the mountain, forcing them to take cover. As they get lower, Rob notices there aren't any oxygen tanks where he requested, so he radios Helen to send some up. He and Doug keep walking as the winds intensify. Doug, barely conscious, unbuckles himself from Rob's guide rope. His dizziness, combined with the heavy wind, causes him to fall over the edge to his death.Beck's vision worsens, while Scott starts suffering from hypothermia, forcing them to stay behind from their respective groups. The other climbers go get help, leaving Beck behind with Yasuko. Andy goes up to Rob, wherein Rob tells Andy that Doug is gone. Rob and Andy wait on the side of the mountain until it's safe to keep going. Unfortunately, Andy begins to feel the hypoxia, making him believe he's overheating, and he removes his clothes, leading to his death.Helen, sitting in the tent with Caroline and Guy (who has come to join the camp), radios Rob and urges him to keep moving downward. He tells her that his hands and feet are frozen, and also that Doug and Andy are dead, bringing everyone in the tent to tears. Helen calls Jan and gets her to talk to Rob by putting the phone next to the walkie-talkie. Jan encourages her husband to get down safe, reminding him that he has to return for the birth of their baby.Rob is told by Helen that the people meant to bring him the oxygen tanks aren't coming because of the terrible conditions. He tries to keep moving on his own, but even he knows he can't make it in his condition. He falls over and calls Helen again. She calls Jan again so that she can speak to him one last time. He tells her he is comfortable, and asks how Sarah (the baby) is doing. Jan tearfully agrees to call her Sarah. Rob's last words to her are "Sleep well, my sweetheart. Please don't worry too much."Rob passes away under the snow and ice. Scott succumbs to the cold and lies in the snow to die. Yasuko has also died next to Beck's side. Helen calls Peach to tell her that Beck never returned to camp, which she must in turn tell her kids.Beck, however, despite being frostbitten, partially blind, and almost totally frozen, starts to get up and slowly head on back to camp. Jon spots him and radios Helen to let her know that Beck is alive. She in turn calls Peach to tell her the news. Together, they get a helicopter to fly up and bring Beck back. The helicopter is almost brought down by the winds and extra weight, but they succeed in bringing him down where he gets heated up.Helen and the other climbers return home. They are seen meeting Jan at the airport and tearfully hugging her. Beck also returns home and hugs Peach.The last shot is of Rob's body, frozen and almost completely covered in snow. The final text states that Rob's body is still up on Everest alongside the others that perished. We see photos of the real Rob Hall, Doug Hansen, Andy Harris, Yasuko Namba, and Scott Fischer. Beck Weathers lost his nose and both hands due to frostbite. Jan Arnold gave birth to a girl, whom she named Sarah. We then see a brief video clip of the real Sarah Arnold-Hall.

tragedy, suspenseful

train

imdb

The film makers have been intelligent enough to realise that climbing Everest does not need any exaggeration, the characters involved were three dimensional people, and the story was interesting enough not to need embellishment.I expected an action film but left pleasantly surprised by a biopic with a light touch.The one mark deduction is for the totally unnecessary 3D. The story en-capsules the 1996 expedition to Everest by a team of 13 mountaineers who face a devastating snow storm after ascending the Everest, which is considered one of the deadliest disasters in Everest.The film is superb in terms of visuals. As the film tells us early on, by the late 1980s, climbing Everest had transitioned from the domain of adventurers like George Mallory and Edmund Hillary with minimal equipment to a tourist destination for thrill-seekers with little climbing experience, but enough money to buy state-of-the-art equipment, stay in established base camps, and hire local Sherpas as guides and, in some cases, to carry the climber's gear and cook meals. Rival expedition leaders Rob Hall (Jason Clarke), of the company Adventure Consultants, and Scott Fischer (Jake Gyllenhaal), of Mountain Madness, decide to work together due to the large number of people trying to reach the peak on May 10th. Besides learning about the personal backgrounds of the characters, we follow them on their entire adventure, from beginning to end, learning a good bit about mountain climbing along the way. Like other movies about mountain climbing, this one fails to give a satisfactory reason for why these people risk their lives for little more than a great view and bragging rights, but it's clear that there are a variety of justifications within the group. And that is evident on screen, it really shows, because every single frame successfully makes us the audience feel like we're there, we feel the danger, as if we're there climbing the mountain, feeling the pain that comes with excruciating cold because human bodies aren't design to survive such temperature. This is not a heist thriller ala 1993's "Cliffhanger," this is an epic survival drama.Many of us are familiar with Jon Krakauer's book, "Into Thin Air" since he himself was one of the climbers, but this movie is not an adaptation, because it's also loosely inspired by other accounts, other books about that same expedition, so in a way, what the scribes William Nicholson and also Simon Beauty and filmmaker Baltasar gave us is a reimagining but one that captures the essence and I think that's what the actors themselves aimed to do. Josh Brolin, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Jason Clarke, all of them play these real characters that have families, some may have personal issues, and so the backstory or who's waiting for them on the other side of the world serve as an emotional anchor and a driving force. nature, this ordeal at hand, all over again, just like one of the characters says in the movie, "The last word belongs to the mountain." EVEREST movie does make me wonder why anyone would want to climb mount everest, but it's basically the same as asking ourselves why we do certain things, why we choose to attempt to conquer certain goals, whatever they may be, whether it's the need to inspire and be inspired, whether it's trying to escape our problems, whether it's the love of the climb, EVEREST goes to show that that desire could be both prideful and humbling.. Having just this week returned from climbing all 19,341 feet of Kilimanjaro, I find myself intimately capable of reviewing "Everest", the new thriller from Icelandic director Baltamar Kormákur.Based on a true story from 1996, Jason Clarke and Jake Gyllenhaal play Rob Hall and Scott Fischer respectively, rival organisers of commercial climbing ventures whose businesses involve training well-paying clients at Everest Base Camp and then taking them to the summit to experience the 'ultimate high'. To add dramatic tension to the situation, Rob Hall's wife (Keira Knightley) is heavily pregnant with their first daughter.In an extremely hostile environment, as a storm passes through, the film neatly characterises how a single impetuous decision can have devastating consequences.The action scenes in the film are well-executed with a number of vertiguous shots and heart-in-the-mouth moments, neatly escalated by Dario Marianelli's effective score. Whilst the "top of Everest" was in reality a set in the Pinewood 007 stage, you'll well believe a man can freeze there.As such, this is a decent and entertaining telling of a true-life tragedy that will definitely work better on the big screen than the small.(If you found this review useful please see the graphical version at bob-the-movie-man.com and enter your email address to receive future reviews. Based on the Incredible True Story set in The Most Dangerous Place On Earth, the highest point on Earth, Himalaya Mountains , as some climbers tackle the climbing the world's first largest mountain, Everest . All of them set out to scale a famous and risked mountain to ascend Mount Everest only to come face to face with a relentless fight for survival when they start their final ascent since the peak and descend to the base campament and challenging the harshest conditions and imaginable odds . Do not expect this movie to blow you away with a story about people and their attempt to conquer Mount Everest, it settles for being a half-baked disaster movie that spends a lot of time building itself up only to sabotage its own potential with poor development of the cast.. Based on real life events in 1996, this dramatic thriller tells the story of Kiwi mountain-climber Rob Hall (Jason Clarke) as he leads a group of mountaineering enthusiasts on an expedition to the peak of Mt. Everest. The hype surrounding this movie made we want to go see a fantastic action drama with awesome camera work.I didn't get any of it.Characters were shallow and the chance to show us a 3D spectacle were hopelessley missed.I felt I didn't care about the rich people wanting to do something real and felt as if there wasn't enough in the story about the local people or way of life.Not so much a disaster movie as a disaster.So much potential wasted .. And i say that with the greatest respect for some of the cast who do what they can with the script.Its biggest failing is that its over a decade too late, the story is well known (well the real true story, not this Hollywood abomination - when has a true story survived the bs filter that Hollywood slaps on any of them), and has been covered in documentaries, newspaper articles etc.Its about as timely as Hollywood coming up with Battle Of Britain....years too late Can we like move the movie industry away form the hackville that is Hollywood, no ones had am original thought there in at least a decade...M Night Shamalan was the last person widely regarded as having an original idea (or pretty close to it), and even he couldn't maintain it for another film. It never did.The buildup surrounding this movie had me expecting to see a thrilling action drama with uncanny effects, and I was badly let down.The film badly failed to deliver.The characters were given no backstory and we couldn't care less about any of them.The effects were OK, but did not provide any real excitement.It's a story about a group of wealthy narcissists who put their own thrill-seeking above the needs of their families.Do yourself a favor and see The Martian instead.. However, there are quite a few good reasons to see this robust dramatization of a 1996 assault on the world's tallest mountain that went disastrously wrong, beginning with the eye-popping, you- are-there visual techniques that make you feel glad indeed that you're not actually up there at 29,029 feet, but also including multiple characters sufficiently humanized to create real concern for their fates, and an attention to realistic detail that gives the film texture. Telling the same story as, but not officially based on, Jon Krakauer 's best-selling book Into Thin Air (perhaps because it was already officially adapted for a 1997 TV movie, Into Thin Air: Death on Everest ), the film hinges on the freakish conditions that led to the deaths of eight climbers on May 10, 1996. Everest is an unrelenting real-life disaster movie that strands you near the top of the world's tallest mountain and dares you to imagine what it must be like to be part of an expedition to the top going horribly, horribly wrong. He's emblematic of the mid-1990s globetrotting outsider culture, which still saw Starbucks as cool and led to an explosion of commercial outfits operating on a crowded Everest.When we're not squirming at the sight of deathly drops or feeling whipped by the weather, we're plunged into the emotional distress of those left behind: wives played by Robin Wright and Keira Knightley, and base camp coordinator Emily Watson, who's manning a satellite phone halfway down the mountain. Reviewed by: Dare Devil Kid (DDK)Rating: 3/5 stars"Everest" boasts all the dizzying cinematography a person could hope to get from a movie about mountain climbers in today's times, even if it's content to tread a less challenging narrative terrain. Sadly, the scenes of peril and danger don't have the breathtaking, gut- wrenching wallop you'd expect from a movie about people pitting themselves against the highest peak on the planet, even if the visuals do well in establishing where the many climbers were on the mountain on that fateful day, and the very real, mortal dangers that lurk beneath the beauty of this place.What's really remarkable and effective about "Everest" is that, on a visual level, it's thoroughly convincing. We're therefore left with a paradoxically claustrophobic experience in which we can neither appreciate the scenery and magnitude of Mount Everest, nor become invested enough in the film's characters to really care (which is uncomfortable, given that it's based on a true story!). Led by the strong performances of Jason Clarke, Jake, Gyllenhaal, Josh Brolin, Sam Worthington, and Keira Knightley, Everest is one of the most impressive looking and acted films all year.The film starts out slow and I think for awhile didn't really know how to structure the story. The movie starts out on unsure footing with storytelling as uneven as the giant mountain's slopes but by the end it had my eyes frozen on the screen.The "true story" on which the film is based is filed on Wikipedia under "1996 Mount Everest disaster." It concerns organized bands of hikers attempting to scale Mount Everest with an emphasis on "attempting." The story was chronicled in a 1998 IMAX documentary and has now been resurrected in this $65-million-dollar dramatic film directed by Baltasar Kormákur who was born, appropriately enough, in Iceland. After seeing Everest, you might find that the best reason not to climb the mountain is because it's there.*I viewed the movie in an IMAX 3D preview screening shown in the U.S. on September 2nd, 2015.. EverestTo capitalize off of inexperienced climbers, Nepal should really open a funeral parlor on the side of Everest.Case in point, the imperiled alpinists in this fact based thriller.When competing commercial climbing companies descend on the legendary summit in the spring of 1996, team leaders Rob Hall (Jason Clarke), Scott Fischer (Jake Gyllenhaal) and their cliental (Josh Brolin, Sam Worthington, John Hawkes) are not prepared for the storm that strands them on the slope, sans oxygen.Meanwhile, the wives of the marooned mountaineers (Robin Wright, Keira Knightley) await word of their rescue, expecting the worst.While it's hard to empathize with the willing participants and their death wishes, you can't help but feel for their families, or deny the white-knuckle action or edge-of-your-seat excitement emanating from this ill-fated expedition.On the bright side, at least the Yeti population now has a surplus of frozen meals for the week. After a snow storm hits Mount Everest, it strands a group of people on top of the mountain and the people down at the base camps have to rescue them before it's too late.I could see this movie claiming Oscar gold in 2016. This another on of those movies with big trailers, making you think you will have almost full action packed movie.Since this is the movie based on a true story and they are climbing the Everest the are no spoilers here...To start of, I only gave the movie 3 stars, because its beautiful, landscapes gorgeous so that part is OK. The film definitely has its flaws on storytelling, it lingers for a long time where nothing really happens and everything appears too safe, it jumps around to different characters too often, it wanted to give each of them as much depth as possible, but because there is so many, we are left with having no character that feels fully developed, it dosen't really have a lead role, which is something I feel every movie should have, this leaves it feeling like it's not using its full potential. This film tells the story of a group of mountaineers who attempts to climb to the summit of the mighty Mount Everest. i was actually really looking forward to this movie, the premise seemed good, and the cast of actors seemed like a sure hit on paper, the finished product isn't so great which can be blamed on the films rating (pg) being constructing for what they could of done with it while the cinematography is breathtaking, and the actors mostly on point, what we get is a slow moving film, that really feels more a glorified reenactment of the what happens, then a Hollywood film. Based on a true story and events from an expedition in 1996 that ended in disaster, Everest is a film due to the sheer size and scale of the subject that demands to be seen on the big screen. "Human beings simply aren't built to function at the cruising altitudes of a seven- forty-seven."Based on the true events that took place in Mount Everest on May 1996 during a climbing expedition to reach the summit of the mountain, this disaster movie directed by Baltasar Kormakur stands out for its fantastic and impressive visuals. Including so many characters and trying to remain true as possible to the real life events may have hurt the narrative arc of the film, but the scenery more than makes up for it.By 1996 the climbing expeditions to reach the peak of Mount Everest had become a sought out tourist attraction. The memory of the movie is still fresh in my mind, and coming out of theater was like coming out of an extravagant expedition of the highest mountain in the world, Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest).The first thing that impressed me was the photography or cinematography. Like everyone else, I had waited many months for this film to come out and I was not disappointed when I got my chance to watch it this afternoon with my wife and four year old Son. Yes, I took him along too and he loved the helicopter scene towards the end but the sound effects were a little bit too loud and overpowering at times (for him at least).I am hugely interested in the story of Everest ascent from an educational and scientific standpoint. It seems unjust to criticise for the role she played.I also got confused with many of the characters as the guys all had bushy beards, were of course heavily clothed and it was not easy to know who was who.They tried to address in group discussion as to why people like these mountaineers are motivated to climb Everest and I think this was very relevant indeed.No doubt all the filming was done prior to the Nepal earthquake in April 2015. Often regarded as one of the most dangerous places on the planet, Everest takes no prisoners; a fact we are made well aware of before the film even gets going.When a severe snow storm hits the mountain while Hall and his party are on their way down from the summit, they face a monumental challenge to stay alive. The mountain is brought to life in the film as one of the most beautiful and scary places on Earth.As expected nowadays, the special effects are flawless and on an IMAX screen, Everest looks stunning. They avoid turning Everest into your usual cheesy disaster movie which may be down to the fact that this is based on a true story and there were fatalities.Each and every one of the cast delivers a good performance and no one lets the film down in any way. Everest is an overall good movie, based on a true story, with convincing acting, a good pace and some beautiful mountain shots. -Everest is a 2015 British-American biographical disaster survival drama film directed by Baltasar Kormákur and written by William Nicholson and Simon Beaufoy, starring an ensemble cast which features Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin, John Hawkes, Robin Wright, Michael Kelly, Sam Worthington, Keira Knightley, Emily Watson, and Jake Gyllenhaal. It is based on the real events of the 1996 Mount Everest disaster, and focuses on the survival attempts of two expedition groups, one led by Rob Hall (Jason Clarke) and the other by Scott Fischer (Jake Gyllenhaal). This film tells the true story of one such expedition in 1996 where the climbers ran into a disastrous storm with tragic results.EVEREST is a very grim, depressing and rather unpleasant movie that I really wish was better. EVEREST is based on true events, and follows main character Rob Hall (Jason Clarke), a guy who helps people out in climbing Mount Everest, the tallest point in the world. Along with this, the soundtrack was just as good, making it a real treat to watch at times.The movie has a big cast comprising great actors like Jake Gyllenhaal, Josh Brolin, Jason Clarke, Keira Knightly etc and all of them did a good job. The cast includes Jake Gyllenhaal, Robin Wright, Josh Brolin, Keira Knightly, Sam Worthington, Emily Watson, Martin Henderson and Jason Clarke in a central performance as a tour guide who takes groups of climbers up Everest.

tt0077416

The Deer Hunter

=== Act I === In Clairton, a small working class town in western Pennsylvania, in late 1967, Russian-American steel workers Michael "Mike" Vronsky (Robert De Niro), Steven Pushkov (John Savage), and Nikanor "Nick" Chevotarevich (Christopher Walken), with the support of their friends and co-workers Stan (John Cazale) and Peter "Axel" Axelrod (Chuck Aspegren) and local bar owner and friend John Welsh (George Dzundza), prepare for two rites of passage: marriage and military service. The opening scenes set the traits of the three main characters. Mike is the no-nonsense, serious, but unassuming leader; Steven the loving, groom-to-be, pecked-at by his mother; and Nick the quiet, introspective man who loves deer hunting because, he likes "…the trees…the way the trees are". The recurring theme of hunting with "one shot", which is how Mike prefers to take down a deer, is introduced. Before the trio ships out, Steven and his girlfriend Angela (Rutanya Alda), who is pregnant by another man, but loved by Steven nonetheless, marry in a Russian Orthodox wedding. In the meantime, Mike works to control his feelings for Nick's girlfriend Linda (Meryl Streep). At the wedding reception held at the local VFW hall, the guys drink, dance, sing, and enjoy the festivities, but then notice a soldier in a U.S. Army Special Forces uniform. Mike attempts to ask what Vietnam is like, but the soldier ignores him. After Mike explains that he, Steven, and Nick are going to Vietnam, the Green Beret raises his glass and says "fuck it". After being restrained by the others from starting a fight, Mike goes back to the bar and, in a mocking jest to the soldier, raises his glass and toasts him with "fuck it". The soldier then glances over at Mike and grins. Later, Steven and Angela drink from conjoined goblets, a traditional part of the Orthodox wedding ceremony. It is believed that if they drink without spilling any wine, they will have good luck for life. Two drops of blood-red wine unknowingly spill on her wedding gown. After Linda catches the bride's bouquet, Nick asks her to marry him, and she agrees. Later that night, a drunken Mike runs through the town, stripping himself naked along the way. After Nick chases him down, he begs Mike not to leave him "over there" if anything happens in combat. The next day, Mike, Nick, Stan, John, and Axel go deer hunting one last time. Mike is exasperated by his friends, especially Stan, who drinks and clowns, showing little respect for the ritual of hunting, which to Mike is a nearly sacred experience. Only Nick understands Mike's attitude, but he is more indulgent toward his friends. Mike goes hunting afterwards and kills a deer with one, clean shot. Act one finishes with the friends arriving back at Welsh's bar, with Michael's deer strapped to the hood of the car. They enter rambunctiously, spraying beers over each other and singing loudly. Welsh then makes his way to a piano and begins playing methodically as the others sit quietly. They sit in silence, strewn all over the bar, as their friend plays Chopin's Nocturne No. 6 Op. 15-3, a peaceful, yet ominous melody. === Act II === The film then jumps abruptly to war-torn Vietnam, where U.S. helicopters attack a Communist-occupied village with napalm. A North Vietnamese soldier throws a stick grenade into a hiding place full of civilians. An unconscious Mike (now a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army Special Forces) wakes up to see the NVA soldier shoot a woman carrying a baby. Mike kills him with a flamethrower. Meanwhile, a unit of UH-1 "Huey" helicopters drops off several U.S. infantrymen, Nick and Steven among them. Mike, Steven, and Nick unexpectedly find each other just before they are captured and held together in a riverside prisoner of war camp with other U.S. Army and ARVN prisoners. For entertainment, the sadistic guards force their prisoners to play Russian roulette and gamble on the outcome. All three friends are forced to play. Steven plays against Mike, who offers moral support, but Steven breaks down and points the gun upwards whilst pulling the trigger, grazing himself with the bullet when it discharges. As punishment, the guards put him into an underwater cage full of rats and the bodies of others who earlier faced the same fate. Mike and Nick hatch a plan to escape by playing against each other, with Mike convincing the guards to let them play Russian roulette with three bullets in the gun. After a tense match, they kill their captors and escape. Mike earlier argued with Nick about whether or not Steven could be saved, but after killing their captors, he rescues Steven. The three float downriver on a tree branch. An American helicopter finds them, but only Nick is able to climb aboard. The weakened Steven falls back into the water, and Mike plunges in the water to rescue him. Mike helps Steven to reach the river bank, but Steven's legs are broken, so Mike carries him through the jungle to friendly lines. Approaching a caravan of locals escaping the war zone, Mike stops a South Vietnamese military truck and places the wounded Steven on it, asking the soldiers to take care of him. Nick, who is psychologically damaged, recuperates in a military hospital in Saigon with no knowledge on the status of his friends. After being released, he goes AWOL and aimlessly stumbles through the red-light district at night. At one point, he encounters Julien Grinda, a champagne-drinking, friendly Frenchman, outside a gambling den where men play Russian roulette for money. Grinda entices the reluctant Nick to participate and leads him into the den. Mike is present in the den, watching the game, but the two friends do not notice each other at first. When Mike does see Nick, he is unable to get his attention. When Nick is introduced into the game, he grabs the gun, fires it at the current contestant, and then again at his own temple, causing the audience to riot in protest. Grinda hustles Nick outside to his car to escape the angry mob. Mike cannot catch up with Nick and Grinda as they speed away. === Act III === Back in the U.S., Mike arrives home but maintains a low profile. While en route home, he tells a cab driver to drive past the house where all his friends are assembled with a large banner outside, as he is embarrassed by the fuss Linda and the others have made. He visits Linda the following day and grows close to her, but only because of the friend they both think they have lost. Mike eventually learns about Angela, whom he goes to visit at the home of Steven's mother. Angela is apathetic and barely responsive. When asked by Mike about Steven's whereabouts, she writes a phone number on a scrap of paper, which leads Mike to the local veterans' hospital where Steven has been for several months. Mike goes hunting with Axel, John, and Stan one more time, and after tracking a deer across the woods, takes his one shot but pulls the rifle up and fires into the air. He then sits on a rock escarpment and yells out, "OK?", which echoes back at him from the opposing rock faces leading down to the river, signifying his fight with his mental demons over losing Steven and Nick. He also berates Stan for carrying around a small revolver and waving it around, not realizing it is still loaded. Mike visits Steven, who has lost both of his legs and is partially paralyzed. Steven reveals that someone in Saigon has been mailing large amounts of money to him, and Mike is convinced that it is Nick. Mike brings a reluctant Steven home to Angela and then travels to Saigon just before its fall in 1975. He tracks down Grinda, who has made a lot of money from the Russian roulette-playing Nick. He finds Nick in a crowded gambling club, but Nick appears to have no recollection of his friends or his home in Pennsylvania. Mike enters himself in a game of Russian roulette against Nick, hoping to jog Nick's memory and persuade him to come home, but Nick's mind is gone. To keep him from taking another turn, Mike grabs Nick's arms, which are covered in scars (implied to be heroin tracks). At the last moment, after Mike reminds Nick of their hunting trips together, he finally breaks through, and Nick recognizes Mike and smiles. Nick then tells Mike, "one shot", raises the gun to his temple, and pulls the trigger. The round is in the gun's top chamber, and Nick kills himself. Horrified, Mike tries reviving him, but to no avail. === Epilogue === Back home in 1975, the friends have gathered for Nick's funeral, whom Mike has brought home, staying good to his promise. The film ends with everyone at John's bar, singing "God Bless America". Mike toasts in Nick's honor.

boring, murder, realism, cult, violence, atmospheric, psychedelic, suspenseful

train

wikipedia

This is one of the very few post-war Hollywood films that shows a sincere reverence for the lives of small town Americans.After seeing it in a very high quality theater on its initial release, I walked out thinking it was easily one of the best movies I had ever seen - and that I never wanted to see it again. I don't want to see it again...but I want you to see it.Even now, the Russian Roulette scene (in context, people: watch all that comes before it first) is the single most intense sequence I've seen; it makes the end of "Reservoir Dogs" seem like a cartoon. That's why the scenes all revolve around frivolity and seemingly senseless boyish behavior; it creates such a stark contrast to the devastated characters of the three who went to war (and the relatively unaffected personalities of those who stayed behind, like Stanley).The strong points of the film are the outstanding performances of nearly every actor in the movie. The Deer Hunter (1978) This is an epic war drama film about a trio of steelworkers whose lives are changed forever after they fight in the Vietnam War. The cast includes Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, John Savage, John Cazale, Meryl Streep, and George Dzundza. "The Deer Hunter" is not a film about the Vietnam war, as it is wrongly said in many cases."The Deer Hunter" is a film tells the story of 3 friends within about 5-6 years, during which their friendship is repeatedly put to the test.It is primarily a picture of the contemporary life of a group of people around 30 living in a small American town during the Vietnam war.The first hour of the film portrays the every day life of three friends Mike (De Niro), Steven (Savage) and Nick (Walken), who look forward to Steve's wedding but at the same time have to prepare for their commitment in Vietnam. Despite this conflict the characters don't show their concerns to their environment.Particularly Nick is worried about him and his friends leaving his home town and perhaps never coming back, but he only tells his best friend Mike of his thoughts, who is much more resolute and sees their engagement as a strong masculine act.Cimino manages to show the simple irrationality of young men, going to a senseless war from which they might never return for the only purpose of glory and approval, and abandoning their settled and happy life for it. This passage perfectly underlines the contrast and the inexplicability of the three men's actions.Although the passage that is set in Vietnam is only about one third of the whole film long, the war is omnipresent at any time, which is probably the best benefit of the whole film, Cimino does not need to bomb the spectator with pictures of crying children, mutilated soldiers or desert battlefields in order to illustrate the cruelty of war. The changed behavior of all characters after the friends' returns tell more about wars' capability of changing someone's life, than anything else.And the fact that the many dreams that these three friends had before they went to Vietnam didn't come true, because of their longing for recognition by becoming an acclaimed veteran can even pluck your heartstrings.Cimino's great directing and the cast's awesome acting provide for a touching and honest drama about the friendship of a group of young men, that is destroyed by the Vietnam war.. Of the first two American films about the Vietnam war with a priceless artistic weight, "the Deer Hunter" wins hands down over "Apocalypse Now" (1979) although Francis Ford Coppola's work is very potent too.But would it be judicious to pigeonhole Michael Cimino's work in the category of the war movie? Unlike Coppola's visual nightmare, only the central part takes place in Vietnam and the filmmaker barely shoots one fight sequence before Mike (Robert De Niro), Nick (Christopher Walken) and Stevie (John Savage) are prisoners of the enemy and are forced to play Russian roulette in the notorious unbearable scene. Rather than shooting a political film, Cimino chose to represent us the deadly impact this nightmarish war had on an American community whose hopes and values disappeared.Dividing his work in three parts: before, during, after and thanks to symbolical images, scenes or even eloquent details, Cimino used and honed his own cinematographic language to set out his stalls and the result can only command respect and admiration. This boring, overlong, implausible excuse for a story has psyched out a surprising number of people, thanks to a strong cast (Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, Christopher Walken), phony but emotionally exploitive material, and American audiences desperate to demonize the winners of the Vietnam war.Any scenes that might have shown combat, snipers, or something that could have really happened in Vietnam are jarringly missing - it practically cuts from Pennsylvania to a POW camp. The Deer Hunter is a powerful film about how war effects everybody, not just the soldiers involved in it.The cast is terrific! The beginning drags on and on, then when the characters are finally in Viet Nam, the scene is ludicrous.For a movie that is suppose to show the effects of war on a group of people living in a small steel mill town, it fails miserably.Seems to me the character development was very weak to begin with, and just gets weaker as it goes. I figured it was a lost cause to continue, and I had already wasted over 2 hours of my life watching this crap.Aside from being painfully boring, with no real character development, ludicrous war scenes, a complete failure to get any point across, and totally non-rational events, I guess it was OK. The Deer Hunter is a masterpiece of life among a community before and after three friends get drafted to fight in the Vietnam War. The tragic events that take place in the jungles and the adjustment back into the drinking and hunting life of steel workers in Pittsburgh shook my life forever. At first, I admit, I was a little bored because the beginning is a little long and felt unnecessary, but then I realized later in the film how much that developed the characters and understood their friendships and how they relate.Robert De Niro seems to be the strongest one of the group, his name is Mike. hmmm...the wedding scene is almost unbearable; 10 minutes would have been more than enough; I guess it was the editor's day off ?the plot is SO predictable and the 'hunter motif' is SO cheap; by the way, shooting animals really sucks, so maybe it's a good thing Mike suffers from a Vietnam trauma in the end. Because of this, I went into this film with high expectations and was sorely disappointed with what I had seen."The Deer Hunter" is one of those films that has one (maybe two) fantastic scenes and the rest of the picture is complete rubbish. However, this one scene cannot cover the other, various issues that plague the film such as meandering plot, useless and overlong (way overlong) wedding scene, annoying characters, unsatisfying ending, choppy editing (Oscar for Best Film Editing, seriously?), and unwarranted three hour run-time. I'm actually annoyed I've wasted 3 hours of my day watching this trash.I recall attempting to watch the film in the past and never getting to the end, I've now remembered why, it's rubbish.Maybe in America it might have more impact, but that doesn't stop it being boring.There are many other films out there that attempt this type of war/character change style and do it much better, without making you want to put a gun to head.. Obviously made by someone that has never been in the military much less spent a year in Nam. The only film to ever capture the character of the Vietnam conflict is Apocalypse Now, the rest is pretty much Hollywood war movie product.. The Deer Hunter claims to be a film about war, and to believe the hype you might think it was a good one. An obsession with a Russian Roulette theme doesn't make a good movie, and that (apart from some fair acting when dealing with the truly terrible script) is about all the Deer Hunter has. When DeNiro's character manages to get back into Vietnam via a copter ride to US Embassy roof DURING the American evacuation?)The worst part however is watching every cog turn while a group of young method actors, mostly from rather artsy East Coast backgrounds and educations, try like crazy to BE the down-trodden denizens of a Pennsylvania mining town. Back in Pennsylvania Michael realises the extent to which the war has not only affected him but devastated the lives of his friends in different ways.I have seen this film several times and I'll admit that I always assume that it is a classic film mainly because I saw it twice when I was in my early teens and was blown away by parts of it. Going past that to deeper themes I always feel that the film doesn't manage to be as deep as it thinks it is, so I try not to linger too long on these.The breakdown of the film gives significantly more time to events in the home town rather than Vietnam. The time in Vietnam is quite short but very memorable (many people who have never seen the film will still know these scenes) and the final hour or so of the film is moving even if it takes things to an extreme to make it's point.The cast make the film work as well, if not more, than the material itself. Watching the lives of people changed in a Pennsylvania Steel Town after the Vietnam War. Makes for an interesting movie. Michael Cimino directs this long character study & war picture that follows a group of friends from a wedding, to a deer hunting trip, to finally the Vietnam war and its aftermath. Over three hour film details their lives before & after the war, on both the men and their families.Fine cast includes Robert De Nero, Christopher Walken, and Meryl Streep, who all deliver heartfelt and believable performances, but the trouble is that the extended POW sequence involving Russian Roulette just feels so bizarre and extreme, that I had a hard time buying it, especially when one of the characters becomes obsessed with it after their ordeal is over. It could have been cut much shorter without losing any of its effect, and that time could have been used to give greater insight into the life of the town and the relationships between Walken, DeNiro, Streep et al.So the wedding finally ends, and almost instantly we're plunged into Vietnam and into "the scene." I didn't clock it, but I would bet that the wedding lasted almost as long or longer than their entire actual war experience. If you hadn't fallen asleep by this stage you would have completely missed it.The thing that sticks out most in my mind is the fact that most of the characters spent a lot of time getting drunk.....a bunch of grown men behaving like adolescents.Without the Russian Roulette scenes this film would be completely unremarkable. Michael became so disgusted and angry with killing that when out hunting he couldn't even lift his rifle to aim at and shoot a deer back home in Penn., a sport which he used to enjoy more then anything else.Going back to "Nam" in the spring of 1975 as the US supported South Vietnamese government was on the brink of being overthrown, with what little US personnel left at the US embassy in Saigon about to be air-lifted out of the country, Michael finds Nick playing for high stakes, his life, the brutal and inhuman game that took away his sanity while being held captive by the Vietcong years ago; Russian Roulette. This time, like Michael always said, "One shot is what It's all about" and it was that one and last shot or bullet that eventually did Nick in.One of the best movies about war ever made that shows it for what it is "Hell on Earth" with a young, 28 year old, and at the time unknown Meryl Streep as Nick's, and and now Michael, long suffering girlfriend Linda. The actors go a long way toward diverting attention from the film's awkward vacuousness, by giving false and short-lived impressions of character and narrative, but this falls apart whenever the filmmaker attempts to make anything "happen" narrative-wise.De Niro, Walken and company deserve some recognition for some good acting, albeit for such a misguided cause. After the first 10 minutes, the boredom of the plot kicked in plus the never-ending wedding!Summary: The story revolves around 3 friends, Mike, Nick and Steven, who have enlisted themselves and are on their way to Vietnam to fight the war. It seemed to me the most real portrait of the Vietnam War I've seen, and I now appreciate movies like Full Metal Jacket which didn't resonate prior to seeing the Deer Hunter. I found the first hour or so slow, the last hour and forty minutes pretty good, but the best part of the entire film was the Russian Roulette scene. Although this movie does not concentrate on the war as much as e.g. Saving Private Ryan, I must say that the scenes from Vietnam in this film, the psychological as well as the physical torture, is much more disturbing and awful to me than the whole first half hour of SPR. Of course that is not to say anything about the quality of the acting and filming of the movie, just the content.If you want to see something that says more about the subject than any other that I know of see, "Dear Mom: Letters Home from Vietnam." The Deer Hunter is simply a "script-writer" version of what the writer imagined the war was like. Every seen was dragged out way to long (I.E. wedding) and the dialogue was horrible, every time people got together they said, "How are you" or "How have you been." And these lines are said right after someone gets back from War or they see there long lost friend.This is all I have to say GO OUT AND WATCH THE MOVIE and see for yourself how bad a movie can get with age.. the first hour of the film could have easily been 20 minutes.there arnt vietnam scenes in the movie besides the russian roulette scene (which i admit was well done), and it was just all around boring. Despite the fact that the first act of the film might've been trimmed to better effect, The Deer Hunter nonetheless remains one of the finest war dramas. Coming soon after the United States had suffered a humiliating defeat trying to prop up a corrupt minority government in Vietnam and the unemployment rate in the "rust belt" was making national news, rising but fiscally uncontrolled director Michael Cimino assembled some of the greatest of the new generation of university trained actors for what amounts to a phony artistic commercial pandering to the great middle American "silent majority" who didn't know (and didn't care) how the world could have turned against them.Because the story seemed "edgy" with extreme, seemingly unmotivated violence (the Vietnam torture and "Russian Roulette" scenes are all many of its fans remember from the film) and justly flaunted the layered performances which Cimino drew from his superb cast and cinematographer, many if not most critics (and the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences) hailed it as a major work of art. I believe the movie makes the point that the Vietnam War had some bad effect on the people who fought it. Ironic also because one of the cast member, John Cazale who played one of the friends in Clairton and best remembered for being Freddo Corleone in The Godfather also was dying of cancer while the film was being shot.Although I find it a bit too coincidental that three men from the same small town who join the Army would have the exact same service record, The Deer Hunter isn't really about the Vietnam War. It's about war and what it can do those that serve and to those around them.And this review is dedicated to those that serve.. The Deer Hunter (1978) Another pseudo-war movie, only this time the action revolves around the conflict in Vietnam. When adding this performance to her body of work, audiences can see a string of unforgettable characterizations that made her, arguably, America's greatest living and working actress.Starring Robert DeNiro and Christopher Walken among others, The Deer Hunter, along with another Vietnam movie made the following year, Apocalypse Now, remains one of the greatest war films ever made. Meryl Streep also shines as Nicks' girlfriend, distraught when for a period of time he seems to disappear into thin air.As has been said, this is not really a film *about* the Vietnam War, and one shouldn't let their political inclinations affect the way they view what is ultimately an interesting character study. The Deer Hunter takes place mostly in Pennsylvania and is about how the US-Vietnam war effects a small industrial town. Although the film is over 3 hours long I feel that it is worth the time that it takes to watch it since there are so much depth and so many interesting scenes. In `The Deer Hunter', Christopher Walken and Robert DeNiro play friends from a small town in Pennsylvania who get sent to Vietnam, where they experience horrifying moments together. I ended up watching it many in times in a short period as I fell in love with the piece and still view the movie regularly.The story is about three men from Pennsylvania who go to fight in the Vietnam War and who's lives are forever changed by their experience.

tt0248126

Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham...

Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham "It's All About Loving Your Parents."Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham is a lavish movie that deals with the issues of class distinction and the roles of women and men in marriage. It opens with a grown Rohan (Hrithik Roshan) finishing his boarding school education and returning to visit his grandmothers before he goes home for Diwali. His grandmothers, haunted by the memory of Rohan's estranged brother, Rahul (Shah Rukh Khan), sit Rohan down, and in their grief, tell him the story of his family.Yashvardhan Raichand (Amitabh Bachchan) is a famous, wealthy Indian businessman. He and his wife Nandini (Jaya Badhuri) adopted a baby, Rahul (Shah Rukh Khan), and raised him as their own. Nine years later they had a natural son, Rohan (Hrithik Roshan), and considered their family complete.Rahul was raised as the beloved eldest son, and promised his father he would always uphold the respect and traditions of the Raichand family, and always do his parents proud. However, love intervenes...On his way to deliver medication for Daijaan, the nanny who raised both him and his brother, Rahul sees a beautiful girl, Anjali Sharma (Kajol) celebrating India's cricket win in the street. Enchanted by her exuberance, he watches her dance and then follows her into her family's sweet shop. There, she mistakes him for the prospective groom of her best friend. Thinking him to be Ashfaque the poet, who is set to marry her friend, Anjali recites her original work, much to Rahul's confusion. She then drags him over to look at the day's paper, where there is a picture of "the big snob" (as she terms him) Yash Raichand and his son. Anjali realizes her mistake too late, and is humiliated. Rahul, however, is highly amused and too taken with the outspoken girl to take any offense. Their repartee is interrupted when Rohan, who has come with Rahul to deliver the medicine, comes running by, chased by local kids, including Anjali's sister Pooja. They refuse to allow him entrance to their town without reciting an extremely complicated tongue-twister, which Rahul is unable to do, so they chase him. In rebuttal, when Pooja shows up at Rohan's school to harass him further, the girls and boys of Rohan's school make fun of Pooja's middle-class appearance, and bring her to tears.Rahul goes out to a party with the neighbor girl Naina (Rani Mukherji), but returns home early, having been bored with the high society life. Naina is the daughter of Yash's best friend, another wealthy businessman, and therefore eminently suited to be Rahul's wife. And since Yash is looking for a bride for Rahul, Naina is his prime candidate. The family is having a quiet evening at home when Rahul returns. Nandini mentions Anjali's friend's wedding. Since the bride is Daijaan's daughter, and Daijaan is a long-time employee of the family, Nandini feels she and Yash should attend. Yash, however, does not agree. He feels that Daijaan's family is not of a high enough class, and therefore he will not attend. Nandini attempts to protest, but Yash overrides her. The subject is closed. Yash goes back to his game with Rohan, who accidentally lets slip that they're planning a surprise birthday party for Yash.Coincidentally, the sweets for the party are provided by Anjali's shop. She and her friend Rukhsar (the future bride), come to the party to serve the sweets, and Rahul is caught by the sight of the girl he remembers dancing in the streets. He and his father dance a big party number (Say Shava Shava), and Anjali gets caught up in the excitement. When Nandini reminds Yash to calm down a little, he starts to sing her an old filmi song to placate her. When he forgets the words, Anjali blurts them out. Rukhsar and Daijaan are appalled at Anjali's rudeness to both an elder and a social superior, and hasten her out of the party. On catching sight of Rahul, Anjali is so distracted she bumps into a vase and smashes it. In complete disgrace, she leaves the party.The next day Daijaan brings Anjali by to apologize to Yash for breaking his "pot," as Anjali calls it, not knowing any better. Anjali makes her apology in her own unique way, interrupted not a few times by Rahul, who, on seeing his love again, creates mischief behind his father's back. Hilarity ensues, and on hearing she has been forgiven, Anjali turns to go, rather less decorously than is proper, and in the process, smashes another "pot." Daijaan rushes her away, and Rahul is left leaning against the doorframe, completely lovestruck.On hearing of her sister's humiliation at Rohan's school, Anjali is outraged, and lectures both her sister and her father on the social ineptitude of rich people, saying, "too much money, too little heart." She vows to seek revenge, and as she backs up to go out the door, she bumps directly into Rahul, who has brought Rohan to apologize. Rahul also asks for Anjali's friendship, and the next day calls up her shop. Anjali answers, saying the shop has sweets for all occasions, including engagements and weddings, to which Rahul says, "both will happen in due time." Anjali blushes red, and Rahul proceeds to invite her to the fair being held in her town. She agrees.Rohan and Pooja go running off at the fair, leaving Anjali and Rahul to their own devices. Rahul tells Anjali that she looks very beautiful with her hair loose. Anjali, clearly unused to such compliments, hurries to distract herself at a stall selling bangles. She picks up green ones, a color traditionally chosen for brides, and Rahul, singing a love song, buys them for her. She retreats, believing he is seducing her with the aim of taking over her sweet shop, but Rahul forestalls her, sliding the bangles slowly onto her wrists, explaining that her shop is not what he is after. They declare their love for each other (Suraj Hua Maddham).Following Yash's refusal to go to Daijaan's daugher's wedding, he sends Rahul in his place. While Rahul is at the wedding, Yash finalizes the engagment arrangements with his best friend, betrothing Rahul to Naina. Rahul, however, at the wedding, dances the night away with Anjali. He returns to find out he is engaged, and in his shock refuses the engagement. Yash is outraged and Naina is deeply hurt, but she at least acknowledges that Rahul is irrevocably in love, and lets him out of his obligation to her. Yash is not so forgiving, and demands that Rahul break things off with Anjali at once. Rahul goes to Anjali's village, and walks straight into a funeral procession, which turns out to be for Anjali's father. At the sight of her grief, he abandons all caution and claims Anjali for his wife at last. He marries her still in her mourning clothing, and takes her and her sister Pooja to London, where they settle into their new life.Rohan, meanwhile, having heard this story, becomes determined to reunite his family. He asks his father for permission to go to London for university, citing the very important point that it is a family tradition. Yash, a firm traditionalist, agrees.In London, Rahul and Anjali have set up house, taking along Daijaan as a sort of mother-substitute. They have had a son, and Pooja lives with them. She too is starting university, and has become a first-class beauty queen, extremely popular and desired. She dresses extremely provocatively, scandalizing Rahul and making Anjali roll her eyes. SHe calls herself Poo, and reigns supreme at her school. The only man who won't turn and give her a second look is a mysterious stranger in a Lamborghini. Intrigued by his indifference, Pooja pursues him until he reveals himself by reciting perfectly the tongue-twister she tormented him with all those years ago (Deewana Hai Dekho). It is Rohan, all grown up, and extremely attractive. Pooja immediately drops her beauty-queen facade and explains her family's situation to Rohan. They become allies; their aim is to reunite their families. They concoct a plan to have Rohan come and stay at the house, under the guise that he is a cousin of her friend's. Rahul is disinclined to have him in the house, to say the least, but Anjali agrees without hesitation when Pooja tells her the new boy is straight from India. MIssing her homeland, Anjali accepts Rohan right away. Rahul takes much longer to warm up to the new boy, but cannot shake the feeling that there is something inherently familiar about him. Rohan introduces himself by his father's name, and Rahul, feeling strangely unsettled, decides he should stay in the house. Daijaan too cannot shake the feeling that she knows this Yash.Much to everyone's surprise, Rohan's presence in the house beings to turn Pooja into a dutiful Indian maiden, and Rahul slowly warms to him.At school, Pooja gets up to her old mischief at prom time, and the only person she'll go with is Rohan, who is completely unimpressed with her. She flits by him one Saturday night all dolled up for the club, and Rohan doesn't bat an eye, but rather points out that her shoes are unmatched. She leaves in a flounce, but Rohan follows her to the club. She abandons her date, and turns to find Rohan standing on the balcony of the club, declaring his love for her (You Are My Soniya).Back in India, Nandini is still mourning the loss of Rahul. Yash recognizes her sorrow but only asks that she "bring back his Nandini," nothing of why she's sad or upset. He only wants things to return to some kind of normalcy.Karwa Chauth approaches, and Rohan's plan progresses. He asks Anjali if she has ever recieved the traditional sweets from her mother-in-law for the holiday, and knowing full well the answer is no, calls up his mother to have her speak to Anjali. Anjali, who is deeply hurt by the fact that she has never recieved these sweets, is touched by Rohan's gesture and by his mother's. Thus the real mother-in-law sends sweets to her real daughter-in-law, and they come one step closer.At the night time party for the breaking of the wives' fast, Pooja reveals that she fasted for Rohan, who is bemused at her devotion, but pleased. He mocks her a little, gently, asking who he is to her. In her pique, she dares him to be a man and reveal to Rahul and Anjali who he really is. He asks what his reward will be if he does, and Pooja answers cryptically. In a roundabout way, without a chorus of "Wah, Wah, Ramji," Rohan sings to his "bhaiyya aur bhabi" and satifies his part of the bet. Pooja then fulfills her end of the bargain by telling him how she feels (Bole Chudiyan). In the course of the song Rohan imagines Yash and Nandini entering the party and accepting Anjali into the fold. It is all imagination, alas, and the song ends with Rahul and Rohan embracing. Rohan has been accepted.To further his plan, Rahul calls up his parents in India and begs them to visit him in London. Yash obliges readily, and Rohan tells him the only way he'll be welcome is if he brings a present. Yash is at a loss as to what to get his son, so Rohan tells him to meet him at the Blue Water Mall in London, where he contrives to bring Anjali and Rahul as well. Yash, unfamiliar with the technology of the day, attempts to find an "iPac" or something of the sort, for Rohan. He wanders off in pursuit of the elusive gizmo, and Rahul walks straight into his mother.Tearfully, silently, Nandini cradles her son, with Anjali and their child looking on. Yash approaches, sees Rahul, and flees. Later that evening he is outraged, striking Rohan for being so presumptuous. It is obvious he has not forgiven Rahul. Rohan, in turn, accuses his father of having a bigger ego than is good for him. Similarly devastated at the day's events, Anjali begs Rahul to go to his parents, go to India, ask forgiveness. Cradling his wife's face, Rahul says simply that she can never understand the pain of going from outcast to family to outcast again, and leaves it at that.Rohan finally reveals who he is and brings his father and brother face-to-face again, where Yash berates his son with tears in his eyes. He says Rahul had no right to leave the family and not look back once, not return even once. Rahul, crying, says he thought his father didn't love him. Yash tells him that fathers never stop loving their sons, no matter what, and Rahul and Anjali are accepted into the family. Rohan and Pooja marry, and all ends well.

melodrama, romantic, flashback

train

imdb

The catchy song and dance number he performs with the lovely Kareena Kapoor at their 'prom,' "You Are My Soniya," has gotten regular replays in this household for weeks (even by my 79-year old mother, who will say, "I need a Soniya fix" - it really cheers her up!). What you get is a very good Bollywood movie that has elements of emotion, melodrama, comedy, family values, romance and music in equal doses. Agreed, the movie may not have been as great without the power star cast, but then, let us not forget that before those people are stars, they are very good actors. It combines realism and surrealism, comedy and heavy melodrama in a very unique style, which makes for an altogether colourful picture which is fun to watch.The film is about relationships in family, about loving your parents and your family, about pride, values and regret. Hrithik is over-expressive and far more emotional than required, and Kareena, while attractive and quite funny at times, badly overacts.All in all, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham has bits of everything: drama, melodrama, romance and comedy, all presented wholeheartedly in true Hindi-film style with lots of tears and lots of fun. It was directed by Karan Johar after the Huge Success of Kuch kuch hota hai, This film looked like a instant Hit judging from the trailers and Star Cast. This was a real delightful movie to enjoy watching with the family, but Kareena's character was a bit of a slapper, who did not look pretty and over acts. With a cast that reads like a Who's Who of Indian cinema, Karan Johar's film focuses on the tensions within a divided family, namely the rift between strict disciplinarian father Yashovardhan (played by Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan) and his estranged son, Rahul (Shah Rukh Khan).With Bollywood heart-throb Hrithik Roshan in the role of brother Rohan and Kareena Kapoor as sister Pooja, the A-list cast is completed by Jaya Bachchan. Some scenes, I thought, were a little demeaning to him [the dance with the females in the Shava song], and should have been done more tastefully.Jaya Bachan is very good as the wife, with the amazing ability to sense her son. The scene where she stands up to Amitabh is brilliantly executed, as is the scene where ShahRukh meets her in the shopping mall in London.Kajol is brilliant, and this is probably her best role/performance of her career. With a star cast like this one, you have to be entertained...Khan/Bachchan/Roshan have a wonderful three way chemistry in my opinion, and the presence of the bubbly Kajol is icing on the cake. Also admirable is Jaya Bachchan as the family matriarch who never stops longing for her elder son's return...she and Shahrukh Khan share a screen relationship that is authentically warm and completely believable.The films weaknesses (and there are many) start off first of all with the odiously conceited Kareena Kapoor, who in spite of the costume designer's self-proclaimed "sophisticated" wardrobe looks and acts like a cheap tramp throughout the film (note to Bollywood costume designers: in England and America the only women who dress in skin-tight cleavage-revealing sequined mini-dresses when they go to the mall are PROSTITUES. Also, again, the fact that all the NRI women in the film are dressed like hookers is just WRONG.And last of all, although I love all the emotional exaggeration in Hindi films MOST of the time, I thought there was just a bit too much weeping in this one...a little less snivelling from Shahrukh and Hrithik would given the remaining scenes a bit more punch, I think. (But Khan is the King of snivellers, so I guess Karan Johar had to let him do his "thing")Overall I think this is an enjoyable film, mainly because of the cast, and a pleasant diversion. Kabhi Kushi Kabhi Gham: a film directed by Karan Johar, one of the best directors around who has bought us remember-able films such as Kal Ho Na Ho and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. K3G as it is popularly known as, has some world renowned actors, from the likes of Big B – Amithabh Bachchan, and King Khan – Shahrukh Khan to heart-throb Hrithik Roshan. "Suraj Hua Madham" the first love song in the film sung once again by Alka Yagnik but this time with Sonu Nigam features Shahrukh Khan and Kajol who make the perfect couple. SRK should learn to touch peoples wife (Kajol - first song in the movie) with some decency and respect, mindful of the fact that his wife is not into acting. Kajol, Hirthik Roshan, Shahrukh Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Jaya Bhaduri and Amitabh Bachchan perform flawlessly. This is a genre where Bollywood is the best at, a musical love story enriched by bringing to picture the power of values and staying away from nonsense fighting scenes. The mesmerizing Amitabh Bachchan is empowered by the company of Jaya, and spunky Kareena Kapoor is a perfect match for Roshan in this movie.. Movie going audiences the world over, or so smart young filmmaker Karan Johar would like to believe, are glad that the wait is finally over: `Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham' or `K3G', the snappy alternative title that the publicity machine came up with, hit movie screens today! The cast of the film is equally unparalleled: Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Hrithik Roshan, Kareena Kapoor, plus another popular leading lady in a `guest' appearance, form the headliners. Unfortunately, right after the sartorial one-upmanship of this song, daddy announces he has other plans for his son, and thus begins the `Gham' (sorrow, tears) portion of the film.Hrithik and Kareena play the other romantic leads and they are adorable. The grown up Hrithik is endearingly earnest and sets about restoring the `khushi' (joy, happiness) of his film family, but takes time out to drive fast cars, and show off some nifty dance moves and bicep revealing leather vests. But mostly, as he performs good works, he gazes soulfully, while his brown eyes glisten with unshed tears.Kareena Kapoor's character is modeled after Archana Puran Singh's in `Kuch Kuch Hota Hai', so of course I loved her. After this and her similarly fabric-challenged turn in the awful `Asoka', the courageous Ms. Kapoor should be given some sort of award for conserving cloth and her contribution towards reducing the wardrobe budgets of films.So you see, I had a couple of good laughs, tapped my feet to the songs (the handiwork of three different composers), and shed several cathartic tears that Karan Johar contrived to wring out of me. And before you do have a box of tissues next to you because you will definitely need it...Its a story of a boy Rahul Raichand (srk) who is adopted by a very rich family the Raichands (Amitabh Bachchan & Jaya Bachchan) and Rohan Raichand ( Hrithik Roshan) Its a perfect family until Rahul falls in love with A crazy girl Anjali ( Kajol) Rahul's father doesn't approve of this girl because she isn't Good enough for them she is poor, But Rahul still marry's the Anjali and that is when he get kicked out of the house . And it improves with repeated viewings.Because then you notice all the beautiful details.When the original DVD of the movie is released we will be amongst the first people to buy it.I urge all the big producers and directors in Bollywood to do whatever it takes to bring Shah Rukh and Kajol together in many more films. hey everyone !i have only one word to describe this movie : AMAZING !before i saw this movie, a lot of people told me that it is a mixture of various yash chopra/johar's films.but on seeing the movie,i realized that that was mere rubbish.this movie has everything : drama,comedy...u just name it.great acting coupled with great direction and equally good costumes,songs,choreography,art direction, this film is a mega-hit all the way.Kajol & Shah rukh, Hrithik & Kareena and Amitabh & Jaya are the best pairs and the chemistry between them is out of this world.Greatest actors, greatest stars.....but don't take my word for it; go ahead and see it !. Karan's second film moves forward from exploring the meaning of love (in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai) to exploring the relationships within a family. Lovely and religious Beautiful sings kajol acted lovely The best movie in Bollywood. The background music shows how talented Karan Johar really is.The song and dance sequences are amazing in the film. For a film locked in conservative family values, it makes a liberal use of its time.However, the message rings strong - if debatable - and the performances by talented Indian actors such as Bachchan, Kajol (as Rahul's wife), along with Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan, who play the adult versions of Rahul and Rohan, respectively. seems to have a limitless amount of energy, and given the enormity of its production, its scope, and its music, it shouldn't be completed in one sitting for a first time viewing.Starring: Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, Kajol, Hrithik Roshan, and Kareena Kapoor. Assemble stars like Shahrukh, Jaya, Kajol, Kareena, Hrithwik, Rani & Amitabh, adopt it with mediocre feel good script, supplement with story which can make family audience cry and laugh and visualize some great songs & cinematography from Eourope and finally market it with the brand name such as Yash Raj Banners or Dharma Production. Movie begins with feel good scene of returning Shahrukh Khan from London. Finally Hrithwik succeed to get Shahrukh back to home in India for some days and there with family blend of sentimental melodrama director Johhar manage to give his movie a feel good happy ending with some intense final hour moments. Fortunately, "Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (K3G)," director Karan Johar's second directorial venture, it not one of them.Yash Raichand (Big B) is a wealthy business tycoon with more money than the film's budget. It's a touching family story so if you like those kinds of movies, it's guaranteed you'll love this. ok i have seen the movie this time...And I seriously have no words for it!!!I wont say that it is a better movie than kkhh but this movie may become a blockbuster!!Not because of the actors but because of the class 1 direction!!The direction was awesome!!Really awesome!!The way karan johar has handled the movie and the actors...He should get accolades!!!!What touched me the most was the love between jaya bachchan and shahruk khan...it was really very touching...Kajol did a fab job!!!Really fab!!!She may win an oscar...Kareena has nothing much to do but act like a brat and show her back...Shahruk as usual did a fantastic job!Hrithik was equally good!!Amitabh took the cake!!The way emotion after emotion flicked into his face was really cool!!Though jaya bachchan may look a bit old she fit the rols of the loving mother...Another good piece of work of our very own "guddi"..Aryaan,shahruk's son makes his debut as shahruk when he was young...He looks adorable!! After hitting the jackpot with his debut film, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Karan Johar just repeated himself with this movie. he has three facial expressions (happy, sad/confused/passionate (you know, where he twists his eyebrows up), and bland), and isn't that great an actor in and of himself -- he's also not nearly as good looking as "Big B" or Hrithik -- but still you manage to fall in love with him :)I wouldn't buy this movie, but I wouldn't mind seeing it again.. Ok it was not as good as kuch kuch but hey I think the story was great with a lot of feelings everyone acted well including kareena who played the part of an air head I think the movie is worth seeing. plus who can Resist a movie with shah rukh khan with kajol and hritick with kareena for me it was great because I love the 2 pairs. One of the best Movies of the past five years, along with- Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai & Mohabbatein!!Dharma Productions' KABHI KHUSHI KABHIE GHAM, written-directed by Karan Johar, is one film that strikes the right balance between form and content.Assembling a mammoth star cast like this must've been a Herculean task. Each Character in the film played there own role very well, with Jaya playin the perfect motherly role and father Amitabh with high family values and "parampara's", Hritikh playin the brother role along side Kareena who plays the sister of Kajol.I am not gonna tell you the story and ruin it for you all because i think you need to watch this on the big screen if u havent already done so. Hats off to Music director, lovely music mesmerize bgm and classic songs to audience.Karan Johar always took in his film Shrukh and Kajol jodi to show best couple,pair on screen it proved every time. This movie was so totally entertaining and worth watching as well Songs are really impressive and outstanding background music Storyline good screenplay good editing good direction good Shahrukh khan was superb hrithik was superb Amitabh was impressive kajol was outstanding kareena was amazing jaya was awesome Overall this is a masterpiece to watch with your family Don't and never miss this blockbuster5/5 stars. "Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham" was a very good movie, and I loved the story. Kabhie khushi kabhie gham is a lovely movie and a wonderful family treat.Story:WARNING may contain spoilers. K3G is directed by Karan Johar and stars an unbeatable cast: Amithabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Sharhukh Khan, Kajol, Hrithik Roshan, and Kareena Kapoor. Not only that none of the actors seem very believable - what a waste of good talent on an idiotic story - the same cast and money could have made 2 or 3 great movies - Its the Story Stupid - somehow Bollywood doesn't get it. Just a year after Kuch Kuch on November 1999.A year after KKHH.only that.On November that year i mentioned Karan announced that he would make a film with Amitabh,Srk and Hrithik.Thats when K3G was launched.Had a 2- 1 year hype just like Devdas.Shooting everything all started at the summer of 2000.Was finished some where on early 2001 big hype,exceptions started.On late 2001 the hype increases.On December 2001 K3g made it on screens after 2 non stop years on the news.The movie had more hype then KKHH.Lived up to its full year hype and became a recorderThe movie is a family drama about pain love and many more.Theme was nice it was about loving the family and respecting the orders.Title also has a meaning it means some times sad,some times happy which does suit it well.The story is also nice as well.Karon Johar excels.Screenplay is impressive at best.Dialogs are very meaningful.Scenes are well executed.Technically,the movie is amazing.The visuals of Raichad parivaar house are beautiful.Sets are amazing in the family's house.the visualizations of Chandni Chowk are nicely shoot.The visuals in London are amazingAnother full marks goes to Jatin Lalits,Aadesh Shrivastav and Sandeshs music.Songs are great especially Say Shava Shava(oh should i say the song look hilarious on screen).Chreography in Deewana,Dekha Tumko and in Bole and Ladki Allah is a treat to watch.Another song Suraj Hai(beautifully filmed with a beautiful Kajol).And a beautiful title track(Sung to perfection by Lata Mangeshkar and Sonu Nigam)and also Vande Mataram(superbly shoot and sung)and the Picturisations are really good especially in Say ShavaAnother 10 marks goes to the acting.Amitabh,Jaya,Srk and Hrithks performance were absolutely fantastic.Hrithik really stole the show giving a better act than SRK.Rani as always gave a great performance in a short and a noticeable role with her Kuch Kuch hang over.The only minor disappointment in the movie was Kajols performance she did ham way much that irritated me.Kareenas Poo act was the major disappointment she was annoying and hams as usual(oh not to forgot looking ugly at the same time in disgusting clothes)One my most favorite flicks.Highly recommended.. K3G is a first class style movie.The direction is first class.The cinematography is in Top notch.The costumes are brilliant.A beautiful movie about bringing families together .The director Karan Johor has made an incredible job.The story is excellent.It tells about Yashorvaan raichand(Amitabh)and Nandini(Jaya)his wife.They adopted a son name(Rahul).They keep it secret.Nandini gives birth to Rohan(Hrithik).Rohan is 8 years younger than Rahul.Rahul falls in love with Anjali(Kajol).He wants to marry her.But raichand disapproves.He marries her privately and goes to London.Years later Rohan wants to bring back Rahul to home to bring back the lost happiness.Amitabh,Jaya,Hrithik,Shahrukh,Rani,Kajol give top rate performances.The weakness has to be Kareena kapoor.Kareena Kapoor is one of Bollywoods Worst actresses.Every movie in her entire career she always acts childlessly immature.She gives an annoying performance as Poo.But she looked beautiful.The music is in top notch and is excellent.A great movie. It has corny dialogue at times and Kareena Kapoor does her best to ruin this film with her shabby standards of acting and dancing but thankfully Shah Rukh, Kajol, Hrithik, Jaya and Amitabh barely save this film making it a great spectacle. Kajol did good job as well but hrithik tried to act like Shahrukh Khan but he failed. The film are very touching and i must say, the performance of the stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Hritik Roshan are very great too!All of them play the characters smoothly and perfectly!!A MUST see movie for everyone...for a non-indian like me, was also impressed by the film too!!!!!!!!! The actors have a great chemistry between them and SRK and Kajol are the best movie couple ever. It is also an excellent start to watch Bollywood films because it is so good. Karan Johar has exceeded himself and done a great job with this film which the whole family and generations to come can enjoy. Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham is a pretty good movie in terms of acting, and music, but it hasn't got a great story. I wonder if someone can explain to me if there's something I'm just missing here -- or if there are Bollywood movies out there that might give me what I want.Actor evaluations: I really enjoyed Sharukh Khan in the film's first half, and loved Kajol, when they play the energetic young couple in full flirtation.

tt0043456

The Day the Earth Stood Still

When a flying saucer lands in Washington, D.C., the Army quickly surrounds it. A humanoid (Michael Rennie) emerges, announcing that he has come in peace. When he unexpectedly opens a small device, he is shot by a nervous soldier. A tall robot emerges from the saucer and quickly disintegrates the soldiers' weapons. The alien orders the robot, Gort, to stop. He explains that the now-broken device was a gift for the President, which would have enabled him "to study life on the other planets". The alien, Klaatu, is taken to Walter Reed Hospital. After surgery, he uses a salve to quickly heal his wound. Meanwhile, the Army is unable to enter the saucer; Gort stands outside, silent and unmoving. Klaatu tells the President's secretary, Mr. Harley (Frank Conroy), that he has a message that must be delivered to all the world's leaders simultaneously. Harley tells him that such a meeting in the current political climate is impossible. Klaatu suggests that he be allowed to go among humans to better understand their "unreasoning suspicions and attitudes". Harley rejects the proposal, and Klaatu remains under guard. Klaatu escapes and lodges at a boarding house as "Mr. Carpenter", the name on the dry cleaner's tag on a suit he "borrowed". Among the residents are young widow Helen Benson (Patricia Neal) and her son Bobby (Billy Gray). The next morning, Klaatu listens to the boarders speculate about why the alien is here. While Helen and her boyfriend Tom Stephens (Hugh Marlowe) go out, Klaatu babysits Bobby. The boy takes Klaatu on a tour of the city, including a visit to his father's grave in Arlington National Cemetery; Klaatu learns that most of those buried there were killed in wars. The two visit the Lincoln Memorial, then the heavily guarded spaceship. Klaatu asks Bobby who is the greatest living person; Bobby suggests Professor Barnhardt (Sam Jaffe), who lives in the capital. Bobby takes Klaatu to Barnhardt's home, but the professor is absent. Klaatu adds an equation to a problem on Barnhardt's blackboard and leaves his contact information with the suspicious housekeeper. That evening, a government agent takes Klaatu to Barnhardt. Klaatu explains that the people of other planets have concerns now that humanity has developed rockets and a rudimentary form of atomic power. Klaatu declares that if his message is ignored, "Earth will be eliminated". Barnhardt agrees to gather scientists from around the world at the saucer; he then suggests that Klaatu give a harmless demonstration of his power. Klaatu returns to his spaceship that night, unaware that Bobby has followed him. Bobby sees Gort knock out two sentries and Klaatu enter the saucer. Bobby tells Helen and Tom what he saw, but they do not believe him until Tom takes a diamond he found in Klaatu's room to a jeweler and learns it is "unlike any other on Earth". Klaatu finds Helen at her workplace, and they take an empty service elevator, which stops precisely at noon. Klaatu reveals his true identity, then asks for her help. He has neutralized all electricity everywhere, except for such things as hospitals and aircraft in flight. Exactly 30 minutes later, the blackout ends. After Tom informs the authorities of his suspicions, Helen breaks up with him. She and Klaatu go to Barnhardt's home. En route, he tells her that should anything happen to him, she must say to Gort, "Klaatu barada nikto". Their taxi is spotted and hemmed in; Klaatu makes a break for it and is shot dead. Helen quickly heads to the saucer. Gort disintegrates both sentries and advances on her. When Helen utters Klaatu's words, the robot carries her into the spaceship, then leaves to retrieve Klaatu's body. Gort brings Klaatu back to life, but he explains to Helen that his revival is only temporary; the power of life and death is "reserved for the Almighty Spirit". Klaatu emerges from the saucer and addresses Barnhardt's assembled scientists, informing them that he represents an interplanetary organization that created a police force of invincible robots like Gort to "patrol the planets in spaceships like this one, and preserve the peace" by automatically annihilating aggressors. "In matters of aggression, we have given them absolute power over us. This power cannot be revoked." Klaatu concludes with, "It is no concern of ours how you run your own planet, but if you threaten to extend your violence, this Earth of yours will be reduced to a burned-out cinder. Your choice is simple: join us and live in peace, or pursue your present course and face obliteration". Klaatu and Gort reenter the spaceship and depart.

anti war

train

wikipedia

tt0144120

Bride of Chucky

Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly), a former lover and accomplice of serial killer Charles Lee Ray (Brad Dourif), acquires Chucky's remains after bribing and later murdering a police officer who removed the dismembered children's doll parts from an evidence locker. Believing Ray's soul to be inhabiting the doll, Tiffany crudely stitches Chucky back together and reenacts the voodoo ritual which instilled Ray inside the doll a decade ago. Though her chants initially fail to produce results, Chucky unexpectedly springs to life and smothers Tiffany's goth admirer, Damien (Alexis Arquette), as Tiffany looks on with excitement. Chucky, who is still intent on becoming human again, lays out a plan to retrieve the body-switching amulet Ray was wearing on the night he was killed. The amulet was buried along with his body in a cemetery in Hackensack, New Jersey.Hoping to pick up where she and Ray left off, Tiffany presents Chucky with a diamond ring which he left for her. Upon realizing that Tiffany believed the gift to be an engagement ring, Chucky bursts out laughing, explaining that he stole it from one of his wealthier victims when he was a notorious human serial killer. Heartbroken and enraged, Tiffany punishes Chucky by locking him in a playpen. That next morning, Tiffany approaches a young neighbor, Jesse (Nick Stabile) with an offer to ferry Chucky's body across state lines in exchange for money. Eager to elope with his girlfriend, Jade (Katherine Heigl), and having been foiled in the past by her possessive uncle, Chief Warren Kincaid (John Ritter), Jesse accepts the offer.Inside Tiffany's mobile home, Chucky tries to woo her into freeing him. As a mocking gesture, Tiffany responds by lowering a female children's doll, clad in a miniature wedding dress, into Chucky's playpen. Now irate, Chucky breaks free and surprises Tiffany while she is bathing, dropping a television set into her bathtub and electrocuting her to death. Still dragging the bridal doll, Chucky then recites the familiar voodoo chant, transferring Tiffany's soul into the doll. Chucky blackmails her by pointing out her only hope for becoming human again is to help him steal the amulet. After Tiffany makes a series of vivid alterations to her doll body, the killers pretend to be inanimate as Jesse arrives to pick up the dolls. He then goes to rendezvous with Jade, unaware that the dolls plan on appropriating their bodies once they have the amulet.Midway into the trip, Jade's uncle tracks down the van and starts to inspect it while the couple is away. Annoyed by Kincaid's interference, the killers rig a trap which embeds several nails into the Chief's face, then hide his body inside an onboard trunk. Later, Jesse and Jade stop for supplies and attract the notice of a police officer, who detects the scent of marijuana (which Chucky is smoking). Chucky mistakenly throws the narcotics into view, giving the officer enough cause to detain Jesse. Chucky sneaks over to the officer's squad car, stuffs a wadded-up shirt into the gas tank, and lights it on fire, killing the officer in an explosion.Shaken by the prospect that one of them might be a murderer, Jesse and Jade nevertheless stop at a couples-only hotel to get married. During the ceremony, Chief Kincaid awakens and rises out from the trunk in which Chucky and Tiffany had hidden him. Before he can crawl away, Chucky stabs him repeatedly in the back and re-deposits his body inside the trunk. Meanwhile, Jesse and Jade make the acquaintance of a pair of swingers who pickpocket their money. Tiffany follows the thieves to their private room and tosses a bottle of champagne at the mirrored ceiling above their bed, fatally impaling the couple with shards of glass. Chucky is aroused by this spectacle, and dolls have sex in the blood-soaked room.After a maid discovers the corpse that next morning, Jesse and Jade are both convinced that the other is a killer. Following another escape, they are surprised to run into their mutual friend and confidante, David (Gordon Michael Woolvett), who informs them that they are wanted for multiple murders. Whilst driving, David convinces both to stop accusing each other and patch things up. Upon realizing their misunderstanding, Jesse and Jade resolve their differences. However, David smells a foul odor and uncovers Jade's dead uncle inside the trunk. Concealing his horror, David carefully takes the Chief's gun and order Jesse to pull over, prompting Chucky to reveal himself to everyone. Startled by what he has seen, David unknowingly backs into the path of an oncoming semi truck and is fatally struck before figuring out Jade and Jesse are innocent. A radio announcement informs Chucky the fingerprints found at the scene have been identified as those of Charles Lee Ray, and that authorities plan to exhume his body as part of the investigation.With the van now under suspicion, the dolls transfer their quarry into a stolen recreational vehicle. Jesse is forced to be their driver while Tiffany gives Jade a makeover, getting her ready for when they transfer bodies. As the group nears the Hackensack cemetery, Jesse quips to Chucky that Tiffany "isn't much of a homemaker", due to the fact that there are several dishes in the sink. In response, Chucky orders Tiffany to clean up a little. Jade, taking her lead from Jesse, confides to Tiffany, "You were nice enough to cook for him. The least he could do is wash a dish", igniting a loud, volatile argument between the dolls. In the confusion, Jesse intentionally swerves off the road and crashes, while Tiffany is knocked into the oven by Jade. Still tied to a chair, Jade lays trapped and sees that Tiffany is still alive, though badly charred. Jesse cuts Jade free and pulls her out of the RV before sparking wiring causes the vehicle to explode. Jesse is blown clear, but Jade is taken hostage by Chucky.Chucky approaches his open grave site, shoots the gravedigger exhuming his body in the back of the head, and sends Jade in to open his coffin at gunpoint. She reluctantly retrieves the amulet and throws it to him, but Jesse reappears, dragging Tiffany by her hair. Chucky agrees to let Jade go in exchange for Tiffany. When the couples reunite, Chucky ties the teenagers together and starts to perform the ritual. Touched by Jesse and Jade's love for each other, and seeing Chucky's disgust at her disfigurement, Tiffany betrays Chucky by stabbing him in the back, quoting from Bride of Frankenstein: "Oh, Chucky, look at us. Don't you see? We belong dead."Tiffany releases the teenagers from their bonds, but Chucky retaliates by attacking Tiffany with a shovel. Chucky gets the upper hand, stabbing Tiffany in the chest; however, Jesse retrieves the shovel and knocks Chucky into his own grave, trapping him in the 6-foot pit. As Chucky screams and curses, a police Lieutenant (Lawrence Dane) who has been pursuing the suspicious teens arrives and witnesses the living doll. Jade takes the detective's gun and aims at Chucky, who promises to one day return just like in every sequel of the film series; "But dying is such a bitch." Chucky is shot to death, his lifeless body collapsing next to his former human shell.In the aftermath of what he has just witnessed, the Lieutenant radios in to report Jade and Jesse are innocent, and allows them to run away together. Before the rest of police unit can arrive, the Lieutenant discovers Tiffany's body. After poking her a few times, the charred doll springs to life. The Lieutenant screams in horror as a screeching, sharp-tooth baby emerges from beneath Tiffany's dress and attacks him.

comedy, dark, gothic, murder, cult, violence, horror

train

imdb

Together they fall in love and kidnap a nice couple (Nick Stabile, Katherine Heigl) to take them to Chuck's coffin to get an amulet to make Chucky and Tiffany real people again...A lot better than it sounds. John Ritter has a nice cameo too as a sheriff.The acting is good--Stabile is young, VERY handsome and likable; Heigl doesn't have much to do but pulls it off and Brad Dourif (the voice of Chucky) and Tilly are hilarious as the murderous dolls. My favorite part is when the dolls have sex (don't ask) and she asks for a rubber and he responds, "But I'm MADE of rubber!" The special effects are good (no lousy CGI here) and this is one of the few horror films to mix humor and violence in an entertaining way. Not only that, but it always seems that in the "Child's Play" series you could never really tell if Chucky's dead or not, whether he's shot in the heart, exploded into bits of pieces, or hacked up in a huge fan.This film also includes some memorable scenes, for example, the stunning segment where that guy gets blown to bits by getting hit by that huge truck. Some good dialogue, a great plotline, pulse pounding suspense, and a hard-hitting soundtrack, "Bride of Chucky" promises everything the previews do and may become a famous pick-out in the horror genre. Clever is the word that comes to mind when I think of the mixture of horror and comedy that makes up a good deal of BRIDE OF CHUCKY, much of the humor due to some good one-liners by Chucky (courtesy of BRAD DOURIF's voice). It's the comedy here that wins out for the most part, from the failed ceremony, the continuous references to the other toy dolls she has laying around and the utterly hilarious running gag of everybody's reaction to Tiffany and Chucky dolls throughout the film, though the greatest material is their quips and jokes to each other. These are truly gut-busting as the dolls begin conversing about being out-of-touch in regards to movie-killer practices and trying to instill the need for variety in the kills to be committed or in their relationship woes which sound like real, actual relationship arguments but come off as hilarious due to the nature of being said by plastic dolls. As well with the comedy, the horror elements here are wholly impressive including the extravagant visual flair found in many of the scenes here that readily turns this into a comedy, from the initial attack in the trailer-park house that gets her into doll-form as the distraction from the movie allows for the trap to be deployed which is just suitably perfect here. As the title explains, Chucky (voice of Brad Dourif) takes on a mate (Jennifer Tilly)...and she's as much of a wise-cracker as he is.Yes, these movies have no real point. Finally, the first part won out and I got rid of it....but it was fun while it lasted.Jennifer Tilley, one of the all-time low-life-character-playing actresses in Hollywood along with Jennifer Jason-Leigh, complete with ditsy voice and humongous breasts with cleavage that meteors could get lost in, is the star here along with the demonic doll "Chucky," who never seems to go away. Ronny Yu and Don Mancini created a great horror comedy that has nothing to do with the previous "Child's PLay" movies. Watch it with low expectations and don't be influenced by it's title because "BRIDE OF CHUCKY" is a great horror comedy. I have been a big fan of the "Child's Play" franchise since I was about seven years old, and this movie pretty much sums up everything that makes a Chucky movie great. In this fourth installment, the focus is finally taken off of the saga of Andy Barclay (which was getting a bit played out by the end of "Child's Play 3"), and instead on Chucky and Tiffany, a previous flame who was with him up until his original death. After Tiffany (played to perfection by the wonderful Jennifer Tilly and her wonderful cleavage) finally gets a hold of Chucky's remains (basically a trash bag full of Chucky parts [see part 3]) and resurrects him with some strategic sewing, he turns on her and ends up passing her soul into another doll. In this case, Bride of Chucky is going all-out for laughs, and it's quite successful at doing so, making it easily the best film in this not-so-good series.The movie's first scenes already let us know just how tongue-in-cheek all of this is. The scene-stealers are Chucky and Tiffany, spouting a lot of memorable lines without ever getting into the "hip" style that has annoyingly permeated virtually every other slasher film in recent memory. Jennifer Tilly is equally as fun as Tiffany, making for an effective foil to Chucky, and is all the more hilarious because of their love/hate relationship that's positively psychotic. And it was exactly what Chucky needed at the time to win back audiences who had grown tired of his old antics by the time the third film had rolled out.Jennifer Tilly stars as Tiffany, the former lover of the infamous "Lakeshore Strangler" Charles Lee Ray- who had transferred his soul into a children's doll known as Chucky. but it was the film the series needed at the time to reinvigorate audience interest and evolve as a legitimate franchise.As a horror fan, I have to give "Bride of Chucky" a near-perfect 9 out of 10.. At this moment he is working about Freddy vs Jason which brings the 2 perhaps most famous horror icons, together on the screen and in 1998 he brought us this 3rd sequel in the Child's Play series. Mainly watched 'Bride of Chucky' having decided to recently watch and review all the films in the 'Child's Play'/Chucky series, having been intrigued for a long time by Chucky the doll's horror icon status, a deserved distinction.Do feel that the character himself is better than the films, as has been said before. Ronny Yu's direction is suitably colourful and of all the directing jobs for me it is second to the original 'Child's Play' in terms of the most personality and panache.Chucky's lines are like in the first two films, darkly witty and clever with one-liners that are smart, frighteningly sarcastic and entertainingly twisted. 'Bride of Chucky' is one of the better scripted 'Child's Play'/Chucky films, with its wicked humour, irresistibly entertaining interplay between Chucky and Tiffany and witty classic past and present horror film references. Some may not like that 'Bride of Chucky' takes more of a wickedly comedic route rather than providing lots of scares, it wasn't a problem for me and that it went that route was what makes it stand out amongst the rest of the 'Child's Play'/Chucky films. Like the first 'Child's Play', it mostly avoided going the cheesy, goofy and formulaic route that it could easily have done considering the premise.'Bride of Chucky' does have some creepiness despite the more comedic tone, with some genuinely unsettling set pieces. Considering the franchise is based around a killer doll, the Child's Play series isn't meant to be taken seriously.'Bride of Chucky' lives up to the silly premise. Nearly a decade after the disappointing 'Child's Play III', BOC reunites Chucky with his last human girlfriend Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly, who straddles the line between sexy and annoying). At one point, Chucky says 'It's a long story...if it was a movie you'd need three or four sequels to do it justice', typical of the self-aware humour of horror films in the late nineties/early 2000s. If you like the Child's Play series, you'll know what to expect: blood, lots of deaths, a few laughs, a few scares and plenty of silliness. BOC also features Katherine Heigel (now the queen of terrible rom-coms) in one of her earlier roles and one of the later roles of the late John Ritter.If you like the Child's Play series, or horror movies in general, then 'Bride of Chucky' is worth a look.. The murderous child's doll, Chucky, comes back to life after his human girlfriend Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly) brings him back to life, only finding herself becoming a doll as well. Together, the killer dolls take two eloping high-school graduates, Jesse (Nick Stabile) and Jade (Katherine Heigl), to New Jersey to retrieve Chucky's amulet from his human body, needed to revive him into human form.The plot's pacing and script worked fine in this movie, with some suspense, thrills and creepy moments. Thats the plot and it doesn't make sense, why not just keep her alive so she can go drive to get the amulet, yet there's the fact that chuck is a possessed doll in the first place...Anyway, it keeps you entertained the whole way through without bad stupid slow parts or any padding, this is a bad movie, there are worse movies, but if you like bad horror movies, and the chucky films, (I don't really like the first ones) you'll like this.. Bride of chucky is a rare thing , a fourth entry to a horror movie series thats great in its own right! Its a hilarious and inventive horror comedy packed with some great scares, despite being played for laughs .Childs play creator don Mancini seemed to be aware of how ridiculous the concept of a killer doll was - which explains the postmodern , self mocking approach to the film.Its an approach that works- the way the film decides not to take it self seriously like its predecessors allows you to sit back and enjoy the ride.And a fun ride it is too.Adding to the morbid fun is the highly watchable pairing of chucky and tilly (played with gusto by a super sexy jennifer tilly ).Any one trying to reinvent a flagging horror franchise should use this highly entertaining childs play entry as a blue print.Tons of self effacing fun .. Truthfully, I wasn't expecting much going into "Bride of Chucky." To my surprise, I haven't had this much fun at the movies in years. The special effects make-up is outstanding; Chucky and his bride Tiffany are incredibly lifelike and given great voices by Brad Dourif and Jennifer Tilly. Making self-references to other Child's Play movies as well as other horror movies in general (after John Ritter gets it in the face with a booby-trap of nails making him look like Pinhead, Chucky stands over him and says, "Now why does that look so familiar?")If you go into the movie expecting a serious horror movie, forget it -- you'll be disappointed. If you go in looking for something that resembles a horror/comedy that is also pure camp, then you'll love this newest installment of the Child's Play series.. First of all I have to say that I like the whole Child's Play series, but this one was more than just a good movie to watch on TV at night. This Chucky movie was when the whole series of killing Andy is were it stops,into a new direction.I to dally love this movie,it made me laugh, it made me cry, it even made me a Chucky fan scared.This movie shows more of Chucky and Tiffany than the rest of the cast.It shows Chucky trying to compete which I love because more killing.I loved the idea that they give him a bride because one simple change can change him to a better doll killer.Next to Childs' Play,I love part four of Chucky,it was a wonderful movie to see.I also love that scene were she changes herself,much better like that than the way it normally was,I was a scene to love.And still Chucky can't finish the ritual,and that is what I love because this way the series will never stop.More Chucky, more killing, more ways for Chucky to die in a horrible way.I hope it will go on for generations and maybe one part he will fight.I will love that we will fight another small killer so he can fight.And maybe a part to show his family it all characters will be funny and great.That is what I hope to happen.Till then I will keep seeing the Chucky movies over and over and over.. Jesse accepts the offer as he decides to take his girlfriend Jade (Katherine Heigl) to go with him to run away from her strict/bossy police officer of an uncle Chief Warren (John Ritter) and are on the road for Chucky is on the loose killing anyone that gets in his way with the help of Tiffany.A mediocre sequel from writer Don Mancini and Hong Kong director Ronny Yu and is the 4th installment of the popular Child's Play franchise. She raised him from the slumber and learnt the hurtful truth and imprisoned him, but Chucky escapes to kill her and placed her soul in a doll, then they kidnap a young good looking couple (Katherine Heigl and Nick Stabile) and They have to get the Heart of Damballah magic amulet to be successful in soul transfusion.This film is short on scares and is more on the comedy side of the scenes and script. I personally prefer this movie over the first Childs play as in that film Chucky was nowhere near as comedic, instead we were meant to take him seriously. What they did with the sequels was great and makes the rest of the films enjoyable and at the same time sticking to the horror genre with some intense scenes. Just what we want in a Horror film, to be half-entertained by a third rate comedian without a moment of actual fear.The good news is that the fourth sequel recognizes Chucky for what he is - a joke. Just like the first 3 films, Bride of Chucky is good for a few laughs with your friends on Halloween, or maybe even as a drinking game. The obvious influence here, though, is THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, seen playing on television at one point.Brad Dourif returns as the voice of the foul-mouthed doll, Chucky. Jennifer Tilly plays the bride in this one,, she is real,, then goes to being in doll form as Chucky's wife, had trouble figuring out if they were real or not.. Conflicts also brew between between Chucky and Tiffany, but it also has the film act like it can't decide whether Chucky and Tiffany love each other or not.With some fresh faces and a more modern feel, Bride of Chucky also goes to making a bit of fun towards the series history and to other horror movie genres. It feels fresh and new and certainly isn't a bad way to resurrect the series.Graeme Revell returns to score and briefly brings back his theme from Child's Play 2.I will always prefer the first and second films for being a bit more on the serious side (even though they were plenty hilarious as well) but this was probably the best way to return the Chuckster to the big screen. If you're a fan of the series or you like a movie with a lot of dark humor see Bride of Chucky.. Bride of Chucky is one of the most entertaining horror movies I have seen in some time. Jennifer Tilly is also used to good effect as Tiffany, aka The Bride Of Chucky. I always found the CHILDS PLAY/Chucky films to be dumb and pandering..then I saw BRIDE OF CHUCKY a funny,fast-moving,FUN horror flick. With a tag line like "Chucky gets lucky" you can expect a film that doesn't take itself too seriously and Bride... is certainly not a movie to be taken, or even attempt to be taken, in any way, shape or form, remotely seriously.Jokes and one-liners abound throughout the movie, and there are a number of visual gags that poke fun at other horror flicks (see the Pinhead scene, for example).The two dolls steal the entire film thoroughly and Brad Dourif (who has to rank as one of the world's most underrated bit-part actors) voices Chucky perfectly.If you like silly horror, then this one is a must-see. Bride of Chucky is easily my favorite of the Child's Play movies, though I love Chucky's comments throughout the entire franchise. The Kids of the Eighties like us - who grew up watching Chucky over the years but unfortunately had the same height as 'our star' at that particular time were turned away at the Movie house with a warning of 'don't you even think about it, Kiddo!!' Now these 'Big' kids are excited to have passed the R rating 10 years later to go and finally see him Back in the Big Silver Screen - Yaaaaaay!The world's favourite Serial Killer doll is cooler than ever to be Fantastically Vocalised as always by Genre Star Brad Dourif, but this time brings a lil' Honey.Charles Lee Ray's Ex-lover, Tiffany, is wonderfully played and later voiced by Sexy Jennifer Tilly as Chucky's Playmate and Partner-in-crime, better than Chucky's first pal Eddie Caputo and makes Barbie look like a plain Jane which is a great addition to the film. The Bride of Chucky film has more laughs in it than the cheap rip offs like "scary movie". The story is not so important (what story?), but to see Chucky and Tiffany making love is the best thing that could ever happen to us in a horror movie, right? Gore, black comedy, and good acting make this the second best in the "Child's Play" series. He then kills Tiffany and turns her into a doll much like himself and they go on a mission to get the bodies of a young couple played by nick stabile and katherine heigl.Things go from bad to worse As the movie progresses. Brad Dourif is back as Chuckys voice and Jennifer Tilly is great as Tiffany who soon becomes a doll herself as well as a bride.This movie is great the death count is high and the music is cool i can not wait to see seed of Chucky.

tt0944840

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

Six months after the events of Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, Samus is having a nasty dream: Dark Samus, her most recent nemesis, thought to be dead, breaks out of a pod on an unidentified ship. Samus awakes with a shock aboard her new Hunter-class ship built by the Federation for long distances. A transmission summons her to the GF Starship Olympus, commanded by Fleet Commander Dane. Three other bounty hunters, the ice-generating alien Rundas, the cybernetic Ghor, and the shape-shifting Gandrayda, have also been summoned. The four are taken to the Aurora Unit (AU) 242, an artificially intelligent computer mind that controlls the Federation core network. This AU has distressing news: in the past 6 months, the Space Pirates have implemented various Phazon-based weaponry into their arsenal, and are conquering more terrain every day. The GF Spaceship Valhalla has gone missing 4 months before, and the Federation fears that the Pirates have stolen the onboard AU. This suspicion is fuelled by the fact the AU on Skytown above planet Elysia has been infected by a Pirate virus. The Pirates are obviously trying to cripple the Federation's communications, while preparing a major offensive. Dane gives the four bounty hunters the task to deliver a computer vaccine to Skytown's AU. But before the briefing ends, the Pirates start attacking the Olympus with ramming space ships, and a large meteor is on its way to the planet Norion below. Samus and the other hunters fight their way through the ship to the planet surface, in order to fire a large cannon on the meteor. Samus has a brief but fierce encounter with her old nemesis Meta-Ridley again; the creature has obviously been rebuilt, but she fights it off. With the help of her fellow bounty hunters, Samus reactivates three generators that power the cannon. When the hunters are about to activate the cannon, suddenly a large flash of light enters the room. Another old acquaintance: Dark Samus, this time able to fly through solid walls, knocks them all out with heavy Phazon attacks. Samus remains conscious just long enough to activate the cannon, and destroy the large meteor.She awakens a month later onboard the Olympus. The attack by Dark Samus has left an unexpected scar: Samus and the three other bounty hunters were infected with Phazon, and their bodies are now generating the dangerous substance! This fortunately means that their bodies have also become immune to it. And the Federation researchers have found a useful purpose for the Phazon: the Phazon Enhancement Device (PED), a suit addition which allows the wearer to harness the Phazon energy, and enter a Hypermode, which provids strong Phazon-based firepower, matching the Space Pirates' new weapons.The AU 242 tells Samus that during her coma, the Federation has found out that two other meteors, dubbed 'Leviathans', have impacted on the surface of the planets Bryyo and Elysia; they are producing large quantities of Phazon, which corrupts the planets' surfaces. Ghor and Rundas have already been sent to the planets to investigate, while Gandrayda went in search of the Pirates' home world. However, contact with all three of them has been inexplicably severed, so Samus is ordered to go after them, find out what happened and get rid of the Leviathans.Bryyo is a planet comparable to Tallon IV, with old civilizations built amidst lush vegetation. Through old text engravings on the wall, Samus learns that the once thriving civilization devastated itself in a civil war between followers of modern science (the Science Lords) and keepers of the old traditional magic (the Primals). The Leviathan impact and subsequent Phazon spilling have corrupted what little remains of the planet and population. Elysia is a former Chozo colony, where they built a population of self-conscious androids in Skytown, a city floating above the stormy planet surface, before they left for other places. The inhabitants appear to have been corrupted by Phazon too, and the Space Pirates who have invaded the place have, against their better judgment, continued their experiments with the deadly Metroids again. Several dead Pirates are found, some of them sucked dry to the point where their bodies pulverize to the touch. The Pirates have foolishly produced a very dangerous breed of Metroids that is able to enter a trans-dimensional state, and even fly through walls. But Samus makes short work of them. The Leviathans on both planets are protected by generator-powered shields. While searching the generators, Samus finds out to her dismay that there is an unexpected side-effect to the PED: when staying in Hypermode too long, the suit can overload and fully corrupt Samus into a Dark Samus if she doesn't not release excess Phazon. Samus eventually destroys the generators on Bryyo, and she constructs a thermonuclear bomb on Skytown to destroy the shield of the Leviathan on the stormy surface of Elysia. These journeys lead to an encounter with Rundas on Bryyo, and Ghor on Elysia, who are evidently corrupted and mind-controlled by the Phazon infection. She is forced to kill both in battle. Upon death, their bodies disintegrate into Phazon particles, which are absorbed by a floating Dark Samus. Samus eventually enters both Leviathans and defeats the inner guardians inside with the Hyperbeams, destroying the Leviathans, and dispelling the source of corruption on Bryyo and Elysia.She receives word from AU 242, that the Pirates' home planet has been discovered, as well as the wreckage of the Valhalla. Samus infiltrates the Pirates' industrial complex, where she meets the corrupted Gandrayda, who also has to be defeated. Samus finally learns the truth about the Leviathans; they came from a planet immensely far away from the known Galaxy, from a sentient planet dubbed Phaaze. The planet has hurled its seeds through wormholes to distant planets, in order to spread its corrupting Phazon; they were, in fact, Leviathans that had struck the planets Tallon IV and Aether, all those decades ago. Apparently, the core essence of the planet Phaaze is now symbiotically linked with Dark Samus, who had stowed away on a Space Pirate freighter, and had started to brainwash a large group of them. They had helped her attack the Valhalla, killed the crew, and taken the onboard AU to Phaaze.It is clear now that planet Phaaze is Samus' final target. She disables the defences of the Pirates' stronghold, so that Commander Dane can start an invasion. Afterwards she destroys the remaining Leviathan on the planet, and Meta-Ridley guarding it. A trip to the Valhalla gives her a code to control an unused Leviathan that is discovered to be still in orbit around the Space Pirates' planet. Samus reprograms it to open a wormhole to Phaaze itself. The entire Federation armada enters the wormhole and engages the Pirate forces stationed there, while Samus lands and enters the bowels of the planet itself. Landing on the planet causes her suit and PED to go into a permanent state of Hypermode. Not even her ship recognizes her in this state, but she needs this Hypermode badly in her final battle with her dark twin. She arrives near the center of the planet, where the Leviathans were created, as well as the Metroid Prime that had stowed away onboard the one that had once hit Tallon IV. There she encounters Dark Samus again. After winning her first battle, Dark Samus merges with the corrupted AU, but Samus destroys this hybrid, and with it the core essence of Phaaze. The entire planet becomes instantly unstable, and all Pirate ships in space start to explode. Commander Dane orders an immediate retreat to Federation Space. The Federation armada just barely makes it through the collapsing wormhole as Phaaze and the Leviathan explode, destroying every bit of Phazon in the Galaxy with it.Back in Federation Space, the armada makes up a damage report. There are considerable losses to the ships, but all Phazon has disappeared from the scanners. However, Samus has not called in. Commander Dane stares silently, fearing the worst. But then, Samus' familiar ship appears from behind the Olympus. She salutes the crew, and enters a message: Mission Accomplished.Samus lands in Skytown for a brief moment of reflection in the setting sun: the Phazon threat has finally been eliminated, but at the cost of three dedicated bounty hunters. She enters her ship again and flies off, not noticing that Sylux' ship lays in a pursuit...

sci-fi

train

imdb

tt0102685

Point Break

Bank robbers who are surfers? The F.B.I. force can hardly believe that Agent Angelo Pappas is actually considering such a thing. But what do they care? He's probably gone loopy, he's old and washed up, unable to adapt to the new system of the F.B.I. So they ignore his theory, letting the notorious bank robbers "The Ex Presidents" rob as many banks as they like. But Pappas can't believe it when a rookie Agent Johnny Utah is assigned to him! After all the kids a damn ex football player! How the hell is he suppose to solve this bank robbery case with this college punk by his side? But Pappas soon learns that Utah is a crack shot and he's also clever, and supportive of Pappas's mocked theory. Together they set out to get the elusive robbers, realising that sex wax was found at a previous crime scene and that the robberies only take place every summer. The robbers move with the waves.Utah goes deep undercover to find the surfers, meeting Tyler, a tough tomboy chick who can surf like a devil and is a very reluctant mentor as well. He says he's a lawyer and that his parents died, after learning from the F.B.I. system that Tyler's folks are dead too, he uses this to soften her and get her to be his teacher. But is Utah ready for the world of surfers? An elusive sort of tribe that rides on the waves and lives for the eternal thrill of almost meeting their end? He gets tumbled by massive waves and the spiritual and manipulative surfer, Bodhi, Tyler's ex boyfriend, and the leader of a pack of thrill seeking hot head surfers. Utah gets accepted into their group, but as he becomes closer to Bohdi and his pals, he loses sight of their guilt and grows to care for Bohdi as a friend. He botches up an operation with a possible group of surfer suspects who are in fact crystal meth dealers. Through a mass of shooting, blood and naked brawling with two angry females involved with the punks, they learn that these guys aren't their culprits. And that an undercover DEA agent was infact trying to bust them on drug dealing after months of undercover work. As if this isn't enough to make Utah want to take a ticket out of there, he almost catches Bohdi on a mad chase scene on foot, after he stakes out to catch the robbers, but is unable to shoot him because he cares for Bohdi. He also injures his already surgery plagued knee from falling off a slope onto concrete. Pappas doesn't buy Utah's story of him missing Bohdi as he knows Utah is an incredible marksman.Later Bohdi and Utah go sky diving, but the surfer has something up his sleeve. His psycho friend Rosie is holding Tyler hostage after she finds out that Utah isn't a lawyer but a cop and runs off after holding Johnny at gun point. Rosie threatens to kill Tyler and the only way Johnny can save her is by helping The Ex Presidents in one last hiest. But Bohdi makes a fatal error, he gets greedy and goes for the vault, over extending their time and losing a crew member, as well as killing an off duty cop who tries to be a hero. Johnny is knocked out by a maddened Bohdi and left to be arrested by his own force! Mocked by the ass licking agents who are always on his & Pappas's back. They arrest Johnny and are disgusted with him killing a fellow cop, but Utah is totally oblivious to this, hating Bohdi inwardly like a disease. Pappas knows Utah acted like a jock strap and made a bad move by falling into Bohdi's trap. But he defends his young partner anyway against the arrogant pompous ass that is Agent Ben Harp, telling the smart ass that he was on the force when he was still popping his zits and jerking off to the lingerie section of the Sears catalogue. He then punches Harp and knocks him out, saying that he's also always respected his elders and that Harp should learn to too! Now the heat is on, as Utah knows that the only reason he got involved in the robbery was because of Tyler, but now it's become too personal, and Bohdi has gone way too far. But then again, how far is too far for someone as radical as Bohdi?Utah and Pappas go alone to where he and Bohdi first went skydiving, and this results in a massive shoot off and Pappas being blown away by the cowardly Roach, who also gets shot and bleeds out on the plane. They get Utah on the plane and claim that there's no more parachutes, and Roach leaps off saying he'll see Johnny in Hell. Johnny jumps after Bohdi though and in an adrenaline pumping scene he tells Bohdi to pull the chute or he'll blow Bohdi's head off. Being fearless Bohdi says either way they die, and Johnny pulls the chute in a furious gesture of loathing for the other man. They land in the desert planes of an unknown area, Roach's corpse lies on the dusty ground and the money flits into the air with a green haze again the blue sky. Tyler is released by Rosie, and him and Bohdi ride off down the dusty track to where ever they plan to go.Years later, in Australia, Bohdi's prediction of the hundred year storm that would cause the Pacific to swell and produce huge ways, comes true. But Utah has been tracking his ex friend, and in the tumultous storm that the heavens spill upon the Australian coast, the sea swells and floods caused by colossal amounts of rain fall, we see Johnny again walking to the beach. Surfers retreat in droves from the beach, claiming that only a mad man would stay on the ocean in such a tremendous outbreak of fury over the sea. But Johnny knows one man who would, Bohdi, and he's come to collect him to be locked up at last. Bohdi is staring out to see, the figure of peace and in his eyes we see the hunger to ride those waves. Johnny breaks his trance and tells him that he's been tracking him and Rosie for some time now. And that he finally got a break when he found Rosie's marred corpse in a bar after a bad fight. He says he feared that Bohdi would just vanish after that though, but he knew that he would never miss the hundred year storm. Bohdi says that its typical that Utah's here, and that he guesses that the agent has finally got his man. He tries to escape though, almost drowning Johnny in the waves as they pummel each other, falling about in the greyish foam water of the sea. Utah handcuffs Bohdi however and tells him that he told the cops that Bohdi would go quietly. Bohdi begs him not do this, saying he'd die in a cage! Utah doesn't care anymore, it's time that his compadre went down. In the end however, he lets Bohdi go and ride the ferocious waves that rise in terrifying heights like walls of water. Utah watches as Bohdi paddles out to his death as the water crashes into him. Utah stands in the pouring rain, his now long hair sopping and his eyes full of a strange sort of peace. The Australian policemen are livid that he let Bohdi go and say "We'll get him when he comes back in!" Johnny walks away and chucks his F.B.I. badge into the ocean, and replies, it seems, to the raging waves, "He's not coming back."

entertaining, cult, neo noir, murder, violence

train

imdb

For so many films the denouement is a gross failure but Bigelow controls the films peaks and troughs expertly and the ending is genuinely well handled, something that appears to be a real struggle for Hollywood today.In what will go down as Patrick Swayze's finest moment on film, he plays the adrenalin guru Bodhi with glaze-eyed and silver tongued expertise, and manages to pull off the very difficult assignment of being both sane and insane simultaneously with accomplishment.You can almost feel pulled by Bodhi's enthusiasm for a sensation 'as close as you get to God', and as a result can excuse the decade for being labeled that of the 'slacker' generation. Keanu Reeves' character forms a complex bond with him and surfing culture to the point where it breaks his heart to have to bring him down. This makes Point Break not a film of "bad guys vs good guys" but a real exploration of a subculture and how it gets inside people's heads.It help that this is also a kick ass, brilliantly shot action film, with incredible sequences like the foot chase through LA and the skydiving making it as exciting as it is thoughtful. I must have seen this film a dozen times now, and I'm not going to stop watching it until I'm well and truly sick of it - it's just superb.Certain sequences are stunning - the camera work during the chase and free fall scenes leave you breathless, and the surfing footage is excellent. Their close friendship changes to a hard-fought rivalry at the end when cop and gangsters face point blank.Bigelow uses typically American surf beach settings for this unusual and very stylish action thriller with great stunts like parachuting scenes, bank robberies, a car chase, police raids, martial arts, breath-taking chases and brilliantly photographed surf sequences. Watch out for the Red Hot Chillie Peppers as a gang of brutal surf nazis beating up Keanu Reeves and being captured by him during a hard-fought police raid.But "Point Break" is even more than that - it also shows the lifestyle of the nineties in many ways. Die Hard might be the greatest action movie of all time, but "Point Break" is not too far behind. Keanu Reeves plays federal agent Johnny Utah(a role he was born to play) who is teamed up with a veteran federal agent Angelo played by Gary Busey to crack the case of the ex president bank robbers. So if you are in the video store looking for a good action film rent "Point Break". Surfing, car chases, bank robberies, foot chases, cool music, fist fights, gun fights, beautiful women, crazy characters, skydiving, kidnapping, breathtaking scenery, humor.This is the one movie that has all this and more !! Some great performances by: Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves, Gary Busey, Lori Petty, and John Mcginley. Bodhi and the gang are not cardboard cutout baddies, they are actual the kind of guys you wanna hang with ( for the most part!) Katheryn Bigelow brought both a slightly mocking, but also a great sensitivity to the relationships in this movie, that the turd of a remake completely missed.Lori Petty also was brilliant as the no BS surf girl. Keanu Reeves as astute agent and Patrick Swayze as a thrill-seeker guru, help raise potential action-adventure story to a higher plane. Keanu Reeves is his reliably wooden self as an FBI agent who maybe likes Patrick Swayze's bank robber/surfer character a little too much. Reeves lets him surf off into oblivion because the movie is really about the love/hate relationship between these two space cases.All that aside, the story and dialogue is all nonsense and the acting ranges from adequate to bad tho Busey almost succeeds in making a character you could give a damn about. I would recommend this movie if you want to watch an action film that, despite its best efforts, is a comedy. There's not much else worth saying—no real plot to analyze, no impressive acting, just a really funny movie that almost all of those involved in the making of it would most likely want to forget (Mr. Busey being the lone exception; the man turns in another brilliant performance).. Keanu Reeves is alternately placid and over-eager as the agent who befriends surfing guru Patrick Swayze, however both actors manage not to embarrass themselves (they're cartoonish instead of wooden, which is amazing considering these are not characters, they're writer's clichés). Director Bigelow must be attracted to movies with blow hard desk sergeants who do nothing but bellow at their underlings (the Feds in this flick are just as ridiculous as the cops in "Blue Steel"), and she isn't kind to the one main woman in the cast (Lori Petty, whose sass initially substitutes for a character--until she's turned into a victim). Paul Verhoeven found a good way to balance satire and excess in "RoboCop"; "Point Break" shifts the weight and topples over into the realm of such Verhoeven errors as "Starship Troopers" and "Showgirls." It's got that same sort of odd, over-done vibe seeing through every frame -- bright, vibrant colors, loud trashy music, and tons of gratuitous action, sex and violence.Keanu Reeves is one of the worst actors of all time. "Point Break" has to one of the best action films of the early nineties and one of Keanu Reeves best films.Patrick Swaynze's also great in this film as well as Road House and many others. Point Break is a very dumb movie, with characters making very stupid decisions, dialogue that ranges from decent to mind-numbingly hilarious, and some hammy, wooden acting. Point Break is a good, classic, 90's action movie. Point Break follows the obsession of FBI special agent Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) in catching four bank robbers who dress up like ex-presidents. This soon becomes overshadowed by his obsession with surfing with Patrick Swayze and the love a woman who looks like a 10-year old boy (played by Lori "Tank Girl" Petty). It succeeds on its effort of combining surfing with elements of crime and action, and mixing them into a solid, if flawed smorgasbord of excitement.Point Break is a prime example of a 90s action film done right, and a movie that is high recommendation for action fans everywhere. It's a tale old as time...undercover FBI agent learning how to surf while simultaneously infiltrating a gang of bank robbers that like wearing masks of former Presidents during their heists and have a penchant for extreme sports. This film follows his investigation and his relationship with Bodhi whom he admires for what he represents.This is Reeves and the late and great Patrick Swayze at their best! Upon first glance and on the surface, this is a conventional action movie that manages to raise itself above the norm thanks to fantastic direction from Kathryn Bigelow, incredible stunts, solid performances from a set of A-list actors (both then and now), and several plot twists, all of which add up to make Point Break one of the better action movies of the 1990s.Keanu Reeves portrays Johnny Utah, a rookie FBI agent fresh out of Quantico who is eager to please and get his feet wet. Utah's loyalties, ambitions, and emotions will be tested as he finds himself deeper and more involved in this seemingly innocent corner of the world where not everything, or everyone, is as it appears.There's quite a bit to like about Point Break for action/adrenaline film enthusiasts. Keanu Reeves, before he was Jack or Neo, was Johnny Utah in Point Break, a role which put him on the map of action stars and paved the way for him to star in the biggest hits of his career. Both actors are a natural fit for the film; everything from their appearances to their mannerisms and to their grasp of the underlying tones and conflicts of the story, not to mention their fantastic ability to put on a great show during the various action sequences, help set Point Break apart from other, lesser, dime-a-dozen action vehicles. McGinley and Tom Sizemore in a cameo appearance.Of course, director Kathryn Bigelow's fantastic direction, eye for action, and keen sense of how to effectively weave a first-rate story is the foundation upon which Point Break is built. Point Break reveals its secrets far earlier than most action movies do, both to the audience and to the characters, and this is perhaps the best aspect of the film. All of this combined with its first-rate stunts and sequences (including two fantastic skydiving sequences, the first of which is easily the best sequence in the film thanks not only to its fantastic visuals but also due to the perfect placement of the exciting yet laid back music that accompanies it), Point Break is an action movie lover's delight.. Just watched this movie again, and while on the surface it looks like a stereotypical action flick, and in some ways maybe it is, I was actually surprised how much I enjoyed it.There were a few things that were a little contrived, at least for a "cop movie." I don't understand why the chief of police always has to be written as a jerk or why there is always those two arrogant cops that crack jokes all the time, etc. Reeves penetrates a surfing gang who may be responsible for a series of bank robberies, and as it gradually dawns on him that they are indeed the culprits for whom he is searching he has to decide whether or not he can bring them to justice, having become a close friend of their spritual guru-like leader Patrick Swayze.The film benefits from spectacular moments, many of which are silly but all of which are enjoyable. The term guilty pleasure first springs to mind, especially the moment when Gary Busey tells his young new partner, Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves), that the people they're after- a group of bank robbers taking a signature of wearing President masks- may also be surfers. It is as smart as its trying to be, and as fun as a noisy, violent R-rated action picture can get.Reeves, of course, is still in the form of getting his real star presence together, in the kind of role he would make much better with Speed and in of course in the Matrix, as a hot shot with as much ambition as (in Reeves fashion) charisma as he infiltrates the tight ring of surfers, led by Patrick Swayze and the pretty Lori Petty. I think that "Point Break" has always been dismissed as a typical action flick, with Keanu Reeves appropiately playing an FBI agent undercover as a surfer, it does sounds pretty lame. "Point Break" is one of a handful of films that I can watch over and over again, and one of maybe 2 or 3 that I can actually fall asleep to, in a good way of course. The relationships seem real and believable, especially Keanu and Swayze, in the hands of lesser directors it all could of seemed silly and homoerotic, like "Top Gun", but although this is very much a macho film (as Lori Petty's character states "there is too much testosterone here") it has an understanding to it, all these guys, from the FBI to the bank robbers are all in it for the adreneline rush, the thing that makes them feel like men, that makes them feel alive.You know a film is great when it is often copied but never duplicated, like "Die Hard" or "Pulp Fiction". I almost forgot what a pretty boy Keanu Reeves used to be.On the most superficial level, this movie is just your basic 90's action cop-thriller, this time with surfers and skydivers.It's a bit dated but still charming at this point, like something Key and Peele would spoof on their sketch comedy show. This is the most insanely great movie I have ever seen!It has surfing, skydiving, bank robberies, a foot chase scene that you have to see to believe, and the bank robbers turn out to be surfers. It is one of the greatest surfing movies ever filmed, and the skydiving scenes are awesome.Point Break stars Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze. It's realistic, not overly stylised, and it isn't all "Hollywood." It's original and much copied (Fast and Furious is almost identical) and I don't understand why it didn't do better in terms of awards and recognition.Point Break is a step away character-wise for Reeves, and was apparently a risk for Bigelow casting him as action-man and from the opening scene of "100% Utah!" he's action all the way and he does it well with a physicality that impresses. Kinda slow and stodgy at the start-up, where character development is needed, and there is some action involving a bank robbery by 4 people wearing ex-presidents mask, but overall, despite the surfing theme, it's a pretty good movie...even if you don't surf. Keanu Reeves plays a rookie FBI Special Agent Johnny Utah.A group of bank robbers mask themselves as ex-presidents (Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Richard Nixon and Lyndon B.Johnson).Utah's partner Angelo Pappas (Gary Busey) has a theory that those bank robbers are a group of surfers.Now Johnny has to go undercover as a surfer.But he has to learn how to surf first.So he gets help from a pretty surfer called Tyler (Lori Petty).Johnny befriends with this local surfer Bodhi, played by Patrick Swayze.But there is a chance Bodhi and his gang is behind the robberies.Kathryn Bigelow is the director of Point Break (1991).This is pretty excellent of a movie.The surfing scenes are cool.And so is the parachute jump.The chase scene after the bank robbery is neat.The team work between Keanu Reeves and Gary Busey works.And the same thing with Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze.And why not with Reeves dude and Lori Petty, even though the love story isn't the strongest sides of this movie.Other actors of this movie include John C.McGinley, who plays the slightly annoying FBI Agent Ben Harp.James LeGros is Roach and Lee Tergesen is Rosie.The troubled actor Tom Sizemore acts in a small part DEA Agent Deets.Also the Red Hot Chili Peppers guy Anthony Kiedis pays a visit in the movie.I saw this movie after a long time yesterday and it was great to see it again.Lately there has been talk about a sequel to the movie.It may happen in 2009.Not so sure if that's the best idea in the world but I would be fascinated to see that.It would be neat to see 'em ride the waves again.. "Point Break" is an Action - Crime movie in which we watch an agent of F.B.I. goes undercover in order to succeed on becoming a part of a very special team which consists of extreme sports athletes and especially surfers. I liked the interpretations of Keanu Reeves who played as Johnny Utah the F.B.I. agent and Patrick Swayze's who played as Bodhi and he was very good at his role. Another interpretation that has to be mentioned was Gary Busey's who played as Pappas and he was equally good at it.To sum up, I have to say that "Point Break" is a good action, sports movie in which you can find many good action scenes and good interpretations too. POINT BREAK IS A MOVIE YOU GONNA LOVE.PURE ENTERTAINMENT NICELY CRAFTED,GOOD STORY AND ESPECIALLY ACTION AND STUNTS.I JUST WATCHED IT YESTERDAY AND I WAS NOT EVEN BORED FOR A SECOND.LOVED ITT.... Starring Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze, this film appears to be a good and enjoyable as it has has been praised by fans. A fun, thrilling story with some excellent surfing, skydiving and cool one liners.I guess this would be considered a classic now, following a very young Keanu Reeves as Johnny Utah, a sharpshooting FBI agent who goes undercover as a surfer to stop a crime wave of bank robberies. Point Break is an action crime movie directed by Kathryn Bigelow. That is one of the cornerstones to the movie, surf, but there is much more: romance, crime and sacrifice, which made this film worth screening.A young FBI agent infiltrates a group of surfers he suspects of bank robbing but finds himself more involved than he would like, developing a complex friendship with Bodhi, the leader of the gang and falling in love with Tyler, the girl who taught him to surf. This movie is an action heist film directed by Kathryn Bigelow. It stars Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze in the roles of Johnny Utah and Bodhi respectively. In fact, if you don't watch closely enough, you may believe that most of Keanu's actions in the latter 1/3 of the movie are driven by his love for Lori.They're not. Point Break was a box office hit in 1991 and with Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves in the lead roles, along with cracking action scenes and spectacular adrenaline fueled cinematography, it's not hard to see why this film had the correct formula to still maintain its popularity years later.Keanu Reeves plays a former college football player turned rookie FBI Agent Johnny Utah who has been assigned to the Los Angeles Field Office where he is investigating a string of bank robberies by four men dressed as the Ex-Presidents (Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Lyndon Baines Johnson, and Ronald Regan). As Bodhi in Point Break, he oozes charisma and charm yet he has a wild streak about him going up against the system.Keanu Reeves as rookie FBI agent Johnny Utah comes across as a grown up jock at first but you can't help but like him in his first action role he later becomes famous for with movies such as Speed (1994) and The Matrix (1999).Gary Busey has a reputation as an eccentric personality on and away from the cameras as well as garnering a well known reputation as the bad guy with movies such as Lethal Weapon (1987) and Under Siege (1992). To sum it up, you have the star power of likable actors Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves, Gary Busey as a sane good guy, breathtaking cinematography, exciting action, and for lovers of surfing, there is plenty of it.

tt0147800

10 Things I Hate About You

Cameron James (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), the new kid at Padua High School, is given a tour of the school by Michael Eckman (David Krumholtz), who is an audio-visual geek and former leader of a clique of future MBAs. Michael provides Cameron with information on the schools various cliques. During the tour, Cameron spots the beautiful and popular Bianca Stratford (Larisa Oleynik) and is immediately smitten with her. Michael warns that Bianca is shallow, conceited, and worst of all, not allowed to date. Michael does, however, inform Cameron that Bianca is looking for a French tutor.At the Stratford residence, Biancas outcast older sister Kat (Julia Stiles) receives a letter of acceptance to Sarah Lawrence College. Her protective father, Walter (Larry Miller), is distraught by the news, as he wants Kat to attend college nearby. Kat distracts her father by revealing that Bianca was given a ride home from school by Joey Donner (Andrew Keegan). Bianca begs her father to allow her to date, but to no avail. Kat's aversion to dating prompts the father to come up with a new rule: Bianca can only date if Kat is dating.Cameron starts tutoring Bianca, and she informs him of her fathers rule after Cameron makes many failed attempts to ask her out. This news motivates Cameron and Michael to set out to find a boy who is willing to date Kat.Cameron suggests Patrick Verona (Heath Ledger), an outcast who is just as ill-tempered as Kat. Cameron tries asking Patrick for his assistance, but Patrick scares him off. Michael then poses the idea to Joey, also attempting to date Bianca, to pay Patrick to take Kat out. Patrick agrees, but Kat, however, wants nothing to do with Patrick. Cameron and Michael finally explain their situation to Patrick and inform him that Bogie Lowenstein (Kyle Cease) is throwing a party (this is actually a plot by Michael to get revenge, as a rumor from Bogie had got him kicked out of their clique). Cameron and Michael spread rumors around school that Bogie's party will have free beer and dancing, although it is actually a small private gathering.At the party, Kat tells Joey to stay away from her sister. Joey brags that he cannot guarantee she'll stay away from him. Kat gets upset and begins drinking, leading her to dance drunkenly on a table. Meanwhile, Cameron discovers that Bianca was using him to find a date for Kat so that Bianca could date Joey.Cameron decides to stop trying to date Bianca, but Patrick convinces him to go for it. Bianca asks Cameron for a ride home after discovering Joeys true character. Cameron drops her off and tells her that he really likes her and was very disappointed in her. At that point Bianca kisses Cameron. Patrick brings Kat home, and she drunkenly tries kissing Patrick. He suggests they should do that some other time, hurting Kats feelings.The next day at school, Patrick publicly sings Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You to Kat in front of everyone asking her forgiveness, landing him in detention. Kat gets him out of detention by "flashing" the soccer coach. Kat and Patrick spend the day together, and they both realize that they truly do like each other. Patrick, motivated by Joey's bribe of $300, asks Kat to the prom. However, she is suspicious of his motives and they get into a fight.Bianca tries to convince her father to let her go to the prom, but he refuses, since Kat isnt going. Bianca confronts Kat. Kat then reveals that she dated Joey and they had sex, mostly because everyone else was doing it. However, when Kat told Joey that she wasn't ready for sex and did not want to do it again, he immediately broke up with her. Even though she forbade Joey to tell anyone of their one time together or else she would tell all the cheerleaders how tiny he is, Kat still felt immense rejection, thus spurring her to not do anything ever again just because everyone else was doing it and distanced herself from her peers.Bianca and Kat end up going to the prom with Cameron and Patrick. Joey is furious to learn that Bianca has gone to prom with Cameron, and confronts Patrick about the "arrangement" in front of Kat. Kat blows up at Patrick and leaves. Joey subsequently confronts Cameron about manipulating the 'deal' for himself, but after he punches Cameron, Bianca hits Joey three times herself, leaving him curled up in pain on the floor with a broken nose and a black eye.The next morning, Bianca thanks Kat for going to prom and the sisters make up. Kat's father allows her to go to Sarah Lawrence. At school, Kat reads a poem which she wrote for English class, titled "10 Things I Hate About You" (written about Patrick). While reading the poem, she reveals (in front of the entire class) how hurt she was by what Patrick did and how much she really cares about him ("But mostly I hate the way I don't hate you. Not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all"). Patrick is shown to be touched by her revelation. In the parking lot, Kat finds a guitar Patrick bought her with the money Joey paid him, and he admits that he messed up their deal by falling for her. Kat forgives Patrick and the two kiss and make up.(Source: WikiPedia. Bangs_McCoy)

comedy, gothic, adult comedy, clever, romantic, entertaining

train

imdb

Cameron seeks the services of school bad boy Pat who he arranges to be paid to date Kat and thus allow him to go out with Bianca - but things never go smoothly when it comes to love.I'm not a big fan of teen comedies. It may not surprise you in terms of who gets which girl and it's fairly predictable in a romantic comedy type way but that's not it.No - the film is funny, lively and pretty enjoyable. The tongue-and-cheek Shakespeare references were great (the "Stratford" girls, etc.) Julia Stiles & Larisa Oleynik were convincing in their roles, and not to be shallow but the guys of the movie just all looked really good. I do remember the first time I saw it, coming away thinking that I wanted to be just like Julia Stiles' character in it, though. Basic Plot: Cameron (Levitt), a new student at Pagua high school, falls in love with a sophomore named Bianca Stradford (Oleynik). What Joey doesn't know, is that Cameron secretly plans to date Bianca, while he pays Patrick to take out Kat.It may sound like a very confusing movie. All the praise in the world goes to every individual involved in the production of 10 Things I Hate About You,a film that rarely leaves my DVD player.I'm not a fan of Shakespeare's traditional plays,but the modern day screen adaptions are brilliant,and 10 Things I Hate About You is no exception.The highschool stereotypes of the cool kids nobody messes with,the wannabe's that try too hard to be something they're not,the geeks everyone picks on and the rebels everyone is afraid of,mean there's a character in this film everyone can relate to.The stand out performances are Heath Ledger as Patrick,the rebellious,feared and elusive bad guy who wins the heart of Kat Stratford played to perfection by fine actress Julia Stiles who has no interest in the opposite sex and is perceived to come from the planet 'Loser' while her more sociable,boy crazy sister Bianca (Larissa Oleynik)hails from planet 'Look at Me,Look at Me'.Her good looks catch the eye of the smooth,suave and egotistical Joey Donner (Andrew Keegan) who is a male model,and fights for the affections of the prettiest Stratford sister with Cameron (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) the highschool geek,with a big heart and a big crush on Bianca.The hilarious Larry Miller stars as Walter Stratford-the kind of father who puts his girls on a short leash and desperately tries to shield them from the horrors of sex,drugs and rock and roll,and of course,boys.A typical teenage comedy,but its witty dialogue,goofy,sexy,cool and bad ass characters,and enjoyable storyline set it apart from all the rest.There's plenty of memorable moments,romance,and clever and classic lines,all leading up to a predictable but perfectly good ending that leaves you with a warm fuzzy feeling about teenage love.. Based on Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew," "10 Things I Hate About You" offers a refreshing revival of the "good" teen films, as compared to the "typical" teen films. It's not as refreshing or unique as a John Hughes teen comedy but it certainly plays upon some of the clich̩s of the genre (invented by Hughes no less) to good effect.Overall, I was impressed with the movie, and the actors, and that's saying a lot considering it's a teen film (a genre I have come to loathe recently with entries such as "Slackers" etc.).. I would easily give it the best teen flick mantle.Firstly, the acting is perfect, the roles are not overly demanding but Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger play this to perfection. but....there is Heath Ledger who is the ultimate babe and the perfect guy in this movie, and seriously gets you thinking 'why didn't this happen to me when i was in high school?'.the story is extremely cute and i think i can say original, anyways more exciting than the other movies that are in this category. Hot talent, excellent writing, good direction, and a kiss-azz music score makes this movie able to be watched over and over again. I was so amazed at how talented the actors were, I just have to tell you what I thought of them ~First off, I love Julia Stiles as Kat Stratford, Julia is the only blonde I have ever seen who could probably not pull off a clueless valley girl act (which is a good thing, trust me, black-haired, brown-eyed girls like me don't wanna watch dumb blondes.) Joseph Gordon-Levitt is adorably sweet and lovable here, I just wanted to kiss him. There is something to laugh at every minute, and all the elements marry together perfectly to make a feel good movie, with depth and humour that isn't seen very often these days.The cast are brilliant, Heath Ledger is awesome and brings an honesty to his character, Julia stiles is authentic and someone every girl can identify with. Has a lot of actors who made it big after the film - great cast.An old school movie, they don't make them like this anymore!. This is a film where every scene and every shot has been carefully crafted - and the meaning is not lost on a younger audience.I could write about the storyline here, or give you a few of the many really funny one liners or tell you about the brilliant casting (the actors really are perfect). It is made apparent in the case of Cameron James, new kid in school, as he falls for the lovely Bianca, who cannot date until her older shrewish sister Kat will date. And I love the father in this movie, and his fixation on his girls avoiding teen pregnancy.The fact that it is based on Taming of the Shrew, well, my kids are amazed that Shakespeare can be so much fun! But 10 Things I Hate About You is one of the classic teen movies that came out of the 90's that was actually pretty good. It had a great cast, the story was original and a lot of fun, and the whole movie made you laugh and feel good. Also all the guys fell in love with Julia Styles, she was also just awesome in this movie and made for a good strong female lead. This movie captured a great amount of what most teens go through in their world, wither it's just wanting to be different, popular, having an over protective parent, dealing with sex and rejection, this movie just worked on so many levels.Cameron James, the new kid at Padua High School, is given a tour of the school by Michael, who is an audio-visual geek. Although simplistic at times, I do recommend everyone to see " The 10 Things I Hate About You." The movie is yet another one of those adolescent modern stories that are based on old shakespearean plays. '10 Things I Hate About You' is pretty much a typical teen movie that has nothing new to offer. The reason that i thought it was incredible was because of the taming of the shrew link which made the film more excitable.I laughed at everything that Kat said in the movie because i loved her character and i liked her don't care attitude.Bianca was my favourite character of the lot because of her dumb humour and shes a person who thinks she is so popular.This movie has got the most strangest but the best cast of characters which are perfect for the part.I say 2 huge thumbs up for this movie.. As it is a modern remake of Shakespeare's The Taming Of The Shrew, you might think you need to know all about the play, but in reality the plot of the film is different and only the occasional bit of name-dropping has any connection to the play. At Pardu High School young perky sophomore Bianca Stratford (Larisa Oleynik) wants to date--but her overprotective father (Larry Miller) won't let her until her older sister Katerina (Julia Stiles) dates. Cameron James (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) wants to date Bianca and hires tough boy Patrick Verona (Heath Ledger) to date Katerina. Mating mayhem ensues when Patrick Verona (Heath Ledger)--a sullen young man with a mysterious past--is bribed by Bianca's wannabe boyfriend (Andrew Keegan) to woo and win Kat, in order to clear the way for Bianca to begin dating.They say it's a twist on Shakespeare's play, however this is a far cry from it. This is a really top-class comic film, with brilliant timing, and a great cast.I especially loved Joseph Gordon-Levitt (with his great "off-the-cuff" delivery, especially in the first couple of scenes); Larry Miller as the father (natch!); and also Alison Janney as the guidance counselor - I think this was the first time I noticed her.I also loved Heath Ledger's rendition of "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You"; and also around the climactic ball scene where the two romantic leads are "comparing notes" with each other. Thankfully, however, the same year brought us this movie, 10 Things I Hate About You, an update/remake of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew - and a great example of how to do it right. Spend your time actually reading Shakespeare, or watching a better movie.. Recent teen movies of recent years range differently, but as far as the bad teen movies go,and teen movies can be as bad as it gets when they want to,this movie has to be one of the worst of the lot.I'll give them just a tiny bit of credit because I did kinda like the Heath Ledger singing scene...because I once sang to a girl I like at my high school in front of lots of people...but that's all the credit this movie gets!Anyways,Heath Ledger and Juila Stiles are both talented and have since moved onto bigger and better things,but this movie was not a great starting point for either of them.This movies falls very flat.Rating: 2 of 10. This movie definitely wasted the talents of actors and actresses like Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger. This movie introduced me to Julia Stiles, and to Heath Ledger, two excellent young actors. Regardless of the fact that it gains its inspiration from a Shakespeare classic, this is no different from the many Teen-love comediesreleased as films and television series.It is still worth the cost of a rental but don't expect anything great. The best character was Kat Stratford (Julia Stiles) in my opinion, Patrick Verona (Heath Ledger) a close second. The actors/actresses played their roles well and they were perfect for the parts they had.I've seen the film at least twenty time because i like it so much! since buying it i have began to like Letters to cleo.Julia Stiles has been my favorite actress since i saw the film, she is a perfect inspiration for teenage girls. There was ONLY one good thing I loved about this film and that was Heath Ledger. I thought this movie would be really bad when we had to watch it in English and compare it to "Taming of the Shrew" , but I had a really good time watching it. What I discovered after finally crossing it off my watch list is that "10 Things I Hate About You" is one of the most engaging, witty, emotional, and all-around best teen movies I have ever seen.The plot of the movie can be a bit cumbersome to explain, but here are the basics: Bianca (Larisa Oleynik) is the prettiest, most desired girl in high school. Due to a very strict father (Larry Miller), Bianca is not allowed to date until sister Katarina (Julia Stiles) does, and Kat has no interest in high school culture (thus dating) whatsoever. As such, Cameron--with the help of pretty boy Joey (Andrew Keegan)--enlists the help of school bad boy Patrick (Heath Ledger) to woo Kat so he can have a shot at Bianca."10 Things" has a special energy to it that never wanes from beginning to end. At the time most of these actors were relative unknowns, so that fact that most of them are established or legendary in the business today is quite an accomplishment.About the only "ding" I give this movie is one area where it is a bit transparent: In the early goings, the film expects audiences to believe that: A. However 'Ten Things I hate about you' I have watched again and again Рnot obsessively five times in a day, but probably once a year (or more) since it was released.Why do I keep coming back to this film? Just saw her In Dexter and I cannot believe she still looks exactly the same all these years later.I remember watching this all those years ago and totally falling madly in love with Heath Ledger and realising how amazing he is in this film. Thankfully, the writers of this film get it right most of the time, which is why 10 Things I Hate About You should be rightfully considered one of the more interesting interpretations of the Bard's works.One of the smartest moves on the makers' behalf is actually the choice not to reveal the origin of the story: Shakespeare's name isn't mentioned anywhere in the credits. Instead, we get a few playful and fun references to the original author and the comedy The Taming of the Shrew, on which 10 Things is loosely based: the high school where most of the action unfolds is called Padua (the city where The Taming takes place), the female protagonist's last name is Stratford (Shakespeare's place of birth) and the male main character is named Verona, after the town where Romeo & Juliet was set.Instead of two ill-fated lovers, we have two people who can't stand each other: Kat Stratford (Julia Stiles), the "shrew" who refuses to socialize with anyone, and Patrick Verona (Heath Ledger), an Australian textbook rebel who allegedly served jail time for setting a cop on fire. Fortunately, that kind of blandness is compensated by a terrific adult cast, most notably Miller (familiar to Seinfeld fans) and Allison Janney, whose two-scene cameo easily qualifies as the best laugh in the whole picture.To summarize, romantic comedies aren't always that good, especially when teenagers are part of the main plot, but when they work, the result can be something as warm and funny as 10 Things I Hate About You. Then again, the Shakespearean roots of the screenplay must have helped a great deal too.. Also around that time and still today I am Shakespeare buff and am always happy to sit down and take a look and a new adaptation.I'm not going to say that the fashion has dated and some of the ideals have too because they have but honestly in comparison to the other teen films coming out right now this is well written and well acted by people who have gone on to do amazing things and who actually played characters who were both likable and relatable. 1st watched 8/14/2004 - 3 out of 10 (Dir- Gil Junger): Formulaic older than teen high school movie that had very little going for it except for the music sounded good on surround sound. The cast all had great chemistry, the humour was on point and this was the movie where everyone fell in love with Heath Ledger. This is an incredibly fun and charming retelling of Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew" with a great cast, great jokes and pretty good cinematography considering the genre.Definitely would recommend it to anyone who's looking for a fun teenage comedy.. It isn't groundbreaking or anything, especially considering it's, above all, a teen movie, but it's a very good watch. Now, I'm not saying that "10 Things I Hate About You" is a masterpiece better than anything ol' Will had to write (it isn't, I'm a huge fan of most of Shakespeare's other plays), but it is, nonetheless, a good film. 10 things I hate about you is a romance sprinkled with a little bit of humour that makes it a romantic comedy.This film is directed by Gil Junger and it's adapted from Shakespeare's world-known play "The Taming of the Shew".The main characters are the two sisters,Kat and Bianca.Unfortunately,for Bianca,her father's rules say that she can't date a boy,unless Kat does,but Kat isn't the type to date.Soon Kate meets by accident Patrick Verona and falls in love without thinking about it.The initial release was on March the 31st 1999,so you can find it on many websites nowadays. "Ten Things I Hate About You" is a teenage movie/drama, based on Shakespears' "The Taming of The Shrew", starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Julia Stiles, Heath Ledger and Larisa Oleynik. This film kick-started the careers of Julia Stiles and the late, great Heath Ledger (RIP). My love to this great actor Heath Ledger made me watch this film. Well, I remember watching this film when I was a teenager, and that time I used to like all the movies that are sweet and simple and not complicated enough that I couldn't get them. 10 Things I Hate About You. Gil Junger set the gold standard for modern-day adaptations of William Shakespeare works with 10 Things I Hate About You. Julia Stiles, Heath Ledger and Joseph Gordon-Levitt round out Junger's high school version of The Taming of the Shrew. Cameron believes finding a date for Bianca's sister Kat (Julia Stiles) sounds like an easy enough task until he meets her. Cameron intends to find somebody for Kat. Michael tricks Joey Donner (Andrew Keegan) to pay mysterious bad boy Patrick Verona (Heath Ledger) to take out Kat. It's basically William Shakespeare's teen rom-com "The Taming of the Shrew". P.S: I've watched this movie like 3 times in one week!. The characters are well defined and excellently played, particularly Kat Stratford by Julia Stiles and Patrick Verona by Heath Ledger. The standout actors in this film are Joseph Gordon Levitt, Heath Ledger, and Julia Styles.

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Prince of Darkness

The movie opens with a dying priest clutching a metal box. The priest was protecting the box and soon it is found out why. The box contains a key that opens an area beneath a derelit church. The area contains a room that holds a terrifying secret.A Vicar (Donald Pleasence) begs for help from a professor called Howard Birack (Victor Wong) and a group of physics students to investigate this room and a mysterious cylinder in the basement of the derelict Los Angeles church. The cylinder contains a twisting, green gooey liquid. The students attending the experiment are Walter, Susan, Wyndham, Kelly, Lisa and Catherine. Among these people investigating this is a Metaphysican who is named in the film as Marsh (Jameson Parker). Next to the cylinder is a book inscribed in three different languages which they try to decypher.After reading the written passages found next to the cylinder, it is discovered that the liquid is actually Satan, the devil incarnate. The liquid itself appears to be a living organism, producing increasingly complex data that is revealed by computer decoding to include differential equations and sending the computers into data overload. One of the students decides to call it a night and is brutally murdered by a tramp (Alice Cooper) with part of a bicycle frame. Another student called Wyndham is brutally stabbed with scissors after having bugs crawl on his face and body.The next two days develops into something sinister, small jets of liquid escape the cylinder and possess the group one at a time, causing them to attack and incapacitate the remaining students. From outside Wyndham returns back from the dead and says he has a message from Satan for the rest of the group and just after he says the words: "You're not going to like it". His body erupts with beetles emerging from his body. He loses his head and more bugs crawl out until he whole body disolves and only his suit remains. A student called Conor tries to take his own life with a piece of stair bannister that he proceeds to jab into his throat.They try to escape the church and they are stopped outside by possessed homeless people who are trying to kill them. Birack and the Vicar soon start to realise that Satan is actually the son of an even more dangerous and powerful force of evil, the "Anti-God",who Satan plans to bring into this world and therefore damn it for eternity.The survivors that still remain find themselves sharing the same dream, apparently a subconcious vision that has been sent as a warning to not just the group but also mankind from the future year which is supposed to be taken in the year 1999 shows a distorted vision sequence of a shadowy figure emerging from the front of the church. The vision and the shadowy figure shown seem to change slightly with each and every reoccurance of the dream. A voice overheard as the vision plays out each time warns the 'dreamer' that they are witnessing an actual broadcast from the future and they must alter the course of events to prevent Satan from completing his evil plan.Eventually, the cylinder is opened and the entire gooey substance is entered orally into the body of Kelly, one of the students who becomes the ultimate incarnate of Satan: A gruesomely disfigured being, with powers of Telekinesis and regeneration, who attempts to bring the Anti-God through a dimensional portal using a powder puff mirror. A task that he fails at first because the mirror is too small to bring his father into the human world. Realising his mistake, Satan finds a larger wall mirror, and begins to pull the Anti-god's hand through it as most of the group are immobilised in fights with the other possessed members.Catherine Danforth (Lisa Blount), who Marsh is in love with, begins to sob. She doesn't know what to do, whether to save Marsh from the possessed Conor or stop Satan's plan. She feels that seeing as she is the only one not immobilised like the others, decides to stop Satan's evil plan and tackles the possessed Kelly with both of them falling through the portal in the mirror. The Vicar then smashes the mirror with an axe, trapping Satan, the Anti-God and Catherine on the other side of the mirror. Catherine is seen briefly on the other side of the mirror reaching desperately out to the portal before it closes, leaving her in total darkness. Immediately the possessed drop dead and the homeless people who are no longer under Satan's spell walk away from the church. Walter sees this as an advange and runs away into the night. The survivors are rescued, feeling relieved that the evil has been prevented and the nightmare is over.At the end, Marsh has the recurring dream again, except that this time it's a possessed version of Catherine that is now the figure emerging from the front of the church as they all visioned earlier. He appears to awaken, and rolls over to find Catherine, gruesomely disfigured with her face covered with blood or what looks like bloody muscle instead of skin, lying in bed with him. He awakes, this time for real. Glistening with sweat, shocked and screaming, he gets up off the bed and approaches his bedroom mirror, hand outstretched. The film cuts to black just before his fingers touch the mirror, thus giving the audience the impression that the horror isn't over....

comedy, murder, paranormal, cult, good versus evil, psychedelic, philosophical, claustrophobic, romantic, suspenseful

train

imdb

In the same way that I see Prince of Darkness as Carpenter's best film, the haunting music throughout makes for his best work as a composer. I love this film to death alongside with The Thing (1982) is the second installment in what Carpenter calls his "Apocalypse Trilogy", which began with The Thing (1982).It is one of my all time favorite supernatural horror flick from the 80's. Filled with great direction,a wonderful cast,a creepy score and great special effects,Prince Of Darkness is John Carpenter at his best.Prince Of Darkness tells the of priest Father Loomis(Donald Pleasence)who has discovered a secret that has been hidden in a church for many years:a green container that is holding a green liquid that represents the Father of Satan,an Anti-God that is pure evil. Now with the help of Physics teacher Professor Howard Birack(Victor Wong),his students and others Father Loomis has to stop the Anti-God or it will be doom for the world.Prince Of Darkness is a great solid Underrated Horror film that not only marked the return of John Carpenter to the Horror genre but to his low budget roots as well. Prince Of Darkess is the second film in Carpenter's great Apocalypse Trilogy beginning with The Thing and ending with In The Mouth Of Madness and right from the opening credits Prince Of Darkness pulls you into a horrifying nightmare that gives you a sense of dread and such impending doom a scary movie that scares you with the feel of fright and death all around. Susan Blanchard(Lisa)Peter Jason(Dr. Paul Leahy),Jesse Lawrence Ferguson(Caulder),Dirk Blocker(Mullins),Ann Yen(Lisa)and Anne Howard(Susan)give good performances as well.The direction by John Carpenter is brilliant,with Carpenter always moving the camera while using great angles and giving the film a dark and creepy atmosphere. Wonderful make-up effects by Carrisosa.In final word,if you love John Carpenter or Horror films,you will love Prince Of Darkness,a scary and frightening Horror that is very underrated and is Carpenter at his best. This is John Carpenter's most complex and underrated film.Prince of Darkness is an eerie, atmospheric, Lucio Fulci/HP Lovecraft style piece of Gothic horror that can hold it's own against any piece of sh*t horror movie that comes out now days about biblical horror (People who try now days usually come up with mindless Exocist 4:the Beginning bullsh*t).The story revolves around a priest and a group of scientists gather in an old church and try to solve mystery behind a vat of some green goo that just happens to be concentrated evil.Meanwhile, Alice Cooper and a whole sh*tload of homeless people stakeout outside the church and kill everyone who steps outside, and everyone inside is being turned into zombies.Donald Pleasance gives a phenomenal performance, and Victor Wong gives an equally good performance.John Carpenter's writing (under a pseudonym)is top notch this round,with a social commentary on the catholic religion that's equally as powerful as the commentary on 80s materialism in They Live.The only thing wrong with it is the real crappy make-up efx by Mark Shostram(except for the Satan b*tch,who looked pretty bad a$$).I remember when I used to read about this movie when I was a kid and how horrible reviews were on it. Everybody made it out to be one of the worst movies ever made.Every review I read was all about how crappy the movie was.But they also said the same about The Thing, and that's considered to be one of the greatest horror films ever made.Maybe Prince of Darkness is just to intellectual for the American public.But after reading the reviews for it on this website, sounds like some people just don't understand the commentary and the complexity of the story,unless they're a true hardcore fan of John Carpenter like me.It's one of my absolute favorite John Carpenter movies and I'm telling you now,don't skip this movie,it's f*cking incredible.. I've just watched it on DVD, and I screamed twice, which is more than most horror films get out of me.This is the sort of thing that really scares me - demonic entities, bodily possession, slow burning tension and that nagging, ominous feeling that something horrible is happening just out of frame.All the more effective is the fact that the demoniacally possessed in this film look absolutely normal, right until they spray green gunk on your face. Carpenter is tranquil with a good use of the widescreen format (Before the DVD era I hated those fullscreen editions on VHS and I went crazy looking for widescreen versions of some of his films because I think that with this director you lose a lot without the "black bars") but sure he can scare you if you put your mind off and let him get you into his world. Prince of Darkness (1987) has to be one of the most boring horror films ever, John Carpenter really fails here, there's nothing good on offer, no excitement, no special effects, no gore, NOTHING!!! If your a fan of Carpenter, then do yourself a favour and stick with "The Thing" or "Christine", at least they are exciting horror movies, with good special effects and interesting characters.Prince of Darkness is horribly boring and i can only award this film 1/10.. This is another one of my favorite movies of all time, it's kind of also my seventh favorite film from one of my favorite movie directors "John Carpenter" if you can believe that; and the second in his apocalypse trilogy.One of the things I always love about his films are how each film is always creatively different, this film no doubt is a different kind of sci-fi horror film you don't see every day. It's true it seems like a wild concept, but the thing is we don't truly know what happened thousands of years ago in history, and of course there were the archeological findings of the Sumerian texts about a people called the Aunnaki which honestly made me thought twice about the faith I'm in; so who's really to say what is.But also, the plotline is kind of Lovecratian, just like in H.P.'s stories they were always about otherworldly threats but also carried a bit of an atheistic philosophy in which Lovecraft himself was, so the film sort of stays true on both matters.I like the protagonists, it's true there are two characters that are suppose to be the main leads played by Jameson Parker and Lisa Blont they do fine they serve their functions but to me their kind of the weak point of the film as both are uninteresting and two dimensional making them almost generic by their nature. It really the three characters in the film that are the true main protagonists and thankfully have more than enough screen time to be that, which was a wise choice.All three are over course John Carpenter alumni, Dennis Dun is great, it sort of looks like that actor Reggie Lee from the TV show "Grimm" but isn't. From the lighting, some of the seediness of the architecture, the long dark hallway which always gave me the creeps I honestly won't go down there unless I had a 12 gauge (characters in this film probably which they did).I really like some of the effects which are solid and really do add to the creepy vibe, from some good blood/gore effects, along with the big green ooze canaster where the dark prince resides which I'll admit looks like the ooze canaster from "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles", hmmmm did John Carpenter read the comic book series. The character never really comes forth till the end of the film, which is fine by me because here the dark prince is a force of evil from beginning to end, you really feel its presence as it's psychic influence is just creating an oppressive and evil atmosphere.There is a usual the feeling of isolation which is a common theme in Carpenter's films as we see in the third act the protagonists are literally on their own as no one really knows where they are, but are just stuck between a church and a hard place as the army of tranced people (in which Alice Cooper has a cameo role which is cool since I'm a fan of his music) are covering the outside, as well as those ooze zombies from inside that spray out ooze from their mouths; so either way their all fracked.Once scene that I found memorable and always chilled me is how the protagonists have these strange dreams that look like found footage (yeah this film sort of predated that sub-genre), we see the camera roughly moving on the church location and there is this voice that keeps saying "this is not a dream" and the camera pans to a dark figure. It's like Carpenter couldn't make up his mind where he wanted to go, and by the time he did, it was too late either because of budget concerns or getting the film released on time.My original take on this flick was that a bunch of university students are called together to, perhaps, study the nature of evil from different perspectives. There is an abandoned church in Los Angeles.A priest invites Professor Howard Birack and a group of academics and students to the basement of that church to investigate a mysterious cylinder.The cylinder contains some swirling, green liquid.Soon we find out the liquid is actually Satan himself.And soon the liquid starts possessing the members of the group.And no one is safe...Prince of Darkness (1987) is a horror/sci-fi film directed by John Carpenter.It's the second installment in Carpenter's Apocalypse Trilogy, which began with The Thing and concluded with In the Mouth of Madness.This is a good horror film.I saw it for the first time in the early 90's on VHS.The next time I saw it on TV in the year 2000 and just a few days ago on DVD.This is still a scary movie.When you see the bunch of possessed people on the street, and somebody trying to escape from those people.Or one covered with creepy-crawlies.I could mention many scenes that give you the creeps.The cast is good in this movie.The legendary Donald Pleasense portrays the priest.Jameson Parker is Brian Marsh.Victor Wong plays Prof. I don't know, but it is unquestionably one of his best films.The plot centers on the last member of a religious sect, who dies with information on a long-kept secret residing in the basement of an abandoned Los Angeles church; Donald Pleasance (finishing his Wood/Lugosi-esquire collaboration with Carpenter) plays the unnamed priest who investigates, and eventually enlists the help of a local professor of metaphysics (an inspired Victor Wong) and a gaggle of college students to investigate...a large cylinder of swirling green goo. Lisa Blount ("Dead & Buried"), Jameson Parker, and Dennis Dun (as a wisecracking, hilariously outspoken disbeliever) turn in the most memorable performances among the students; Wong, Pleasance, and Peter Jason ("Ghosts of Mars") fare well as the supervising adults; and Alice Cooper has a short but seriously creepy cameo as the leader of a bunch of possessed derelicts.Carpenter's imagery through the years has ranged from the understated (the relatively goreless, in-the-shadows menace of "Halloween" and "The Fog") to the outrageous (Rob Bottin's brilliant FX in "The Thing"). Prince of Darkness is another excellent fright fest from the master of horror which was unfairly nailed by critics and audience when first came out.Just like some other Carpenter masterpieces like the Thing and The fog;Prince of Darkness became a cult classic couple of years after it's release.The movie's by far the most intellectual effort of Carpenter.The movie's about a group of students led by their professor and a priest trying to prevent the dark lord set his father anti-god free and bring darkness instead of light.Sounds familiar right?Well,not quite.The fight between good and evil takes place in a church.Think about it;Satan trying to set his father anti-god free in a church!Quite controversial for a horror movie.But that's one of the reasons why we love Carpenter;he is a director who has no trouble of sharing his vision with the audience.He's a director with something to say.Besides that;the movie gives everything what we expect from the master.Great Carpenter style of storytelling,a very well written screenplay with some unpredictable twists,a unique atmosphere,good performances from some of the best character actors like Donald Pleasence,Victor Wong,Jameson Parker and Dennis Dun,(not to mention Alice Cooper)and a definite Carpenter ending.Prince of Darkness is one of the creepiest horror movies of all times and for sure it's one of the best films of John Carpenter.. The acting ranged from so bad that it was funny (Walter panicking in the closet, jumping around and screaming "they're trying to kill me") to Donald Pleasance's overly ambitious attempts to try to make it seem as if he's taking this seriously.The movie revolves around a strange, secret society within the depths of the Catholic Church (very original) known as "The Brotherhood of Sleep" (which I was very tempted to join at times while I watched this!) Apparently this brotherhood had for some reason and in some way contained (what would I call it) the essence of Satan in some green, gooey liquid stored in a sealed container in the basement of a church. It is for this reason that many people regard this as the greatest Horror movie ever made.Playing something like a Carpenter 'best of...,' with elements from the plots of the Thing, Assault on Precinct 13, Halloween and even Starman, the movie throws about half a dozen menacing forces at its protagonists. Prince of Darkness is the second installment in John Carpenter's Apocalypse Trilogy and just like the previous "The Thing" It managed to scare the hell out of me with the unsetting atmosphere and the great use of creepy VHS clip.I encourage anyone to watching Prince of Darkness late at night to get the best experience out of the movie cause once you finally got into the story it will suck all your attention and make you unaware of the surroundings to the point that when you think you saw something behind your back or in the corner of your eyes while being creeped out by the movie it definitely will send shivers down your spine and make you jump better than any modern day jump scares scene.. Confused and frightened the priest Makes a call and brings his discovery to a circle of top scholars and scientists, who eventually learn the secret of the strange liquid and hell is unleashed But can they survive to tell the tale The cast is great carpenter really nails another movie with his directing It has a real classic feel to it I loved it try it. By the time of its release Carpenter had already a good reputation as a horror-movies director (Halloween, The Fog, The Thing) and perhaps people that went to see this film only did so for this particular reason. the scene when the girl possessed by the evil ghost goes on typing I LIVE,I LIVE,I LIVE..is maybe one of the scariest I've ever seen.Carpenter directed this low budget movie after the flop of "Big trouble in little China" and released a great scary movie,absolutely not superficial,in fact if we forgive him for some "gore" scenes at the end of the movie,I have to say that his idea to show God and the devil like two faces of the same medal is at same time good and terrible..a film you'll love or hate but surely it won't be indifferent,it could damage your dogmas! John Carpenter's "Prince of Darkness" is clearly not as good as "Halloween" and "The Thing",but it offers some truly creepy and haunting moments.A scientific research team finds a mysterious cylinder full of green fluid in a deserted church.It is in fact the Devil,contained in this prison since time began which can only be opened from the inside.Unfortunately it's beginning to stir and strange events occur.It seems that the Devil wants to release himself."Prince of Darkness" is a pretty good shocker with interesting story to boost.The acting is reasonable and there are a few regulars in the cast including Donald Pleasence.The soundtrack by John Carpenter is very moody and chilling.So if you're a horror fan give this one a look.My rating:7 out of 10.. The second instalment in John Carpenter's Apocalypse Trilogy, Prince of Darkness finds the legendary filmmaker blending the elements of quantum physics & religion into one atmospheric horror that's consistently gripping, entertaining & suspenseful but slightly goofy as well.The story of Prince of Darkness takes place inside an abandoned church where a research team is invited by a priest to investigate an old secret that has been kept there for many years. Another aspect worthy of a mention is the film's thrilling score composed by John Carpenter himself, for those synth-heavy tracks add an eeriness to its already dark, menacing & ominous mood.On an overall scale, Prince of Darkness is another insidious feature from The Horror Master that may appear a bit dated today but its taut atmosphere & interesting story will manage to keep most viewers around until the end. Asked to investigate a giant canister of bright green fluid found in the basement of an abandoned church, a group of quantum physics students begins to suspect that the liquid may have diabolical origins in this John Carpenter horror movie. Also, keep a watch for Alice Cooper doing a good job as the homeless leader.Once again Carpenter shows that he really knows how to make a low- budget go a long way because the film looks great and the church location is suitably eerie. I say this because even after the cult-classics, Halloween, The Thing, The Fog, John managed to pull off another excellent horror movie in, Prince of Darkness. Overall, this is not Carpenter's best ("The Fog" still gets my vote over "Halloween" and "The Thing"), but this low budget movie puts most mainstream horror films of the time to shame.Definitely worth a watch.

tt0038499

Duel in the Sun

Pearl Chaves (Jennifer Jones) can't prevent her father, Scott Chaves, (Herbert Marshall) to get wind of her mother (Tilly Losch)'s unfaithfulness with a lover (Sidney Blackmer). Scott gets so angry that he shoots both the mother and the lover. He's sentenced to death in court. After the sentence has been carried out, Pearl goes to live with her cousins, the McCanleses.Jesse, the younger brother (Joseph Cotten), doesn't recognise her, because he expected a Southern lady and she is a half-caste woman who dresses as a gypsy. Jesse's just returned home after finishing his Law studies up north. The older brother, Lewton "Lewt" McCanles (Gregory Peck), is a true Western cowboy. He feels attracted to Pearl. Laura Belle (Lillian Gish) is the female cousin, a weak woman who hasn't been happy in her marriage to the Senator Jackson McCanles (Lionel Barrymore).Jesse offers to teach Pearl, but he doesn't carry it out. He feels attracted to her as well. Lewt dares Pearl to ride an unsaddled horse. She tries, but she can't control the horse, who jumps the fence and runs away until she falls to the ground. There, Lewt helps her to stand up. Another day, Lewt follows Pearl to a pool where she is swimming naked. She spends hours in the water because she doesn't want him to see her. They both arrive late for dinner home.The next day, Laura Belle calls for a preacher (Walter Huston), who orders Pearl to fight sin, sexual pleasure, and says that purity is much more harder for beautiful women. He gives her a medallion to help her.Senator, although he is wheelchair-bound, and Jesse, go to the limits of the ranch to fight the railway workers. The railway is going to cross the ranch, and Senator doesn't want it to do so. At the last moment, Jesse changes sides. Senator decides not to fight the Texas army, because he had fought under the Texas flag they are carrying. However, he won't forgive Jesse his disobedience.That night, Lewt returns from a trip and only Pearl and the talkative slave Vashti (Butterfly McQueen) are there. He enters Pearl's room and kisses her. They make love. When he's about to leave, Jesse arrives. On seeing them he feels so disappointed that he says he won't ever forgive her, although he used to love her.Pearl feels so angry with him, that he decides to enter a relationship with Lewt. They make love many times, and he promises to announce their marriage in a town's party. However, Senator talks Lewt out of it. Lewt tells Pearl he only wants to have fun with her. Pearl leaves the party, and she meets the new ranch worker Sam Pierce (Charles Bickford). He can't dance, but they make it happen somehow. Soon, they get engaged. However, the night before the wedding Lewt kills Sam, because Pearl is his girlfriend until he gets tired of her.Lewt has to live as a runaway, blowing up trains, because of his murder. Laura Belle is very sick and she dies after making peace with his husband. Jesse returns home with his new fiancée, Helen Langford (Joan Tetzel) and her father (Otto Kruger). Lewt visits Pearl at night, to make love to her, and she is responsive to him. The sheriff knocks her door, but she doesn't betray him.Lewt and Jesse have a duel to win Pearl. Lewt wins, as usual, but Jesse survives. Lewt sends word to Pearl for her to see him before he slips across into Mexico. Pearl realizes that Lewt will one day try again to kill Jesse. She meets him in the mountains and shoots Lewt and is then shot by Lewt. Lewt, as he's dying, professes his love for Pearl. Pearl, also shot, struggles to get to the dying Lewt and they die in each other's arms.

murder, violence, melodrama, tragedy, revenge, sadist

train

imdb

tt1949720

Great Expectations

On Christmas Eve, around 1812, Pip, an orphan who is about six years old, encounters an escaped convict in the village churchyard while visiting the graves of his mother, father, and siblings. The convict scares Pip into stealing food and a file to grind away his shackles, from the home he shares with his abusive older sister and her kind, passive husband Joe Gargery, a blacksmith. The next day, soldiers recapture the convict while he is engaged in a fight with another convict; the two are returned to the prison ships from which they escaped.Miss Havisham, a wealthy spinster who wears an old wedding dress and lives in the dilapidated Satis House, asks Pip's "Uncle Pumblechook" (who is actually Joe's uncle) to find a boy to play with her adopted daughter Estella. Pip begins to visit Miss Havisham and Estella, with whom he falls in love, with Miss Havisham's encouragement. Pip visits Miss Havisham multiple times, and during one of these visits, he brings Joe along. During their absence, Joe's wife is attacked by a mysterious individual and lives out the rest of her life as a mute invalid.Later, when Pip is a young apprentice at Joe's blacksmith shop, a lawyer, Mr. Jaggers, approaches him and tells him he is to receive a large sum of money from an anonymous benefactor and must immediately leave for London, where he is to become a gentleman. Assuming that Miss Havisham is his benefactress, he visits her and Estella, who has returned from studying on the Continent.Years later, Pip has reached adulthood and is now heavily in debt. Abel Magwitch, the convict he helped, who was transported to New South Wales where he eventually became wealthy, reveals himself to Pip as his benefactor. There is a warrant for Magwitch's arrest in England, and he will be hanged if he is caught. Pip and his friends Herbert Pocket and Startop hatch a plan for Magwitch to flee by boat. Pip also discovers that Estella is the daughter of Magwitch and Mr. Jaggers' housemaid, Molly, whom Jaggers defended in a murder charge and who gave up her daughter to be adopted by Miss Havisham.Pip learns that Miss Havisham's fiancé jilted her, resulting in her strange behaviour and her desire to have revenge on men by using Estella to break Pip's heart. He confronts Miss Havisham with Estella's history. In a fit of depression and remorse, Miss Havisham accidentally sets her dress on fire. Pip saves her, but she eventually dies from her injuries, lamenting her manipulation of Estella and Pip. Magwitch makes himself known to PipA few days before the escape, Joe's former journeyman, Orlick, who was responsible for the attack on Mrs. Joe, attacks Pip. Herbert Pocket and his friends save Pip and prepare for the escape.During the escape, Magwitch kills his enemy Compeyson, a con artist and Miss Havisham's fiancé. Police capture Magwitch and jail him. Pip visits a deathly ill Magwitch in jail and tells him that his daughter Estella is alive. Barely alive, Magwitch responds with a squeezing of Pip's palm and dies shortly after, before his execution. Pip is about to be arrested for unpaid debts when he falls ill. Joe comes to London and nurses Pip back to health and pays off his debts. Pip realises that in his fruitless pursuit of Estella and wealth, he has callously ignored Joe. Realising the error of his ways, Pip returns to propose to Biddy, a friend from his childhood in Kent, only to find that she and Joe have married.Pip asks Joe for forgiveness, and Joe forgives him. As Pip has lost his fortune upon Magwitch's death, he is no longer a gentleman. Pip promises to repay Joe and goes to Egypt, where he shares lodgings with Herbert and Clara and works diligently as a clerk.Eleven years later, Pip visits the ruins of Satis House and meets Estella, whom her dead husband, Bentley Drummle, had abused. She asks Pip to forgive her, assuring him that misfortune has opened her heart and that she now empathises with Pip. As Pip takes Estella's hand and leaves the ruins of Satis House, he sees "no shadow of another parting from her."

romantic

train

imdb

The last BBC Dickens' dramatisation broke "Bleak House" down into half-hour soap-opera size elements for easy digestion and to sort of tie-in with the original publication of the story in instalments, but here the format reverted to the more traditional one-hour episodes shown over three consecutive nights.You pays your money and while I welcomed the 30 minute novelty was happy this time to sit for longer and take in the master's story over a shorter period.There have been so many previous adaptations that any new production has to offer something different, particularly in the scenes meant to grab the viewer's attention, like Pip's first meeting with Magwich and his first visit to Miss Havisham's mausoleum of a house. Both are done very well, particularly Ray Winstone's Magwich rising from the depths of the marshland to confront the terrified youngster while the set-dressing for Satis House certainly conveys the requisite decay and obsolescence of the dwelling-place of its jilted, cold-hearted owner.It's really only necessary to film the story here to succeed, so great is the narrative Dickens provides, with his adeptness at furnishing a circular story-line, where nothing and no-one is missed out in the resolution as everyone gets more or less their just desserts. Nevertheless the story-telling is enhanced with excellent performances by its big names, Winstone and Gillian Anderson (who was also in "Bleak House"), although the production is less starry than "Bleak House", with only David Suchet as the very correct Jaggers perhaps claiming marquee status. That said the rest of the cast are mostly excellent, playing their well-known characters with aplomb, particularly the portrayals of Pip's shrewish sister, redoubtable Joe Gargery and loyal Herbert Pocket. However I sensed some weakness in the casting of the adult Pip and Estella, the former not imposing enough (in fact I preferred the acting of the young Pip), the latter not glacial or even beautiful enough, but they don't fatally wing the story.The cinematography is superb, utilising washed-out, almost monochromatic shots to suggest the bleakness of the Dartford Moors and the Thames at the conclusion, while the depiction of the London Gentleman's Clubs as well as the afore-mentioned Satis House are superbly realised. My only other carp would be the occasional "modern" vulgarisation of aspects of the story, for example Drummle's taking Pip to a brothel, as if this wonderful story needs "sexing-up" in some way, which of course it doesn't.Nevertheless with the promise of a new version of "Edwin Drood" to come, this was a very good and occasionally memorable version of a classic story.. Fine work of all of the cast relating a story that has been told so many times, that you cannot expect to feel it fresh and deeply touching, but they do. I love Dickens and his way of unfolding his characters, so I was very pleased to see the series keeping close to his book, but in a fresh way suited for the understanding of 21st century audience. Outstanding performance of Gillian Anderson.As an ethereal and ghostly Miss Havisham she is still creepy and manipulative.Who would say that "Scully" managed to be such a great actress! Although Douglas Booth is by far much more handsome as Pip would be;his performance is really good.Many critics complained on the actor being such a model!I suppose this is nonsense. I anticipated this adaptation for months, being a great Dickens fan, especially after the BBC's magnificent adaptation of Bleak House.Similar problems always arise in these adaptations, both suffered from an absence of some key characters (although the latter had more episodes, and didn't suffer as a result) so here as a result the character development is not as it should have been.I was impressed however by how much of the plot they fit into just 3 episodes over Christmas, and the pace was terrific. She was very convincing as Mrs Joe. Shaun Dooley was excellent as Joe Gargery, as were Harry Lloyd as Herbert Pocket, Jack Roth as Orlick, David Suchet as Jaggers and Ray Winstone definitely brought great life and humanity to the dreaded Magwitch.My hat though must go off to Gillian Anderson, although many have thought her wrong for the part, let me explain why she was so good and right for the role.Although Miss Havisham has been typically played as elderly, and her age is never specified really in the book, she was almost married as a teenager, and the time passing would place her in her forties, to early fifties. GREAT EXPECTATIONS follows in the footsteps of those unwise productions and turns out to be another utterly forgettable adaptation.This miniseries is laid out over three hour-long episodes and yet contains less depth and material from the book than the shorter David Lean version. New, endless scenes of characters arguing or sitting around tables are not a substitute for genuine penmanship.Although the production looks good, with some excellent atmospheric shots of Romney Marsh at the opening, like THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL the whole of the action takes place in only a handful of locations, which soon becomes repetitive. Douglas Booth (PILLARS OF THE EARTH) is adequate as Pip and Ray Winstone makes an excellent Magwith and deserves more screen time. Gillian Anderson's Miss Havisham is horrible, and not in a good way. Vanessa Kirby's Estella is certainly not the woman that "any man would want to marry" and David Suchet and Mark Addy are both wasted in nothing roles.A distinctly lacklustre Dickens that takes away the very life and voice of the author, leaving only bland characters going through the motions.. As a Dickens tragic I am well aware that adapting his novels for dramatic performance, whether on stage, TV or on film, will always pose problems, but there have been some triumphant successes. Ray Wintone was born to play Abel Magwitch, and whilst I initially stepped back in amazement at Gillian Anderson's performance as Miss Havisham, I was finally convinced that she was right; her child-like approach fits in with the psychology of a young bride jilted and bitter - excellent. While I have read 'Great Expectations' probably about three times in my life and am blown away every single time I do- I find that I have yet to find a film that captures the importance and reverence that the book generates. I start with what was good- First, the scenery and cinematography was spot on, from the home of childhood Pip, to the streets of London, it was close to what I experience when I read the book. I am constantly blown away with regard to BBC Masterpiece Theaters ability to take me to a different place and time so masterfully and 'Expectation' was no different.Second, Jillian Andreson's Miss Havisham was great. I thought that he played the 'father figure' well and when he confronted Pip about his behavior and new life-he demanded attention to not only Pip's choices, but as the book captures so well, the deeper themes of social class struggles, family versus money and honesty all took center stage. The minor characters, such as Able Magwitch (Ray Winstone), Herbert Pocket (Harry Lloyd) and Jaggers (David Suchet) were also very good and fit nicely into their individual roles.The bad was really not all that bad for all intensive purposes, but I felt that a few things just brought down the film adaption.Pip. Oh, Pip. Played by Douglas Booth, who is perfectly wonderful to look at was flat. Since it was clear early on in this adaptation that Estella and Pip encompassed the main theme, it was on the shoulders of Booth to carry the film and he struggled. Perhaps he was too young of a choice to play Pip, while he is close to the actual age of Pip in the book, but he seemed to struggle with how to emphasize his desire, his call for greatness. Booth's performance was not terrible, but it was not great and that was what it needed to be.The same problem occurred with the female lead, Vanassa Kirby, who played Estella. I cannot get the time back that I wasted watching this horrible piece of garbage, but I hope these actors (particular Gillian Anderson) got paid a lot of money to appear here! Not only did they rush through crucial parts of the story, but by rushing through these parts, they added dialog that didn't exist in the book, and deleted extremely important (and well known) dialog from the film.The rushed nature of the film (considering the fact that these are the same people who took five episodes to complete "Bleak House") is mind boggling! "Great Expectations" is one of the Dickens novels that someone unfamiliar with Dickens might watch in adaptation, and yet "Bleak House...?" The psychological games played between characters is far too sinister for the story. Or re watch the John Mills and Jean Simmons version which is near perfect.Lots has been said about Gillian Anderson being too young and pretty to be Ms Havisham but she is actually alright quite ghostly and spooky. It just looks like a standard household with the usual quarrels not what Dicken's showed us at all.Mr. Gargery was a kind-hearted simpleton who said next to nothing in the book but here he's all ready to do the right thing and take action. I don't know WHY they did it but it was EPIC FAIL.And as a last complaint, I think the film (i.e. characters, sets etc) could've been much much filthier just as Dicken's describes it.If you've haven't read the book this version will be fine but nothing outstanding.If you haven't read the book DO SO NOW.If you have read the book, you can watch this if you want to yell at the screen the whole time. If you had never seen earlier versions or had never read the book then you would think this is a marvellous production.The piece got off to a magnificent start - the scenes at the forge and surrounding countryside. Its a shame that he was not saved for the BBC Films version which was released in 2012.Gillian Anderson brings an ethereal touch as Miss Havisham. Douglas Booth was beige as Pip and you just kept wondering why Harry Lloyd wonderful as Herbert Pocket should had been cast as Pip.Its a watchable version, very atmospheric and the side actors bring some verve to their roles. Airing over Christmas 2011 this adaptation of Dickens' classic novel is actually pretty good. It can't compete with the David Lean version, but there's a lot to be liked about it.Yes, it cuts out some moments, which is odd seeing as they had several episodes to tell it in rather than the 90 mins you'd have in a film, but all involved seem to suit their roles well and give good performances.It's not perfect, but there are lots of strong moments within this mini series and I rate it as being stronger than the film version that followed a year later.. I tried hard to check my own Great Expectations at the door but I could not help make comparisons to David Lean's classic film and of course Dickens superb book. Gillian Anderson was just flat out wrong for the role of Miss Havisham. The Pip character was just the right amount of smouldering,young sexiness needed, look forward to seeing more of Mr Booth, Estella was so cold and so good,her soon to be husband was a super baddie. Great to see Mr Suchet playing the Lawyer,Orlick was excellent too.Ray Winstone was an added bonus and brought some real originality to this great Dickens story. There are several fantastic Dickens adaptations, especially David Lean's Great Expectations(the 1999 version is also very impressive) and Oliver Twist, David Copperfield(1999), Bleak House and Little Dorrit. I also didn't like the decision to cut out Biddy and let Pip's sister live, it didn't add anything to the storytelling, and while harrowing in a sense Magwitch's recapture was rather drawn out.Unfortunately I also have to agree that Douglas Booth and Vanessa Kirby as the adult Pip and Estella were miscast. Likewise Kirby came across as too plain, especially compared to Booth which was a little disconcerting, and awkward.Luckily their child counterparts were much better, young Estella was beautiful in looks and cold in manner, and Oscar Kennedy who is every bit as promising as he was in Toast is even better. The support cast are also wonderful, with honourable mentions going to Shaun Dooley, who came across as sympathetic and having a lot more steel, David Suchet's firm Jaggers, Jack Roth as Orlick, Ray Winstone whose acting in the first episode is quite terrifying and especially Gillian Anderson's haunting Miss Havisham.Visually it looks wonderful, it has some beautiful sets and locations while still keeping the evocative atmosphere and not looking too clean. The script while not always having Dickens' wit and not following the novel's prose(in fact the language such as Magwitch's description of the second man seems to have been "simplified") is still good and flows well.On top of this, the story even with the rushed or jarring parts is compelling and makes you want to see the rest after the previous episode ends. Fairly unimpressive adaptation that simplifies the storyline a little too much, has some very uneven performances and the whole thing plays like a rather dodgy episode of 'Eastenders' complete with the odd swear word and graphic image. Gillian Anderson's Miss Haversham is in a different film from everyone else and there are some laugh out loud moments like Estella thanking the horse and Ray Winstone throwing money everywhere and saying 'This is yours' making it look like one of the bets he advertises has just come up.On the plus side it is well photographed and Shaun Dooley and David Suchet make their characters real.Such a shame that the 200th anniversary of Dickens is marked by such inferior product.. Yes it cuts characters from the book, Biddy for example, but with limited time and for the sake of streamlining the story these are characters only missed if you knew of their existence in the first place. For those new to Dickens and there will many, as every generation arrives at classic literature from it's own direction, it is a great introduction to the novel, which I encourage anyone to pick up and read.Standout performances are definitely Ray Winstone and Gillian Anderson, both obviously enjoying their roles enormously and inhabiting their characters perfectly. Any misgivings people have to the casting of the 43 year old Anderson as Miss Havisham should be put to one side. The actors were excellent, Gillian Anderson giving a very creepy yet sympathetic performance of Miss Havisham, and Harry Lloyd was pitched perfectly as the eccentric and loyal Herbert Pocket. The scenery and setting were great, the young Pip and Estella were magical, and the whole thing was flawless, exceptional. It is almost as if the screenwriter was thinking, "I can do a better job of telling the story than this Dickens guy." The bottom line is, if you love Dickens' work in general, and Great Expectations in particular, you would do well to skip this version.. Apparently the BBC has more subsidy money that they can think of what to do with it.Frankly, the actor playing Pip is not that great and Estella is downright homely and I can't help but see Hercule Perot. I had seen the South Park spoof first, and then I had seen the original film from director Sir David Lean starring Sir John Mills and Sir Alec Guinness, so I was intrigued to see that the BBC were making a three part television version, based on the famous book by Charles Dickens. Pip is an orphan, but lives with his sister (Collision's Claire Rushbrook) and her blacksmith husband Joe Gargery (EastEnders' Shaun Dooley), and they are excited to hear from Pip's uncle Pumblechook (Mark Addy) that the wealthy and secluded Miss Havisham (Gillian Anderson) wants a young man to come round to her mansion a couple of times a week. Naturally Pip is sent round to enquire about the job, and Miss Havisham does find him a suitable candidate, the role is to play with her adopted daughter Estella (Izzy Meikle-Small), who looks down on his common and poor mannerisms and demeanour. Miss Havisham decides that Pip needs to get somewhere in life, so she grants him the money he needs to start an apprenticeship with Joe as a blacksmith, and this last for seven years until Pip (Douglas Booth) is older. So the young man of great expectations go to the city, and he shares quarters Herbert Pocket (Harry Lloyd), who is there also to help him learn to be more like a gentleman and fit into a posh and higher class society. Eventually Pip does learn the identity of his benefactor, it is not Miss Havisham, it is in fact Abel Magwitch, because of the kindness he was shown on the moors, the young man is for a while appalled, but eventually this feeling fades. Booth plays the famous lead character very well, Anderson is somewhat more sympathetic than other versions of the old woman who secludes herself, Winstone gets his time as the first scary then interesting character, and the supporting cast members are all good too. Made for television, this film like mini series sticks to the Victorian setting and illustrates it very well, with some dark undertones and themes to fit the story, it feels like a completely experience in a Dickens tale, and a most watchable one, fantastic period drama. For one thing, every time a book is turned into a film, little things must be changed. Gillian Anderson played an outstanding Miss Havisham. Yet toward the end, there isn't a lot said, but you can feel her change in her feelings towards Pip. Her realization that he was right all along and she is capable of loving him. If you are going to be a stickler about every little thing and expect every detail of the original book to be in the film, than yes, of course you'll be disappointed.

tt0414731

Dante's Cove

As the season begins, Kevin Archer leaves an abusive home to follow his boyfriend, Toby, to Dantes Cove, a remote tropical island populated by beautiful young residents, gay and straight. Unknown to Kevin, Dantes Cove has a dark and dangerous history, and he is unwittingly being drawn into a web of supernatural intrigue. Arriving at the Hotel Dante (built in the 1840s and recently converted into apartments) Kevin meet his new housemates: Van, a mysterious lesbian artist drawn to the dark side of human nature, Cory, a carefree party-boy wholl hook up with any guy whos interested, and Adam, Tobys straight best friend from high school who is secretly in love with Toby.At first Kevin and Tobys reunion is wonderful. But soon, Kevin begins hearing a strange voice coming from within the hotel a voice that is summoning him. Drawn to the basement, Kevin stumbles upon Ambrosius Vallin, an immortal warlock imprisoned for over a hundred and fifty years.In 1840, Ambrosius was engaged to marry Grace Neville, a powerful practiotioner of Tresum, an ancient supernatural religion. When Grace found Ambrosius making love with another man, she killed his lover and cursed Ambrosius to an eternity locked in the Dantes basement. Only the kiss of a young man would set Ambrosius free.Having successfully made Kevin hear his call, Ambrosius summons him to the basement and forces Kevin to kiss him. The kiss from Kevin breaks the curse. Not content to be young andfree again, Ambrosius decides Kevin is his destiny, and will stop at nothing to have him. He puts a spell on Kevin, and also turns Cory into a sort of personal slave and spy so that he can keep an eye on Kevin. But Grace wont allow Ambrosius to find love or happiness, and uses her magic to murder Kevin. Ambrosius, who learned Tresums powers while locked in the basement, succeeds in reviving Kevin. Meanwhile, searching the historical society for an explanation of the strange happenings in Dantes Cove, Toby and Van find the Book of Tresum written in a strange ancient language. Van is able to cast a spell from the book and break the curse on Kevin, freeing him from Ambrosius hold. It seems like a happy ending, until Ambrosius uses Cory to lure Toby away from the sleeping Kevin, and throws Toby into the ocean to drown.

haunting

train

imdb

Make no mistake: Dante's Cove is targeted primarily for the gay male audience. While their acting doesn't quite hit the mark, the main characters, Kevin and Toby, do well, and I suspect may improve further in the remaining segments. Sure, the great bodies and handsome faces are wonderful, but we all want love, and this show provides the chance to vicariously jump head first into more than just sex.For those not tuning in to see guys, take heart--there are lesbian scenes; beautiful, scantily-clad young women, and just a nice bunch of young people kind of lazing around white, sandy beaches doing what most of us would enjoy: not much and having a hell of a good time. Dante's Cove is not about BEING gay, but more pointedly that gay people find themselves in everyday AND extraordinary situations--trying to navigate life's labyrinth and survive (Wow! Dante's Cove the series explores a witch named Grace played over the friggin top by Demonic Toys veteran Tracy Scoggins. Toby is moving back to Dantes Cove for some strange reason and wants Kevin to go with him. Kevin goes home gets slapped (LOL) by his stepfather and rushes to Toby in Dante's Cove. There is mostly gay guy sex and Gregory Michael whom plays Kevin and Charlie David whom plays Toby have great bodies and genuinely good chemistry even if they can't act worth a damn. sure it's cheesy, bad and clichéd but gotta love pretty boys, over the top performances, slap scenes and dialogue that just leaps off your TV screen. God, how I love this programme.They say that if you put a thousand monkeys in a room with a thousand typewriters then in a thousand years they will write the works of Shakespeare.Some years ago a group of producers put one monkey in a room with an etch-a-sketch and the result was: Dante's Cove.It's genius. When I saw the first season, I posted a review and commented on the bad acting and sub-par writing. The writing is tighter, the performances turned in by series veterans have improved enormously (Charlie David in particular is giving substantially-improved performances) and the show is just plain FUN! Gothic Horror is a genre I love, and Dante's Cove delivers that. The cast is hot, the sex is getting hotter by the season, and the plot lines are engaging - covering all the territory from "jealous boyfriend" to "jilted fiancée" to "mind-controlling warlock" as time rolls on in the show. For those who haven't figured this out yet, it does feature full-frontal nudity (male) and lots of sex - gay, lesbian, and IIRC a straight scene or two. Perhaps more creative set staging or action blocking could help them cover up without looking so odd doing it, or maybe they'll decide one day that full-frontal in a gay soap is not career-ending. While I'm not looking for pornography here, a touch more realism would help with "suspension of disbelief" quite a bit.All in all, if you like horror, and like gay themes, give "Dante's Cove" a try. Try to watch at least two seasons, and I really recommend going for the third - it's the strongest yet, and starts to deliver on the promise of the premise that we've been waiting for from the beginning.. But she catches him having sex with his butler and immediately puts a curse on him.Cut to 2005--Young hunky Kevin (Gregory Michael) is in love with young hunky Toby (Charlie David). This is (basically) a supernatural soap opera full of nudity (mostly male) and simulated sex scenes. This is squarely aimed at gay male audiences though--there are plenty of hunky young guys here frequently out of their clothes.This is pretty well-made but the sex scenes are the main reason for this. Some of the acting is pretty bad--Kevin, Vanessa, Adam and Josh are TERRIBLE. This does have limits--the sex is (obviously) simulated and there's no frontals on the guys (except for one brief scene at the beginning).So--for gay men this is a silly but fun and sexy soap. Having watched the first and second seasons of this show, I find myself drawn into the world of "Dante's Cove". The cast members are all very good looking and the sex scenes are very enjoyable. Aside from that, the series is great.I've seen the trailer for Season 3 and I am very excited to see the inclusion of Jenson Atwood, who I adored in Noah's Arc. The Story is engaging and yes it can be a little slow, but as the budget gets bigger and the actors become more accustomed to their characters and the writers become more accustomed to those characters, the writing will improve.This series has great potential and is a breath of fresh air to the AIDS awareness films that have dominated the queer market for the better half of 20 years. It also stars veteran Tracy Scoggins(BABYLON FIVE, LOIS&CLARK: THE NEW ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN) in a role that is made for her and she does it very well(she looks good in it too).So check out DANTE'S COVE and keep an open mind. I just wish they'd make up their mind: one minute, they're showing a sex scene out of a soft core porn video, and the next they have the actors contorted in a gruesomely unnatural position in order to avoid showing a body part that they already had on camera early on in the first episode. If they shot it naturally, even though we'd see "everything", the scene would still be far less sexual than the one that preceded it, and would flow much better.Anyway, if it continues to improve at the rate the 2nd episode did over the first one, I'm looking forward to seeing it continue.. Dante's Cove - Three Successful Seasons. If you search Itunes by Dante's Cove you can now purchase the music from the first three seasons. Especially with Thea Gill and Tracy Scoggins.The male leads - Charlie David and Jon Fleming give great eye candy.I hope they bring the show back for a fourth season as it's the new Queer As Folk. I love the fact that they don't take themselves or the show to serious, if you watch the DVD check out the special features and you will see what I mean. Dante's Cove is a cross between Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Queer as Folk. Personally, I found it difficult to except the production location shift, but I got over it.If you enjoy the supernatural, enjoy watching beautiful people and just want to have fun with a show then this is the show for you. Sort of like Queer As Folk, but Dante's Cove goes a step further by showing full frontal nudity! Dante's Cove is one of the WORST written queer dramas I have ever seen! I think the writer(s) needs to take a "season" off and attend a few writing courses before bringing this crap back to TV!The acting is AT BEST, watchable and decent at times, and outright horrid in some scenes. It is the acting that makes Dante's Cove painful to watch! Unfortunately, it's hard to tell if the actors are really THAT BAD, or if they are just doing the best they can with the crappy script they are handed!Dante's Cove reminds me of a badly written and badly acted (for the most part) David DeCoteau film. But, I also will admit that I don't watch DeCoteau films for the quality story lines and great acting. Dante's Cove is so bad on so many levels that it's too numerous too mention. It's like the show can't decide if it's porn, where you'd expect bad acting and good sex, or a thriller, where you'd expect at least half-way decent acting and bad sex. If you want to see sexy scenes and better acting/plots check out Queer as Folk (Canadian Version). The acting in this series was really bad, the plot has been done, the writing was terrible. The ensemble cast has great chemistry, and after you watch the first season, you may find yourself, like I did, wanting more and more.While there is a great mystery going on across the three episodes, the strands that run through the show of unrequited love, coming out, questions over the role monogamy has in some relationships, possession versus love, etc. If you loved Queer as Folk, or maybe even Dynasty for all you folks out there my age, you'll really enjoy Dante's Cove and will be looking forward to the next episode to see what your friends on the cove are up to this week. But if you're more flexible in your support of gay programming and like the idea of a steamy gay soap opera with a magical mystery twist and, in my opinion, pretty good acting (how DOES one prepare to play a 200 year old witch in modern times?) then it's a good bet that you'll have lots of fun with this series.. And if you do, at least don't invite your friends over.The story is bad, the actors are good looking and we get to see a fair bit of nudity, but in spite of that, they are not able to engage. DANTE'S COVE is a two disc DVD release of a TV series for Here! Now that the mystery is over with the public release of the DVDs, the comments and responses are bound to be mixed: there are those who whoop that gay themed and photographed stories are finally on television, and there are those who will wonder why a series could make it through the year with little to no storyline and a production that is essentially soft porn - for both men and women! The difference lies in the fact that the main characters are gay and the hotel inhabitants are pretty guys and gals who spend the majority of their time topless, swimming or en flagrante.The cast is attractive (and we see a LOT of them!) but the lack of plausible story and the mercilessly poor writing and quality of acting keep the show grounded. If you want a well written gay series, turn to "Queer As Folk" (original or US). The "special" effects are unbelievably bad for a series that is supposed to deal with the supernatural.This is being marketed as a "guilty pleasure". To me, DANTE'S COVE is a cool and innovating show as I've never seen any single episode of the others TV-Series mentioned here as 'Buffy the vampire slayer - The OC's -or- Charmed'. I think the writing's just fine (even if the red-eyes thing is far too much !) and for sure some of the actors really CAN act (as Tracy Scoggins, Thea Gill & Charlie David for firsts). I hope so much that one day we'll get the chance to see the Fourth Season : I know I'll go back to this Cove with a delighted (and non-guilty) pleasure again.... 2 of my songs appeared on the soundtrack of Dante's Cove (Season 2 .. But Dante's Cove is so ridiculous and funny, though not voluntarily...The Gothic background is a caricature, with witches having red, glaring eyes when they curse their victims, and people turning into dust all of a sudden. With that said I additionally will review is that season 3 did bring it all together and for me (and this may not be a big jump for some) brought this series into a comic book realm, beyond a soap opera, which I did truly enjoy, the sex became a device of the story, rather than a major part, the plot turned from drama, to thrill and action. And I haven't cried and laughed in almost the same moment (yeah I did both to my surprise), it's special and I recommend it (some may wish to fast forward the lesbian/gay scenes, depending on your orientation) nuff said.RichP.S. Please watch the "Behind the Scenes" as you will notice references I had mentioned, "Dark Shadows" and I will say "Dynasty and Falcon Crest" in the beginning. I do recommend this for your next party, when no one really wants to think, but wants to have a bit of titillation and enjoy the "drama" sit back and be glad they are not there, even though Dante's Cove is paradise (without virgins). OK this is hard cause i like this series but the acting is a little crappy but I really like the story and the extra sex scenes are a added bonus. I still really think it's a good series worth watching, so does everyone else i showed it too. Dante's Cove is such a beautiful place to stage a show. Dante's Cove will be shooting the next season 2006/2007 in Hawaii.It's quoted in the Honolulu Advertiser of August 25th 2006. I just finished watching in its entirety the first season of Dante's Cove on DVD and couldn't take my eyes from the TV set. The acting in general from the cast was OK, although there's plenty of room for improvement, and the script could use some tightening, but I've seen a lot worse on the daily day time soap Operas. The romance and love scenes between the two main lead characters Toby and Kevin along with their chemistry were incredible. Since I wasn't a member of Netflix at the time I heard about DANTE'S COVE, I bought a copy instead, hoping for the best but not expecting it. Simply shoehorning a gay sensibility into old DARK SHADOWS leftovers is NOT writing, but since this was a first, I will hope that the scribes collected themselves by Season Two. The plot, as I can best understand it, involves a warlock by the name of Ambrosius (William Gregory Lee), who is due to wed a powerful witch named Grace (Scoggins) in 1840. So much so, in fact, that in the first five minutes of Episode One, she 86'es a young lass passing by just for making googly eyes at her fiancée!Little does Grace know that Ambrosius is only interested in one thing...and it ain't sex, sweetie. She promptly blasts the "other man" into oblivion and traps her cheatin' cutie in a dungeon within their house for a couple of centuries...the house which eventually becomes the Hotel Dante.Enter hot young lovers Kevin and Toby, (Gregory Michael and Charlie David, respectively). Anyway, Kevin moves into the hotel with Toby, meets the assorted straight, bi and gay guests and staff there (who always seem to be in various states of undress and slathered with baby oil.) People have every kind of hot, simulated sex imaginable, and somewhere along the line a party breaks out. But if you like eye-candy and lots of it, DANTE'S is more than ready to help you fill your brain and libido with yummy, empty calories.I'm sorry I bought this instead of renting it, but I'm not sorry I saw it. The people are gorgeous, the scenery is most peoples dream and the plot is easy going but it has something that made me watch both episodes one after the other.Tracy Scoggins is wonderfully over the top and she steals every scene she is in. Once you have watched the first twenty minutes or so you know what is going to happen throughout.It is wonderfully interesting and I can't wait for series two to come out on DVD.It is on my reminder list already. bad writing, poor acting, tacky music for soft-core porn. The purchase of the DVD of the first season of Dante's Cove was a major disappointment. I rented season one of Dante's Cove on some friends' recommendation, they enjoyed the steaminess of the series but warned me to watch out for cheesiness in the storyline. Mediocre to bad acting, not enough suspense to hold up a pair of pants, story lines that would best be kept in porn movies (ya know, the talking parts of porn when its boring), and clonish actors who look like they belong in really bad soap operas (oh wait, that's what this is). "Dante's Cove" has the potential to be such an entertaining guilty pleasure but despite the beautiful bodies and sexy scenes it's all rather dull. The shows remind me so much of each other in a way but I only wish "Dante's Cove" was as cool and addicting. As of Season 1 I'm not that impressed though and recommend anyone watching this to give "HEX" a shot instead, or as well.. The first season was a little on the rough side, and the acting wasn't the best but it kept my attention. I must say there was still some bad acting but as the season rolled on it got better. I will even go as far as saying that the acting was 100% better than the first season. They got rid of most of the new actors they brought in at season 2 within the first 2 episodes and changed the actress that played Michelle. They brought in about 3 or 4 new actors, which only one of them had no business being on any show at all but all in all the acting was just about dead on this season, with a few noticeable bad spots but it was good. So once again, if you stopped watching because the 1st season wasn't the best give it another shot. The worst of it: both of the main role, Toby n Kevin acting are the worst compare to the other actor.. (It's because the actor are naked, so the audience are looking at their body..) Even though most of the scene are unrealistic.. The acting is not very good but the leads, Kevin and Tobey, are actually pretty decent. It makes no sense at times and you may get lost, but the bad acting will make you laugh out loud. So I'm thinking prime time Gay Passions, not too racy....Imagine my surprise when in the first scene there is full frontal nudity!

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Killer's Kiss

In the main hall at New York's Pennsylvania Station, Davy Gordon (Jamie Smith), a young boxer, sits waiting for his train as he recalls the last few days...Living alone in a small apartment, he becomes attracted to a young woman, named Gloria Price (Irene Kane), who leads a no less solitary existence across the courtyard of his apartment building. He leaves for a fight while she goes to a nightclub where she works as a taxi dancer for its owner, Rapallo (Frank Silvera).Meanwhile, Davy loses the fight and on his return to his apartment, he sees through Gloria's bedroom window that Rapallo is trying to rape her. Davy rushes to her aid and beats Rapallo up who fleas. Shaken, Gloria recounts her life story to Davy about having to support herself and Rapallo who wants her. They decide to leave town and stay with Davy's uncle in Seattle. But first, Davy must collect money owed to him by Albert (Jerry Jarret) his manager. When Gloria phones Rapallo and tells him that she is leaving him for good, Rapallo decides to send out his strong-armed men (Mike Dana, Felice Orlandi, Ralph Roberts and Phil Stevenson) to kill Davy to reclaim his woman.Davy and Gloria go to the taxi dance club where Gloria will pick up her last paycheck and Davy will wait outside on the street for Albert to show up with his money. When two drunken mens club conventioneers steal Davy's coat, he chases off after them in which Albert arrives outside the club and waits for Davy. Just then, two of Rapallo's goons arrive and attack and kill Albert in a vacant alley after they mistake him for Davy.When Davy returns to pick up Gloria, Rapallo realizes that they killed the wrong man and he sends his men out to just grab Gloria by force. When Davy returns to his apartment to pack up and sees Gloria being taken by Rapallo's men, he rushes over, but they get away. Davy is forced to hide when his landlord and two policemen arrive looking for him to question him about Albert's murder. Davy now embarks on a personal quest to find Gloria on his own.The next morning, Davy follows Rapallo from his club to a seedy and desolate part of the Lower East Side where he takes him hostage with a gun and forces him to lead him to Gloria. At the loft, Davy holds Rapallo and his two henchman in check as he unties Gloria. But just then, one henchman lunges at him for the gun and a struggle ensues. Davy is forced to run while Rapallo and one of his thugs chase off after him while one stays behind to watch Gloria. When the henchman left behind lets his guard down, Gloria knocks him on his head and escapes.A climatic chase begins as Davy is pursued across the rooftops by Rapallo and one of his henchmen. When the henchman injurs his foot after jumping from one rooftop to the next, Rapallo leaves him behind to contine chasing after Davy. The chase leads to an old warehouse filled with disembodied shop-window mannequins. Davy engages in a life-or-death struggle with Rapallo, kills him and, believing that he has lost Gloria, leaves alone to catch his train to Seattle.Flashing forward to the present, just as Davy steps up onto the platform to board, Gloria joins him at the last minute and they ride off together.

cult, murder, flashback

train

imdb

shorts and a feature which were so little known that they were never even shown in England, made a suspense thriller… From the fact that he co-produced it, wrote it, directed it and did the photography and editing himself you may deduce that he had more talent than backing… The movie was called "Killer's Kiss," and the multi-talented man who made it was the young Stanley Kubrick… "Killer's Kiss" is a fascinating movie to look back as it is a notable thriller in its own right… It is a film about lonely people; alone people, which is not quite the same thing; their roots almost severed from a past which was once good and is now lost; solitary in the impartial big city at the end of the line… It starts with a confident, quiet slowness that few directors would dare in the frenetic Seventies… It takes its time to develop, and for nearly half the film you can't guess what the plot is going to be… But this carefully measured film gives you a deep feeling for the characters and their context that leaves you, even after all the suspense, with an overwhelming feeling of the humanity of the movie… The narrator, Davy Gordon (Jamie Smith) is a young and fading boxer, past it, but not defeated in his heart… The girl Gloria Price (Irene Kane), who lives in the same apartment block, has, like him, no family nor friends… She's come down to working as a dance partner in a shabby hall run by a baddie called Vincent Rapallo (Frank Silvera).Kubrick slowly, and movingly, shows the two principals taking the downgrade: Davy fighting a losing bout in the ring while Gloria is trying to push off some heavy passes from Rapallo… Even he, Rapallo, is made human, understandable… When he stands in his shadowed office, making up his mind to some malice, his eyes fall on cozy family photographs in nice domestic frames that he takes the trouble to keep there; and, when his mind is made up, he gestures irritably, guiltily, as if knowing he's letting them down and trying weakly to dismiss summarily aside their silent reproaches… The whole story is condensed into three days… Yet it seems to have the natural, inevitable pace of real life; and the moments briefly taken out for little touches of New York street scenes add to the reality and place it in a context of truth… Very little violence is actually shown except in Davy's boxing match which, in just a few minutes, gives a better feeling than most movies of what it's like to lose a fight in the ring… But, in spite of all, you're on the edge of your seat and you're glad to be there… There is a classic chase over the rooftops, but even here there are human touches that kill cliché… These villains are not supermen, any more than Davy is: they can stumble on a fire escape, and not for laughs; one of them can fall as you or I would fall and drop out with a twisted ankle… The suspense is not lessened by these touches: it is increased, because it is more real, seems less contrived… "Killer's Kiss" was a first-class suspense film that foreshadowed conscious and technique that Kubrick was to take to the limit in later years… And, after all, the ending was fair enough for the Fifties… In the Seventies, Gloria would probably have got raped by the railway porter, and there'd have been a lot of unlovely detail and no suspense at all. A young Stanley Kubrick's bare-budget film - perhaps his first "mainline" movie - shows him still in the minor leagues but very close to making it to the Major Leagues. It's definitely a "B" noir that is more melodrama than crime until the ending when it gets very, very suspenseful featuring a chase over New York City rooftops and then into abandoned warehouses.Jamie Smith and Irene Kane are the stars and if you've never heard of them, it's probably because they weren't exactly Humphey Bogart and Bette Davis, acting-wise. While the basic plot of the movie is nothing special and decidely more 'Hollywood' than Kubrick's later works there are more signs of his trademark style in this film than I feel there were in The Killing or Paths of Glory. Frank Silvera, who had the lead role in Fear And Desire, is the slimy villain, whom you actually want to die (a good sign [for a villain]).This Kubrick film can most be compared to 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) or Barry Lyndon (1975), in that, once you get past a slow beginning, the end is absolutely riveting. There are some nice ideas in the film, such as the part where Gloria tells her story to a backdrop of her sister doing ballet, and the Rear Window style way that the Gloria and Davy meet, but as the film is only 67 minutes long, it felt at times that Kubrick was spending too long on certain sequences, which is a problem if the movie is as short as this one is as it looked as though Kubrick was just dragging things out in order to meet an acceptable running time. That might be so bad in a longer film, but here it's not good.This movie is a nice, taut little thriller and is definitely recommended to people that want to see some early Kubrick and thereby see how he developed as a filmmaker, but it's not a great film and I don't recommend going into this movie expecting it to be one.. Killer's Kiss is a wonderful film to watch if you like to see good lighting and cinematography, or if your a Kubrick fan. "Killer's Kiss" (1955), acclaimed director Stanley Kubrick's second feature film, starred Jamie Smith, Irene Kane and Frank Silvera.The story looks like it was partly inspired by Robert Siodmak's The Killers (1946): A boxer called on the slide Davey Gordon (Jamie Smith), is awakened from a dream (a stunning piece of surrealism, it's only fault being that it is too short) by the screams of Gloria Price (Irene Kane), who lives on the other side of his apartment block, as her lecherous boss Vincent Rapallo (Frank Silvera) forces himself on her. Silvera is excellent as our villain and Smith, while nothing special, is good enough for his part, but because Kubrick opted to film the movie "silent" and then put in the sounds in post-production, not only do you have errors like cars driving in the background but no noise issuing forth from them, but the performances are made rather stilted and the dialogue spoken doesn't always match up to their lips. Killer's Kiss shows us the relationship between a welterweight boxer and a dancer.He loses a fight and her boss is causing the girl some trouble.Stanley Kubrick co-wrote and directed Killer's Kiss in 1955.It's a good film made in a film-noir style.It's a small and cheap movie which was filmed in the back alleys of New York.It looks real good.The chase scene on the roof is pretty exciting.The actors are fairly unknown.The main couple, Davy Gordon and Gloria Price are played by Jamie Smith and Irene Kane.The bad guy, Vincent Rapallo is played by Frank Silvera.Kubrick, who would have turned 80 last summer was an amazing movie maker who came up with many masterpieces.Killer's Kiss shows us a little of that Stanley Kubrick we knew later.. I particularly loved the boxing match--bizarre but highly exciting camera shots abounded, you could see and almost feel all the sweat on the boxers (more so than in more polished films like CHAMPION or REQUIEM FOR A HEAVYWEIGHT) and the boxers looked like they were beating the crap out of each other--not pulling their punches or dancing.As for the story, it ain't deep but it's a textbook example of "simple is best"--and for some films this is definitely true. The man is Davy Gordon (Smith), not a disgruntled P.I. or someone else connected to anything legal or illegal whom teeters on both sides of the law but a boxer, plain a simple, perhaps a boxer due to Kubrick's 1951 short Day of the Fight given its boxing content.Following Davy's fight, he is awoken in the middle of the night by Gloria Price's (Kane) screaming and it turns out she's having a bit of trouble with her employer Vincent Rapallo (Silvera) who is helplessly in love with her as it is and thus, the obsession inspired behaviour does not bode well with a woman unafraid to use her voice and loose enough as it is anyway. But he can't due to the censorship rules although it doesn't detract from the film's quality – later on, Kubrick would confront global fears such as nuclear war and make a black comedy out of it and with A Clockwork Orange, he would pull the film from cinemas himself due to all the content many people were unhappy with; examples of taboo subjects and lack of compassion towards censorship that were trying or wanting to break out in Killer's Kiss.The film continues down its unpredictable route of noir and crime, using bizarre street locations full of towering chimney's and bizarre desolate buildings as the finale nears. The plot revolves around Davey Gordon (Jamie Smith) a struggling boxer who meets Gloria Price (Irene Kane) when he saves her from gangster Vincent Rapallo (Frank Silvera). A severely underrated film-noir that turned out to be far more engaging than expected, Killer's Kiss is no masterpiece in my opinion but it did serve its purpose well as a warm up feature for director Stanley Kubrick's talents before he started churning out one masterpiece after another until the very end of his legendary film career & is as experimental as his other features.The story revolves around Davey Gordon; a 29-year old boxer well past his prime, who's waiting at the train station for his girl and in an extended flashback recounts the happenings of his recent past. After this failure, Kubrick decided not to give up and spent the following two years saving money in order to make another movie: "Killer's Kiss", the movie that would pave the way for Kubrick's future masterpieces."Killer's Kiss" is the story of Davey Gordon (Jamie Smith), a 29 years old boxer living in New York at the apparent end of his career. While Gordon is quickly falling in love with Gloria, Mr. Rapallo is planning his vengeance, as he is not willing to let Gloria run away from his hands.With a screenplay written by Howard Sackler (who also helped Kubrick in "Fear and Desire"), "Killer's Kiss" was based on an original story by Stanley Kubrick himself (something he would never do again) that in many ways seems to reflect Kubrick's vision of New York in those years. Taking a realist approach to the story, Kubrick seems to give a good use to everything he learned by making documentaries (the fight scene brings back memories from his first short, "Day of the Fight"), and it is in fact his dynamic camera-work what makes the movie special. Finally, the music by Gerald Fried (who also started his career in Kubrick's first short) is another of the highlights of "Killer's Kiss", subtly adding a morbid and somber tone to the movie's images.Well, the acting is not exactly good, as with the exception of Frank Silvera and Jamie Smith, nobody in the cast was a professional actor at the time of making "Killer's Kiss". It is Irene Kane as Gloria Price where the movie fails, as she seems unable to do with her character something more than looking great on film.Sadly, the rest of the cast is actually worse, with the probable exception of Jerry Jarret, a non-professional actor who is very convincing as Gordon's manager. Shot in areas near the apartment where Kubrick lived on those years, "Killer's Kiss" is like an oddly attractive postcard of those sides of New York where nobody would like to get lost, as Kubrick makes this dark and gritty story a haunting portrait of his city showing its best and its worst faces at the same time.While at first sight it may seem that the movie is important only because a young Stanley Kubrick made it, "Killer's Kiss" really has some interesting elements on its favor. While certainly weak in some aspects, "Killer's Kiss" is an excellent film noir that most importantly, would attract producers for Kubrick's first masterpiece: 1956's "The Killing". The second feature film directed by future critical darling Stanley Kubrick, Killer's Kiss isn't a particularly good film. Kubrick's hand in this is very visible in a few particularly innovative sequences.The mystery/noir-style plot is captivating enough, but visually and in its use of sound, this film is definitely worth your time. But for one of his early films, Kubrick did a good job directing Killer's Kiss. The happy ending got me unprepared for, as I know Kubrick and his love for generating mixed feelings in his viewers, but I later learned that it was imposed by the producers for a lot of money, so I can see now why it is so.All in all, being this his second film and with a low budget, it's still an interesting piece of history in the greatest director of all time's career.. Killer's Kiss only really shows glimpses of the greatness that would come from the much revered director, but no doubt this was down to - as Kubrick's many roles behind the camera would indicate - a lack of backing from the film industry. The Killer's Kiss is the second film of Stanley Kubrick, where as well as the direction, he is the author of screenplay, cinematography and editing. This movie has many attractions: it is a low budget movie with the geniality of Stanley Kubrick, the narrative is in off, the shadows are marvelous, in a wonderful black and white photography, and the camera is fantastic, such as filming the fight of Davy, or the panoramic chase on the top of an old New York building. Set in NYC and filmed in stark b&w, Killer's Kiss, from 1955, was Stanley Kubrick's second feature film as a director.Filmed on a super-low budget, this incredibly seedy-looking "boy-meets-girl" Crime/Drama contains a number of very interesting location shots around the city.Featuring some priceless, wooden performances, ludicrous situations, and unintentionally hilarious dialog, Killer's Kiss has washed-up boxer, Davey Gordon saving dancehall-hostess-in-distress, Gloria, from the slimy, lecherous clutches of her greasy, gangster boss, Mr. Rapalo.This film, with its 70 minute running time, is noteworthy for its final confrontation that takes place between good and bad within the shadowy confines of a dimly-lit warehouse crammed with dozens of naked, department store mannequins.. It comes a year before "The Killing" (1956), a more substantial film noir that marked Kubrick as a film maker for whom you might want to front some money."Killer's Kiss" runs sixty-seven mostly taunt minutes in New York City gritty black and white, featuring some stylistic variations on some standard Hollywood noir elements: the fight game, bare-knuckle toughs, a chase scene, a good guy/bad guy fight (the bad guy, Vincent Rapolla played by Frank Silvera, swinging a fireman's axe, the good guy, Davey Gordon--Jamie Smith--coming up with what looks like a pointed flag pole), a blond beauty to be fought over, Gloria Price (Irene Kane AKA Chris Chase), and a very satisfying ending.The film is framed as a first person flashback from Davey Gordon as he waits for a train to Seattle. It is his future relationship with Gloria, and her connection to the sleazy bad-guy Vincent Rapallo (Frank Silvera), that precipitates the suspenseful events in the film.Stanley Kubrick's second feature film (after the impossible-to-find 'Fear and Desire' of two years earlier) is a solid directorial effort, especially considering that Kubrick, just 27 years old at the time, was living on welfare and working on a shoestring budget. Suddenly, without warning, the viewer is tossed into the thick of the violence, and we witness the fight from Davy's point of view, as he cops a nasty blow to the head and plummets to the floor, the counting referee bearing menacingly over him.At just 67 minutes, 'Killer's Kiss' is substantially shorter than any other Kubrick films that I have seen, but this is probably a good thing – I don't think the story and suspense could have held up any longer than it did. It's easy to see why Stanley later looked to adapt stories by others, as Killer's Kiss unfortunately isn't up to much at all.Considering that the film was made on a teeny weeny budget of $40,000 raised by friends and relatives (kind of like Darren Aronofsky's Pi) it's actually not too bad. There's a good fight scene at the end, but by the time it's all over I was left wondering what the point of it was.It's a brief film which features bland characters and a boring story. Apart from anything, it's a logical starting point, given the fact that Fear And Desire is unavailable (at the director's own behest).This is film noir in its true sense: made on a shoestring budget with no permit to film, Kubrick was forced into the dim back alleys of New York to tell the story of a failed young boxer (Jamie Smith) who falls for Gloria Price's gangster's moll. Smith falls in love, but smarmy Silvera is willing to kill to keep Kane… "Killer's Kiss" features a superb 1950s New York City "film noir" setting, and its three central performances are very natural. Stanley Kubrick was the director, cinematographer, editor, co-producer and co-writer of his second movie and commendably, despite his lack of experience and an obviously low budget, "Killer's Kiss" proved to be an extremely enjoyable and visually impressive film noir drama.Davey Gordon (Jamie Smith) is a washed up boxer who meets and falls in love with a dance-hall hostess called Gloria Price (Irene Kane) and together they plan to relocate to Seattle.

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Deliver Us from Evil

The movie opens in Iraq in 2010. A small group of soldiers are running through a war zone in the desert when they encounter a man-made underground cave. The group leader, Lt. Griggs, sends two soldiers (Jimmy Tratner and Mike Santino) to investigate. Jimmy is recording. Underground, the camera light starts to flicker and then eventually dies out completely. Jimmy and Santino are heard screaming, and then the night vision comes on to reveal hundreds of bats exiting the cave around the two men. Santino produces a light and walks over a river of human skulls to the back of the cave, despite Jimmy's pleas to leave. He illuminates the back wall of the cave, which has a Latin inscription on it.The movie then flashes forward to present day 2013, in New York. Detective Ralph Sarchie is seen trying to give mouth to mouth to a very small bundle, which is revealed to be a dead baby. The coroner asks him repeatedly to let go, but he has trouble doing so and is clearly affected by the experience. The next scene shows Sarchie and his partner, Butler, patrolling the streets of New York. They hear a call coming in about a domestic dispute case and Sarchie says they'll take it. Butler, an adrenaline junkie, is excited because apparently Sarchie has a "radar" that causes him to take cases that take unusual, often violent turns. The call is about Jimmy Tratner. They pull up to his house and Jimmy answers the door. Sarchie needs to see his wife so Jimmy lets them inside. The wife, sitting on the sofa, lifts her head to show she has been badly beaten. Sarchie and Butler immediately try to arrest Jimmy, who fights back with a knife, slashing Sarchie's arm, and then sprints away. They eventually catch him, with Sarchie beating him so badly that Butler has to pull him away, and arrest him. Sarchie notices Jimmy's fingernails are bleeding.After Sarchie gets stitches in his arm, the two get a call for the local zoo. Upon arriving, the police at the scene tell them a woman has thrown her 2-year-old boy into the lion's pit. Luckily, the pit is being repainted, so the lions are not there, but the boy was badly injured. In the ensuing chaos, the woman escaped and the power went out. Sarchie and Butler split up and look for the woman. Sarchie notices the animals are going crazy and eventually finds the woman trying to dig into the ground with her bare fingernails. She is also constantly repeating the lyrics to a song by The Doors. While arresting her, they notice a man in a hood, presumably the painter, in the lion enclosure. Sarchie wants to talk to him but he just slowly walks away, farther into the lion's pit. Sarchie follows him when suddenly the two lions are out in the enclosure. He barely escapes.Upon taking the woman, named Jane, to the station, they are met by a priest named Mendoza. He wants to know more about Jane's behaviour, saying he's been close with her for years and that she isn't insane. He says there are two types of evil: secondary evil, which man does, and primary evil, which is something else entirely. He believes Jane is possessed. Sarchie doesn't believe the priest but takes his card anyway.The two are filling out the paperwork for the night when Sarchie gets a video message from his wife, Jen, and his young daughter, Christina, saying goodnight. Butler tells him the zoo will get them the video for the night's incidents in a few days. Sarchie overhears two other detectives talking about a case where a woman got a call from her father, who's been dead for seven years, to "shut the door, the damn door". Seeing a connection between the woman in the zoo and this case (the Doors), Sarchie offers to take the case off their hands. He and Butler go to a house where the family says they think the house is possessed and that strange sounds have been coming from the basement, which was recently being painted. None of the lights in their house work, none of the candles will burn, and every time they replace a light bulb it burns out within a few hours. Sarchie and Butler go down the stairs to investigate. The place reeks and hasn't been touched for some time. Butler goes upstairs for air, and Sarchie's radio starts making static for no reason. He eventually finds a body in the basement rolled up in a tarpaulin, later to be revealed to be Lt. Griggs. Sarchie questions the family and they identify his picture as a painter. They say there was another painter too, but they didn't see his face as he always had a hood on.Sarchie goes home to see his wife and daughter. The next morning Jen and Christina go to church, but Sarchie doesn't go. Jen tells Christina he used to go to church but doesn't any more. He doesn't believe any more.Sarchie and Butler go to Griggs's apartment and discover he was Jane's husband. His apartment is a wreck. They find another picture with Lt. Griggs, Jimmy, and a man named Santino in it. Upon looking him up, they discover all three were dishonourably discharged for attacking an army chaplain. They served time and got out a couple of years ago. Sarchie recognizes Santino as the painter from the lion enclosure and they further infer he is the painter from the house. Lt. Griggs was found to have killed himself by drinking paint thinner, but Santino had to have been the one to wrap him in the tarpaulin.The zoo has finally sent over the footage from the night the detectives were there. First, they watch the video of Jane. She is seen walking past the lion pit with a stroller when she spots Santino there, painting over something that looks like an inscription. He turns to face her and she starts to shake violently and then throws her child into the pit. He turns back and continues painting as if nothing happened. Next, they watch the video of Sarchie in the lion pit. Santino is shown walking away from Sarchie and turning a corner to let the lions out of where they're being kept, seemingly talking to them. Sarchie hears static again even though his radio is off and children's laughter. Then, a bloodied man pops up on the screen for a split second, startling him. Butler doesn't hear or see anything.Meanwhile, there is a scene where Christina is home going to sleep. She hears scratching under her bed and runs to her mum's room screaming. Sarchie goes home for the night and is met by Jen, who is angry at him because he yelled at his daughter and because "even when he's home he's not really there." He gets mad and tells her he's had a terrible week. She says he doesn't talk to her any more and he says he'll try to be better. He goes to check on his daughter and finds nothing in her room until he sees the bloodied man over her bed in the mirror. He whips back around and the man is gone.Sarchie continues to hear static and children's voices, so he goes to meet the priest Mendoza at a pub. Mendoza is drinking but explains he used to be hooked on heroin, and that it eventually led him to God when he hit rock bottom. He lets Sarchie listen to an audio clip of an exorcism of a woman Claudia and her 5 year old daughter. The clip deeply affects Sarchie. Sarchie lets Mendoza take a look at the clips, and Mendoza doesn't hear the voices or see the man. However, Mendoza claims Sarchie's "radar" might actually be a heightened awareness to all things occult and evil, which is both a gift and a curse.Throughout the movie, Sarchie's family situation is becoming worse. He is distant from his wife and Christina's room is seemingly becoming increasingly haunted. One night, she hears the scratching again and her door won't open. Another night, her toys come alive on their own and move toward her. Jen is mad at Sarchie, saying Christina doesn't feel safe in her own home because she needs her father.Jane, in a mental ward, incapacitates the physician and escapes.Sarchie goes back to Jimmy's wife's house and sees the recordings from the war, including the one from the beginning of the film. Mrs. Tratner says she hasn't seen Jimmy since he got arrested, though he is out of jail. Sarchie views the recording and sees the inscription. He discovers the inscription is everywhere Santino is seen painting - the zoo, the house with the haunted basement, the cave in Iraq, even Jimmy's apartment. Mendoza explains the inscription is a portal to Hell. This explains why all the references are to the Doors, a type of portal.Butler and Sarchie find Santino's address. They, along with Mendoza, go to his apartment to wait for him. Butler is covering the front and Sarchie is in the car with Mendoza in the back. Mendoza says Sarchie needs to confess to God for him to help any further. Before Sarchie can do so, he spots Santino coming back into the apartment complex. He and Butler enter his apartment but he isn't there. They try to chase him down but they get split up, resulting in Sarchie getting attacked by a possessed Jimmy, who appears in the basement, and Butler getting trapped on the stairs. Mendoza is able to subdue Jimmy with his cross. Butler is stabbed to death in the stairwell by Santino.Back at Mendoza's apartment, Sarchie is upset about not being able to save Butler. Mendoza tells him to confess to him. He does, and explains he has killed a man out of revenge before. Mendoza absolves him of his sins.When Sarchie is driving home, Jane jumps to her death onto his car. When he is calling it in, he gets a call from Jen's phone, only to realize it's Santino on the phone, who has kidnapped his wife and daughter. He races home to find Santino and calls backup. They arrest Santino and bring him in. Mendoza and Sarchie are forced to do an exorcism. It is long and taxing for both, with Sarchie at one point only being able to hear a song by the Doors. Eventually, they expel the demon, and Sarchie finds his wife and daughter unharmed.It is revealed that after the birth of his second daughter, Sarchie retired from the police force and works with Mendoza to this day.

neo noir, gothic, murder, paranormal, horror, flashback, suspenseful

train

imdb

I've always liked movies involving evil and demonology since the plot, effects, action and suspense are always entertaining to watchThe story is like a combination of Se7en and Exorcist where cop is on a case to solve murder cases supernatural style. There is also a side story on the main character in the film which explains why he is the way he is and at times made me feel sorry for himThe effects within the film like the ritual ceremony scenes, blood etc in a way were pretty gory and intense to watch and will really make you feel a bit nauseate throughout the film but they were really well madeEric Bana does a solid job as Ralph Sarchie. In New York, Police Officer Ralph Sarchie (Eric Bana) and his partner Butler (Joel McHale) investigate a series of bizarre crimes in Bronx: the death of a baby in an alley: the beating of the wife of the former soldier Jimmy (Chris Coy) by him; and the case of a mother, Jane Crenna (Olivia Horton), who has thrown her two year old son in the enclosure of the lions in the zoo. The skeptic Sarchie does not believe in the father in the beginning, but when his family is jeopardized by Santino, he teams-up with the priest to exorcise Santino and save his beloved family."Deliver Us from Evil" is a creepy and dark exorcism movie directed by Scott Derrickson from "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" and "Sinister". For the hardcore horror lover the movie will get boring and predictable, you've got the cop with some issues, you've got the priest know knows what's happening, you've got the cop's family with the little girl, the entire plot is a deja-vu.The basis on which the occult is based has also been used in almost every exorcism film ever made, even though the writer tried to make it a bit more interesting by mixing Christian with persian mythology, however it didn't land that well.The mystery character is also not very mysterious either, so I guess this film doesn't deserve more than 5 stars from me.. As an important part from its screenplay, Deliver Us From Evil borrows many concepts and situations from other films, either as a "tribute" or as a tool for establishing the atmosphere and tone from the scenes (some examples: policeman with family difficulties; rebel priest with a tortuous past; a main character who has lost the faith; and a prologue set in the Middle East, in the purest style of The Exorcist). I appreciate the fact that Deliver Us From Evil attempted to modify its particular cinematographic recipe, placing the characters' humanity above cheap scares and stylistic tricks (even though it contains various examples of both); but at the same time, I feel that it distanced itself too much from the roots of the horror genre, and tried to compensate it with an abundance of clichés which end up diluting its identity. The point is, outside of maybe The Exorcism of Emily Rose (this director could have taken a cue from one of his earlier films), there HAS NOT been one Horror Film to scares us like the Original did oh so long ago!Since the trailer was excellent, I thought maybe this film could do it; breathe new fear into the 'Sub-Horror Possession Genre', BUT it didn't. The exorcism(s) were laughable (even with Ramirez's inept performance) due mainly to major inconsistencies involving the possessed (including when they were or weren't), a lack of established motive (by either the possessed or demon), as well as a disappointing origin of the demon.Maybe it's too hard to make an exorcism scary anymore (ESPECIALLY when you DON'T do what's listed above)!In Addition: Derrickson, like almost ALL horror filmmakers these days, gives away WAYYY too much for the audience to not only see but to understand (which steals a level of necessary mystique). Overall Deliver Us From Evil, is one of the better horror movies I've seen in a long time. The problem I have with this is that, it is very predictable, and it's like a remake of other exorcism movies in the past, which probably would not be that bad if they can add something unexpected to it, another thing is, there were some scenes that would give you some chills but for some reason some awkward sound effects will come in, and will make you lose that feeling. Eric Bana was great in this flick, but his New York accent, along with the one his hot wife played by Olivia Munn seemed over the top and unnecessary for my taste.Bana plays a catholic born and raised cop from the Bronx who investigates inexplicable crimes happening in the area that turn out to demonic in nature.The cool part of the movie is that the demons are not really shown in the movie, making it more of a crime drama about people doing some disturb things for no reason, but once Edgar Ramirez character of a priest who investigates the supernatural comes into picture and shows Bana's character his full potential, that's when it really turns into the film that was advertised. From Scott Dickerson, the director of the 2012 horror-thriller Sinister, Deliver Us From Evil follows a true life story of Ralph Sarchie (played by Eric Bana), a New York detective who investigates a series of murder cases. Sean Harris's performance is slightly less impressive, but is still a good example of how to act the role of a possessed forced-villain.The second spot of light in this otherwise average film is the character of "Father" Mendoza played by Edgar Ramirez. However, there are Enough New Inclusions to Make this an Above Average Exorcism Entry.Not as Good as The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005), the Directors Other Attempt at the Subject Matter, but Better and a Bit Different than the Standard Stuff so Prevalent, Especially in the Awful Found Footage Films.Eric Bana and Edgar Ramirez Lead the Way as the Creepy Plot Imposes Itself Unto the "Everyday" Evil that is Standard Procedural Police Work. And here is an irony: the flaws I believe are due to the length (overlong by about half an hour, which is a lifetime for feature) and the length is due to the pedigree, ie, this is a Jerry Bruckheimer production and no way Jerry was going to let one of his pet projects get cut at 90 minutes (which would have placed it in the same category as the B films, the "found footage" films, and the direct-to-video jobs).The story which appears to be based on some sort of fact is an odd combination of two iconic films which most buffs will immediately recall, the original EXORCIST and Denzel's wonderful 90s flick, THE FALLEN.I deliberately said "odd combination" because in truth each of these is a different type of story and to combine the two in one production would produce a strange result.Which is what you have here.The good news? Bana is one of those "under-used" actors who always does a fine job and one should never pass a chance to catch him in action.Good as Bana is, however, he is upstaged by the Director Scott Derrickson who does such a great job at setting scenes and mood that you might almost call him the real "hero" of the story since this technically perfect work can do nothing but good for his career.Similarly, Bana is upstaged yet again by Édgar Ramírez who seems to be trying to make the transition from Latin actor to English speaking actor. While Derrickson has been making some good films for years now Boardman is known for his much smaller work like Hellraiser: Inferno and The Exorcism of Emily Rose. A good bit of the film focuses on Sarchie(played by Eric Bana) and his family/work life. As I just mentioned the exorcism scene really saves an average movie and makes it nearly a good level film. It says based on actual events at the start of the film but i am certain 0% is true and some retired police officer is bored with his time and is writing the craziest things he can think of into a book, and what he wrote was sooo full of crap that Hollywood could not pass it up. the only reason it got 3 for me was the cheap little laughs i got and i also feel sorry for anyone involved in the movie for how much time they wasted, they get a few sympathy stars on me.if this is what horrors are like now I'm giving up of the genre.. It's all of those, plus whatever else you want to add to the list, rolled up into what is "Deliver us from Evil." It's not necessarily a bad movie, but it is far from original, and the clichés could kill someone.The origin of where the demon/point of possession came from is really weak, and it's done in about ten minutes in one scene where officer Sarchie is reviewing footage that one of the soldiers (now possessed) filmed when they were overseas. This is basically The Devil Inside or The Exorcism of Emily Rose or any damn possession movie you can think of with "based on true events" attached to it and a different story line. "Inspired by the actual accounts of an NYPD sergeant", the crime/ horror mash-up draws its inspiration from the book "Beware the Night" by a certain Ralph Sarchie (played by Eric Bana), who in real life teamed up with a maverick Jesuit priest Father Mendoza (Edgar Ramirez) to investigate criminal activities with a paranormal twist in and around the Bronx. A confession is in order, but not before Father Mendoza reveals himself to have found redemption in the faith by confessing the sins of his youth before God and embracing God's path of forgiveness.Such elements of faith and the eternal battle between the forces of good and evil are not new to director and co-writer Scott Derrickson, whose own 'The Exorcism of Emily Rose' was one of the better exorcism thrillers which we have seen in recent time. Neither for that matter do the scenes of demonic horror terrify as much as they should; indeed, the climax which details a full exorcism in its six- stage glory comes off hokey and contrived rather than authentic no thanks to Derrickson's over-reliance on Hollywood-style sound and special effects.That the film is not a complete washout is credit to solid acting by Eric Bana and Sean Harris. Harris is intense as he should be, but the same cannot be said of Ramirez, whose spirit seems barely there in most of the scenes – which certainly doesn't help the caricature of a character which Derrickson and his co-screenwriter Paul Harris Boardman have concocted.But in a movie where too few notes ring true, Father Mendoza is but one of the flaws which you're likely to dismiss along with the rest of the movie, no matter that the film purports to be inspired by fact. Things just went a little too well.I'll say this movie was worth a watch for the performances of all the actors involved, but it was kind of a bland exorcism movie which will be forgotten and filed away within a year...take note writes and directors, someone badly needs to mix this genre up for me to give anything but an average grade on these movies. ** Eric Bana struggles to keep you interested in his travails while ** Olivia Munn's delectable low-cut white dress is the only reason to see this filmGOD should forgive the filmmaker for making this run-of-the-mill horror film.There's mumbo-jumbo about a New York cop's loss of faith, and a priest's handsome curls distracting viewers from his message about fighting the devil.However, the film's penultimate scene is its most ludicrous.Viewers have seen many films about exorcism, so they would not be surprised about what happens during one, and they could even predicts its outcome. There are even instances during the climactic battle itself that went on a bit too long, with Eric Bana only on the sidelines.Director and co-writer Scott Derrickson had been more successful with his previous horror films like "Sinister" and "The Exorcism of Emily Rose". "Deliver Us from Evil" is meaningful for me because it is similar story with a man who served in military in Caucasus and it seems is suffering from the same symptoms as the guys who was in Iraq.The scene of exorcism powerfully portrayed and whole film is a good suspense. So, as in most cases with a film of this nature, IF you can really 'get into' Supernatural elements and that is your 'thing', then YES, you likely will really enjoy this movie a LOT because it is put together extremely well and is frigg'n SCARY! But, if that kind of stuff just seems unbelievable and silly and does absolutely nothing for you, well then, NO, clearly you won't like it.Just that simple, really...So, you have to weigh this movie based upon the TYPE of Horror film that you enjoy. And, so if you are a 'Material Realist' (in the commentary, the director actually uses terms like this concerning the subject matter) and if you like your Horror films to be more 'Realistic' or 'Believable' and you do not get into ones with more Supernatural or Fanciful overtones, then this movie will probably leave you flatter than Chaz Bono...But, MAN, let me tell you... But, I REALLY liked this film and I LOVED the angle that the story took, beginning during the war in Iraq.IF you enjoy this type of Supernatural Horror film AND if you also happen to like a good, strong Police Procedural / Crime Thriller, this will be a movie made in Heaven for you...I'll tell you one thing... It has nothing new,and certainly is not really scary,not to mention that the plot,interesting at the beginning,turns predictable and simple along the film.6 is a fair rating,better than the average,but not at the level of other great movies of the genre.. Packed with jump scares and given that added creepiness factor due to the based on a actual events, Scott Derrickson's offering (who brought us Sinister) is wonderfully filmed.The supporting cast are excellent and lead Eric Bana's Sarchie is riveting as the flawed everyday man. And when the film does arrive at the final scenes, it begins to border on silly and overdone with a little bit of melodrama and cheesiness thrown in for good measure.I think movies like this sometimes try too hard to be something they're not solely for the sake of trying to shock the audience (just like The Exorcist had done in its time).But after you've seen a possessed 12 year old masturbate with a cross, you become desensitized to anything anyone else can come up with. But he was really great especially in the exorcism scene.It is a mixture of action movie and horror and I like that. He did put in a good performance in this film and I liked his fearless cockiness at the beginning but the director put in a load of pointless scenes which made the movie drag after a while. I'm not usually a fan of movies in the horror/exorcism genre so my expectations wasn't that high but I liked some of the investigating and the intriguing, mystery element.Budget: $30million Worldwide Gross: $88millionI recommend this movie to people who are into their horror/thriller movies about a cop whose investigating a possessed ex-soldier whose doing evil in New York. I like one place the story went with Bana and the movie had a few good visuals but besides that, there's nothing new to see here. He joins forces with an unconventional priest, schooled in the rites of exorcism, to combat the possessions that are terrorising their city.Deliver Us from Evil is a new horror movie written and directed by Scott Derrickson, it stars Eric Bana, Joe McHale and Edgar Ramirez. This film is all a bit cliché though; like we've seen it all before in previous hunting, horror, and exorcism stories. A horror movie starring Eric Bana & Joel McHale probably doesn't sound like anything very high value, but it really makes for a fun ride, and the down time between the tension wass more than enough to keep my attention. In fact, while it's based on a true story, it plays like an ordinary horror film. Deliver us From Evil directed by Scott Derrickson had some pretty high expectations as the 2012 hit horror film 'Sinister' impressed a lot of people. Don't get me wrong, this film is essentially a horror flick, but not in the aspect of what 'The Conjuring' or the 'Insidious' franchise had to offer.The acting in Deliver us From Evil was great, especially from Eric Bana who plays the lead role of NYPD officer Ralph Sarchie, and Edgar Ramirez who plays a priest. Despite a few clichés brining me away from the movie, I will say that the story was interesting enough for a horror film, the acting was solid, the tone and score was fantastic and the exorcism scene at the end made the movie just a little better.If you are a true horror fan, you will like this movie and appreciate the style and tone Scott Derrickson has to offer. The actors all deliver solid performances, the main characters are well-written and interesting, the police investigation side of the story (the part that separates this from other exorcism movies) was very good, and it's even got a good sense of tension courtesy of experienced horror director Scott Derrickson, maker of the excellent Sinister and the alright The Exorcism of Emily Rose. From the director of The Exorcism of Emily Rose & Sinister comes another horror flick which advertises itself to be based on a true story but apart from the main character's name, everything in the film is a fictional setup.

tt1492030

Mildred Pierce

Mildred Pierce (Kate Winslet) is a housewife in Glendale, California in 1931. She and husband Bert (Brian F. OByrne) have two young daughters, Veda (Morgan Turner) and Moire, or "Ray" (Quinn McColgan). Bert had been a fairly successful home developer, but is now unemployed due to the Great Depression. Mildred makes extra money by selling baked goods to neighbors, including her friend Lucy (Melissa Leo), who praise her culinary skills. Her relationship with Bert ends in separation after it is revealed that he had been unfaithful, but Mildred does not tell the children the details of their father's absence.With the economy suffering, Mildred begins a harrowing job hunt. She visits an employment agency but finds that, like many female applicants, her skills as a homemaker and her typing ability will not land her any work. She does get referred to a wealthy woman (Hope Davis) who is engaged to a prominent film director and is looking for a housekeeper. Mildred attends the interview, but is put off by the woman's blatantly entitled attitude and declines the job. Stopping at a café for lunch, Mildred witnesses a public scuffle when one of the waitresses is caught stealing tips from her colleague's station. The owner of the restaurant (Mark Margolis) fires the two arguing waitresses for fighting in front of the customers, and Mildred timidly goes to the kitchen to inquire about a job opening. While the staff is still flustered, they agree that they need an extra waitress and decide to give Mildred a chance. While at first too nervous to be an efficient server, Mildred learns from a seasoned waitress, Ida (Mare Winningham), who teaches her crucial tricks and details of the job. Mildred soon flourishes and becomes a significant asset to the restaurant by contributing her own pies to the menu, which bring in extra money and raves from the customers. Mildred is relieved to be bringing home a paycheck, but is terrified that her daughters will be ashamed of her if they find out her occupation.Mildred's eldest daughter, 11-year-old Veda, is incredibly proper and ambitious and strives to speak and act in an almost obnoxiously mature manner. Despite her own middle-class upbringing, she is disgusted by people and lifestyles that she perceives to be "common," and Mildred harbors a fear of Veda's harsh judgment. The younger daughter, 8-year-old Ray, is a typical happy and lively child who adores her family. Though things are strained between Mildred and Bert, they get along for the sake of the children. Mildred enters a brief affair with Bert's friend and associate Wally Bergan (James LeGros), and shares with him her tentative idea of starting her own chicken restaurant. Wally says she should run with it, if she could ultimately prove that the business would be profitable.Veda has suspicions about Mildred's occupation, and discovers the waitress uniform while snooping in her mother's room. She indirectly confronts Mildred by ordering their maid, Letty (Marin Ireland), to wear the uniform, telling Mildred she assumed it was intended for the maid. Mildred has no choice but to confess, and Veda shamelessly insults her. The argument heats up, and Mildred slaps and spanks her daughter. She then reveals her restaurant plan and makes the excuse that she had only taken the waitress job to learn the trade from the bottom up. Veda seemingly apologizes. Mildred's intense yet fearful relationship with Veda becomes clear. Though Mildred constantly endures Veda's emotional abuse and lies, she desperately scrambles to give the girl everything she wants for fear of losing her love.Mildred eventually locks down a piece of real estate for her restaurant, and when things are nearly up and running, she happily embarks on her last day as a humble waitress. At work, and in an upbeat mood, she converses with a dashing customer, Monty Beragon (Guy Pierce), a polo player with a fruit business and a casual, high-end lifestyle. He is charmed by Mildred's wit, and invites her to go to the beach with him that very day. With her daughters on vacation with Bert, Mildred indulges her impulse and goes on an outing with Monty that ends in intimacy. When he drops her off at home, Mildred is met by a frantic neighbor who reports that when Bert and the girls returned from vacation, Ray had become seriously ill and was taken to the hospital when they found that Mildred was not at home. Mildred rushes to the hospital and is relieved that the doctors had stabilized Ray for the moment, but is devastated when Ray's condition suddenly plummets and the doctors are unable to save her. Bert and Mildred mourn the loss of their little girl. To combat her grief, Mildred puts every ounce of her energy and focus into developing her restaurant. On opening night, a surprisingly large crowd shows up, including Bert, Veda, Ida, and Monty. The service is quickly stretched to the limit, and Ida takes over the kitchen and gets things running smoothly again. The night winds down, and Monty bonds with Veda before seducing Mildred again at her home.Taking Wally's advice, Mildred divorces Bert to improve her financial standing for her business. As Mildred's relationship with Monty progresses, he becomes more and more dependent on her income. His fruit business goes belly-up, and he begins to refer to himself as Mildred's "paid gigolo." Mildred takes offense to his crude remarks, but is attached to the sexual relationship. Meanwhile, Mildred is putting extensive time and money into music lessons and equipment for Veda, who is a budding concert pianist. Now fourteen, Veda becomes more and more spoiled, arrogant and manipulative. She becomes strangely close with Monty, and thinks nothing of being outright insulting to her mother. Mildred still holds a desperate attachment to her daughter and believes there is good in her, despite the barbs she endures from Veda's behavior. Fed up, she leaves Monty and puts even more energy into making Veda happy, as well as opening new restaurants with the help of Ida, Lucy and Wally.A few years later, 17-year-old Veda (now Evan Rachel Wood) is being trained as a professional opera singer. Mildred's business takes a sudden financial blow, and her accountants point out that it is Veda's spending that is causing the damage. Mildred frantically defends her daughter, and continues to furnish Veda's lifestyle despite the expense. Veda and Mildred have a turbulent and bipolar relationship. Veda is living at home, but is constantly out with her reckless wealthy friends whom she only keeps for their connections to prominent media figures. A wealthy woman, Mrs. Forrester, visits Mildred, who is shocked to see that it is the same woman who had interviewed her for the housekeeping job years ago. Mrs. Forrester does not recognize Mildred from the incident, but delivers the news that her son, Sammy, had been seeing Veda exclusively (mainly because Mr. Forrester is a well-known film director and Veda had expressed an interest in acting) and that Veda was firmly and dramatically insisting that they marry. Mildred is taken aback, and confronts Veda later that night. Veda insinuates that she is pregnant, but later reveals that she had lied in order to claim money from the Forrester's attorneys that would allow her to leave Glendale and her mother forever. She nastily expresses her loathing for Mildred's "pie wagons" and "everything that smells of grease." Enraged, Mildred throws her out of the house, but immediately regrets it.Veda moves into an apartment and continues her singing instruction, soon becoming a celebrated soprano. Despite the busy schedule her restaurants demand, Mildred's main focus is to win Veda's love. Knowing Veda's fondness for Monty, Mildred reunites with him and buys his family estate to construct a more extravagant lifestyle that Veda might approve of. Mildred and Monty marry, though their happiness is short-lived. Mildred's business begins to suffer on account of her expensive living, and she is in danger of losing control of her restaurant franchise. She confesses to Bert that she had been embezzling money from the restaurants to lure Veda back home. To Mildred's delight, Veda finally comes home. She and Mildred share a tearful reunion, with Veda apologizing profusely for her previous behavior. Veda's singing talent had bought her fame and business offers, and she is preparing for a widely-advertised one-woman opera concert. Veda, Monty, and Mildred bond over the preparation for the show, designing Veda's elaborate costume and inviting friends and family to attend. On the night of the show, Mildred is paralyzed with emotion as she watches her daughter sing in front of a massive audience, ending with a song that she used to sing with Mildred as a little girl. Mildred takes the gesture as an olive branch from Veda and finally begins to have hope for the future.Still in debt, Mildred determines that she must borrow money from her now-wealthy daughter. She cannot find Veda in the house, and goes to Monty's room to ask if he had seen her. Monty refuses to open the door and behaves very nervously. Mildred forces the door open and sees Veda, stark naked, in Monty's bed. Veda sneers at her mother, gloating that she and Monty had planned to dupe Mildred all along. Mildred, blinded by fury, attacks Veda and nearly chokes her to unconsciousness. Veda claims that her vocal chords are damaged as a result, and she has lost her ability to sing. Her singing contract is nullified.Mildred hastily moves to Nevada in order to divorce Monty as quickly as possible. Still without the money to keep her restaurant chain, she leaves it to Ida, who had been a strong pillar of support over the years. She and Bert, who had re-bonded during the Veda debacle, remarry and move in together once more. They are taken aback when Veda confronts her parents, accompanied with reporters, to reconcile with Mildred in order to lessen the damage her relationship with Monty had done to her reputation. Mildred accepts the staged apology, but several months later Veda returns with the news that she is moving to New York City with Monty, and that her vocal chord injury was a ploy so she could be freed from her previous singing contract and obtain a better one. As Veda prepares to leave in a taxi, Mildred shouts at her to never come back. Bert calms her down, finally allowing Mildred to accept that Veda does not deserve her mother's support. Mildred and Bert proceed to drink, and prepare for the next chapter of their lives.

depressing

train

imdb

I was already a Kate Winslet fan, but this performance has put her on a very short list of those who I have ever been so moved, so filled with respect and admiration.From the moment we first meet her skillfully making pies (old school like grandma) we see a woman who inspires respect. We watch as Mildred works hard to keep her 2 daughters cared for while trying to keep herself from falling into understandable depression.I'll leave the rest for when the series finishes, but I have never seen better acting than in this series, and a large part of that is KW. Ironically we learn from this that sometimes being too faithful to the novel has its drawbacks.Read on:This is a film about a middle class divorced , single mom raising her kids , trying to be successful and riding the waves of success but making the mistake of trying to woo her 'rotten' daughter that leads to her downfall.Here is Kate winslet as the heroine, Mildred Pierce. It would actual be difficult to imagine Mildred Pierce as anyone other than Kate Winslet, if you both, read and watch the movie over the same course of time. Although "Mildred Pierce" was originally a novel, the story is familiar to most people as a glossy 1945 film noir in which Joan Crawford suffers in furs as her ungrateful daughter (Ann Blyth) steals her boyfriend (Zachary Scott). The supporting actors are the ones with personality texture: Melissa Leo as a good-natured neighbor and business partner, Mare Winningham as a tough but sweet co-worker (speaking with a "New Yawk"-style twang like one of those sassy blondes from 30's movies), Guy Pearce as the corrupt hedonistic boyfriend, Morgan Turner and Evan Rachel Wood as child and adult versions of Mildred's warped and snobby daughter Veda. Although the performances of Kate Winslet, Guy Pearce and Evan Racel Wood were all top notch in this 2011 remake, I preferred the original 1945 film. It tells the story about middle-class housewife Mildred Pierce who lives with her husband Bert and two adolescent daughters in Glendale, California during the Great depression, and who's life changes immensely when she and Bert breaks up and she is left on her own to raise and be the sole provider of her daughters Ray and Veda. This rhythmic, atmospheric and melodramatic coming-of-age story about a competitive, and obsessive relationship between a loving mother and her eldest daughter which examines themes like class distinctions, family relations and love, is impelled and reinforced by it's cogent narrative structure, substantial character development, colorful characters, the memorable acting performance by English actress Kate Winslet, the fierce acting performance by American actress Evan Rachel Wood as the protagonist's ambitious daughter Veda and the notable acting performance by Australian actor Guy Pearce as the wealthy playboy Monty Beragon. The stars were definitely (and rightly) Kate Winslet and Evan Rachel Wood as well as the young actress who played Veda Pierce as an 11-13 year old. Being a big fan of the original Mildred Pierce, and excited to watch the way southern California of the 30's would be depicted, I was excited to see how the re-make would be turned into a series.From the very beginning, it fell flat. Kate Winslet is a great actress, assuredly a more accomplished thespian than Crawford but the part fit Joan like a glove but by hewing so close to the novel this refocuses the drama in too many directions and loses the impact of any of them. We are huge fans of Kate Winslet, Guy Pearce, Evan Rachel-Wood as artists as well as the brilliant programming of original shows HBO airs but this was just awful - way too long - dragged out episodes with nothing happening - waiting for something - ANYTHING exciting to happen. This is an interesting story about an aberrant relationship between grass-widow Mildred, the enabler mother, and her daughter Veda, a young woman who is the archetypal snake in the grass.Great period details and relaxed pacing give an authentic feel to this potboiler, which hews a bit closer to its source material than the original flick with Joan Crawford. Watch 'Mildred Pierce' with Kate Winslet in the title role, and Guy Pearce (oh brother!) as Monty Barrigan for just ten minutes, and you will be in 'dreamland' before you know it.While the story is still a good one, this version is long and dragged out. I love Kate Winslet, but she does not fit the character of Mildred Pierce. Add to this exceptional performances by Kate Winslet, Guy Pierce, Mellisa Leo and Evan Rachel Wood, and you end up with a truly amazing work. As wonderful as Joan Crawford's performance in the original version was, this new adaptation takes James Cain's amazingly dark and deep story of depression era life to a new level that I think he would be proud to be part of.Hayne's sense of detail, imagery, and mood reflect a deep and powerful understanding of period film making that most directors could only hope to accomplish. Thinking this is about Mildred Pierce is only half true - and the last two parts are mainly about her oldest daughter, payed by Even Rachel Wood.Guy Pearce is terrific. Young Veda was very much off target too, as her acting was very close to high school play-ish.Guy Pearce was very good and very close to the original actor's part. I for one never saw the 1945 classic original that won Joan Crawford an Oscar, but just recently viewed this remake in a long drawn out form on HBO and I must say brilliant work from Todd Haynes. It covers all the themes of pain, family struggle, and love, passion, heartbreak, success and most of all it's a classic mommy dearest struggle of power.Done over five parts the great Kate Winslet stars as Mildred a woman who's married living with two daughters in sunny California in the depression era, and from the start it gets more complex for Mildred when she leaves her husband over his affair, and she's forced to wait tables for a living. As in the end it proves with Mildred one can start over and go back to their roots.Overall well done in depth mini-series that's emotional, uplifting and a good drama of struggle and determination. Moreover, having just watched "Millenium" and concluded that the show shouldn't have been turn into movies, here, it's the contrary: those five hours should have been edited in a fine movie because the scenes drag a lot, all the more than they happen a lot of times in Mildred's house (it would be interesting to compare with the classic black and white release then).I'm really ambivalent with the story : if the goal was to make me cry in front of this courageous woman who had to work, well, i'm not that audience: she isn't poor: she has a luxurious and big house, a car, pays piano lesson to her daughter, so really, she isn't a self made woman. I should start by saying, although I've never read the James M Cain novel, as a fan of classic golden era Hollywood films I love the original version of Mildred Pierce.That didn't stop me enjoying Todd Hayne's new miniseries. It's just that somehow here it never seems to quite work on the subconscious level these stories need to succeed at if they are to satisfyingly tap into the great archetypal themes they are aiming to communicate with.So maybe Joan Crawford's version wins in the end, never the less HBO's mini-series is well worth a spin as a very superior soap opera told with cinematic flair.. I watched this series because I quite like Kate Winslet and I usually enjoy the work she does. Kate Winslet is such a great actor but she had 'one face' the whole show which was 'look at me i'm a victim of a spoiled daughter i've created and love kissing her rear end and use me as a doormat'. Add an excellent performance by Kate Winslet and overall good acting by the rest of the cast, and you are fully transported back in time. Evan Rachel Wood plays her in the latter parts, and it's such a fitting casting choice that you might think they're the same person.I was a bit underwhelmed by Guy Pearce's role, expecting more screen- time from him. Given the legendary performance of Joan Crawford in the movie version of James M Cain's powerhouse novel, this series rises or falls on the casting and performance of the main character. It's around 5 hours long but the details are interesting to watch from the setting up of Mildred's first restaurant to her relationships with both Monty (Guy Pearce) and her civilized divorce from her first husband. Kate Winslet as the title character Mildred is very good - you can understand her every word and feel all her emotions. I've never heard about the story of Mildred Pierce, and my understanding and my review will therefore not be so thourough.All I've got to say is that I liked this series very much, and I am yet again impressed by HBO's good trend of mini series, all from Band of Brothers and The Pacific to this one. I think it's a brilliant format that HBO masters well, and they make them thoroughly and detailed.Kate Winslet's act in this series was also very good. The reviewer of one of the reviews here said she/he could feel the same emotions Mildrer (Winslet) was going through, and I certainly agree.Since I'm both of a barely 20 year old generation and from Europe, the story about Mildred Pierce is completely new to me, but I think this will boost people's awareness of the story, and of course the original book, including the fact that my generation gets a great visual peek into what it was like in USA in the 1930's.. I did appreciate that director Haynes stayed true to the book's original ending although it made me look a little foolish to my wife, to whom I'd confidently promised a big dramatic finish like I'd seen in the old movie.As you'd expect with this director, the period of 30's LA is reproduced beautifully both inside and outside and he gets good quality acting from the actors supporting Winslet. I also liked the actor playing husband number one and three while Guy Pierce revels in the flashy role of Monty Berragan, the penniless dandy living on old glories and a fading charm.In conclusion then, despite the question mark in my mind over Winslet's casting, this was still a compulsive soap-opera come thriller helped by stylish direction, impressive production values and good ensemble acting.. I saw Mildred Pierce was remade, a great 1940s movie with the great Joan Crawford and finally having HBO in my cable service and seeing a repeat of this mini series airing, I was so excited to watch it and I was extremelydisappointed with this remake of one of the best movies ever made. The story drawn out and part bring boring and thinking to fast forward through parts and some of the acting, namely the young Veda and Monty characters to be somewhat lacking in ability.VERY disappointed.. After watching this version of Mildred Pierce I can only conclude that no one does atmosphere like Mr Haynes. Being a fan of Joan Crawford and a fan of the original "Mildred Pierce", I was immediately interested in watching this mini-series once I heard about it. I also love Kate Winslet and I think she is a great actress so I thought for sure that I would love this series. By the time the 5th episode started I had lost interest in the characters and really didn't care about the outcome.I don't know what the director had in mind, but there were far too may facial shots of Mildred Pierce with this sad and bewildered look on her face. The original studio version with Joan Crawford was corny, but at least it was over in 2 hours.Don't waste your time on this one.I give it a 3 rating because the actors were so good, but nothing else worked.. It's 1930's L.A. Mildred Pierce (Kate Winslet) has been abandoned by her unemployed husband Bert leaving her with their young daughters Veda and Ray. She has been trying to make ends meet by selling her home-made pies. Mildred doles on Veda but she turns more and more rotten.This is a five parts HBO mini-series based on the 1941 novel and most well-known for the 1945 film adaptation. Mildred Pierce (Kate Winslet) throws out her cheating husband and is left on her own to bring up her two daughters--Ray (Quinn McColgan) and Veda (Morgan Turner and later Evan Rachel Wood). In many ways I'd nod the hat to Ms. Blyth, because the movie itself is so immersing.Judging solely based on the performances of the original characters of the 1940's version, the luscious black and white cinematography, and Ms. Crawford, it would be easy to dismiss the 2011 version.However if you look at the 2011 version as a standalone piece of grownup film making and the viewer is indeed a grownup who appreciates subtleties, this is one of the best modern movies ever made for television.Many complain about its pace, they whine that this new version doesn't have a bang of an ending, they complain that Winslet is not a heroine, and how is it possible for Veda to become so great as a singer in such a short time. Also, I'm not a film-noir fan, so I was excited to revisit a classic novel in a medium that would allow the true story (not the original movie which changed the novel) shine and also to see Kate Winslet as Mildred. I know the story is supposed to be about the relationship with Veda, but it just plays out like a soap opera, rather than something that should be coming from HBO.I also felt the direction was sub-par. The actors were there, and I believe could have excelled in their parts, but the awful and unbearably slow pace of the film simply overshadowed any possibility of success.And I'm sorry, but Veda could have attempted to murder her mother, and in this version, Mildred would have ended up apologizing. I felt really betrayed that I had invested all these hours watching what was a really good story and great acting for it to come to this. In this version, you don't care as much.Kate Winslet is quite okay as Mildred, but she doesn't dominate the way Joan Crawford did in the role. The 5+ hour remake of the 1945 Warner Bros film classic, drags in all the wrong places, partly due to the cable giant's "bigger is better" miniseries mania and the miscasting of the central characters of Mildred Pierce, Veda (the elder), and Monty Beragon. I have not seen the Joan Crawford neither have I read the book but I cannot believe the author intended to convey the impression that Mildred's daughter Veda was transformed almost overnight from a failed concert pianist into an accomplished soprano.This apparent absurdity must have bemused any aspiring classical singer looking in who knows only too well that there is no substitute for the long years of voice training. First reason, the actors.I thought Kate Winslet was every bit as good as Joan Crawford in the 1945 movie. Boy was I surprised to learn it was over 5 hours.But the whole story is so interesting and so well made that not only was the long running time not an issue, I almost found myself wanting it not to end.Kate Winslet is the star here, the success or failure rests squarely on her broad acting shoulders. And in the end, when it ended with Mildred telling her daughter she never wanted to see her again, I felt just depressed.This movie did provide me with a few good things. Also, several of the characters were combined or omitted.This version, starring Kate Winslet, Guy Pearce, Melissa Leo, Mare Winningham, Brian O'Byrne, and Evan Rachel Ward sticks to the James Cain novel, with dialogue actually lifted from it.The five-part drama still tells the story of Mildred and her obsession with her class-conscious, cold, spoiled, brat daughter Veda and the destruction this obsession costs the hard-working Mildred.As is usual with HBO, the production values are fantastic, perfect in setting the atmosphere of the '40s and the mood of the story. The top-notch acting adds to it, and while there may not have been enough story for the time allotted, it's still excellent, particularly if you have read the novel and/or seen the film.I can't imagine two actresses more different from one another than Kate Winslet and Joan Crawford, and the differences are highlighted here to interesting effect. "Mildred Pierce" is a five hours splendid mini-series with remarkable performances by a fabulous cast lead by Kate Winslet(in her first role after her amazing Oscar performance in "The Reader")from a great director like Todd Haynes.I was totally absorbed from the beginning to the end of this quite long movie.I absolutely loved the accurate portrayal of the character of Mildred(Kate Winslet who is mesmerizing and afford a really demanding role),a strong woman that struggle in the Depression era to find a job after she divorced from her husband.But her most challenging,exhausting and ultimately lost fight is with her headstrong ,cruel(probably one of the most evil character I've ever seen in a while),spoiled and ungrateful daughter Veda(played by a stunning Evan Rachel Wood).Meanwhile she is drawn in a somewhat crushing relationship with Monty Beregon(Guy Pearce)a man who will be an unexpected surprise for Mildred.The pace of the movie is engaging although at times is a bit slow.But the director provides beautiful details that are needed for the explanation of the characters,the story and the historical period(faithfully portrayed).Haynes is able to make you feel every beat of his heroine and with suggestive use of the camera you are completely caught in her world.

tt0117731

Star Trek: First Contact

Captain Jean-Luc Picard awakens from a nightmare in which he relived his assimilation by the cybernetic Borg six years earlier (previously shown in the television episode "The Best of Both Worlds"). He is contacted by Admiral Hayes, who informs him of a new Borg attack against Earth. Picard's orders are for his ship, the USS Enterprise-E, to patrol the Neutral Zone in case of Romulan aggression, as Starfleet is worried that Picard is too emotionally involved with the Borg to join the fight. Learning the fleet is losing the battle, the Enterprise crew disobeys orders and heads for Earth, where a single Borg Cube ship holds its own against a group of Starfleet vessels. The Enterprise arrives in time to save the crew of the USS Defiant and its captain, the Klingon Worf. Picard takes control of the fleet and directs the surviving ships to concentrate their firepower on a seemingly unimportant point on the Borg ship.[1] The Cube is destroyed after launching a smaller sphere ship towards the planet. The Enterprise pursues the sphere into a temporal vortex. As the sphere disappears, the Enterprise discovers Earth has been altered and is now populated entirely by Borg. Realizing the Borg have used time travel to change the past, the Enterprise follows the sphere through the vortex.[2]The Enterprise travels to April 4, 2063, the day before humanity's first encounter with alien life after Zefram Cochrane's historic warp drive flight; the crew realizes the Borg are trying to prevent first contact. After destroying the Borg sphere, an away team transports down to the site where Cochrane is building his ship, the Phoenix, in Montana. Picard has Cochrane's assistant Lily Sloane sent back to the Enterprise for medical attention. The Captain returns to the ship and leaves Commander William T. Riker on Earth to make sure the Phoenix's flight proceeds as planned.[3] While in the future Cochrane is seen as a hero, the real man is reluctant to assume the role the Enterprise crew describe.[2]A group of Borg invade the Enterprise's lower decks and begin to assimilate its crew and modify the ship. Picard and a team attempt to reach engineering to disable the Borg with a corrosive gas, but are forced back; the android Data is captured in the melee. A frightened Sloane corners Picard with a weapon, but he gains her trust. The two escape the Borg-infested area of the ship by creating a diversion in the holodeck.[3] Picard, Worf, and the ship's navigator, Lt. Hawk, travel outside the ship in space suits to stop the Borg from calling reinforcements by using the deflector dish. They destroy the disc but Hawk is assimilated. As the Borg continue to assimilate more decks, Worf suggests destroying the ship, but Picard angrily calls him a coward and vows to continue the fight. Sloane confronts the captain and makes him realize he is acting irrationally due to his desire for revenge. Chastened, Picard relents and orders the activation of the ship's self-destruct mechanism. While the crew head for escape pods, the Captain decides to stay behind and rescue his friend Data.[4]As Cochrane, Riker, and engineer Geordi La Forge prepare to activate the warp drive on the Phoenix, Picard discovers that the Borg Queen has grafted human skin onto Data, and with it an array of new sensations. She has presented this modification as a gift to the android, hoping to obtain the android's encryption codes to the Enterprise computer. Although Picard offers himself to the Borg in exchange for Data's freedom, Data refuses to leave. He deactivates the self-destruct sequence and fires torpedoes at the Phoenix. At the last moment the torpedoes miss, and the Queen realizes Data betrayed her.[4] The android ruptures a coolant tank, and the corrosive vapor eats away the biological components of the Borg. With the Borg threat neutralized, Cochrane completes his warp flight.[2] The next day the crew watches from a distance as an alien Vulcan ship, attracted by the Phoenix warp test, lands on Earth. Cochrane and Sloane greet the aliens. Having ensured the correction of the timeline, the Enterprise crew slip away and return to the 24th century.

good versus evil, revenge, cult, alternate history, flashback

train

imdb

tt0104237

Damage

Dr. Stephen Fleming (Jeremy Irons), a British cabinet minister, lives a pleasant life with his wife Ingrid (Miranda Richardson) and young daughter Sally (Gemma Clarke). His older son, Martyn (Rupert Graves), is a rising journalist. At a party, Stephen meets a young half-French woman named Anna Barton (Juliette Binoche), who introduces herself as a close friend of Martyn's; it is apparent, however, that Stephen and Anna are instantly attracted to each other.When Martyn visits his parents in London, he brings Anna with him, revealing that they are romantically involved. The sexual tension between Stephen and Anna is clear, though their partners are oblivious of this. Despite her relationship with Martyn, Anna arranges a tryst with Stephen at her apartment.Stephen's obsession with Anna deepens. After an international summit adjourns in Brussels, he travels to Paris to meet her instead of going home. While Martyn is sleeping in a Paris hotel room, Stephen and Anna have sex in an open doorway in broad daylight. Afterwards, Stephen checks into a hotel across the street from Anna's and Martyn's, spying on the couple through his window. Eventually, his infatuation reaches a point where he desires to be with Anna permanently, even at the risk of destroying his relationship with his son. Anna dissuades Stephen from doing this, assuring him that as long as she is with Martyn, he will always have access to her.During a visit to Anna's apartment, Stephen finds that another man named Peter Wetzler (Peter Stormare) is already present. Peter unaware of Stephen's affair with Anna tells him that they are former lovers. A jealous Stephen initially assumes that Anna is cheating on him and, when Peter leaves, confronts her. Anna denies carrying on with Peter, and then describes in detail the death of her brother, who had committed suicide after expressing an incestuous desire for her. She recounts that she had compulsively slept with Peter in order to grieve over her brother's death, which she had witnessed. Stephen is placated by this explanation, and the couple once again have sex.The Flemings travel to their country estate to celebrate Ingrid's birthday. During a meal there, Martyn announces his engagement to Anna, which visibly disturbs Stephen. That night, after Stephen receives oral sex from Anna, Sally catches them outside of Anna's room. Soon after, an anxious Stephen lies to Sally about what she saw, telling her that he was merely trying to console Anna about the upcoming marriage.Later, the Flemings have lunch with Anna's mother, who notices the awkward behavior between Anna and Stephen. She correctly deduces that they are having an affair and, during a car ride with Stephen, warns him to put an end to it.Stephen initially complies and calls Anna to end their relationship. He tries to confess his misdeeds to both Martyn and Ingrid, but ultimately shies away from doing so. However, after Stephen succumbs to temptation and anonymously phones Anna's apartment, she mails him keys to a renovated flat where they can meet. When Anna visits his home, she tells Stephen that she couldn't marry Martyn without being with him.They go to the flat at an appointed time and begin another raucous tryst, but Martyn having been guided to the flat by chance finds them in bed together. Stunned, he falls over a stairway railing and plunges to his death. A devastated Stephen clutches Martyn's body while Anna silently leaves the scene.Stephen's affair is exposed and becomes the subject of a media frenzy, with a mob of reporters convening outside his house. Inside, an anguished Ingrid reacts to the day's events by questioning whether Stephen had ever been in love with her. It is strongly suggested that their marriage end.Stephen, now publicly disgraced, is also forced to resign from his cabinet position. He meets Anna's mother at a hotel and finds that Anna is staying with her; they say nothing as they meet for the last time. Stephen withdraws from public life and retires to an unknown location in Europe. In narration, he reveals that Anna now has a child with Peter. In his flat, a photo of himself with Anna and Martyn, blown up to life size, hangs on his wall.

violence

train

imdb

tt0096787

All Dogs Go to Heaven

The film opens with con-dog Charlie B Barker and his pal Itchy, attempting to break out of the local pound.Charlie and Itchy return to the casino that Charlie ran with his old partner, Carface. Unknown to Charlie, Carface was responsible for Charlie going to 'the pound,' with Carface intending to take over the whole gambling operation. Charlie notices that the gambling clientele are not too happy with the way things have been run while he has been away, and Charlie goes to see Carface.Carface then convinces Charlie that they need to split up the business, since he is now a wanted fugitive. A going away party is then held for Charlie later that evening, with Charlie getting drunk, and Carface giving him a pocketwatch. Charlie is mentally unable to comprehend where he is, when Carface's goons blindfold him, and take him down to a dock, where a car is put in motion many yards away. Itchy has heard about the plan, but is too late to stop the car from killing Charlie.Charlie soon finds himself in Heaven, being explained things by a dog named Whippet. She explains that all dogs go to heaven, though is surprised when going over Charlie's record, finding very little regarding kindness and loyalty from him. Charlie is shown that the watch he was given by Carface is connected to his own heart, and because it stopped, Charlie is now dead. When Charlie asks why it can't simply be wound back up to send him back, Whippet explains that this is not allowed. Even so, Charlie manages to get the watch away from her, and returns to life. However, as he rockets towards Earth, Whippet's voice is heard saying that he can never come back now.Charlie soon finds Itchy, who at first thinks Charlie is a ghost, but then grows even more concerned when Charlie wants to get back at Carface for attempting to kill him. Itchy is concerned because he has heard word that Carface has a monster that he has locked away.Charlie and Itchy break into Carface's place, only to find that the monster is actually a little girl named Ann-Marie, who can talk to animals. Carface has been using her to win (and fix) almost all the 'rat races' that the casino he runs has. Charlie soon convinces Ann-Marie that since she's an orphan, he can help her find a family that will adopt her, as well as intending to use the money that she helps win them to be given to the poor. While at the horse track, Charlie swipes the wallet of a young couple, and uses the money to help them win their first race.Charlie uses Ann-Marie's skills to make him enough money to start a new casino. Soon after, Ann-Marie finds the wallet that Charlie stole, and refuses to talk to him again. Later that evening, Charlie has a nightmare in which he ends up in a fiery lake of lava, where demons intend to drag him under. Charlie then wakes to find Ann-Marie gone.He soon finds that she has returned the wallet to the young couple, who seem more than happy to give her a good breakfast. Charlie finds her, and guilts her into coming back with him. However, Carface has found that Charlie is alive, and intends to kill Charlie, before he and Ann-Marie make their escape.They find their way into a sewer system, where a gang of sewer rats intends to sacrifice Charlie to a big-lipped alligator. However, Charlie gives a long-pitched howl, which causes the alligator to spare Charlie's life due to his great singing voice. Unfortunately, Ann-Marie has caught a bad cold from being in the sewer, and Charlie is unsure what to do.When Itchy finds Charlie, he explains that Carface and his goons have torched their casino. Charlie contends that they'll rebuild, and use Ann-Marie to recoup their losses, with plans to give her to an orphanage afterwards. However, Ann-Marie hears Charlie's words and runs off. She is soon recovered shortly by Carface and taken to a derelict ship off the coast of New Orleans.Charlie goes after her, and ends up in a scuffle with Carface. Their fight soon causes some fuel to spill and a fire to erupt on the ship. When Carface bites down on Charlie's tail, Charlie gives a long howl that is heard by the alligator from before. It comes to his rescue and chases off Carface, but ends up dislodging the ship from the shore, sending it adrift.Charlie attempts to save Ann-Marie, but almost loses his watch that keeps him alive. At a moral crossroads, Charlie lets the watch sink into the water, and pushes Ann-Marie out of the boat on a wooden doorframe. Eventually, the water overtakes the watch, and it stops ticking.Some time later, the young couple have taken Ann-Marie in, as she still recovers from her sickness. Charlie's spirit then visits her, under the supervision of an enormous, dark hell-hound. However, a glowing sphere appears, and the hell-hound disintegrates. As the sphere approaches Charlie, Whippet's voice can be heard, and explains that since Charlie gave his life to save Ann-Marie, he can go to Heaven. Ann-Marie then wakes up, and the two say their goodbyes.

good versus evil, revenge, cult, murder

train

imdb

"All Dogs Go to Heaven" is a brillaint and cute animated film from the great director Don Bluth who directed the brillaint film "The Secret of Nimh". The movie follows a dog named Charlie who had escaped from the pound, is killed by his old friend, goes to heaven, but ends up coming back to earth. The performances from Burt Reynolds and Dom DeLuise are great, and this is the last movie that a little girl named Judith Barsi was in. The animation in this movie is great, the voice work is great, and the story is good, but a little bit different from many other kids movies. The other day I was babysitting and my cousin never saw All Dogs Go To Heaven so we rented both movies and watched them together today and he really loved these movies. All Dogs Go To Heaven is one of the most touching animated films and I'm shocked honestly by this rating of 5.8, I thought this movie would bring back good memories for others as well. I admit the animation was a bit typical but the story is just so charming and fun.Charlie is a gambling dog who gets killed by another gambling dog, Carface. When he and his best friend, Itchy, look for Carface and spy on him they find out how Carface gets all his money, he has a little orphan girl who talks to animals and finds out who is going to win the races. But he ends up learning that maybe he should put Ann-Marie first before himself when Carface goes back to him with a vengeance.All Dogs Go To Heaven is the perfect family film, it's not Disney, but this is an excellent family film to watch. Well it starts out a bit dark, a dog who escaped the pound, and gets killed by an old friend, ends up in Heaven, and comes back. :) :()The film is mainly about two dogs called Charlie and Itchy (voiced by Dom DeLuise and I love Dom DeLuise!) . When Charlie comes back to life, it is the start of an amazing adventure.The five main reasons why I'm absolutely CRAZY about this film: One: I love the characters (except Carface). Yes, "All Dogs" has plot holes; Charlie can't talk to horses but can talk to alligators, the bad guy is allowed to enter heaven and the story is overall confusing.So what?This is one of the few movies that managed to make me "feel", in the true sense of the word. Don Bluth seems to be one of the few directors that takes children seriously, and present them the not-so-bright sides of life.For those who are unsure about watching "All Dogs" or not because of some disturbing interpretations of the movie; Give it a try. It's a great story about Charlie Barkin voiced by Burt Reynolds who gets killed but returns to Earth and must rescue a little girl named Anne Marie voiced by Judith Barsi from the evil Carface. Filled with great animation and a great story All Dogs Go to Heaven is a great animated film and one of Don Bluth's best. All Dogs Go to Heaven is, in my opinion, the best animated film ever made. Third All Dogs Go to Heaven have funny and very friendly characters including Charlie, Anne-Marrie and Itchy. Finally I like All Dogs Go to Heaven because when I watched this movie it helped me felt that I can change my attitude to become a good, responsible and respectful student.I hope that God was proud and happy for the making of All Dogs Go to Heaven.I rated 10/10 for All Dogs Go to Heaven as one of successful animated movies that have been produced.. A fun-loving dog (voiced by Burt Reynolds) gets killed one night and goes straight to Heaven, but he decides to return to Earth for revenge rather than staying. This has to be another underrated movie that is very good first the movies I like which are The love bug A goofy movie are another underrated films that where classic and I think this movie should get a better rating because it was charming fun and I love it first off I really want this movie on DVD and the 2nd one as well now lets start off with the story the story is about Charlie who gets hit by a car and goes up to heaven but comes back to life to help a little girl find a family the story is outstanding the movie having an adult touch put to it is very nice and some scary scenes as well this movie is just great and I love it as well as the 2nd one so lets give it a better rating okay. Do you know there is a blue ray one coming out as well as the 2nd one too did you know that so why not give this movie 5 stars in your book so if you have not seen all dogs go to heaven then get out on DVD as well as the 2nd too because they are really good movies Don Bluth is great he makes that family guy greater to his lose so watch any time you like get out on DVD as well as the 2nd too I give it a 10 out of 10. The characters were a mixed bag, the best being Anne-Marie, voiced by the late Judith Barsi.(I was physically ill when I read what happened to her) Also, Carface is a very convincing villain,especially voiced by the wonderful Vic Tayback(I particularly loved "Morons I'm surrounded by Morons") and along with Rasputin and Warren T.Rat is probably the most memorable of all the Don Bluth villains. Maybe I was a naive, impressionable little girl, but a film that showed a character dying and going to heaven seemed something strange and different. After almost ten years of watching, I find a more deeper meaning in the film from when I first saw it (I was very young) The heartwarming songs to the emotion-stirring climax, All Dogs Go To Heaven is a wonderful movie for the whole family. I loved all the characters, especially Charlie and Killer, and I was thrilled when the sequel came out (though I was disappointed) You can never in a lifetime make a film such as this one so powerful, funny, and touching as this one.. I admit that some of the characters get on my nerves now but I think that Charlie is a brilliant character.He's a liar and a user and yet still loveable.The end scene where Charlie says goodbye to Anne Marie still makes my eyes fill up.I don't think many young children would like this movie but I think its about right for anyone over ten.. Because Charlie sure does not deserve such a right.Long story short, Charlie figures out a way to return back to life, and proceeds to attempt bloody revenge on good old Carface. Humanity is going downhill.This movie is really, really underrated, along with other Don Bluth films I've come across.That hell scene though...not even remotely scary.. I would watch this movie non-stop,...right up until I was clumsy enough to break the only copy I had.I really like this movie it's another one of Don Bluth's amazing animated films; at least in my opinion. It's not like this a a cartoon of bloodfest and cussing or anything, it's just that Don's animated films tend to have a bit more of a maturity level, such as characters that bleed(just a little) and sometimes small suggestive themes. That's what makes this movie so good: the ability, unique in Don Bluth (director), to play with the people's feelings and make them love or hate a character in no time. That, and the fact that it has so many good characters like Charlie and Ann-Marie, that in the sad but happy ending you have to say "I have something in my eye" to hide the others that you cried. Back on earth again, Charlie reunites with Itchy and plots his revenge on Carface to "ruin him and make him suffer slowly and painfully."You know, for kids!So as Charlie sneaks into an air vent to enter Carface's basement, he finds him there talking to a young girl named Anne-Marie (the voice of this character was Judith Barsi's last performance). I guess the writers had to add in a message for young children, as the main theme of the movie is more adult.So Anne-Marie finds the wallet that Charlie stole from the man and sees the couple's wedding photo inside. She goes up to the church's attic to sleep, and sings a "Somewhere Out There"-like song, in an audibly different voice I might add, about how soon she will find a mom and dad.Though this movie isn't as dear to my heart as "The Land Before Time" (I admit I watched this one fairly recently), it's pretty good. Even if you don't care one bit about the story, you can still have lots of fun just enjoying the wonderful animation.All Dogs go to Heaven is a movie about a dog called Charlie who gets set up and murdered by another dog called Carface. To his surprise, he goes to heaven, but finds a way to get back to earth where he and his sidekick meet a little girl who can talk with animals.The storyline is thin, but the likable characters make up for this. The movie also has a lot of cute scenes, and I think the best part was the part where Charlie has to tuck in Anne-Marie.If you have any kids, watching this movie together with them will be a blast!. Which brings me to my second point: this has got to be the darkest "kids'" movie I've seen in quite some time, this coming from a 22-year-old. I love the songs, and I adore the voices behind them--Anne-Marie has got some of the cutest character designs I've ever seen and definitely the cutest voice I've ever heard (RIP Judith Barsi), and it's a good break from the happy go lucky Disney films of this day. The editing and transitions are abrupt and look like a bad television version of a cartoon; I was mentally devising where a commercial would go when I watched it the first time.On the upside, you've got a bizarre sequence where Charlie actually seems to visit hell; not many animated features have done that before. A dark film with an exquisite story set in New Orleans in 1939.All dogs go to heaven tells the story of Charlie B. The film was Don Bluth's, "All Dogs Go to Heaven".This is one of my favorite movie's when I was little. There is a certain warmth emitted from this style that hearkens back to a day when cartoons actually used to be pure, and had none of the compromising marketing techniques thrown in to gather wider audiences, as mega-budgeted cartoon franchises pander today.The small but heartfelt supernatural story which explores the doggy afterlife of one street dog Charlie will remain a classic animated film for years to come. Both characters are likeable (especially Charlie!) and the storyline is a breath of relief away from all the usual movie cliches - its unique.All Dogs Go to Heaven is very sad and i couldnt bare to watch it very often when i was said little girl but when i did it was always entertaining moving and lovely if all the films ever made were to be whittled down to a hundred to be placed in a time capsule (stick with me) to represent human existance this should be one of them!! The final scene of the film with Charlie and Anne-Marie is one of the saddest I've ever seen in animation. If you liked The Secret of Nimh, you'll probably like this animated Don Bluth film.I myself found it a bit odd, but I wouldn't give it a bad rating per say. I don't know what the script writer was on when he came up with this movie, but it must have been pretty bad cause this thing is almost totally incoherent.This is an overall annoying movie, but the two most irritating features of "All Dogs go to Heaven" are the amount of continuity errors and the little orphan girl. All Dogs is a clever film directed by Don Bluth (NIMH, Rockadoodle, Land before Time) but is NOT for kids. The story line could work if you erased your mind of the lame and pointless sequel, the main character however, is a criminal and not very likable at first, but he turns a new leaf at the end, the villain was a little pointless too, but the supporting characters voiced by the late Dom Delouise and Judith Barsi, are heart-filled and warm. (Probably a little more.) Despite dark scenes like Charlie being killed and his "hellish" dream, I loved this. I watched this movie mainly because I read on the net that it was Barsi's last film before her tragic death, but I discovered a heart-warming tale of friendship and love too! All Dogs Go To Heaven is a highly recommendable animated movie with good valuable lessons in it. Perhaps it's just me, but an animated movie aimed at kids that features gambling dogs, revenge, the death of a dog (twice over, if you could Charlie's death at the beginning) and orphaned little girls is not what makes an enduring animated classic. Considering the talent involved (Don Bluth, especially), the animation in this film is a major disappointment and it winds up being strictly for the dogs rather than for the kids.. It's animation could have been better,but the songs are golden."You can't keep a good dog down'' is a superb song.One thing I don't like, however, is the ending, too sad.I give this movie 5 stars.. Burt Reynolds is wonderful as the voice of Charlie the Dog. The songs are all excellent, they range from being very funny to very heart warming. Usually I don't like animated family movies but this one is special it is the perfect family movie.The ending of the movie always touches my heart and saddens me very much but that is what makes this movie amazing better than all of the garbage that is coming out for kid movies today. Quite original to see the dog play the Bad Guy. I saw this movie when I was about 8-years-old and I liked it but it wasn't until I watched it again at the age of 13 that I really understood it for what it is; a cartoon about a criminal dog with a real heart of gold "adopts" a little girl in order to exploit her for her talents to talk to animals. This is how he comes upon young Anne-Marie, the lonely little orphan that can talk to animals whom Charlie plans to scam for her talents in order to get back at his enemy Carface. While back on earth Charlie makes friends with a little orphan girl named Anne-Marie who is able to help him. All Dog's Go to Heaven is an animated kid's movie like no other. The actual movie isn't explicit in any way, it's just an odd combination to make a kid's movie on.Charlie Barkin (Burt Reynolds) is a player dog, who owns half a casino with his partner Carface (Vic Tayback). This is one of the few movies I feel this way about, but I do.Overall, this is a nice family film, with odd themes thrown in, but nonetheless, good entertainment.My rating: *** out of ****. But before long, Don Bluth had his first major misfire with ALL DOGS GO TO HEAVEN; critics were especially harsh on this film, and matters weren't helped by the fact that it opened alongside Disney's THE LITTLE MERMAID.Considering that the movie has such a friendly-sounding title, one would expect ALL DOGS GO TO HEAVEN to be pleasant family fare. Here a whippet angel, Annabelle, tells him that "all dogs go to heaven because unlike people, dogs are usually loyal and kind." This line represents the confused nature of the movie, since the dogs in the movie, the whippet aside, are presented as anything but.Upon realizing that he's been murdered, Charlie steals his way back to Earth and plots to get even with Carface. If anything, the movie is more of a triumph of animation than storytelling.On the whole, however, I cannot recommend ALL DOGS GO TO HEAVEN as good entertainment. All Dogs go to Heaven is a pretty good movie.. The movie tells the story of 1939's criminal dog, Charlie B. He goes back to earth to seek his revenge on Carface, with help from his best friend Itchy (voiced by Dom DeLuise) & a young gifted orphan girl, Anne-Marie (voiced by Judith Barsi) who has the power to speak to animals. What I love about this movie is saying that all dogs go to heaven. When I was a little girl, this was one of my all time favorite movies to watch. it has to be one of me favourite movies of all time, it is just a film well worth watching. All Dogs Go to Heaven is on the track to be a great animated movie, but just doesn't sit well with me. All Dogs go to Heaven is a Don Bluth animated feature, released in 1989. Barkin (Burt Reynolds), who cons his way out of heaven using his life watch, in order to seek revenge on the dog that killed him (voiced by Vic Tayback). Anyway, onto the actual review.WHAT I LIKED: There was an actual portrayal of heaven and hell, one of the few I've seen in animated films. The good guy dies.OVERALL: I LOVE this movie, even if it is a bit forgettable at times. Charlie (voiced by the sometimes annoying and silly movie star Burt Reynolds) dies in some kind of accident (or is killed by Carface the villain, I can't remember which) and he goes to heaven.

tt0067656

Reazione a catena

At a remote mansion overlooking a vast, empty bay lake, Countess Federica (Isa Miranda), wheels herself through her dark, empty house. She sorrowfully looks out her window at the rain when Filippo Donati (Giovanni Nuvoletti), her husband, appears and murders her by wrapping a noose around her neck and kicks her out of her wheelchair. The countess cannot stand on or move her useless legs and is strangled to death. But then Filippo is then murdered by a unseen killer who jumps out at him from behind a curtain, and drags his body away. The presence of a suicide note, stolen from the countess' diary, leads the police to believe that she has killed herself.Several days later, Frank Ventura (Chris Avram), a real estate agent, and his secretary/lover Laura (Anna Maria Rosati) are in bed discussing their plans to take over Countess Federicas property following her murder. They both realized the bay's potential to fetch a large price on the estate market, and they are the ones who have convinced Donati to murder his wife. All that Ventura needs to take control of the bay is Donati's signature on some paperwork, although he does not realize that Donati too has been murdered. Ventura plans to go to his cottage, which adjoins the desired property, to meet with Donati. Laura, jealous of Ventura's obsession with the property, asks to come along. When he tells her to stay put, she complains that he enjoys making her life miserable. Ventura tells Laura about a 'squonk' which is mystical creature who is crafty, but never stops whimpering. Laura understands the analogy and agrees to be patient.Back at the bay, Paolo Foscari (Leopoldo Trieste), an entomologist who owns a small house on the grounds, is hard at work trying to capture an insect. He runs into Simon (Claudio Volonte), a handyman who also lives on the property and makes a living by catching squid in the bay. During their conversation, Foscari suggests that the countess might have been murdered. Very defensively, Simon replies that the police ruled it a suicide. Foscari sarcastically replies that it was a suicide before running off to catch more insects.Meanwhile, four rowdy teenagers, Brunhilda (Brigette Skay), Denise (Paola Rubens), Duke (Guido Boccaccini), and Robert (Roberto Bonanni), arrive at the bay for a day of partying and fun. The trouble-making teens break into Ventura's vacant cottage to steal some liquor and smoke some dope. While Denise and Duke retreat to a nearby bedroom for sex, Robert, makes a fire in the fireplace, while Brunhilda goes swimming in the bay. There, she accidentally discovers the badly decomposed body of Filippo Donati floating under water. In a panic state, she runs out of the water, quickly dresses, and runs back to the cottage to tell the others of her find, only to get chased and attacked by a unseen maniac wielding a large billhook, who catches up to her and slashes her throat. Robert is next when he opens the front door of the cottage after hearing a noise and is whacked in the face with the same billhook. The unseen killer takes a fisherman's spear, and kills both Denise and Duke by impaling them in bed while they are in the middle of sex.As night falls on the bay, Renata (Claudine Auger), Donati's estranged daughter, arrives in a mobile home with her weak-willed husband Albert (Luigi Pistilli), hoping to lay claim to the bay estate. Leaving their two young children asleep in their camper, the couple pay a visit to Foscari and his wife Anna (Laura Betti), a fortune teller and tarot reader with a very supercilious nature. Sitting down for tea, Anna slyly insinuates that the countess' death was probably Renata's father's doing, and that Simon may be the one to inherit the property. Shocked to discover that she has a half-brother, Renata leaves with Albert who tells him that Simon will have to be disposed of.Renata and Albert meet with Simon to talk with him about the countess' death when they discover the badly decomposed body of Donati's in Simon's boat. Simon claims to have only found the body floating in the bay and will inform the authorities. Renata and Albert flee to stop at Venturas cottage hoping to meet with him, but find it apparently deserted. When Albert walks away for a moment, Ventura suddenly appears and attempts to kill Renata. She runs into the bathroom where she discovers the four mutilated, dead bodies of the teenagers. But Renata gets the upper hand by grabbing a pair of scissors, and stabbing Ventura. This is accidently witnessed by Foscari, and when he runs back to his house to call the police, Albert follows him there and strangles him to death. When Anna, hearing the commotion at Ventura's cottage, arrives there and gets decapitated by Renata weilding an rafting axe. Frightened by the aura of violence around him and disgusted with himself for killing an innocent man, Albert tries to persuade Renata to make a run for it. But the murderous Renata tells Albert that she has no intention of giving up when she's so close to inheriting the bay. She also reminds Albert that they still have to kill Simon.Things gets more complicated when Laura shows up at the bay looking for Ventura, when she stumbles into Simon's shack on the bay where he appears and threatens her with a machete. It is revealed by Simon that Ventura hired him to murder Filippo Donati with the promise that Ventura will give him his share of the property and money to leave the country. Simon really is the countess illegitimate son who was supported by his mother all this time and the one who murdered the four teenager after one of them discovered the body of Donati since he was ordered by Ventura not to let Donati's death be made public knowledge until after Simon inherits the bay. Furious at Laura when he finds out that she and Ventura were responsible for Donati murdering his mother, he attempt to kill her too. But at first Laura gets the upper hand by throwing a pot of boiling water on Simon, scalding his face. But he quickly recovers and strangles her with his bare hands.Simon then goes after both Renata and Albert hiding out in the property. But then Albert turns the tables on Simon by impaling him to a wall with the same fisherman's spear Simon used to kill two of the teens. With Simon finally taken care of, Renata and Albert search the countess' house for the missing will which has the listings of beneficiaries. But then Ventura, who was presumed to be dead, shows up and attempts to kill both of them, but is then dealt with by Albert who kills him for good.The next morning, with all the loose ends tied up and the countess will burned, Renata and Albert plan to return home to wait for news of her inheritance of the bay. But in an ironic twist, both Renata and Albert are shot to death by the very own neglected children, who playfully point a loaded shotgun at their parents and shoot them both down. The little girl says to her brother, "Gee, they sure are good at playing dead, aren't they?" The sister and brother then run out of the camper to playfully skip some stones by the water.

dark, cruelty, murder, cult, horror, violence, storytelling, flashback, insanity, revenge, sadist

train

imdb

Many films on the Video Nasty list are horror cinema's answer to well-respected classics; The Last House on the Left offers a new spin on Ingmar Bergman's The Virgin Spring, Island of Death is a more brutal telling of the story of Bonnie and Clyde and, indeed, this Mario Bava film owes its plot to the French classic, La Ronde. Bay of Blood is often noted as being an obvious inspiration on the Friday the 13th series, and when taking things such as the setting and a certain murder sequence into account, that is certainly true; but let's not forget that this is also a fantastic movie in its own right. It has to be said that the film never tops its opening sequence, but Mario Bava's gore-fest manages to remain fascinating all the way through, as it turns out that the first murder scene sets off a violent chain of events that results in a very high body count.This film would be properly categorised as a slasher, but its Italian roots ensure that it's often labelled a Giallo, and indeed Mario Bava does include Giallo elements; from black gloved killers and an array of odd characters, all the way to an amazingly convoluted plot. Indeed, the storyline here gets so complicated at times that it's liable to give the viewer an extreme headache, but Bava is always on hand with another glorious murder scene, and as the film features thirteen deaths in it's eighty one minute running time - there's certainly no lack of the red stuff. Mario Bava's eye for detail doesn't wane with this film, as despite being a grisly slasher; there's still more than enough time for beautiful scene setting. With the pitch-black ending, the director shows us that the film isn't meant to be taken seriously, and overall, Bay of Blood is both influential and a great time - and therefore shouldn't be missed by horror fans.. Regarded as the granddaddy of slashers, BAY OF BLOOD has a unique concept behind it that none of its duplicators have successfully copied: the concept of people being murdered one by one, not by just one killer but by several killers, in very gruesome ways, all in the name of super dry, jet black comedy. Throughout the labirynth like story-line, we bounce from one character to the next, never having enough time to get to know the people in the movie to care enough for them and when they are killed, their deaths suddenly take a surprisingly modern twist. Unlike most slashers out there, like FRIDAY THE 13TH or even HALLOWEEN and their endless sequels, many critics have said that in order for the horror element in those movies to work, you have to care about the people getting killed. There isn't a single lone female survivor, or a surprise ending like most horror films (there is a surprise ending in BAY OF BLOOD but it's not a killer coming back to life).The acting is good but the cast is mostly anonymous (deliberate?). Well, BAY OF BLOOD has impressed me a lot and I have to say that it's probably my favorite Mario Bava film, along with HATCHET. Here the main pleasure, as in all subsequent body count movies, is in seeing in which new and inventive manner the next murder will be committed, but as usual, it is Bava's visual style which sets this film above Friday 13th and all it's imitators, as well as a knowing sense of humour and a pounding jazzy soundtrack. I also believe "Blood and Lace" is under-appreciated in this regard, though I suppose "Bay of Blood" is the more influential.Aside from the obvious concept of kids going into the woods and dying, we have some of the classic slasher themes: camera from the killer's point of view behind a tree, the double impalement of a couple making love. The Countess' daughter Renata (Claudine Auger) and her husband Albert (Luigi Pistilli) arrive at the bay and start investigating the goings-on themselves, only to discover the possibility that everyone could somehow be involved in trying to claim the bay for themselves.As a horror fan, the work of Mario Bava has somehow alluded me through the years. Opening with a double murder, the film has proved to be highly influential, with many contemporary slasher movies (among them various segments of the "Friday The 13th" series) replicating some of it's key death sequences. While Carlo Rambaldi's superbly well-done gore effects retain their shock value (and they assured that the film went onto the infamous "video nasties" list), it's Bava's gorgeous cinematography that steals the show and proves once again that the great Italian director did not just make horror movies - he made genuine art.. The screenplay features more plot holes than a piece of Swiss cheese,and it borrows a bit from Agatha Christie's "Ten little Indians" aka "And then there were none" .And the flashbacks are clumsily edited in.For that matter ,the movie does not attain perfection ,as in Bava's earlier works such as "la Maschera Del Demonio" ,"I Tre Volti Della Paura" or "Operazione Paura".Having said this ,Mario Bava was still quite capable of worthwhile directing in 1971.One can feel the huge influence he exerted over Dario Argento (whose screenplays were more complex and even more far-fetched ,but this is the kind of horror movies I ask more of) and over all the American "teenagers" thrillers of the eighties ,beginning with "Friday the Thirteenth" : the four young intruders' scenes set the pattern for all those gory flicks.Mario Bava smartly used the "subjective " camera ,he makes us feel an invisible presence ,sometimes with an eye (a trick D'Argento will often use),sometimes with nothing:only the place , a disturbing character (Laura Betti and her tarots),or even innocent ones (the children in the trailer).James Bond's fans will be happy to see again Claudine "Domino" Auger ("Thunderball"),a former Miss France.Bava used to cast "old" actresses too:Isa Miranda,who enjoyed a career both in Italy and in France portrayed the countess.Dario Argento,once more,would imitate him:in "Profondo Rosso" ,Clara Calamai made a stunning come back as Carlo's mother.. An lonely old woman sitting in her house and the brutal murder that follows, The girl swimming in the lake, the body in the boat, the prowler outside the house where the kids are screwing around, and of course, the out-of-left-field finale, one of the greatest endings in all of film.I also admire Bava's control of pacing, emotion and mood; shifting from tenderness to horror, kindness to hate, trust to deception, often in the blink of an eye. He also makes it interesting with a bizarre assortment of characters; the milquetoast entemologist and his koo koo wife, a mysterious fisherman, with whom there's more than meets the eye, and those delightful children that any mother would love!This genre has often been one of extremes; very bad films and some very good ones, and those are the ones from the hands of stylists like Mornau, Polanski, Freda, Romero, Argento, Franco (in some instances), and of course, Mario Bava and his son, Lamberto, and a handful of others much less prolific. Bava does exactly what it says on the tin and what it says on the tin here is "A Bay of Blood" so basically you know what you're likely to get and what you're letting yourself in for but Bava is as much an auteur as any Italian maestro and the killing that opens this film proves it. Working almost exclusively within the genre of the horror picture Bava was, above all, a great visual stylist, (as well as directing "A Bay of Blood" he was also the DoP), and unlike most films that might be termed slashers this could almost be called art, albeit of a very kitsch kind.Budget-wise Bava had to achieve his effects with very little, other than sheer imagination. Mario Bava's beautifully filmed and highly bloody thriller is hailed as the grandfather of the slasher film and rightfully so.Fueding over a piece of valuable bay-side property leads to a series of violent murders and a list of strange greedy suspects.Reazione a catena (also known as Bay of Blood or Twitch of the Death Nerve) is a true example of the Italian technique of film making, it's style over substance. The music score is haunting and beautiful too.The cast of the film does well over all, although being dubbed into English it gets difficult to appreciate the talents of any actor.At any rate Reazione a catena is classic Bava, some of the great directors finest work in fact, and an excellent example of the Italian horror genre for those who have yet to discover it. Twitch of the Death Nerve (1971)**** (out of 4)Mario Bava's landmark film can now be considered one of the very first slashers and of course a major influence on Friday THE 13TH. Also known as A BAY OF BLOOD and a dozen other titles, this Bava film mixes the giallo with what would become known as the slasher and the end result is certainly something special and ground- breaking. Fellini told him to just film the murders and make the plot up as he went along.What we end up with is the most violent movie Bava ever made. It's a Sub-Genre of Horror that Survives to this Day. It has Survived Critic and Parental Wrath and Disdain and is one of the most Profitable.The Movie is Famous for its Body Count (13) that was used in Advertising Campaigns, Bloody Gore, No Redeeming Characters, Excellent Makeup and SFX, Haunting Mood and Cinematography (Bava), Fast Pace, and an Ending that No "Body" saw coming.Viewed Today it seems Familiar, due to the Hundreds of Imitations and Followups Churned Out in the last 35 Years. Mostly Hacking the Maestro with Little Style and Wit and No imagination with Eyes Only on Box-Office Receipts.The "Slasher" Genre does have its Restraints with Repetition Punctuating the Pictures and One Upmanship the Order of the Day. Objectively even Bava's Movie is Missing certain Elements of Plot, Character Development and Overall Concern for Complexity. My first experience with giallo movie is Tenebre by Dario Argento but last night I just found out the godfather of giallo genre is Mario Bava so I decide to check out one of his movie and I pick A bay of Blood.like most of giallo afterwards A bay of Blood featuring very beautiful cinematography by Mario himself with many POV shot from the killer and of course the gory kills that soon inspire the slasher genre.To proof how non cliché this movie is a group of teenagers get kill off right away in the most brutal way that even one of the kill later has been later used on Friday the 13th franchise.About the plot I actually really into the mystery but haft way through it turned into a complete mess that I hardly care about.The movie is enjoyable but not that impressive. excerpt, more at my location - Mario Bava precedes the American slasher genre with 1971's A Bay Of Blood (also known as Twitch Of The Death Nerve, Blood Bath and Last House On The Left 2, among others), a violent landmark in Italian cinema. Despite all the positive comments on Mario Bava's 1971 epic slasher film BAY OF BLOOD I found it to be extremely slow and at times just plain boring. BAY OF BLOOD is actually my favorite Bava film so I guess that tells you I'm not much a fan of his work. Mario Bava's "Bay of Blood" is a gory,early 70's mystery which has creepy atmosphere and plenty of gruesome gore.Feuds over who has the rights to a bay,following the murder of a town matriarch who controls most of the property,results in a massacre of almost every character in the story.It's easy to see where the first two "Friday the 13th" movies got many of its ideas of creative killings.But unlike "Friday the 13th" series,"Bay of Blood" has a complicated plot,interesting characters and plenty of suspense.The scenes of bloody carnage are still shocking:people are dispatched via axe,knife and spear.A must-see for fans of Italian horror!. Sure, it's fun to see the scenes which were ripped off in later "Friday the 13th" movies, the cinematography is uniformly sumptuous, and giallo/slasher kills are always fun to watch in their ingenuity…but despite this, by the end of the film I was ever so slightly bored.The film begins strongly enough with a wheelchair-bound old woman being strangled. I had extremely high expectations for Twitch of the Death Nerve, being the granddaddy of all the later 'body count' sub-genre, as well as coming from my favorite horror director of all time - Mario Bava. **SPOILERS** Probably the most influential of Mario Bava's Giallo thrillers "Bay of Blood" set the stage form the mid 1970's and beyond for scores of slasher movies that copied many of the scenes that Brava put into that film. This is what leads to the orgy of murder in the movie with everyone trying to get a hold of the land and not at all caring just what they have to do to get it.It's hard enough to follow the conniving and killing of those involved with the lake property but we have thrown into the mix, for what just seems to be a reason to jack-up the body count, a quartet of young people going down to the lake to have some fun. Later both Denise and Duke totally oblivious to what's happening, as their both in bed doing it, get run through like a shish kebab with a spear by the same unknown killer.Everyone that were introduced to in the film get's brutally murdered in some of the most grizzly scenes even put into a movie, American or foreign, up until that time. This is the grand daddy of all slasher films.Basically it is a >body count film but is the 1st one.(Friday the 13th etc all ripped this bad boy off).The plot is minimal.A prime piece of real estate is wanted by everybody and their brother.All of those in line to inherit it get whacked in different ways.Even the prototype horny teenagers having sex get viciously waxed. The performances may not be the most important aspect of "A Bay Of Blood", but the cast includes several greats of Italian genre cinema, most memorably the great Luigi Pistilli (one of my favorite actors), the beautiful Claudine Auger, and Laura Betti, who also starred in Bava's "Hatchet For The Honeymoon". Cunningham's Friday the 13th movie might have been inspired by Bava's earlier slasher flick but with better effect in terms of plot, suspense and gore. The couple arrive on the property in the midst of a bloodbath in which just about anyone coming in contact with the area is dying in mysterious ways, but the worst is yet to come.The thriller to launch Bava's career into the seventies, "A Bay of Blood" (sometimes titled "Twitch of the Death Nerve") plays out like a gratuitous Agatha Christie novel brought to the screen. One of the most popular Mario Bava's movies, Bay of blood starts in this fashion with a lengthy strangling scene. I have been really getting into italian horror movies, so I checked out Bava's "Bay of Blood", the first Bava film I have seen. Largely cited as the inspiration behind Carpenter's Halloween (1978), Cunningham's Friday the 13th (1980) and the hundreds of countless other gory slasher movies, this is an entertaining horror film from Mario Bava, who is probably the greatest of the Italian genre directors. Despite some dodgy camera-work (rapid zooms and shots thrown in and out of focus), a few plodding moments and some dated looking scenes involving 'groovy' teenagers, Mario Bava's A Bay of Blood is still an entertaining slasher/giallo movie, made even more notable by the fact that it heavily influenced Sean S. Mario Bava's TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE (aka BAY OF BLOOD) is often noted as one of the main influences of the more modern "slasher" film, including Friday THE 13TH and many others. The plot = An elderly wheelchair bound woman is murdered by her husband for her money and lakeside property and then he himself is also murdered by someone else who also wants the property and that's when the body count begins to rise, so who will succeed in the end."A Bay of Blood" is a great and incredibly brutal movie, especially considering the time it came out 1971,just before the rise of the slasher boom that was about to take place years later.Not a thriller as such it is more of black comedy, an wonderfully twisted one at that, and still even now still stands the test of time. This movie does have some plot holes as well, like the senseless killings of the four teenagers, like it's not explained why they were murdered, but they're deaths scenes were great and entertained the hell out of me.All in all "A Bay Of Blood" is a gorefest which has layers and shows director Mario Bava's wicked sense of humour, a definite must see for all gore hounds, just make sure to see the full uncut version.. Mario Bava's "Bay of blood" is a very watchable slasher film that can more easily be enjoyed if not taken too seriously. The influence on Friday the 13th is obvious (they ripped it off!), but like that movie Bay of Blood has perhaps acquired a reputation it does not really deserve.There's giallo-style plotting galore going on - which makes little sense - though the surprise opening murder of an old rich lady in a wheelchair is effectively done, but as the killings mount up it becomes pretty kitsch. If you're a fan of slasher movies or you just like Bava's photography, then this film is really a must see. Directed by Il Maestro, Mario Bava, BAY OF BLOOD (also known as TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE) was the film that single-handedly inspired and launched the slasher genre.

tt0240684

The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea

A year has passed since the events of the first film. In that time, Ariel has given birth to a daughter, named Melody. Ariel and Eric set sail for deeper ocean waters, to have Melody meet her extended family, as well as the residents of Atlantica. King Triton greets his granddaughter with a large smile, and a special locket.Suddenly, the festivities are put on hold as Ursula's sister Morgana arrives, with a shark named Undertow. Morgana claims she's here to exact revenge for the death of her sister, threatening to feed Melody to Undertow. Eric and Ariel manage to rescue Melody, while Triton uses his powers to turn Undertow into a small fish. Morgana and her servant escape, but not before vowing to get Melody.Upon returning to land, Ariel decides that they must keep Melody away from the ocean, to keep her safe from Morgana. Triton sadly agrees, and leaves Sebastian to watch over Melody. As Triton swims away, he drops the locket he had given Melody into a small sea trench near Eric's castle.12 years pass, and in that time, a large wall has been built around the castle. Melody in that time has grown into a young girl with black hair like her Father, and her Mother's spunky attitude. Unknown to her parents, Melody has been swimming under the wall, and out in the ocean in secret. While diving down into a small crevice, Melody uncovers the locket with her name on it, that had been meant for her 12 years ago.Meanwhile, Morgana and Undertow have retreated to an Antarctic region, where they have been in hiding from Triton for some time. Morgana attempts to reverse Undertow's shrunken state, but her magic cannot overcome Triton's. Using her magic to scan the ocean, Morgana sees Melody discover the locket, and figures the young girl can help her get revenge on Triton.Melody has since returned to the castle to prepare for her 12th birthday. However, the party does not go as planned, and through a mishap with Sebastian, Melody feels that she's ruined her own birthday party. Ariel goes to console her, but then finds the locket. Up until now, Ariel and Eric have kept secret from Melody about her heritage, and Ariel continues to deny this as Melody feels that her Mother is keeping secrets from her.Later that evening, Melody takes the locket and a row boat, and heads out for open water, figuring that the answer lies out in the ocean. Some ways away, she encounters Undertow, who explains that Morgana can help her. Melody follows Undertow to Morgana's lair, where the sea witch convinces Melody of her true heritage, and offers to turn the girl into a mermaid. Melody eagerly accepts, and excitedly tries out her new fins!Meanwhile, Ariel and Eric have informed Triton of Melody's disappearance. Triton has sent out his own search parties, but Eric recommends that Ariel should also search for Melody in the ocean, while he continues the search above-water. Triton then gives Ariel back her fins, and she returns to the ocean.However, Morgana tells Melody that the magic she used isn't enough to keep her a mermaid permanently. When Melody asks what she can do to stay a mermaid even longer, Morgana claims that a magic trident in Atlantica holds the key to her wish.Morgana provides Melody with a map, but it ends up being broken along the way. She then encounters a penguin named Tip and a walrus named Dash. The two see themselves as adventurers/explorers, and at Melody's request, help guide her to Atlantica.Meanwhile, Ariel has returned to Atlantica as well to speak with her father. She also encounters Flounder, now older and with his own children. Flounder agrees to help his friend, with everyone not realizing that Melody has come to the city.After talking with some other mer-children, Melody manages to take Triton's trident, but accidentally leaves behind the locket she had previously. Triton and the others find his trident stolen, but Ariel notices two sting-rays like the kind she saw when Morgana first appeared all those years ago, and follows them.Meanwhile, Melody has neared Morgana's residence along with Tip and Dash, but the two are scared off by Undertow who quickly leads Melody to Morgana. However, before Melody can hand over the trident, Ariel appears. The two are both shocked to see the other turned into a mermaid, but Morgana plays 'devil's advocate' by convincing Melody that Ariel did a terrible thing by never telling her of her true heritage. This causes Melody to give Morgana the trident. Getting what she wanted, Morgana throws Melody in an underwater ice cave along with Flounder, sealing it off.Morgana then goes to the surface, where Scuttle has led Eric, Triton and the others to Morgana's lair. However, her wielding of the trident makes her unable to be dealt with properly. She also uses the trident's power to restore Undertow to his original size. Undertow then pursues Tip and Dash, before they send him crashing into the ice cavern, freeing Melody, just as she regains her legs.Coming to the surface, she manages to confront Morgana and get the trident back, returning it to her 'Grandfather.' Triton then freezes Morgana in a block of ice, and she sinks to the bottom of the nearby ocean.Triton is finally able to see his Granddaughter for the first time in many years, and offers her a choice to either be human or a mermaid. However, Melody proposes a compromise.Using the trident, she destroys the sea wall around her parent's castle, so that both sides of her family can co-exist in harmony.

good versus evil, revenge, psychedelic

train

imdb

It just reminded me of all the annoying characters on the Disney channel-everyone is hyperactive and the story jumps from action to embarrassing scenes without any really connection.The most disappointing part was the horrible songs-not catchy, not amazing. I loved The Little Mermaid, it's one of my all time favorite Disney movies, I grew up with it and I still watch it every once in a while. While I wasn't that impressed, it was better than most Disney sequels that are normally lame and predictable.Ariel and Eric have had a daughter, Melody. So after a 9 year old review, it's time to give this movie a much better review.First of all, This is a direct sequel to the 1989 classic that revitalized Disney as a serious movie making company. The sequel is a mirror image, with a young girl who dreams of life in the sea.So the story begins a year or so after the events of the first movie. they didn't say anything and didn't really have the same demonic effect as their predecessors, Flotsam & Jetsam did.As for the returning characters, Ariel is a bit more mature and mother-like, but lacks the strength she had in the original movie. The story is beautiful, although I thought all the time that Ariel and Eric had made a mistake in not telling little Melody that her mother had originally been a mermaid. The animation was also very good.I liked Ariel and little Melody, but Morgana and Triton were the best of the characters. I even paid attention to that neither in the first film nor in the sequel have Ariel or Melody any pains while walking on their feet - namely, Andersen tells that every step the little mermaid takes is hurting her as if she was stepping on an edge of a knife.. Completely isolated from her family, in order to protect Melody from Ursula the Sea Witch's sister Morgana, Ariel now longs to pull down the castle walls and return to the twinkling blue. Very good songs, interesting character progression, awesome movie for your own little water babies!. The story is okay, but the characters are boring, and you learn to hate Melody after a few really, really stupid moves on her part.It's not as bad as The Return of the Jafar, but not close to as good as The Lion King II: Simba's Pride or Aladdin and the King of Thieves or even Pocahontas II. The movie is better then what people have said about it, and as an Ariel lover, it's great to see our favourite mermaid back and loving life!. The songs weren't bad but nowhere near as good as the original, and I love Jodi Benson's voice, though "For a moment" sounded a little like the song featured in the episode "wish upon a starfish" or the beginning of it did anyway. I was shocked and surprised by the negative reviews I saw on the web, I thought "The Little Mermaid II" is a very cute and funny sequel for everyone - kids and adults like me, though I still love the original film. I also love Melody Ariel and Eric's little girl, she's cute as a button and I like that headstrong, rebellious spirit in her. Like mother, like daughter huh?I have notice that the sort-of prologue sequence, (the beginning) is like the "Sleeping Beauty" story : Everyone from land and sea was invited to little Melody's presentation,until someone wicked (Morgana) intruded in on the celebration; only there's no sleeping curse. So over all I think this film is artistically and story-wise true to the original film, and should join other great Disney sequels like: · The Lion King II, · Cinderella II and III, · Mulan II, · Lady and The Tamp II : Scamp's Adventure, · Bambi II (more like a mid-quel actually), and... Having loved the original Little Mermaid, and having been obsessed with mermaids as a child could be, I decided I'd take the time to sit down and watch the sequel.Disney, I've got a little message for you. If you don't have the original director and actors handy...you're just looking to get your butt whooped.In the sequel, our story begins with a slightly older Ariel and her daughter, Melody. I'm sure she would have done a better job than Little Miss Tish over there.King Triton held none of the respect he'd earned from me in the first movie, and don't even get me started on Scuttle, Sebastian and Flounder. I love how Disney made a sequel for the Little Mermaid by making her a mom! The problem with "Made for home video sequel" movies is that it doesn't put too much effort into creating a new and original story. You have the new henchmen (a shark voiced by Clancy Brown and a couple of devil rays that I guess are suppose to imitate the Flotsam & Jetsam characters) for the villain (Morgana), and your new comedic sidekicks (Tip & Dash) for Ariel's daughter (Melody). Still I give this movie a (B-) because if you loved the original "The Little Mermaid," you still enjoy watching the old characters in this sequel.6 out of 10. They've made so many great movies over the years that it's really sad that they've sunk to point of making sequels that aren't even good enough to put in theatres.I hope this movie is not an indication of things to come for the Walt Disney Corporation.. The movie that made you believe in Disney again every time you saw it (no matter how awful their current movies were?) If you liked the Little Mermaid in the least bit, do not walk within viewing distance of this movie. The original had a sort of mature feel that also appealed to kids that not a lot of Disney movies generally have, and this movie ended up as a drop in a sea of terrible Disney sequels.. The old characters are back: Ariel and Eric are gifted absolutely no characterization; Triton, at least, is granted a bit of a soft spot for his granddaughter; Sebastian and Flounder retain a bit of their original charm; Scuttle is disappointingly ditzy. The new characters include Melody, who grows pretty damn irritating as soon as, "what's shaking?" is emitted from her lips; Morgana, the loveless creature spawned from a mother who constantly idolized her older sister, Ursula (it's part of Disney's wonderful "characterization" to have Morgana relate to Melody in that sense); Undertow, Morgana's shark-turned-anchovy sidekick, along with two manta rays who gloss through various scenes without any lines; and Tip and Dash, who have already been recognized as Pumbaa and Timon incarnations, minus the humour element.ANIMATION. "Toy Story 2" and "The Lion King II" were rare exceptions, but with crap like "Pocahontas II" and now "The Little Mermaid II," I shudder to think how Disney will ruin Quasimodo in the sequel to "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," not to mention the sheer horror revealed in the preview for "Lady and the Tramp II." In this case, it's definitely a matter of quality versus quantity.. 2. Prince Eric- While he didn't have a lot of personality in the first movie, like all Disney princes, somehow his new voice and his very few lines made him even more robotic. The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea (2000) * 1/2 (out of 4)Ariel and Eric return to the sea with their baby daughter Melody to show her off but an evil sea witch tries to destroy the child. The parents agree that it's best to stay away from the sea but on her 12th birthday Melody decides to go on her own and before long she is turned into a mermaid but with bad results.THE LITTLE MERMAID was a very important film for Disney as it was really their first classic in a very long time and it kick-started them into one of the best periods of their career with titles such as BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, ALADDIN and of course THE LION KING. Along the way they also decided it was a good idea to make direct-to-video sequels to some of their most loved classics and it should go without saying that THE LITTLE MERMAID II just didn't cut it.It seems that fan reaction has been quite split over these films but I must say that I found this to be very boring from the start and there wasn't too much life to it. The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea is in my opinion, one of the worst direct to video sequels ever made.The Bad: 1. I think she is an infantilised version of Ariel, in terms of both personality and appearance, also very annoying and unlikable, Ariel plays as a boring and generic mother figure, Morgana is a pale imitation of Ursula, and Eric goes from a fairly likable character to a boring character, Flounder plays as a boring and generic father figure, King Triton served no purpose in the film and Tip and Dash are a blatant rip-off of Timon and Pumbaa, the list goes on. Ariel is still very beautiful, just like in the much superior original and prequel and television series, her character design has always got a good balance of youth and maturity, and that is the reason why I think she is gorgeous. This is a sequel to Disney's The Little Mermaid, where Ariel's daughter, Melody, yearns to be part of the ocean world. Ariel must turn back into a mermaid to return to the sea to find Melody and also stop Morgana, sister of Ursula, from taking over the ocean.Released directly to video, this movie was probably not meant to be a masterpiece and was probably made to capitalize on the success of the original movie. The plot is very rushed through, leaving little room for suspense and character development, and the songs were forgettable.The newer characters, especially that of the walrus and the penguin, were quite annoying and Ariel doesn't have a very large role in the story. And, I understand that you have to stretch your imagination a bit in animated movies, but this story treated like that it is common for humans to interact with talking animals; there needed to be some intrigue, like Melody showing some astonishment when running into talking walruses, crabs and penguins.The animation was OK and I liked the fact that the filmmakers brought back a lot of the original actors to voice the characters. Some of the action scenes were a little riveting, but the overall movie was just too rushed-through especially for such a large cast, which results in difficulty for emphasis to be placed on each one.Overall, not one of the better Disney sequels out there. The only problem I have with this movie is that, like all other disney sequels that has came out they seem to have the same plot line. You'd think that Disney could come with something better for a sequel than the same one for every movie. I have watched The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, and Peter Pan plus their sequels with my 4 year old daughter. So this brings me to the conclusion that if Disney is going to do a sequel to a movie then they could come up with a better plot line. I believe that this movie was like most sequels and didn't surpass their original. Disney's sequel to the popular movie The Little Mermaid is very well-done, introducing a fair balance of new characters while keeping the magic of some of the originals.Melody, Ariel's 12-year-old daughter, dreams of being a mermaid more than anything else in the world. And she arranges for Melody to meet her in her lair, where she makes her into a mermaid, under one condition-- she has to get Triton's trident for Morgana.The Little Mermaid II is a great story about just how far parents will go to protect their children, even if it means concealing the truth to them. Ariel's daughter, Melody, was sympathetic and I liked her companions, Tip and Dash (An amusing penguin & walrus combination)The villain is Ursula's skinny sister, Morganna, who has more depth than the former. I thought this movie was a good effort to follow up on the Little Mermaid movie, but I just found too much hard to accept from Ursula's sister to Melody not being allowed in the water. Sebastian!).Ariel and Eric are just placeholders, as is Triton and Grimsby.Only Melody gets her proper story, confronting Morgana and Undertow as her aide, but that does not save the day.And I do not even mention all the extraneous animal actors in the later part of the movie - atrocious and completely unnecessary! But it's like Ariel is all grown up, she's got a child, Eric still sounds cute, Sebastian still so comical, Melody is much like her mother, King Triton has a gentle side. don't get me wrong, i ABSOLUTELY love Disney films, especial the classics like the little mermaid and aladdin. Disney should at least make the sequel look like it only came out a year after the original. im not saying that its a bad thing, but you know that you have a problem when the characters of a sequel look younger than in the original...and then with the voices and personalities. Yet, I do too, so if you don't like, along with the other people who have said positive things about The Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea, well...SOL(Sorry outta luck) for you.I'm sure Disney appreciated hearing its creations suck. I mean, "The Little Mermaid" was a good movie, but this is sooooo bad! The songs were bad, and there was no point for having that stupid penguin and walrus, and Melody sounds like a 3-year old. The Little Mermaid II is just another Disney sequel, following An Extremely Goofy Movie, The Return of Jafar, Pocahontas II and The Lion King II, with the lower quality of animation than the originals. Disney's undersea adventure resurfaces in this all new story.After rejoicing over the birth of their daughter Melody, Ariel and Eric must face a new threat from Ursula's revengeful sister Morgana- forcing them to hide Melody's true mermaid heritage. If you take the first movie, and reverse the plot (ariel wants to leave the sea, her daughter wants to go to the sea), take the same characters and give them new animals and new names, and then throw in crappy animation and the biggest suck factor, possible, you get the little mermaid 2. Melody, Ariel's new baby daughter is threatened by Ursula's sister, Morgana. The Little Mermaid II:Return To The Sea is a 2000 sequel to the 1989 classic The Little Mermaid only this time she is a mother to a beautiful girl named Melody who doesn't know that Ariel was a mermaid herself but got transformed into a human thanks to her father in the end of the first film to be with Eric. Later on in the film Melody escapes the castle and decides to go to Ursula's sister Morgana(who happens to be voiced by the same woman who voiced Ursula in the first movie) to change her into a mermaid. Like the seagull in the beginning of the film,the rainbow,Melody copying Ariel's Part Of Your World routine with the spinning around in the water etc.Having said that its not as good as the first movie as the 1st one is my 3rd favourite movie of all time,but still check it out if you loved the first movie. Ariel and Eric celebrate the birth of their daughter Melody, but then Morgana, the crazy sister of Ursula (yes, it happened), threatened her in order to get the trident of king Triton. Thy are there because Disney has an reputation of great comedic side characters (in their classic film made by people who know how to make a movie). Love 'em or hate 'em, most of the Disney direct to video films which are often sequels are worse than the originals. The story seems similar to the first movie on the surface - Ariel's daughter Melody wants to be a mermaid, like Ariel wanted to be human, but Ariel fears the dangers of the sea, like her father feared humans; particularly Morgana, sister of Ursula, the octopus witch of the original. Ariel tries to comfort Melody, making what to the audience is just a bad joke but when you actually think about it is actually incredibly cruel - "I was a regular fish out of water," she says, and follows up by saying, "you can tell me anything" which we know simply isn't true, and she should too, having hidden that statue etc from her father 12 years previously.So it's understandable and actually a little exciting when Melody not only runs away, like Ariel did in the first movie, makes a deal with Ursula's sister and becomes a mermaid, but also then steals her grandfather's trident for the new witch. The plot is extremely similar to the original, except that Melody wants to be a mermaid whereas Ariel wanted to be a human. The day after I watched this, I watched the original to remind myself that The Little Mermaid is, in fact, a great Disney movie with great characters, memorable music, and beautiful animation, unlike the travesty I've just lambasted.Naturally, the girls I babysat for loved it.. The Little Mermaid is one of my absolute favorite Disney movies. The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea. When I was younger, I thought the first film was really good in childhood, so I decided to see the sequel. Basically it's about Ariel's daughter, Melody, who wants to become a mermaid.The story could have had great potential, but they spoiled it. She tries to keep her out of the sea because it's dangerous, and of course it's so not like the original film.The new characters stink as well! I loved the characters much more in this movie than the original!

tt1410063

Jin ling shi san chai

An American mortician, John Miller (Bale), arrives in Nanjing in order to bury the foreign head priest of a convent for Catholic girls, just after the city was bombed and invaded by the Japanese forces. A short time after his arrival at the convent, a group of flamboyant prostitutes from the local red-light district find their way to the compound looking for shelter, as foreigners and foreign institutions seem to be left alone by the marauding Japanese soldiers. While the prostitutes hide out in the cellar, Miller struggles with and finally gives in to his feelings of responsibility to protect the teenage schoolgirls, and poses as the convent's priest when the compound is repeatedly visited by Japanese soldiers looking for girls to rape. With the help of Chinese collaborator Mr. Meng (Kefan), who is the father of one of the girls, he starts to repair the convent's truck in case there should be an opportunity to bring the girls out of Nanjing.Japanese Colonel Hasegawa (Watabe) finally promises to protect the convent by placing guards in front of the gate, and requests that the girls sing a choral for him. After the performance, he hands Miller an official invitation for the girls to sing at the Japanese Army's victory celebration. Fearing for their safety (especially since the guards' main concern seems to be not letting any of the girls leave the compound), Miller declines. Hasegawa informs him that it is not a request, but an order and that the girls are going to be picked up the next day. Before they leave, the Japanese soldiers count the girls and erroneously include one of the prostitutes (who has strayed from the cellar looking for her cat), totalling 13.Induced by their de-facto leader Yu Mo (Ni), the prostitutes decide to protect the girls by meeting the Japanese on their behalf. As they are only twelve, the former convent priest's adopted son volunteers as well. Miller initially opposes their self-sacrificing decision, but ultimately assists in disguising them, using his skills as a mortician.The next day, the 13 are led away by the unsuspecting Japanese soldiers. After they have left, Miller hides the convent girls on the truck he repaired. Using a single-person permit Mr. Meng was able to obtain, he drives out of the town. In the last scene, the truck is seen driving on a deserted highway in Western direction, away from the advancing Japanese army, towards safety.

melodrama, violence, murder, haunting, flashback

train

imdb

Good movie is like a mirror, some people might get upset watching it, while others see love for others, respect for life, and the human spirit of fighting for peace out of tragedy. Almost everything in this movie is based on real history, including how Japanese tortured Chinese war victims, how prostitutes stood up to protect other women during the Rape of NanJing, as well as how some westerners resided in China at the time helped local Chinese. I have read a few reviews on this film and I have noticed most people saying ''Its too graphic'', it is a war film and the graphic effect was a great way of showing the audience the true form of war and the violence the soldiers/people experienced.The cast was wonderful, I was amazed by the outstanding performance of the young Chinese actresses, I had goosebumps when they started crying or displaying any form of drama. The story is about how a dozen of prostitutes saved girl students from uncivilized Japanese soldiers during the Nanjing(Nanking) massacre period (starting from Dec. 13, 1937, lasted for two weeks, 300,000 murdered, 80,000 raped). The more shocking and repulsive aspect is, till today, the Jap government has denied the atrocities committed in Nanking and attempted several times to rewrite their school history text books; failing only due to the constant protest of the Chinese government and the integrity of its own purist historians.An amazing movie with a brilliant Chinese cast, under the usual exceptional insightful direction of Zhang Yimou. Movie has lots of works - Zhang Yimou attempting Hollywood style movie inspired by a novel 13 flowers of Nanjing based on true events, with massive budget with over 100 mn , multiple casts from different country, and nominated for 2011 Oscar nominated film among foreign language films, all the works justifies 2 and half hours film… An American born mortician john miller (acted by Christian bale), upon arrival in Nanjing for a burial of a priest, finds himself caught between bunch of orphan students, encroached prostitutes of qin hu river (the 13 flowers) in church trying to escape Nanjing and from the bloody brutal of Japanese army. A Chinese soldier loses his battalion and himself for the students/flowers …A Chinese father becomes traitor to save his only daughter, bunch of prostitutes trying to save the students, A Chinese boy George enacting as a prostitute… And john plays a formidable role as a priest to protect the children, giving up his last chance to escape, and his newly found love…humanity rages a war with the mighty armed and brutal minded Japanese, the movie puts Japanese to shame, something Japanese needs to regret for their brutalities of their fore fathers. After the movie one could walk with hatred , I for one proud of Chinese , for exhibiting their humanity, Zhongu jiayau… it is said who wants to understand the Nanking massacre should watch "City of Life and Death," directed by Lu Chuan, and the documentary "Nanking," by Bill Guttentag and Dan Sturman.. I thought I would be ready for this movie."The Flowers of War" tells the story of a roguish American mortician John Miller (Christian Bale) who was sent to a Catholic church/convent in Nanking to prepare the body of the priest for burial, who was then under siege by the Japanese. A visually stunning war epic from Chinese director Yimou Zhang, this film tackles the infamous rape of Nanking by the Japanese in 1937. Within a short period of time, several prostitutes arrive at the church to hide from the rampaging soldiers.Bale is great in the lead, as always, as commanding a presence as any actor working today and his female counterpart, newcomer Ni Ni, is someone to watch out for, she is beautiful and has a star quality that is undeniable. For someone who is known for the action- choreography in his movies (such as "Hero" and "House of Flying Daggers"), Zhang keeps the viewer riveted to the seat through the first 30 minutes or so when Japanese forces run through Chinese the city of Nanking, unleashing mayhem and violence.The framing and editing work in tandem to create stunning visuals that convey both the widespread destruction due to the heavy artillery, as well as the intense pain and angst of those hit. I could not help but get reminded of movies like Full Metal Jacket (1987), Saving Private Ryan and Thin Red Line (1998).The scene where young Chinese soldiers run in an "in-line" formation towards an advancing Japanese tank, with the hope that the last man in the formation, who is a human-bomb, will get close enough to the tank and immobilize it, is outstanding. The lone surviving Chinese soldier forsaking the safety offered by a convent of nuns and going back to take on the well-armed invaders; the decision of the prostitutes to stand-in for the young and adolescent nuns who are called into the Japanese garrison for a "performance" at a celebration party and the young errand-boy at the nunnery making the choice to step in as a substitute to make up for the count for the choir are some great moments.Zhang gets Christian Bale to show his slow but complete transformation from being a drunken mortician with hedonistic leanings to a determined man who sees the protection of the innocent victims (nuns, prostitutes and the young boy) as his calling.The violence and gore notwithstanding, this movie is one emotional roller-coaster that is sure to make you take a pause and think about the casualties of war and the power of keeping up hope when in despair.. its really great movie but from my point of view it could be more greater with a different ending showing what really happened for the prostitutes and the young boy i give it 9 its really amazing sound effect motion picture casting i really fill that am watching something real. Fortunately therefore, though Zhang Yimou's take begins on an overtly jingoistic slant, it eventually settles for a nuanced approach that exudes the very humanity at the heart of Yan Geling's story, becoming a moving and poignant account of heroism and self-sacrifice.Opening with the first of just two battle sequences throughout the whole film, Yimou starts off emphasising the heroism of the Chinese soldiers who were outnumbered and outgunned by the invading Japanese troops. And despite boasting none of the gaudy excesses of Yimou's previous big- budget extravaganzas (a la 'Curse of the Golden Flower'), production designer Yohei Tanada deserves credit for the visually intricate designs of both the cathedral as well as the war-torn streets of Nanking.Nonetheless, what will likely resonate most at the end of the day are the film's twin messages of courage in the face of fear and humanity in the face of atrocity. Yimou's confident direction also makes for a multi-faceted movie that offers various perspectives on the war through its myriad characters, while placing Miller, Yu Mo and a thirteen-year old convent girl Shu (Zhang Xinyi) at the heart of it. Then the tearful hugging with whispering farewells, such as, "You live a good life for me…", reminding the viewer of what captain Miller whispered to private Ryan before passing away: "Earn it…" in the movie Saving Private Ryan.The love scene between the lead prostitute and John was not as contemptuous to Christianity, or insulting in the solemn context of Rape of Nanjing, as some critics might have suggested. Nanking has always been at the centre of controversy for the Japanese's refusal to admit to the atrocities committed and to downplay the number of casualties involved, and this has led to numerous films from documentaries to Lu Chuan's excellent City of Life and Death to have dealt with the pain and suffering by the Chinese during the Japanese invasion and occupation thereafter.The central character to Zhang Yimou's Nanking tale happens to be a young schoolgirl by the name of Shujuan (Zhang Xinyi), escaping from the soldiers who have come to occupy the city, and seeking refuge at their own church and convent school. If anything, this also becomes John's story in keeping things harmonious amongst the groups, and finding it within himself to hold the key to everyone's survival as much as he can, given he's a foreigner and by and large having whatever little influence to keep the Japanese at bay, which is right outside the gated courtyard.Nanking atrocities have been told countless of times through various mediums and through film, and Zhang had probably decided not to overdo, or overly place a focus on the atrocities committed by soldiers, which becomes tempting to focus on the plenty of blood, gore and of course the much talked about sexual violence against the womenfolk in the city, whatever their age. Since the tale started with the invasion of the city, Zhang Yimou sees opportunity in presenting a mini war action film, that deals with one small squad's, and then one Captain's, relentless fight against impossible odds to keep the convent girls safe from harm.Then it became John's story-arc in his transformation from uncaring drunkard with his skirt- chasing ways, to a man finally woken to the harsh realities of war, and the atrocities that are being committed from right under his nose should he choose to be passive, stand around and watch, or better yet, escape when being presented a chance to do so. Bale got to exercise his Mandarin again, which is nothing new to the actor, although here his attempts were confined and limited to keywords rather than phrases, communicating with the schoolgirls, and Yu Mo (Ni Ni) the prettiest amongst the working girls, using English since they have been schooled in a convent.Unlike most Nanking films, Zhang Yimou's film, based upon the novel by Yan Geling, chooses to focus on what would be a great escape, and a singular primary challenge that everyone had to overcome through sheer wit with death as a possible outcome, that makes the film really moving when it broaches the theme about sacrifice. The starring, Christian Bale , and the rest of the cast are excellent with special mention to gorgeous Ni Ni ; as the movie is powered by splendid performances in charge of Chinese and Japanese actors who during filming suffered some inevitable discussions . In the massacre of Nanking 1937 ,an American takes shelter in a church along with a group of girls..Starring-Christian Bale ,Ni Ni,Zhang Xinyi,Tong Dawei Director-Zhang YimouFlowers Of War is a brutal movie which captures the terrors that the Chinese faced during the massacre of Nanking.The movie is well shot and has a solid cast...The first half of the movie, which is action packed,is lead by Tong Dawei who plays Major Li ..The second half is more of drama and it is taken up strongly by Christian Bale and Ni Ni...The good points of the movie are its top class war scenes at the beginning of the movie, and the performances of the entire cast.. It can't be overlooked in analysis also that for a film costing north of 90 million American dollars it's a slight event picture that rarely ventures out from the church in which the survivors of the invasion hold out in, which seems a wasted opportunity considering the stories just waiting to be told outside the churches gates.Obviously striking a chord in its country of origin (where it's one of China's highest grossing films of all time), viewers (who rate it a staggeringly high 7.5 on IMDb) and some industry experts (the film was nominated for Golden Globe) Flowers of War feels like a mighty misstep of a film upon watching now. It is set in 1937, Nanjing, China, during the "Rape of Nanjing", at the time of the Second Sino-Japanese War. A group of escapees, finding sanctuary in a church compound, try to survive the plight and persecution brought on by the violent invasion of the city It was named the top-grossing Chinese film of 2011. Posing as a priest, he attempts to lead the women to safety (plot), No doubt, The Flowers Of War is one of the best films in of 2011, director Yimou Zhang present a really great film, Cinematography, story, screenplay, acting, custom, art direction and everything in this film was perfect, and the best thing in the film was Christian Bale! >> If I was one of the academy judge i will give another Oscar to Christian Bale, he was amazing in the film present a really great performance, anyway, it's a powerful movie, highly recommended.. Most of the movies i was waiting to see this year when they release....all of them disappointed my expectations ....then all of sudden this movie caught my attention no because its a Chinese movie because its a war movie and i like very much war and world war 2 based movie and i have heard a little bit about"Nanking"i watched it till end credits ends because i remained still for sometime ...wordless...i never expected it from Chinese director "Yimou Zhang"...and i said it is the best movie of the year and if this movie didn't get the 2 or 3 Oscar then hell with Oscar organization...what a movie,Chinese actors did their job perfectly and "christian bale" did the right thing for picking up a serious role rather than "batman" thing and especially soundtrack really touched my heart,i cant speak and understand Chinese,but i heard it as Chinese is my native language...a song named "Qin Huai Legend I (Falling in Love)" ...i heard it again,again and again ....so much emotions in it....Chinese director has beat the Hollywood this year and for sure ...a must watch...my rating is 10/10 for this great movie.. I was deeply moved by the courage of those girls when facing such misfortune...After movie, I was thinking ...certainly, it was immoral and wrong for Japanese soldiers to do dishonorable things such as "the rape of Nangking", but if it was not because of the corrupt of Ching Government, China definitely would not be invaded by the Western Powers and Japanese...I guess it's fine to forgive those Japanese criminals if they've punished, but as a Chinese man/woman should never forget about this history which filled with blood and tears. During the 2 hours this film displays the horrors that were evident during Japan's rule of Nanking, and the fear and sadness it spread amongst the Chinese.Christian Bale plays a good performance and develops as a character from the start as a money directed man who has no intention of helping others without compensation. As John Miller (Bale) tries his best to direct the students to safety, he cannot stop the force of the Japanese.Yimou Zhang's direction in Flowers of War is 'spielbergian' in it's action scenes, and captures the scale of battle at a realistic level. I found the Christian Bale (one of my preferred actors) character role script a bit too stupid and out of place, as is as I found the soldier who revenge, Rambo style, the first Japanese incursion in the church really fun but unbelievable, even more in his last attempt.Don't get me wrong the movie tells a nice story about heroism where you least expect it, where least you can expect integrity and strong, but it really didn't engage me, because forced and flat. Filled with various languages including English, Chinese, and Japanese this film attempts to do something very rare and bring these two cultures of filmmaking together in hopes to create something truly special, through a painful time in history.The Flowers of War follows a mortician who arrives at a Catholic church to prepare the priest for burial, but is thrust into the middle of the Sino-Japanese war, among the convent girl students and prostitutes of a nearby brothel. As the LA Times critic stated, 'The Flowers of War has broken new ground for China's movie industry: It's among the first domestically financed films to star a high-profile Hollywood actor (Christian Bale), and its reported budget of close to $100 million makes it the country's priciest production to date. But when it comes to storytelling, Zhang Yimou's 19th feature is decidedly backward-looking: A lavish period weepie set against the atrocities of the Nanking Massacre, "Flowers" abounds with well-worn movie archetypes and slathers on schmaltz.'Briefly stated, in 1937 China, during the second Sino-Japanese war, a mortician, John (Christian Bale) arrives at a Catholic church in Nanjing to prepare a priest for burial. Watching it you get the feeling there is several artistic agendas going on such as War porn that'll appeal to war film junkiesArt house cinema especially to those people who don't like war porn A Chinese version SCHINDLER'S LIST where a flawed human being saves the innocent from evil People who enjoyed the BATMAN reboot down to Christian Bale All these aspects seem to get in the way of one another and cancel each other out which makes for a relatively unsatisfying epic movie . THE FLOWERS OF WAR feels like it should be a true story, a kind of Chinese version of SCHINDLER'S LIST if you will, but despite the fictional nature of this production it proves to be a heartwarming and moving tale of courage and bravery in the face of oppression.We're back in Nanking and the invasion of the Japanese in 1937. It's difficult to pull off, and I wouldn't say it always works, but for the most part, this is a brilliant movie.Flowers of War has received a lot of "The Color Purple"-style criticism along the lines of, "some things are too ugly to be made so beautiful." And while I disagreed with that analysis of Purple, I do, to some extent, agree here.The movie immediately shows typical Zhang flourishes, like a small but marvelous moment where a cart full of fleeing people cuts the strings of a musical instrument as Japanese soldiers are hunting down and killing Chinese civilians in the famous Rape of Nanking.The opening scenes are intense and disturbing.

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A Christmas Carol

Dickens divided the book into five chapters, which he labelled "staves". === Stave one === The story begins on a cold and bleak Christmas Eve in London, seven years after the death of Ebenezer Scrooge's business partner, Jacob Marley. Scrooge, an old miser, hates Christmas and refuses an invitation to Christmas dinner from his nephew Fred. He turns away two men who seek a donation from him in order to provide food and heating for the poor, and only grudgingly allows his overworked, underpaid clerk, Bob Cratchit, Christmas Day off with pay to conform to the social custom. At home that night, Scrooge is visited by Marley's ghost, who wanders the Earth, entwined by heavy chains and money boxes, forged during a lifetime of greed and selfishness. Marley tells Scrooge that he has one chance to avoid the same fate: he will be visited by three spirits and he must listen to them or be cursed to carry chains of his own, much longer than Marley's chains. === Stave two === The first of the spirits, the Ghost of Christmas Past, takes Scrooge to Christmas scenes of Scrooge's boyhood and youth, reminding him of a time when he was more innocent. The boyhood scenes portray Scrooge's lonely childhood, his relationship with his beloved sister Fan, and a Christmas party hosted by his first employer, Mr. Fezziwig, who treated Scrooge like a son. They also portray Scrooge's neglected fiancée Belle, who ends their relationship after she realises that Scrooge will never love her as much as he loves money. Finally, they visit a now-married Belle with her large, happy family on a recent Christmas Eve. === Stave three === The second spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Present, takes Scrooge to a joy-filled market of people buying the makings of Christmas dinner and celebrations of Christmas in a miner's cottage and in a lighthouse. Scrooge and the ghost also visit Fred's Christmas party. A major part of this stave is taken up with Bob Cratchit's family feast and introduces his youngest son, Tiny Tim, a happy boy who is seriously ill. The spirit informs Scrooge that Tiny Tim will die soon unless the course of events changes. Before disappearing, the spirit shows Scrooge two hideous, emaciated children named Ignorance and Want. He tells Scrooge to beware the former above all and mocks Scrooge's concern for their welfare. === Stave four === The third spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, shows Scrooge a Christmas Day in the future. The ghost shows him scenes involving the death of a disliked man. The man's funeral will only be attended by local businessmen if lunch is provided. His charwoman, his laundress, and the local undertaker steal some of his possessions and sell them to a fence. When Scrooge asks the ghost to show anyone who feels any emotion over the man's death, the ghost can only show him the pleasure of a poor couple in debt to the man, rejoicing that his death gives them more time to put their finances in order. After Scrooge asks to see some tenderness connected with any death, the ghost shows him Bob Cratchit and his family mourning the passing of Tiny Tim. The ghost then shows Scrooge the man's neglected grave, whose tombstone bears Scrooge's name. Sobbing, Scrooge pledges to the ghost that he will change his ways to avoid this outcome. === Stave five === Scrooge awakens on Christmas morning a changed man. He spends the day with Fred's family and anonymously sends a large turkey to the Cratchit home for Christmas dinner. The following day he gives Cratchit an increase in pay and becomes like another father to Tiny Tim. From then on Scrooge began to treat everyone with kindness, generosity and compassion, embodying the spirit of Christmas.

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Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

On a desert planet, Nimbus III (the "Planet of Galactic Peace"), a humanoid man has dug a grouping of holes. While he digs another, he sees a dark horse and rider approaching. Panicking, he loads a crude rifle with ordinary stones and takes aim. The rider stops close by and approaches the man, telling him that he harbors a "secret pain" and that he needs to expose it. After a few moments of staring at the rider's serene face, the alien man is overcome with grief and says he feels like a great relief has overcome him. In return for this soul cleansing, the rider, who reveals himself as a Vulcan, asks the man to accompany him on an epic journey. To get there, they will need a starship.On Earth, James Kirk, Dr. McCoy and Spock are taking their shore leave in Yosemite National Park. McCoy, fretting, observes Kirk scaling El Capitan, muttering about Kirk's urge to "[play] games with life." While he makes his ascent, Kirk is suddenly startled by Spock, who hovers nearby wearing jet-powered boots. Spock doesn't seem to understand Kirk's need to climb the mountain (Kirk says "Because it's there!"), citing the fact that Kirk will never break any records for free-climbing the mountain. Kirk suddenly loses his grip and falls; Spock races after him, catching his friend before impact.On Nimbus III, the Vulcan and his new followers survey the planet's one settlement, Paradise City. The move in and seize the city, capturing three delegates; General Korrd, a Klingon, Caithlin Dar, a Romulan and St. John Talbot, a Terran (Earthling). The Vulcan uses his persuasive power on all three, convincing them to join his cause. A distress signal is sent, something the Vulcan wants.Later Kirk, McCoy and Spock sit around a campfire and McCoy serves up homemade beans, laced with bourbon. The three talk about Kirk's near-death experience; Kirk says he wasn't afraid because his friends were nearby. When pressed a bit further, he says "I've always known I'll die alone." They sing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" together, after educating Spock on the song's meaning - which has no meaning and is merely intended to be fun for a group to sing together. Their vacation is interrupted with Uhura shows up in one of the USS Enterprise's shuttle craft and tells them that Kirk has been asked to deal with a sudden crisis in space. (Kirk had deliberately left his communicator behind so they wouldn't be disturbed.) Uhura also retrieves Sulu and Chekov from the forest after they lose their way on a hike.On the Enterprise, things are chaotic. The ship's systems are constantly malfunctioning and Scotty, though happy to be working, still has his hands full bringing the ship to functionality. Transporters are also malfunctioning, hence the use of the shuttlecraft. On the bridge, Kirk gets his mission orders from Admiral Bennett (a cameo by Harve Bennett); Kirk and his crew are to travel to Nimbus III and rescue the prisoners in Paradise City. A video showing the Vulcan's small army, the Army of Galactic Light, and their leader's demands is displayed for everyone. Spock, seeing the Vulcan in the video, is suddenly overcome. He explains to Kirk that the leader is Sybok, an outcast Vulcan who believed that the true meaning of Vulcan culture and existence was the embracing of emotion in contravention to Vulcan culture. Spock knew Sybok in his younger days, before he left Vulcan to follow his own pursuits.In a remote sector of outer space, a Klingon Bird-of-Prey de-cloaks near an old Terran Gemini satellite. The ship's commander, Klaa, fires blasters on it, destroying it. Klaa, clearly bored, desires a live target to engage. His executive officer receives news of the distress call about the incident on Nimbus. Klaa becomes excited, knowing that Kirk would be a formidable opponent. He orders a course set for Nimbus to intercept Kirk.The Enterprise arrives at Nimbus and sends a ground crew down in a shuttle. On the surface, they first subdue an outpost outside Paradise that is occupied by some of Sybok's followers - Uhura is the bait, doing an erotic fan dance to attract them. Donning the guards' clothing and using their mounts, they gain entry to Paradise City. At the same time, Chekov, who has been given the conn on the Enterprise, negotiates with Sybok from space as a distraction. Outside, Spock locates the prisoners, however, their ruse doesn't last and they are identified as infiltrators. A battle breaks out; several of Sybok's men are stunned and Kirk makes his way into the tavern where the prisoners are being held. When Kirk finds them, they take him prisoner and lead him outside, where the rest of Kirk's team have also been captured.Spock meets Sybok and tells his fellow Vulcan that he is under arrest. Sybok laughs, saying that he is happy to see Spock has developed a sense of humor. Spock deadpans that he wasn't joking. Sybok turns his attention to Kirk and tells him he intends to steal the Enterprise, refusing to say what he needs it for. With no choice left to him, they all head back to the shuttle and take off.On the Enterprise, the Klingon Bird-of-Prey is detected right before it cloaks. Chekov orders the shields raised, which prevents the shuttle from docking. The usual procedure of using the tractor beam to lock on the shuttle will take far too much time, a period in which Klaa could easily cripple or destroy both vessels. Kirk orders Sulu to fly the shuttle in manually, an extremely dangerous procedure. Klaa's attack fails, and the shuttle crash lands in the docking bay. The Enterprise races off at warp, leaving Klaa excited that his target is so elusive.In the cargo bay, Kirk and Sybok regain consciousness first and grapple over a rifle, Sybok seizing it first. He leads Kirk out at gunpoint; Kirk attacks him but fails to subdue the stronger Vulcan. The rifle is retrieved by Spock who points it at Sybok; despite Kirk's shouted order to shoot Sybok, he doesn't and they are imprisoned once again, much to Kirk's consternation. They are led away and Sybok requests a private moment with Sulu and Uhura.In the brig, which, according to Spock (who acted as the test subject) is escape-proof, Kirk admonishes Spock for not protecting his ship and his crewmates by shooting Sybok. Spock says that he could not shoot the renegade Vulcan because they are half brothers, Sybok being the child of a relationship his father had with a Vulcan priestess before he met Spock's human mother. While they are trapped in the brig, Sybok reveals his plan; the Enterprise will travel through the galaxy's Great Barrier where he believes they will find a place called Sha Ka Ree, what humans would call Eden, or paradise. Kirk remarks that no one has ever returned from beyond the Great Barrier, nor has any probe (which is not true if one were to include the original series in which the Enterprise went through and back twice once in season 1, episode 3, "Where No Man Has Gone Before" and season 2, episode 22, "By Any Other Name"). Spock remarks that Sybok has spent his entire life searching for the Vulcan paradise. Just then, they receive a message through the wall in ancient Morse Code telling them to "stand back". Scotty breaks through the wall, freeing them. They make their way through the ship's back tunnels; Scotty directs them to a turboshaft where they can reach the ship's observation deck to send a distress message to Starfleet. Scotty continues walking and bangs his head, falling unconscious. He is later found by Sulu and a small search party and taken to sick bay.Meanwhile, Kirk, Spock and McCoy must climb the turboshaft's ladder by hand. They begin, but Spock disappears for a moment. Kirk and McCoy climb but are winded and exhausted after climbing a few decks. Spock floats to them using his jet-powered boots, however, they cannot take the weight of all three. They float down where Sulu and Sybok's men wait to recapture them. Spock activates the boot thrusters, a dangerous move, but one that propels them away from their captors. The three make it to the observation deck and send their message, however they are quickly found by Sybok himself. Sybok doesn't mind that the message was sent, saying that once his discovery is confirmed, everyone in the galaxy will want to come to the Barrier to see for themselves. Kirk still objects, demanding control of his ship. Sybok asks to be alone with Kirk, Spock and McCoy. He demonstrates the power he possesses to turn them into his followers. McCoy is forced to confront the death of his father from a disease that was cured a few months later. McCoy says he wanted his father to die with dignity rather than suffer and says that he feels as though a weight has been lifted from his heart. Spock is forced to confront his father's lifelong disapproval of his half-human ethnicity. Kirk refuses to succumb to Sybok's will, saying he needs his pain because it makes him human. Just then a signal from the bridge tells them that they've reached the Great Barrier.Kirk allows the Enterprise to breach the Barrier. Inside, they find a barren planetoid bearing no life readings. McCoy, Spock, Kirk and Sybok take a shuttle down to the surface. After walking a short distance, Sybok cries out, demanding to see God. Suddenly, several finger-like rocks burst from the surface, forming a semi-circle. Inside, a strange, glowing being that resembles the Christian image of god appears and greets them. Sybok tells it that he breached the Great Barrier to find it. The being tells Sybok that it wants to use the starship they came in to spread its benevolence to the rest of the galaxy. While the others stare in awe, Kirk asks the being why, if it is all-powerful, it needs a starship to travel from it's home. When the being asks who Kirk is and why he would doubt him, Kirk suggests it should know already if it's actually "God". In anger, the being suddenly shoots Kirk with an energy bolt, wounding but not killing him. Spock steps forward and demands an answer to Kirk's question and is also hit by the energy bolt. McCoy says he doubts any god that inflicts pain and Sybok asks the being who it really is; it takes the form of Sybok himself and Sybok realizes that the being is the sum total of his own obsession and arrogance. He tries to grab the being and help it release it's pain and is consumed. As they escape from the being's lair, Kirk has Spock and McCoy beamed up. On the Enterprise, Spock sees that Klaa has arrived in his ship and his threatening the Enterprise with destruction. Spock turns to General Korrd to do something.Kirk runs, finally being cornered by the beast, when Klaa's Bird-of-Prey appears and blasts the creature into oblivion. Kirk thinks he's done for when he's beamed aboard the Bird-of-Prey. On board is Korrd who barks a few orders to Captain Klaa. Klaa apologizes, saying he made an unauthorized attack on the Enterprise. He also introduces his "new gunner", Spock, who fired the blast that destroyed the evil being on the planet below. Kirk says he thought he was finished, Spock tells him that he was never alone. Both Klingons and humans and other Federation races alike later attend a reception on the Enterprise that suggests a new era of cooperation has begun.The film closes with Kirk, McCoy and Spock back on Earth in Yosemite Park once again sitting around a campfire and singing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat." Spock remarks "life IS but a dream."

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Yes, there are a few peaks in there, which I will discuss later, but overall, the idea of a "God Like Being" in the center of our galaxy, it just so illogical.The movie has a lot of embarrassing and just plan bad moments. And by the time we see where the movie is going, we just feel very disappointed and underwhelmed.That said, I can't help but enjoy the wealth of good character moments in the film. I also liked exploring the "pain" of McCoy and Spock and Kirk's insistence that he "needs his pain." While most of the humor was forced and bad, the best had to be the "I could use a shower" scene, which is one of the biggest laughs in all of the Trek films. There were many moments of good direction by Shatner, especially in McCoy's "pain scene." I do sympathize with Shatner a little, when listening to the commentary track, about how this was cut and that was cut but I still think on a whole, this movie was doomed to fail.The DVD's picture is sharp and the sound is excellent. So, 12 years after having first seen Star Trek V, and thinking it was bizarrely bad, I gave it a second watch, hoping I would find some redeeming quality which I missed the first time around. I find it almost touching how Star Trek fans try desperately to like this film in spite of its unbelievable number of flaws.To begin with, none of the familiar characters are really in character so to speak. Yes, friends, I have a real problem with the look of that last scene, especially.Thank goodness Star Trek VI was such a redeemer of a film.... To remove myself from the metaphor, Star Trek fans enjoy the taking of time over certain elements - seeing the ship, seeing it travel, dialogue en route, etc.If there was a director's cut, or another cut, that wasn't so very lean, I think the new pace would work to the film's advantage. After all, many people think "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" is the best in the series and I didn't like it; so I hoped that, with many people saying "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" was the worst, I would find I disagree with the majority on the latter film also.No can do. But I stuck it out, because I've been on a sci-fi kick lately and decided it was finally time to get caught up on all the "Trek" films I had never seen (i.e. the fourth, fifth and sixth entries).First of all, the script seems like something a junior high student would write. (Hint: it's not "Khaaaaaaaaaan") and if you know all the words to "Heading Out to Eden" then you're gold.The rest of you may read along anyway.Star Trek V is without a doubt the most hated of all the trek films because it's light on action, even lighter on special effects, and there is no real bad guy. Episodes like "The Deadly Years" or "All Our Yesterdays" were not so much about plot as they were about the characters Kirk, Spock & McCoy and the complexities of their interaction.In Trek V we see the good old Spock-McCoy bickering. THE FALL From Kirk's foot slip to "I expect that's Klingon for 'hello'" this movie holds some of the most embarrassing moments in Star Trek. The Final Frontier is all kinds of weird and doesn't have much of a structure, but I can't say I didn't have fun with this movie.Remember how The Voyage Home added this element of comedy to Star Trek? There are moments in the film where I was left wondering, 'Why in the hell did the writers think that line was a good idea?' The movie tries way too hard with its ridiculous punchlines and awkward moments that are supposed to be hilarious. But I guess these were the days when Shatner and Nimoy were building their "singing" careers so they thought they needed those "careers" to carry over into Star Trek.This movie had the potential to be incredible. I love Star Trek so watching Kirk, Spock, and Bones boldly go where no man has gone before, even if they go to a realm of such cringe worthy cheese as this, still puts a smile on my face.. Goldsmith delivered the same achievement of STTMP.It's full of little humorous moments, witty acting.The movie flows peacefully, offers greats shots (Enterprise on the moon, reverberations in the shuttles, galactic background on the ship, …).Finally, I wonder if all of this isn't the touch of Shatner as a director. For although his character, Captain James Kirk, was always arguably the most important role in the original "Star Trek," it seems in this movie that he is the heart of the movie, the two other most important characters, Captain Spock and Doctor Leonard McCoy, are just there to support him, and the other characters are just there to add comic relief.The plot is that some emotional Vulcan outcast named Sybok is mindmelding with people and releasing the pain bottled up inside them from that traumatic event early in life that changed them forever. Cudos also go to Leonard Nimoy, for it had to be difficult to play the dispassionate Spock in his old age.Some other things I didn't like:Shatner and the late DeForrest Kelly twice show what bad singers they are by singing "Row, Row, Row your Boat" in this movie. After all, the dreams of all us men are filled with images of middle-aged plump women dancing naked.Comedy's all well and good as long as it doesn't affect the nature of "Star Trek" too much, but when Scotty bumps into an object on the Enterprise and KOs himself, it's kinda goin' overboard.Kirk is the only crew member who can reject Sybok's offer of releasing their inner pain and see through the God imposter's deception. Perhaps this scenes were valantines from Shatner to his character, as many suspect.The concept of an entity posing as God had been used in "Star Trek" before this movie more than once. after a few months it came to purchasing Star Trek V: Final Frontier.After not seeing this film for nearly ten years i was surprised to see what a great film this is, far better than what the critics say and what i remembered, alright the subject matter is a little bit suspect but still the performances are first rate, William Shatner is superb as are the rest of the cast. (We can at least be grateful that Shatner didn't get to do the original story he'd planned, with the Enterprise crew really finding GOD -- then we'd have to add "blasphemous" to the list.)Before he died, Gene Roddenberry disavowed that this movie was part of the Trek canon; one of its most basic premises was discounted in later ST:The Next Generation narration; and fans have generally (though admittedly not universally) just credited this as Bill Shatner's obligatory turn at the helm, swallowed hard, and then forgot about it in favor of the other, better Trek flicks.The best comment on this film came from the "Star Trek" spoof in the first season of TV's "In Living Color" (with Jim Carrey as Kirk). For instance, Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) performs a nude dance to distract Sybok's guards, Chekov and Sulu pretend they are caught in a blizzard when they lose their way hiking, and Chekov declares Sybok in "wiolation of treaty." Kirk, Spock and McCoy try to sing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat." Even if the film was good enough to rate a ten after that point, the song would cost it two stars. If Roger Corman had produced a STAR TREK movie, this how it would have looked like.The acting, the script, the dialogue, the story, the concept, the sets, and certainly the "special effects" are woeful.A big budget "low budget" movie.. Many people consider this to be the worst single piece of Star Trek ever made, but if you can just let the suspension of disbelief take hold (as with the original series) for just a few moments, you might find yourself enjoying the movie a bit more. Sure it's similar to the that of THE MOTION PICTURE in which V'Ger sought it's own creator, but this one has the advantage in that it spends a good deal of time focusing on the relationship between Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. At this point in the franchise history, we know the three share an powerful friendship but THE FINAL FRONTIER portrays it the best in my opinion. It is a film bogged by a underdeveloped script, poor special effects and the ego of its director, William Shatner.After the events of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home the crew of the Enterprise is on shore level as Scottie (James Doohan) tries to make new Enterprise functional. But the Enterprise are called into action when a rogue Vulcan Sybok (Laurence Luckinbill) takes hostages on the planet Nimbus III from the Federation and Klingon and Romulan empires with Sybok believing he has found the origin of creation.After Star Trek IV was made Paramount was contractually obligated to let Shatner to direct the fifth Trek film and give him script approval him, leaving us a film of Captain Kirk battling God. There are decent ideas in the film, particularly that all cultures have some brief that there is a God, or a creator some sort and how would religion function in a intergalactic world? The movements were more jerky, the lighting effects looking poor, terrible green screen and the film is even more dated then the previous entries in the series.One good attitude in the films favour is the excellent score provide by Jerry Goldsmith, a better score then the films deserves.Star Trek V: The Final Frontier is a wasted opportunity which did not fulfil the potential.. There is not one original idea in this film, and you would think with all the Star Trek books that have been published over the years that they could just use one of them and have a much better story. Luckinbill lends a degree of dignity to the material that it does not deserve, and is the only person throughout the film that seems to have half of his brain capacity functioning.Star Trek V seems to want to tap into the nostalgia of its fan base, but does so with over-long and pointless scenes of Kirk, Spock and McCoy singing around a campfire. Shatner wanted Sybok's influence to result in a major falling-out between Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. Nimoy and DeForest Kelley thought it wouldn't make sense given the events of III, so that idea was scrapped early on. Not waste as in a waste of time (any time spent with these characters is never wasted), but waste as in a waste of opportunities.When I see this movie, I think of all the Star Trek novels that were written which would have made a much better film than the story Shatner chose. The two "Star Trek" movies that came before this one ("The Search for Spock" and "The Voyage Home") were both directed by a cast member. Here are the top ten reasons: 1) True to the series (Just listen to the phaser sound effects at the end if you don't believe me) 2) Classic framing story 3) Human journey (Faith and the challenges we all have) 4) Beautiful Metaphors (El Capitan and Turboshaft) 5) Great scenes such as being behind the ship's wheel during breakthrough of great barrier 6) A little shorter than TMP 7) Everyone of the original cast had a key role (Not so true in some of the others) 8) Spock was back to his "green blooded" self 9) More light was shed on the characters lives (McCoy at father's deathbed) 10) Gets better with more viewings - Challenge yourself to find subtle references to the original series (How many people noticed that the wheel in the lounge and its "Where No Man Has Gone Before" placard was a reference to the first episode with the Enterprise crew of the movie. i don't get it.people say this is the worst Star Trek movie of them all.i'm not sure i agree.i kinda liked it.i know it's not action packed to say the least,and the plot may be unusual,but so what.i found this movie to have a fair amount of humour in it,not as much as the fourth installment,but some.the whole movie is really one 105 minute philosophy lesson,but that didn't really bother me.personally,i thought the story was interesting.enough to maintain my interest for the full running time.i wasn't bored at all.the premise could be called absurd,but it's certainly no more absurd than a lot of other films that get churned out.i think it was better than The first Star Trek movie and as good as the second one(The Wrath of Kahn).i realize i may be in the minority here,but that's life.for me,Star Trek 6:The Final Frontier is a 6/10. I understand the theme of Star Trek has always been to boldly go where no man has gone before, but 'The Final Frontier' attempts to take the franchise in places it has no business going.William Shatner took the reins of directing after Leonard Nimoy helmed two enjoyable entries in the series in 'Search for Spock' and 'The Voyage Home'. The very idea that a Star Trek film would center its plot around a villain taking over the Enterprise with his goons in order to get what he wants has been done so many times before, but throw God in the mix as well? Come on.Luckily, the bond between Spock, Kirk, and Bones is still present to get you through some rough dialogue, as is Jerry Goldsmith's classic score, but 'The Final Frontier' ends up making you wish they would never make another Trek film again. He was the star and they were there to make him look good, not shine out or create authentic characters that we as fans came to know & love, an unforeseen side effect he actively resisted.So Shatner the writer/director immediately sets things to rights in his world view by subordinating and humiliating the characters who had worked so long for their dignity. Shatner did manage to come up with at least one great Star Trek scene though, a quiet one where Kirk is trying to figure a way out of the Enterprise brig and Spock offers some play by play advice. Having bought the box set of all the star trek movies I am working my way through all the films in order. I've just seen 'The Final Frontier' for the first time not realizing it has such a bad reputation and was quite surprised reading it now having thoroughly enjoyed the film and thinking it was at least as good as all the previous ones if not slightly better than some. I wouldn't say I was ever a huge Star Trek fan but now having watched half the films so far I think I may be becoming one. The majority of Trekkies will tell you that "The Final Frontier" is the worst Star Trek movie. It probably has the best moments between Kirk, Spock, and McCoy of any of the films -- especially since the previous three movies rarely got these iconic character together. After seeing this film he should have reversed that decision.Star Trek V The final Frontier is the worst in the series. The acting from all involved and that includes those like Shatner and Nimoy is bad and washed out and making them seem as old as they look in real life, the special effects are tacky like when Spock has to rescue Kirk on a jet pack when he falls down from a mountain.The attempts at humor were pitiful and story is so awful it dosen't bear thinking about which basically involves a Vulcan stealing the Enterprise to find god (seriously) I just didn't care about any of this film and oh not to mention Uhura does a belly dance to distract male guards. I would also blame Paramount's decision to try and make a Star Trek movie on the cheap rather than William Shatner who directed it. In amongst all the dodgy effects and poor jokes there is some good stuff here, I liked the camping scenes at the start as Kirk, Spock and Bones spent shore leave together, some of the Star Trek magic is still apparent here. Thankfully the original crew got a much better film to end on with Star Trek VI.. And the worst of the six movies, "Star Trek V: The final Frontier", literally began its journey beyond the finite universe, and also ended up spiraling into Stephen Hawking's space whirlpool.Based on a quarter-baked story by William Shatner, "The Final Frontier" begins with a first scene with Kirk, Spock and McCoy at a campfire--well more like Bill, Leonard, and DeForest just goofing around instead of being in their Star Trek characters. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier certainly takes many unkind comments here, and it certainly was not the best movie in the series. As a matter of fact this movie depicts the Kirk, Spock and McCoy relationship better than any other Trek film. This film is closer in spirit to the 60's series than any of the other Star Trek movies. The only sequence to look forward is the conversation among Spock, Kirk and McCoy. Star Trek : The Final Frontier is accurately titled on terms of its production of the features as it brings into halt on every single aspect of it like characters, plot-line and the spark of creativity that made it's predecessor what it is.. The Final Frontier is very likely the least of the Star Trek films but even so is well worth a glance from fans of the franchise.. An unusual entry into the Star Trek movies saga, the Enterprise is hijacked by Spock's half brother in an obsessive quest to find God in the center of the galaxy.

tt0092890

Dirty Dancing

During the opening credits, the Ronettes sing 'Be My Baby' with images of couples dancing in the background. Toward the end of the credits, Cousin Brucie, a radio DJ, is heard announcing the next song, 'Big Girls Don't Cry' by the Four Seasons. As the film begins, the Four Seasons song continues.Frances "Baby" Houseman (Jennifer Grey) is in the back seat of the family car. It's the summer of 1963, and Baby and her affluent Jewish family are headed for Kellerman's Mountain House, a Catskills resort where her father, Dr. Jake Houseman (Jerry Orbach), is the personal physician of resort owner Max Kellerman (Jack Weston).Baby and her older sister, Lisa (Jane Bruckner), take a merengue lesson led by former Rockette Penny Johnson (Cynthia Rhodes). That evening, Baby heads up to the main house, where she overhears Max giving orders to the waiters to show all the young girls, "even the dogs", a good time. When the entertainment staff enters, including Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze), Max lays out their rules: "teach the daughters dances they pay to learn, but otherwise no funny business: no conversations, and keep your hands off". Johnny listens, but says nothing.During dinner we learn that Baby is entering Mount Holyoke College in the fall to study economics of underdeveloped countries. She plans to enlist in the Peace Corps, while Lisa wants to be an interior decorator. Max introduces the girls to his grandson, Neil (Lonny Price), who is studying hotel management at Cornell and is Entertainment Director at the resort. While Baby reluctantly dances with Neil, Tito Suarez (Charles Honi Coles) tap dances and leads the resort's band in a foxtrot. To impress Baby, Neil tells her he's going to Mississippi with a couple of the busboys on a Freedom Ride.When the band plays Johnny's mambo, Johnny and Penny perform a lively, sensual dance. Max insists they stop showing off; they're supposed to sell dance lessons to the guests, not dance together. To get away from Neil and some boring games, Baby wanders towards the staff quarters, which are off-limits to guests. She hears music ('Where Are You Tonight?') coming from one of the bungalows, and meets one of the staff, Johnny's cousin Billy Kostecki (Neal Jones), whom she helps carry watermelons to a staff party where she's shocked to see the couples "dirty dancing" to 'Do You Love Me?'. When Johnny and Penny enter and begin to dance, Baby's eyes are glued to Johnny and his every move. As the workers dance to Otis Redding's 'Love Man', Johnny teaches Baby how to dirty dance and she loves it, but at the end of the song Johnny disappears.The next evening when Baby goes for a walk with Neil, they see Lisa and Robbie Gould (Max Cantor), a Yale medical student and waiter, coming from the golf course. Lisa is disheveled from Robbie's sexual advances and they are arguing.Later when Neil takes Baby into the kitchen for a snack, she finds Penny cowering in a corner. She tells Neil she needs to check on Lisa, but runs instead to tell Billy, who tells Johnny, and the three rush back to the kitchen to find Penny. On the way, Baby learns that Penny is pregnant. After having seen Johnny and Penny sexily dancing together, Baby assumes Johnny is the father. When they find Penny, Johnny comforts her, takes her back to his bungalow, and offers her part of his meager salary for an illegal abortion. Penny refuses, saying it's not right and besides, it's not enough; she needs $250. During the conversation, Baby learns that Robbie, who is supposedly dating her sister, is responsible for Penny's pregnancy.The next day, Baby confronts Robbie and tries to get him to give Penny $250 for an abortion. When the arrogant and womanizing Robbie rebuffs her, she warns him to stay away from her and her sister or she'll have him fired. Baby throws a pitcher of water on him.Baby goes to her father and reminds him that he has always told her if she knows someone is in trouble, she should help. She asks him for $250, but doesn't tell him why she needs it. After a few questions, her father gives her the money.Later that evening, Baby returns to the place where the staff dirty dances, finds Penny, and presents her with the money. At first, Penny refuses. Billy tells Baby that he can only get Penny an appointment with a doctor the following Thursday, the day Penny and Johnny are booked to dance at the Sheldrake, another area hotel a short distance away. If they cancel, they'll lose an entire season's pay.Although she has very little dance experience, Baby volunteers to fill in for Penny, and Johnny eventually agrees to teach her Penny's moves. They begin with a mambo, to a short excerpt from an unnamed Latin song, then the Surfaris' recording of 'Wipe Out'. Over the next week, Baby takes the dance lessons from Johnny. Progress is slow, but with Johnny's patient teaching and Penny's assistance, Baby begins to catch on.After a particularly exhausting rehearsal, a frustrated Johnny yells at Baby for mistaking a mistake. Baby responds by shouting back at him. She reminds him that she is doing all of 'this' to save his job and vents her frustration at the fact that, despite the Sheldrake gig being just two weeks away, he hasn't shown her the 'lift' part of the routine. This other side of Baby wins Johnny's respect, and he agrees to start 'lift' practice straight away. With that, he wisks her off in his car to a meadow, with 'Overload' playing in the background. To teach her balance, they dance on a tree trunk that has fallen over a stream to 'Hey! Baby'. Later as the song continues, they practice some lifts for their dance number in the nearby lake.At the Sheldrake, Johnny and Baby dance to 'De Todo un Poco'. Their performance goes reasonably well even though Baby is so nervous that she aborts the dance's climactic lift.When Johnny and Baby get back to Kellerman's, Billy informs them that Penny's abortion was botched by a quack. When Baby sees Penny in agonizing pain, she runs to get her father, who treats Penny and asks who is responsible for Penny, and Johnny says he is, which Dr. Houseman mistakenly assumes means that Johnny got Penny pregnant.After saving Penny's life and forbidding Baby from having anything further to do with "those people", Baby defies her father and goes directly to Johnny's cabin ('These Arms of Mine' playing in the background) and apologizes for the way her father reacted. Johnny tells Baby she's brave. She demurs, saying she was scared of never feeling for the rest of her life the way she feels when shes with him. When the record changes to 'Cry to Me', she asks him to dance with her, which turns into a dance of seduction... leading to Baby and Johnny having sex.The next day when Baby visits Penny to see how she's doing, Johnny shows up. Penny realizes that he and Baby are having an affair so, after Baby leaves, Penny reminds Johnny about his own admonition about not getting involved with the guests, but he doesn't listen. Later we see Johnny and Baby in bed together with 'Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?' playing in the background.The next day while Mickey and Sylvia's recording of 'Love Is Strange' plays, we see dancing on the lawn, a volleyball game in progress, and Johnny and Baby rehearsing a cha-cha. Johnny, however, can't keep his mind on the dance. They lip sync the song, particularly the part about "How do you call your lover boy? Come here, lover boy ...". Neil comes up the stairs, they hear him and hastily stop. Neil wants to talk to Johnny about doing something different for the final show of the season. Johnny gets excited that he may be allowed to finally do his own thing this year, but all Neil will allow is to replace the mambo with a pachenga. When Neil leaves, Baby scolds Johnny for letting Neil talk down to him, but Johnny reminds her that he needs this job the following summer.A little later when Baby and Johnny are walking together, she has him duck so her father doesn't see them together. Then Johnny scolds her for not telling her father about their relationship.Later she tracks Johnny down in Penny's room; 'You Don't Own Me' is playing in the background. Robbie comes by, sees them, assumes Johnny is having sex with Baby, and makes a snide remark about having picked the wrong sister. Johnny, furious at Robbie for getting Penny pregnant and abandoning her, beats him up.At a rehearsal for the final night talent show, Lisa rehearses a pitiful hula number (un-named song), during which one of the women guests, Vivian, tells Johnny she's arranged "something for the two of them" that evening. A few minutes later, Vivian's husband, who plans to play cards all weekend, offers Johnny a sizable tip to give his wife some extra dance lessons, but Johnny declines, saying he's all booked up for the weekend, at which Vivian is annoyed, but does nothing about it then.Later that evening, Lisa walks down the path toward the employee cabins, intending to allow Robbie to finally make love to her (we hear 'Yes' on the soundtrack.) When she reaches Robbie's cabin, there is a towel hanging on the doorknob, which she does not recognize as a staff signal for "Do Not Disturb". First she knocks, then she enters, where she finds Robbie in bed with Vivian.Cut to Johnny and Baby in bed together, again after another night of passion, with 'Still of the Night' playing. Johnny tells her he dreamed they were walking together and met her father, who put his arm around him just like he had seen him do to Robbie. Later as Johnny and Baby kiss goodbye on the porch, Vivian sees them together. Vivian mutters: "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."The next morning at breakfast, Max tells the Housemans that someone stole Vivian's husband's wallet from his jacket while he was playing poker some time between 1:30am and 4:00am. Johnny is the prime suspect, as Vivian reported him in the vicinity at the time. Baby protests that she knows Johnny didn't do it, and to save him from being fired, confesses that she was with him in his cabin all night.... even though she knows her father will be angry.A little later, Baby apologizes to her father for not telling him the truth, but also accuses him of not telling her the truth: She says he's always told her that everyone is equal and deserves a fair break, and that she should better the world, but what he really wanted was for her to become a lawyer or an economist and to marry someone from an Ivy League school. Dr. Houseman is moved, but not enough to open up to her.Johnny is eventually cleared of the theft charge when the police find the real thieves (an elderly couple named Mr. and Mrs. Schumacher) but he is still fired for having a relationship with a guest. Baby is distraught that Johnny got fired anyway, but he is proud of her for standing up for her principles and selfless act. Johnny and Baby say goodbye. Her loneliness is emphasized with 'She's Like the Wind' (sung by Patrick Swayze).The resort's finale for the season starts with Neil leading the group in singing an alma mater song to Kellerman's (to the tune of 'Far Above Cayugas Waters'). Baby and her parents are seated at a corner table. Lisa, dressed in her hula outfit, sings and dances.Dr. Houseman, who still views Robbie as a fine, upstanding medical student, presses an envelope on him, presumably containing a sizable check for his medical studies. Robbie thanks him, and expresses his appreciation for his understanding with the "Penny situation". Suddenly realizing it was Robbie who got Penny pregnant, Dr. Houseman grabs the envelope and stalks away.During another chorus of the song, Johnny returns, finds Baby, and after expressing the now most memorable line in the movie "nobody puts Baby in the corner", escorts her to the stage. Dr. Houseman starts to object, but his wife restrains him. Johnny escorts Baby up onto the stage, interrupts the boring musical tribute to the resort, and announces that even though he's been fired, he always performs the last dance of the season. He announces that his partner will be not only a great dancer, but someone who proved that there are people willing to stand up for other people no matter what it costs them. He introduces her as Frances, as she's no longer a baby; she's a young woman.Johnny and Baby dirty dance to 'I've Had The Time of My Life', the energy in the entire hall picks up, and the rest of the staff join in. Baby allows herself to trust both Johnny and her own capabilities, as Johnny lifts her high into the air as they'd been meant to do in their Sheldrake performance (into the pose that became the most recognizable image from the film). The assembled guests catch the spirit of the dance and join in while Max Kellerman acknowledges that the world is changing quickly.While everyone is still dancing, Baby and Johnny head for some privacy, but are stopped at the door by Dr. Houseman, who apologizes to Johnny and compliments Baby on her performance. Johnny and Frances/Baby return to the dance floor and Johnny lip-syncs the song's lyrics about having the time of his life and owing it all to her. The film ends with the camera panning out and up to show everyone in the hall enjoying the dance.During the closing credits, we hear a reprise of 'Yes' and more of Cousin Brucie's radio DJ patter.

cult, cute, romantic

train

imdb

tt2317225

The Machine

In the future, at an underground subterranean base, the United Kingdom only has a couple of weeks before the city of Taipei, Taiwan falls to the Chinese. The British needs soldiers fluent in both Chinese dialect as well as ruthless killers. Scientists employed by Britain's Ministry of Defence produce a cybernetic implant that allows brain-damaged soldiers to regain lost functions. Scientist Vincent McCarthy sets up a cognitive test for soldier Paul Dawson, a recipient of the cybernetic implant to rehabilitate his left hemispherectomy. Upset with Dawson's apparent solipsism and lack of empathy, McCarthy ignores Dawson's requests to see his mother. Dawson turns hostile, kills a scientist and wounds McCarthy, before apologizing and being shot. Afterwards, Dawson's mother regularly stays on the road to the entrance of the secret base, though McCarthy denies that her son was ever there. McCarthy's research leads to a series of more stable cyborgs. Although they lose the capability for human speech, the cyborgs develop a highly efficient method of communication that they keep secret. After Ava demonstrates her latest work in artificial intelligence, McCarthy recruits her by promising her unlimited funds for her research. Thomson, the director, is suspicious of Ava's countercultural politics and sympathy for Dawson's mother but he relents when McCarthy insists that she is the only one who can provide the necessary programme for their latest project, a self-aware and conscious android. McCarthy plans to use this technology to help his daughter Mary, who suffers from Rett syndrome, a neurological disorder. When she finds out, Ava volunteers to help and McCarthy maps her brain. During a demonstration of cybernetic arms that provide superhuman strength, amputee soldier James whispers a cry for help to Ava, who becomes suspicious of the treatment of the wounded soldiers. After she goes exploring in the base, McCarthy sternly warns her to avoid causing trouble. The warning comes too late and Thomson arranges to have her murdered by a Chinese agent, who impersonates Dawson's mother. Grieved by the loss of Ava, McCarthy insists that they use her brain scan and likeness for the new project, whom they dub Machine. Machine turns out to be more human than they expected or even wanted; she shows regret when she accidentally kills a human and refuses orders that violate her sense of morality. As Thomson's demands on her grow more at odds with her morality, Machine becomes increasingly distressed and asks McCarthy to protect her. An antagonism grows between Thomson and McCarthy; Thomson promises that he will relent if McCarthy can prove that Machine is sentient. After Mary dies, Thomson uses her brain scans as leverage against McCarthy, threatening to destroy the scans, unless McCarthy excises Machine's consciousness. Machine, who has come to love McCarthy, offers to sacrifice herself for Mary and he removes a chip from Machine's head. Thomson reneges on his deal and orders Machine to kill McCarthy. Although Machine seems at first to obey, a scientist alerts Thomson that the operation was a sham and it only disabled fail-safe routines designed to destroy Machine. Machine and the cyborgs rebel against the humans and free McCarthy. From his computer console, Thomson disables half the cyborgs but Suri, his cyborg aide, overrides his access before he can kill the rest. Thomson shoots and wounds Suri but Machine corners him in his office; wounded, he first orders her to obey, then begs for his life. Although Machine agrees not to kill him, she lobotomizes him, as he attempted to do to her. After leaving Thomson for dead, Machine downloads Mary's brain scan. Machine, McCarthy and Suri escape the base; outside, McCarthy hands the base records to Dawson's mother and leaves to start a new life with Machine. In the final scene, McCarthy talks to a computer virtualisation of his daughter and she requests to play a game with her mother. McCarthy hands the tablet to Machine, and she is then shown gazing alternately at the device and at a beautiful orange sunset over the Atlantic Ocean.

comedy, suspenseful, psychological, murder, dark, violence, flashback, psychedelic, revenge, sci-fi

train

wikipedia

tt0435679

Keith

The film begins with Natalie (Elisabeth Harnois) lying in the back of a yellow ute, which is about to roll off a cliff. When the ute is just about to fall off the edge, Natalie wakes up from a dream. The next scene is of Keith (Jesse McCartney) speaking to Al (Tim Halligan), in an informal manner.The film progresses with Natalie in her chemistry class. The class is being assigned lab partners; Natalie is assigned Keith, who is not in class at the time, but turns up mysteriously late. After having a short conversation, Natalie and Keith begin to argue due to Natalie wanting to focus on her future whereas Keith wants to focus on the present; they have different views on life, and Natalie is angered by this argument and requests a partner change from the teacher, but her request is refused. After this, Natalie bonds with boyfriend Raff (Ignacio Serricchio). She later parties with other students at The Brick (an outdoors place where students go to have fun).Realizing that she has a lab report due the next day, Natalie goes to find Keith to help her with it. While helping her with the lab report, Keith takes her into his carefree life and goes to an office building to do their report. Throughout this time, Keith and Natalie become closer. Keith reveals to Natalie that he lives at an old white house with the big porch, which she likes. She even pushes aside Raff to be with Keith. Later in the day, more of Natalie's life is revealed; she is also a talented tennis player currently ranked 14th (presumably in the state). Later in the evening, she is at The Brick again with Raff.Keith persistently asks Natalie to go out with him as friends. He takes Natalie to a few places and talks to her about random things, which she learns to get used to. As time goes on, the two continue to hang out in this fashion and become closer and closer. One night, Keith decides to send a part of a car engine to Natalie's house while she is with Raff, which she is angered by. They have an argument, when in the middle of it, Al and Billy (a child neighbor of Keith's) turn up. Billy speaks to Keith about bonding with him, which causes Natalie to think that Keith is "a softy" and to get back into the car with him. After driving for a short while, Natalie tells Keith to turn into a dirt road, which just so happens to be Keith's favorite spot; a cliff overlooking The Brick, separated by a river. They sit down and talk, afterwards exchanging a small kiss. The next day, Raff asks Natalie to go to The Brick, but she says she does not feel like it. Instead of going to The Brick, Natalie decides to go to the cliff she went to with Keith. She has become comfortable wearing Keith's jacket at times when alone with him, and discusses with him their future dreams. While Keith and Natalie talk while lying down in the back of the ute, Natalie notices that the ute is moving. She panics and gets out of it, trying to stop it as she screams at Keith to jump to safety. Keith, however, remains lying down, relaxed and rambling on, despite the fact that he is about to roll off a cliff. Just before rolling off, Keith swiftly moves into the driver's seat and hits the brakes. Natalie is furious with Keith and asks him if he wanted to kill himself. When Natalie gets home, she is still wearing Keith's jacket and finds antidepressants in his pocket.The following day at school, Natalie wants to speak to Keith about the medication, but he is not at school, nor is he there the day after that. Because of his absence, Natalie begins to worry and becomes slightly depressed. She tries to get his contact details from the school, but the school does not allow it. Natalie then remembers that Keith said he lived at the old white house, and decides to go visit. But it turns out that Keith lied to her about his residence. Because of Keith's mysterious disappearance, Natalie begins to lose her tennis matches, which is her key to a scholarship at Duke University.Two weeks later, Keith appears just as mysteriously as he had disappeared. Natalie is irritated about the lies he fed her. She decides to find out his real address by breaking into his locker. As a result, she is suspended from school for a week. Her friends all believe that Keith is trying to destroy her life, but she disagrees. Without anyone to turn to, and without anywhere to go, Natalie decides to go visit Keith at his house. There, she meets his father and finds out that Keith also lied to her about his family (his siblings and his deceased mother). Keith refuses to come out of his room to see her. Desperate to talk to Keith, Natalie hides in the back of his ute. Later that night, Keith comes out of the house and drives off to his favorite clifftop. While there, Natalie expresses her love for him, and they end up having sex in the back of the ute. While Keith drives Natalie home, Natalie is excited to begin an official romantic relationship with Keith, but Keith says that what happened between them that night was just for fun and is not something to make a big deal about, which infuriates Natalie.In the next few scenes, Natalie's downfall, from her perfect life to a life filled with sadness and confusion, is apparent. Her tennis rankings have dropped, and she is on the verge of losing her scholarship opportunity. In addition, she dumps her boyfriend Raff. While driving without an idea of where she is going, Natalie sees Al (the man Keith talked to at the opening of the film), who was Keith's counselor, and asks him about Billy (the boy she watched talk excitedly with Keith the first night she and Keith went to the cliff), and it turns out that Billy died because of cancer and Billy knew Keith because they went to chemotherapy treatment together. Natalie finally realizes that Keith is dying of cancer, and is informed that he does not have much longer to live. She tries to go to Keith's house again to talk to him, but she is rejected once again. Then, one night, Keith mysteriously appears at her house offering to go bowling with her. On the way to go bowling, Natalie leads Keith to the airport so that he can follow his dreams, telling him the sky is the limit. At the airport, after some resistance, Keith finally expresses his true feelings for Natalie, and Natalie tells Keith that she wants to be with him even though he will die one day soon. They kiss and embrace.The film then cuts to when Natalie graduates; Keith is not mentioned and has presumably died from cancer. Throughout the film Natalie has changed. She has almost become a replica of Keith; she has become a grease monkey, loves the yellow ute. There is a scene where Natalie is fixing the truck with Keith's father. The film cuts back to its first scene, where Natalie is slowly rolling towards the edge of the cliff. Just before falling off, she swiftly, like Keith did, jumps into the driver's seat and hits the brakes. Afterwards, Natalie drives to an intersection on the way to London, Ontario where there is a classic truck festival held each year. Attending the festival is what Keith always dreamed of. A long aerial shot of the yellow ute drives away as the film ends.

romantic

train

imdb

tt0054331

Spartacus

In the 1st century BC, the Roman Republic has slid into corruption, its menial work done by armies of slaves. One of these, a proud and gifted man named Spartacus (Kirk Douglas), is so uncooperative in his servitude that he is sentenced to fight as a gladiator. He is trained at a school run by the unctuous Roman businessman Lentulus Batiatus (Peter Ustinov), who instructs Spartacus's trainer Marcellus (Charles McGraw) to not overdo his indoctrination because he thinks "he has quality". Amid the abuse, Spartacus forms a quiet relationship with a serving woman named Varinia (Jean Simmons), whom he refuses to rape when she is sent to "entertain" him in his cell. Batiatus receives a visit from the Roman senator Marcus Licinius Crassus (Laurence Olivier), who aims to become dictator of Rome. Crassus buys Varinia on a whim, and for the amusement of his companions arranges for Spartacus and three others to fight in pairs. When Spartacus is disarmed, his opponent, an African named Draba (Woody Strode), spares his life in a burst of compassion and attacks the Roman audience, but is killed by an arena guard and Crassus. The next day, with the school's atmosphere still tense over this episode, Batiatus takes Varinia away to Crassus's house in Rome. Spartacus kills Marcellus, who was taunting him over this, and their fight escalates into a riot. The gladiators overwhelm their guards and escape into the Italian countryside. Spartacus is elected chief of the fugitives and decides to lead them out of Italy and back to their homes. They plunder Roman country estates as they go, collecting enough money to buy sea transport from Rome's foes, the pirates of Cilicia. Countless other slaves join the group, making it as large as an army. One of the new arrivals is Varinia, who escaped while being delivered to Crassus. Another is a slave entertainer named Antoninus (Tony Curtis), who also fled Crassus's service after the Roman tried to seduce him. Privately, Spartacus feels mentally inadequate because of his lack of education during years of servitude. However, he proves an excellent leader and organizes his diverse followers into a tough and self-sufficient community. Varinia, now his informal wife, becomes pregnant by him, and he also comes to regard the spirited Antoninus as a sort of son. The Roman Senate becomes increasingly alarmed as Spartacus defeats the multiple armies it sends against him. Crassus's populist opponent Gracchus (Charles Laughton) knows that his rival will try to use the crisis as a justification for seizing control of the Roman army. To try and prevent this, Gracchus channels as much military power as possible into the hands of his own protege, a young senator named Julius Caesar (John Gavin). Although Caesar lacks Crassus's contempt for the lower classes of Rome, he mistakes the man's rigid outlook for nobility. Thus, when Gracchus reveals that he has bribed the Cilicians to get Spartacus out of Italy and rid Rome of the slave army, Caesar regards such tactics as beneath him and goes over to Crassus. Crassus uses a bribe of his own to make the pirates abandon Spartacus and has the Roman army secretly force the rebels away from the coastline towards Rome. Amid panic that Spartacus means to sack the city, the Senate gives Crassus absolute power. Now surrounded by Romans, Spartacus convinces his men to die fighting. Just by rebelling and proving themselves human, he says that they have struck a blow against slavery. In the ensuing battle, after initially breaking the ranks of Crassus's legions, the slave army ends up trapped between Crassus and two other forces advancing from behind, and most of them are massacred. Afterward, the Romans try to locate the rebel leader for special punishment by offering a pardon (and return to enslavement) if the men will identify Spartacus, living or dead. Every surviving man responds by shouting "I'm Spartacus!" (an idea from Fast's novel, not documented by history). As a result, Crassus has them all sentenced to death by crucifixion along the Via Appia. Meanwhile, Crassus has found Varinia and Spartacus's newborn son and has taken them prisoner. He is disturbed by the idea that Spartacus can command more love and loyalty than he can and hopes to compensate by making Varinia as devoted to him as she was to her former husband. When she rejects him, he furiously seeks out Spartacus (whom he recognizes from having watched him in the arena) and forces him to fight Antoninus to the death. The survivor is to be crucified, along with all the other men captured after the great battle. Spartacus kills Antoninus to spare him this fate. The incident leaves Crassus worried about Spartacus's potential to live in legend as a martyr. In other matters, he is also worried about Caesar, who he senses will someday eclipse him. Gracchus, having seen Rome fall into tyranny, commits suicide. Before doing so, he bribes his friend Batiatus to rescue Spartacus's family from Crassus and carry them away to freedom. On the way out of Rome, the group pass under Spartacus's cross. Varinia is able to comfort him in his dying moments by showing him his little son, who will grow up without ever having been a slave.

tragedy, romantic, historical, murder, violence

train

wikipedia

One of my favorite movie lines of all time is delivered by him addressing the Roman Senate where he says he'll "take a little republican corruption for a little republican freedom." Another sly rogue in the film is Peter Ustinov who won the first of his two Oscars as Batiatus the owner of the gladiatorial school. Although he has little creative input (i.e. script and story wise) he manages to make a compelling movie with his keen eye and directorial abilities.Filmed in a grand scope and in such great detail, Spartacus is eye candy for fans of epic film making. Kirk Douglas is the man as Spartacus, Tony Curtis is quite good as his sidekick, Charles Laughton is wise and witty as the elder senator, Peter Ustinov is a hoot in his role as the poor victim of fortunate (and unfortunate) circumstance and Sir Laurence Olivier shows why he was the premier actor of his day as Crassus.Highly recommended for Kirk Douglas fans and Stanley Kubrick philes.. Nothing can withstand it...........how much more a mere boy?" And at that point Antoninus, whom he had been trying to seduce into a homosexual tryst with oblique erotic talk referring to "snails and oysters," escaped to join the rebelling army of slaves led by Spartacus.Made just as the various civil rights organizations were starting to cohere, one wonders if this epic movie which highlighted the injustice of slavery, had an impact on American society which finally acknowledged and did something about its gross violations of human rights based on skin color.. "Spartacus" has its moments but feels for the most part like what it is: An overblown epic with too many cooks stirring the pot.It's shortly before the dawn of the Christian era, and somewhere in the vastness of the Roman Empire, a slave named Spartacus (Kirk Douglas) is forced to become a gladiator, providing kill-or-be-killed entertainment for leisured decadents. Or will the vile Crassus (Laurence Olivier) bring him to heel?Nominally directed by Stanley Kubrick, for which this was his introduction to the big-time, "Spartacus" is in fact a shining example of limitations, both of the Hollywood star vehicle as art form and the ability of a 1960 film to come to grips with the ancient world. Douglas loses the fire while Kubrick loses interest in Spartacus's story, becoming engaged only when the scene shifts to Rome, where the aristocratic Crassus battles with the plebian Gracchus (Charles Laughton) for the city's soul, and Spartacus's former owner Lentulus Batiatus (Peter Ustinov) finds himself in the unhappy role of political pawn.Ustinov's performance was the only Oscar-winning one in any Kubrick film, and he's great both as a bridge between the two story arcs and as low-key comic relief, playing off the high dungeon of everyone else. You must abase yourself before her."Nothing else sticks quite like that (and that only because the restored version on the Criterion DVD put back an excised scene of Crassus and Antoninus in a bath, which explains what the old Roman meant by "abase".) Whenever the movie goes back to Spartacus and company, its hard watching as Douglas smiles a lot and moves through adoring crowds like John F. One year earlier, in 1959, William Wyler finished his own opus known to film buffs as Ben Hur.In 1960, Kubrick directed this film under the tight scrutiny of the "real" producer, Douglas himself.Both films seem alike in the IMDb. That is, the ratings are similar, the public acclaim (at the time) similar, and both won multiple awards.But the real battle, the real foe, is time itself.A half-century later, BEN HUR still shines, the dialog still rings, and Heston's prideful acting outlives the actor himself, as is true with all great actors.This film does not fare so well for any who would spend 3+ hours with it. One of those movies which somehow seems to improve as it ages (probably because, between viewings, we forget how many cliches it avoids), Spartacus is a terrific film, and one which, I think, would have been every bit as terrific even if Mr Douglas and Mr Mann hadn't had that little falling out which led to Mr Kubrick getting the phone call.Don't get me wrong, I think Kubrick was a great director, perhaps even the best there has been, but not only had Spartacus been in pre-production for over a year by the time he was told to hop aboard, the actual shooting had already begun (that opening sequence in the quarry is all Mann's, I believe). As a history lesson SPARTACUS is rather poor , if you look up the goofs on this page you'll notice that no one has really bothered to their home work as to the history , politics and machinations of ancient Rome with perhaps the most striking piece of speculation is the myth that Spartacus was from a Greek province sold into slavery when it's far more likely he was a Roman legionnaire who was sent to gladiator school but I guess the being sold into slavery makes for a better story But this very simplistic black and white view of history can be forgiven because it's what makes SPARTACUS a great movie , we know who the bad guys are and why they're bad guys ( They're rich and cruel ) and we know who the good guys are and why they're good guys ( They're poor but noble ) and therefore the audience know instantly whose side they're on SPARTACUS is also a film famous because its director Stanley Kubrick supposedly hated it mainly down to the fact that he didn't have any involvement in the screenplay . It contains fine performances from all the cast but the stand outs are Douglas , Simmons , Laughton ( Someone else alleged to have had leftist sympathies ) Olivier and Ustinov , so many fine actors in one movie and you don't notice how many different accents used until it's pointed out to you . Check out those battle scenes at the end and remember this was long before CGI so these were real people making up the slave and Roman armies but for me the greatest scene of the film and one of the most haunting scenes I have ever seen is where Woody Strode and Kirk Douglas sit facing each other waiting to go into the arena . Olivier, Simmons, Laughton, Ustinov and Curtis all put in fine performances and the "I'm Spartacus" is probably one of the most memorable scenes in movie history. Actually it might have been much better and more cohesive as too much feels as though the director lacked interest and most of the best scenes are more Mann-ish than Kubick-esquire.The film starts off traditionally enough – Spartacus is raised in the slave pits and makes a seamless transition to gladiator. Jean Simmons (no, not one from "KISS") is quite restrained and bland as Douglas's love interest, though she isn't really given much to do either.Usually epics like this are redeemed by massive battle scenes but (despite some heavy gore for the time) the big show-stopping fight is not the best of the genre, owing some to Alex North's pedestrian score and Kubrick's apparent disinterest. Spartacus is the Thracian slave who refused to be a Roman plaything, breaking out of their clutches he led the slave revolt that panicked the Roman Rebublic in circa BC 73, this film is based on that period in history.Spartacus got off to a troubled start, original director Anthony Mann was fired by leading man Kirk Douglas (Spartacus) after a falling out, some of Mann's work does remain in the final picture, tho, notably some of the early scenes in the desert are thought to be at Mann's direction. We are in short set up perfectly for when the film shifts its emphasis in the second half.So many great sequences are in this picture, the gladiator training school as Spartacus and his fellow slaves find that they have dignity within themselves; forced thru a tough regime designed to set them up for blood sport entertainment to the watching republic hierarchy. Peter Ustinov (Best Supporting Actor Winner) is in his pomp as Batiatus, Jean Simmons (perfectly bone structured face) plays off Douglas expertly as Varinia, with Tony Curtis (Antoninus), John Gavin (Julius Caesar) and Charles Laughton (Graccus) adding impetus to this wonderful picture.Spartacus also won Academy Awards for Best Color Cinematography, Best Art and Set Direction and Best Costume Design, with nominations rightly going to Alex North for his score and Robert Lawrence for his editing. While it is true that Spartacus isn't as good as films such as A Clockwork Orange or Dr Strangelove, it's still a fine piece of cinema and it also represents one of the better epics to come out of Hollywood, and despite the fact that he didn't write it and didn't get as much freedom as he usually likes, Kubrick has still managed to inject his own style into the picture, which is at least somewhat responsible for the fact that this is more than just the standard blockbuster. This film may be given a new lease of life these days due to the success of several recent historical epics, but trust me; Spartacus is a hell of a lot better than the likes of 'Gladiator'.. What makes such movies like Spartacus true masterpieces is a combination of everlasting ideals, brilliant performance, personalities of actors, and a strong feeling of LIVING AMONG the characters at the same time when they lived... I suppose his final satisfaction must have come in the endurance of this film's popularity after all the other nominees faded into obscurity.'Spartacus' is one of the great Hollywood epics and Kirk Douglas' defining role. A mawkish and manipulative script from Dalton Trumbo, the bizarre miscasting of Tony Curtis as a "sing-ger of sawngs", and a complete disregard for historical reality overcome spectacular cinematography, well-done battle scenes, and terrific performances from Olivier, Ustinov, and Laughton.All "fact-based" movies (even documentaries) are fictionalized to some extent, but the attempt to turn Spartacus into the Roman world's version of Abraham Lincoln is not merely a matter of storyteller's license, but a failure of imagination and a falsification of history.. With Scenes that look like as if they were shot in present days with modern technology rather than in the 60's.The Sets were elevating, and performances were strong.Kirk Douglas leads the whole film without trouble. At over 3 hours this film never feels like a boring film ,with the exception of some scenes that could've trimmed(Blame the writer).It is Kubrick that enriches every film of his.He brings the utter realism and beauty to every shot and never makes it look like a cheesy 50's film.This unrated Director's Cut is splendid and surpasses all swords and sandal epics we come across nowadays.Before there even was The Gladiator ,there was Spartacus.Although it is a major disappointment that this film wasn't even given as much nominations or awards as Ben Hur got and that performances in that film were lame and weak.. Without knowing who the director was, it might come as a small surprise to know that Stanley Kubrick directed it, but then again, his craftsmanship and distinctive style are quite apparent at times.The story certainly lends itself readily to cinema, and with all the battles, confrontations, and tumultuous developments, it's little wonder that they decided to film it as an epic. In particular, Peter Ustinov and Charles Laughton both steal more than their share of scenes.It's very easy to understand why a director of Kubrick's stature would have been disappointed not to have complete control over a project like this, and given the opportunity he could surely have produced a different version of "Spartacus" that would have been worthwhile in its own way. Kirk Douglas is perfect as Spartacus and Jean Simmons has never been better than here as Varinia (although she was also great as Diana in THE ROBE) but the real scene-stealers are the magnificent trio of Sir Laurence Olivier, Charles Laughton, and Peter Ustinov (who won the Supporting Actor Oscar). Once the Romans got really annoyed, however, they got serious and defeated Spartacus' forces.Kirk Douglas gives his average outstanding performance in this movie, bringing the slave/gladiator to life right before your eyes. When you watch Spartacus with all actors and actress within, you feel not only they successfully convey the true story but you live within the sequence itself.The first impression you think it's from this Millennium but actually it's 45 years ago !The Cinematic effect and the visual effect at that time wasn't supported with advanced technology, and I think because the actors and actress are talented,even the director and the crew are doing the best work to succeed the movie.All efforts from Actors and Actress creating interactive live event, there's originality in this Film and the way the director trying to convey his vision with the reality combined altogether harmoniously ! It's true, Kirk Douglas' Spartacus is one of the strongest and most convincing heroes in movie history (maybe second only to his performance in PATHS TO GLORY, also directed by Stanley Kubrick).Still, there are two characters stealing the show: Peter Ustinov's slave dealer and especially Charles Laughton's Gracchus. Kirk Douglas, a stellar leading man, suits the title role perfectly, Laurence Olivier is amazingly detestable as the villain, and the supporting cast, which includes Jean Simmons, Tony Curtis, and Charles Laughton, is highlighted by Peter Ustinov's justly Oscar winning performance. Charles McGraw was very hatable, and the Roman "nymphs" (Nina Foch and Joanna Barnes) are such a fine example of the vain, idle rich.Although this isn't the most Kubrick-ian of Kubrick's films, probably due to Kirk Douglas' and Anthony Mann's influences, it is one of the best historical epics ever, and is a total treat to watch!. In addition, the relationship between Spartacus (Kirk Douglas) and Varinia (Jean Simmons) is tender but restrained; they fall in love in the opening scenes of the movie even though they never speak, barely ever touch each other and never speak more than three words.All that said, the film is a remarkable achievement. The performances are all superb, especially Ustinov's sly, Oscar-winning comic performance; Olivier's evil dictator; Laughton's wonderful work; and Simmons and Douglas as well.The battle scene is one of the most spectacular ever filmed, with over 8,000 Spanish soldiers filling out the ranks of the slaves and the Roman army, in sharp contrast to those all-too-common ancient battle scenes in which fast cutting and close shots fail to create the illusion that the couple of dozen men fighting are two clashing armies.. Laurence Olivier, Charles Laughton, Peter Ustinov, and John Gavin give very memorable performances as Roman politicians, a slave trader, and Julius Caesar, respectively.Spartacus is one of those classics, like Gone with the Wind, that everyone sees at least once in their lifetime. Kirk Douglas is magnificent in director Stanley Kubrick's epic retelling of Spartacus, who was a Roman slave who was drafted into gladiator school, where he learned both the combat and military skills that would later prove to be invaluable to him, as well as hardening his hatred for and resolve against Roman rule, when he leads a slave revolt that grows to astronomical proportions, posing a real threat to the Empire, thus inspiring many political machinations among the Roman senate involving both Senators & Generals(played by Sir Laurence Oliver, Charles Laughton, and Peter Ustinov) that plan to defeat Spartacus' army. The cast is certainly something stellar: Lawrence Olivier, Charles Laughton, Peter Ustinov and Kirk Douglas all in epic movie mode. Stanley Kubrick's direction is very well crafted and Kirk Douglous has poignantly portrayed the legend of Spartacus thus revealing the true grit and stoic fortitude that is usually hidden in a rebel or a societal misfit.Douglous and Olivier have played their roles very well while Tony Curtis has failed to give a stunning and respectable performance during the fatal duel at the end of the film.The sets are more real and painstakingly crafted than in "Gladiator". Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Peter Ustinov, Stanley Kubrick---this is one of those movies where everybody is great doing their part. Also the action is brilliantly done, and the performances are to be much applauded, with Kirk Douglas believable and sincere in the title role, Jean Simmons alluring as Varina and Laurence Olivier, Peter Ustinov and Charles Laughton stealing every single scene they are in.Overall, maybe not Kubrick's very best, but a fine historical epic. "Spartacus" was the first great film for acclaimed filmmaker Stanley Kubrick who would later go on to direct films such as "2001: A Space Odyssey" (1968) and "A Clockwork Orange" (1971) and while his slavery gem does not par with epics such as "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962) and "The Ten Commandments" (1956) it is a very interesting motion picture that while dated, seems somehow more effective and mature than its modern day mimickers.Kirk Douglas stars in the title role as Spartacus: a Thracian slave who revolted against the tyrannical Roman Empire during its greatest years. The Cast, from the Stars Kirk Douglas, Jean Simmons, Laurence Olivier, Charles Laughton etc, to the supporting cast (To numerous to even think about) and the Storyline...Absolutely Fantastic and it never ages' Like a lot of old movies tend to (Although I still love a lot of them too)I was 14 when I first saw Spartacus, It has long been amongst my personal Collection and I must admit I have watched it literally Hundreds of times over the years and have never tired of it. Kirk Douglas did great job as Spartacus but for me the best charachter in this movie was Laurence Olivier as Crassus. The best of the gladiatorial epics Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus had one of the best ensemble casts I have ever seen on screen, Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons, Woody Strode, Peter Ustinov, Charles Laughton, John Gavin, and last but not least Tony Curtis.

tt2278871

La vie d'Adèle

Chapter 1.In the opening shot, Adèle (Adèle Exarchopoulos), a young teenager living in Lille, France, is seen leaving her house in the morning to grab a bus and the subway to get to school.In class, they are reading 'The Life of Marianne'. The teacher speaks about chance encounters and how love at first sight can affect us. One boy says it would make him feel regret for not trying to talk to the other person. Adèle listens to all the discussion impassively.During lunch with her friends, they gush about sex while Adèle just listens. A boy, named Thomas (Jérémie Laheurte) looks at Adèle and smiles. Her girlfriends tell her that it is obvious that hes into her and she should do something about it, forcing her to take a look at him. But Adèle doesn't seem to be very interested in him. Shes actually quite detached. That evening at home, Adèle has dinner with her parents and discusses her day. She later writes in her diary and then goes to sleep.The next day, Adèle gets on the bus where Thomas joins her. They start a conversation and Adèle begins to loosen up. She learns Thomas is a senior (she's a junior, one year below) and that he hopes to study music later in life at a university. They begin to talk about music. Adèle says she loves all kinds but hard rock, as she stereotypes it as men with long hair who scream into microphones. Thomas laughs and says they apparently have a problem because he happens to like that kind of music. However, maybe it will give them an excuse to hang out again someday soon as Adèle notes, maybe the stuff he loves is different than her preconceived notions.Later, on a different day, Adèle about to cross the road when she sees a woman with blue-colored hair with her arms around another woman. As people cross the streets, Adèle turns her head to look at the woman, who in turn turns her head and smiles at Adèle. Adèle is stunned to feel a connection to a woman she has never met.Adèle then meets Thomas in order to hang out. They get lunch and talk about the book Adèle is reading for class, 'The Life of Marianne'. Adèle notes she hates when teachers over-analyze the book for her, thus taking away all the mystery and suspense. Thomas admits he hasn't read too many books but loved reading 'Dangerous Liaisons' in class since his professor was able to break down things he missed. Thomas promises to read 'The Life of Marianne' for her, as he is completely enamored with Adèle.Thomas and Adèle go to the movies. Thomas goes to hold her hand and kiss her neck and mouth. Adèle lets him a little but her heart isn't into it.That night, as she sleeps, Adèle begins to dream of the blue haired woman touching and kissing her. Adèle begins to masturbate in her sleep, touching her breasts and genitals, breathing deep. In the middle of it all, she wakes up startled. She can't believe what she was feeling.The next day, her friends want details in regards to Thomas, thinking the two slept together. Adèle denies that they did and finally leaves when she gets tired of their questions. Thomas follows into the school and asks if he did something wrong or that he went too fast because he really likes her. Adèle, desperately wanting to try and be normal with a boy who likes her, kisses him back.In the next scene Adèle and Thomas are seen in his bedroom and both of them are naked. They begin to have sex, which is apparently Adèle's first time ever. As they get into it, Adèle seems to enjoy it quite a bit. When it is over however, Adèle has a distant, detached look on her face. Perhaps, despite her desire to just be a normal girl who likes boys, it isn't enough or rather it is not the right thing for her. Thomas asks her if she is okay and if the sex was good. Adèle says that is was and kisses him. She lets him hold her.Adèle talks to her gay friend Valentin (Sandor Funtek) about unhappy she is with Thomas, because she feels as if she needs to fake it. She also notes she looks awful and Thomas would break up with her on that alone; she and Valentin joke about how this will be how her relationship ends. However, this gives her only a respite from reality. She will have to face him soon enough. Adèle smokes a cigarette at school before going to meet Thomas.In the next shot, Adèle and Thomas are sitting on a school bench. Adèle has told him that it isn't working for her but she never meant to hurt him. Thomas is visibly upset, however, he lets their relationship end without any objections. He then leaves.At home later that night, Adèle cries on her bed. She is confused over her emotions, and feels awful that she hurt a boy that only liked her and did her no harm. Adèle is now at a low point of her young life.Later, Adèle joins her friends during a student protest in the streets. She lets herself get caught up in it so she can forget her problems for a while.At school, Adèle sits in a stairwell and smokes a cigarette. A young woman, from her group of friends sits down next to her and bums a light from her. As another girl passes, the woman comments that the girl has a nice ass. Adèle scoffs at the comment, and the young woman says she thinks Adèle is the cutest girl in their year. Adèle blushes and the young woman tilts Adèle's face her way and kisses her on the lips to Adèle's surprise.At dinner that night, Adèle's mother notices a chance in her daughter, noting that she apparently had a good day. Adèle just smiles.The next day at school after class, Adèle tracks the girl down in the ladies restroom and when no one is around, starts to kiss her. The girl however does not respond to it. The girl then tells Adèle that she didn't mean for her to get addicted to it, and her kissing Adèle was just some harmless fun, making it clear she wanted nothing more. However, she tells Adèle that nothing will change with them and she will not tell their other friends, keeping her secret. Adèle is crushed, thinking she found a potential confidant/partner.Ignoring most of her gal pals, Adèle grabs Valentin and asks to go out with him that night. Valentin takes her to a gay club, where Adèle watches gay men dance and kiss. She is bewildered by it all but also sad because she doesn't have that type of connection in her own life. Seeing a woman that looks like the blue-haired girl she saw on the street, Adèle leaves the club, following the group of women to another bar.When she gets there, she realizes it is a lesbian bar. She gets a few looks and some of the women flirt with her. Adèle is a bit embarrassed by the attention and goes up to the bar and orders a beer. Looking up to the loft area she sees the very same blue haired-woman from that day. The woman sees her too and grins. The woman comes down and after deflecting another woman from talking to Adèle, begins to chat with her. The blue-haired woman introduces herself as Emma (Léa Seydoux).Emma tells Adèle that it is obvious that she is new to the scene given that she ordered a Bulldog, which a "dyke beer". Emma gives her a taste of her strawberry milk drink, to which Adèle admits she finds gross. Emma tells Adèle they don't get too many of her type in the bar. Adèle asks what type she is. Emma says the underage type. Adèle asks about what Emma does for a living and Emma replies she is 22-years-old and is in her fourth year of college, studying Fine Arts. They have a discussion of the various types of art and if there is such a thing as bad art. Adèle meanwhile admits she is still in high school as well as her real age of being only 16-years-old. Emma's friends walk up and tell her they are going to another club and want her to come. Emma introduces Adèle as her cousin to them. Emma then leaves, but not before getting Adèle to tell her the name of her high school that she attends.The next day, as school lets out, Adèle is with her group of friends when she sees Emma waiting for her. Adèle goes to her, ignoring all the calls of her friends. Emma invites Adèle to come and get a drink with her. Only Valentin realizes what is really going on and watches silently as the two girls walk away.Adèle and Emma sit on a park bench. Emma is sketching her. Emma asks if she feels embarrassed, and Adèle admits she does a little as it isn't everyday that she is sketched. The two talk a bit about philosophy and Sartre. Emma discusses how she agrees with Sartre ideals of choosing your own path in life without any higher principles, as it helped her decide what she wants out of life. Adèle compares the ideals to that of Bob Marley, and how the two were both committed in their principles and ideas. Emma shows her the final product, which she admits needs work. Adèle says it is beautiful. Emma then says she needs to leave and meet her girlfriend Sabine. Adèle gives Emma her number. As they stand up to leave, Emma stares at Adèle for a long time and moves closer as if to kiss her. Emma kisses Adèle's cheek and leaves, leaving Adèle feeling happy.When Adèle gets home later, her mother tells her a friend, Emma, is on the phone. Adèle rushes up and takes the call like a nervous schoolgirl talking to her crush.The next day, Adèle is quickly and decisively confronted by her group of friends. They want to know about Emma and why Adèle is hanging around with an obvious dyke. Adèle tries to deflect their questioning, saying Emma is just a friend. However, the third degree continues and turns very ugly. They ask about her going with Valentin to a gay club, which she tries to deny then must admit is true when Valentin confirms it. It is here when things go from bad to worse. They begin to ask Adèle if she is a lesbian and pretend to say that they don't care if she is but they want her to admit it. One of her friends gets very mean saying they slept together in the same bed naked and she wants to know if Adèle ever wanted her (based on the homophobic idea that all gay people want everyone of the same sex sexually, even friends). One of the girls finally takes it too far by asking if Adèle has tasted Emma's blue pussy. That sets Adèle off and she attacks the girl, having to be pulled off by Valentin. Valentin pulls Adèle away from the girls saying they know nothing as the girls scream at her. One of girls of the group tells the others they took it way too far; they meant to ask politely and they ended up verbally abusing Adèle.Adèle is in class having trouble concentrating on her studies. She is visibly upset and depressed about what happened between her and her friends.Some time later, we see Emma and Adèle at an art gallery taking in all the paintings and sculptures (it is unstated, but inferred that Emma and Sabine are no longer together). Later, they have a small picnic on a blanket in a park and discuss the art and life. Over smoking cigarettes and drinking wine from small bottles, Adèle asks when Emma first kissed a girl. Emma tells her she was 14. Adèle and Emma look into each others eyes for a long time. Then, Adèle gets closer to Emma and kisses her. Emma returns it. After a few moments, they break away and smile at each other.In the next scene, Adèle and Emma are in bed in presumably Emma's bedroom. They are both naked and about to have sex for the first time. In a six-minute scene, we watch Adèle and Emma make love (in a very, VERY explicit, hardcore lesbian sex scene). Their coupling and orally pleasuring each other is primal and full of lust leading to both of them climaxing. When it is over, they lay in bed side by side. As Emma falls asleep, Adèle has tears in her eyes which roll down her face as she gently strokes Emma's naked body; she finally has found a sexual connection that satisfies her body and her emotions.Some months later, (during the summer season), Adèle and Emma are seen at a gay parade together. After a while, Adèle loosens up and is happy. Seeing other same sex couples show public displays of affection, Adèle kisses Emma publicly, and walks down the street with her hand-in-hand. For the first time in her life, Adèle feels free to be herself.In the next shot (another few months later during the autumn season), Adèle and Emma are passionately kissing each other on the very same park bench they sat at when Emma sketched Adèle. They are both very happy.Another several months later, Adèle and Emma are going to meet Emma's parents for dinner. Adèle brings a plant as a gift. When they get there, Adèle is introduced to Catherine, Emma's mother and Vincent, Emma's stepfather. They are aware of Emma's sexuality and have no qualms with it, and openly support and love their daughter and her romance with Adèle (Note: Adèle and Emma have been in a relationship on the sides for two years now) . They ask about Adèle's plan after school, and she says she wants to go into teaching, as her learning impacted her life for the better. Vincent and Catherine applaud her choice, while at the same time, loving the fact that Emma is in art, despite its hardships.We see Adèle and Emma having sex again (grinding) in Emma's bedroom. They never talk, but are both very passionate.Adèle arrives home some time later, but doesn't find her parents. She goes outside to the back yard to see that they threw her a surprise birthday party with all her school friends for her 18th birthday as well as her upcoming graduation from school. She is happy as they sing her a song. They eat and dance, but Adèle basically dances alone since she is not comfortable enough to be fully out with everyone, including her parents. Thus, she cannot dance with Emma.Adèle brings Emma home to have dinner with her parents one night. However, her working-class and conservative parents are clueless about their daughter's sexuality, and believe that Emma is just a friend that helped Adèle understand Philosophy better. It is clear that Emma is hurt that Adèle is lying to her folks about her, but understands why and goes along with it for her sake. Adèle's parents ask about what Emma does and mentions she works in art. Adèle's father says it must be hard to make a living, and Emma admits that is true so she is a graphic artist on the side to pay the bills. Adèle's parents ask if she has a boyfriend, and Emma lies and says she does but she is in no rush to get married. Adèle's parents laugh and say she shouldn't rush. Adèle and Emma share a knowing look.In the next scene, Adèle and Emma lay naked in Adèle's bed making love again. When they are finished, they laugh about the fact that Adèle's mother thinks Emma is sleeping in the air mattress nearby. Emma jokingly asks Adèle if she is enjoying her philosophy lessons, and gives her a grade in the subject. They giggle at their little secret and kiss. Emma tells Adèle that she loves her. Overjoyed, Adèle tells Emma that she loves her too.Chapter 2.The film re-opens four or five years later. We see Emma sketch Adèle as she lays out nude on a sofa with a cigarette dangling from her mouth. Emma's hair is now dyed blonde. Adèle and Emma live together like a committed couple.We see the first of many days of Adèle as a teacher for pre-school age children. She seems to love her job. One her male colleagues ask if she wants to go out with a few others for a drink. Adèle declines saying she has plans. Adèle says that she is having a "family dinner". The co-worker accepts that, but says that if she never wants to hang out after work, to let him know (Note: it is implied that Adèle no longer keeps in touch with her own parents after apparently coming out to them about her sexuality which may have resulted in them severing all ties with her to express their disapproval).Emma is having an art showing of her work at her and Adèle's apartment. Adèle spends the day making the food and making sure they have enough of everything for the guests. A majority of the guests are from Emma's art crowd which makes Adèle uncomfortable as the social and intelligence gap between them bothers her. Thus, she tries to busy herself most of the time, so she doesn't have to talk to anybody and feel dumb. However, one man named Samir (Salim Kechiouche) manages to convince Adèle to sit down and talk. Samir tells her he acts in movies, usually as a stereotypical Arab terrorist and has been to New York City several times. Adèle admits she wants to go to New York and see America but hasn't had time. Samir says she should as it would change her look on life. Samir asks about Adèle liking women, and Adèle admits to him that she and Emma are a couple and this has been her first real romantic relationship with a woman. Samir acts supportive, already knowing that Emma is a lesbian.However, despite this nice conversation with Samir, Adèle is unable to talk to anyone else at the party. Also, she cannot be help notice that Emma has been very close to another woman, the pregnant Lise, who Emma introduced to her earlier. Adèle begins to think that maybe Emma is pulling away from her.Adèle cleans up after the party then heads to bed, where Emma is waiting. Emma says she thinks Adèle should do more with her writing because it is so good. Adèle however says she only writes in her diary, and she doesn't know how to convey her voice in fiction; plus she has no desire to write. Her passion is in teaching. Emma speaks of life being about creating things, building things that matter, while Adèle is more concerned with just being happy; she finds her fulfillment in being with Emma. Adèle wants to make love but Emma says they can't because she is on her period. Adèle is a little skeptical given the time of month, but just lets it go. Adèle asks about Lise. Emma tells her that Lise isn't an ex-girlfriend or anything, but is just another painter like she is.In the next scene, Adèle is at work again watching the kids have their nap time. When she gets home, there is a message on the answer machine from Emma, saying she is working late with Lise, and Adèle shouldn't wait up.Deciding not to stay at home like usual, Adèle decides to go out and get drinks with her co-workers, including the male one that kept asking. They drink and decide to dance. Adèle loosens up and seductively dances with the man. Eventually, she kisses him passionately. A combination of feeling neglected by Emma, wanting a connection, and perhaps wondering if she is fully gay has led Adèle to cheat.The next morning, Adèle listens while Emma is on the phone. Apparently, Emma is having trouble with a potential buyer who wants every detail about Emma, including her sex life in order to fully articulate her paintings. Emma tells the person on the phone she will reveal some things, but some things are to be left private. As Emma hangs up, Adèle tells her it is normal to feel tense at times about revealing her sexuality to strangers.Back at school, it is clear that Adèle's head isn't fully in her teaching as she is feeling some guilt about kissing her co-worker.Apparently going out with him again, she is given a ride home by him one night. She kisses him goodbye then pretends to head into another apartment complex before going to her real apartment. Emma is waiting for her, tense and not happy. Adèle goes up to her acting like nothing is wrong and that's when the trouble begins. Emma asks who dropped her off. Adèle first says a female colleague; she went out with co-workers and has decided to not be out with them. However, Emma knows it was a man, so Adèle is forced to change her story.Emma then reveals that she saw Adèle kiss him. Emma screams at her asking how many times she slept with the man. Adèle initially denies it, but Emma keeps going on, asking how long she has been lying to her. Adèle finally breaks down, saying she indeed slept with the male colleague a few times but it meant nothing. She just felt so alone and Emma was pulling away from her and wouldn't talk to her. Having heard this admission makes Emma completely explode and she calls Adèle a slut and tells her to get out, throwing clothes in a suitcase. Adèle pleads to let her talk about what happened but Emma won't hear it and throws her out saying that they are through. Adèle finally leaves and walks down the street into the night, completely heartbroken and sobbing uncontrollably.Adèle is back at school teaching and participating in a school stage event, but her heart it isn't it. At the end of the term, she hugs her kids goodbye. When they leave, she breaks down crying in the empty classroom.Some months later, during a summer trip with some of her students, Adèle plays with the kids on the beach. Asking for another teacher to cover for her for a few minutes, Adèle goes to take a swim in the sea. She pauses off-shore and floats on the water. The water's color is blue, like Emma's hair.Another few months later, Adèle is in class during a new school year, teaching dictation of sentences to a new group of first graders.In the next scene, Adèle is at the same park bench where she and Emma spent time together. She lies down and closes her eyes.Adèle is next seen in a seedy room of a flophouse where she now lives alone. She cries herself to sleep seemingly every night. One night as she sleeps, she jolts awake after a supposed nightmare (a deleted scene shows she dreamed about Emma and Lise having sex). Looking disheveled and fatigued, she sits up awake, chain-smoking and looking emotionally empty and desolate.Another year or two later, Adèle meets with Emma in a coffee shop. They tenderly embrace and go to sit down to catch up. Adèle is still teaching at her elementary school, and Emma is still doing art and has a few new shows coming up. Adèle says she wants to save up and buy a painting of hers. Emma says she will give her one for free, but Adèle says it is a point of principle to pay for it, to which Emma nods. Emma reveals she has been in a relationship with Lise for several years and has become a second mother to Lise's three-year-old daughter. Adèle reveals that she hasn't been in any relationship since their breakup (which was over three years ago).(Note: an implied argument can be made here that perhaps Emma had been become bored with Adèle but didn't have a good reason to end it. It is quite possible Emma cheated on Adèle with Lise. Thus, when Adèle admitted to her infidelity, it gave Emma her reason for ending their romance, hence her overly agitated response and her unwillingness to even talk to Adèle; she was projecting).Emma says that her home life with Lise is intellectually stimulating. Adèle asks about their sex life, and Emma admits it isn't like the one she had with Adèle. Adèle says it must be boring. Adèle says she misses Emma and that she wants her. Adèle slowly starts to kiss Emma's hand. When Emma doesn't respond right away, Adèle tells her to touch her and forces Emma to kiss her. Emma, clearly still attracted to Adèle to some capacity, gives in to the advances. The two kiss and caress each other longingly for a few moments, but Emma pulls away. Ashamed, Adèle apologizes and asks if she will see Emma again. To her dismay, Emma says no. She has a family now and she can't risk it. Adèle asks if Emma still loves her. Emma says that she doesn't, but she has infinite tenderness for Adèle and will remember their times together for the rest of her life. Adèle, though heartbroken, understands and tells Emma she can leave. They embrace passionately. As Emma leaves, Adèle breaks down in tears.The next scene shows Adèle back in her classroom teaching reading and writing to her young first-grade students. Adèle now wears eyeglasses and styles her long hair in a more traditional manner to make herself look older. She still appears to function well as a teacher, but now appears to be emotionally empty and unattached to anyone or anything.An unknown amount of time later, Adèle showers, puts on makeup as well as a bright-blue dress, and leaves her small apartment where she now lives to walk a few blocks to an art gallery. It is a showing of Emma's work and she has been invited for a noon showing. The two old lovers greet each other and Adèle thanks Emma for inviting her. Adèle looks at all the pieces, and is both startled and surprised to learn that she is still a muse for Emma, showing up still even in her new works. Adèle quickly becomes uncomfortable seeing her former lover, Emma, with her new lover, Lise, who is also in attendance. Although Emma acknowledges Adèle, her attention is primarily on the gallery's other guests and her current partner.Adèle bumps into Samir, and finds out he got out of acting and is now in real estate. Samir admits that this art gallery isn't his scene either. As Samir excuses himself to talk to someone, Adèle looks around and realizes a few things. One is that the incompatibility of their intellectual circles and their personal desires for life doomed her and Emma's romance long before infidelity entered the picture. Secondly, that this world of Emma's isn't a part of Adèle's anymore. She and Emma are no longer together. That chapter of her life is closed. As terrifying as it will be, Adèle realizes that she needs to move on with her life, completely away from Emma. Without saying another word to anyone, Adèle quietly leaves the gallery and walks home. Samir notices she is missing and looks outside to find her, but he misses her going around the corner and gives up his search.In the final shot, Adèle is walking down the street alone towards her home. Adèle clearly knows that this part of her life journey is over and now she must write the next chapter of her life. On that sad and ambiguous note, the film suddenly ends as calypso drums play over the closing credits.

dramatic, romantic, queer

train

imdb

The film's nearly three hour running time is devoted to showing the growth of her character and it is absolutely amazing to watch it unfold right in front of your eyes.The intimate scene's between Adele and Emma are nothing short of miraculous in their depth and their honesty. I congratulate the director, Abdellatif Kechiche and the two actresses, Adele Exarchopoulos and Lea Seydoux for an emotional and spiritual journey that had me compelled to the screen for 179 glorious minutes.. The story, along with its characters, moves the film along to the point where it didn't feel like 3 hours. This film was probably the most emotionally intense and powerful movie I've seen in a very long time. Kechiche sets it in Lille, a town in Northern France, full of provincial living and entirely captures how it is in general in this town - when the characters walk around you feel that he understands what he is talking about.The film is about desire, desire to eat, desire to sleep with someone, desire to dance and it is portrayed within a first relationship between two women. When she cries, when she eats, when she sleeps you believe her.Much has been said about the sex scenes, which are very graphic, however these are entirely relevant to the plot and the furore seems to be about the actors criticising the director for pushing them too far, however, without this pushing this film wouldn't be nearly as good. Some people will find these scenes too long ( one of them could take 10 minutes ), but I find it necessary to establish your follow up of the passion they have between each other, so that when things goes worse you also are one with the situation.This movie, natural, honest about love, life and sexuality could be attended by children of 12 and more, if they are explained things of life ( they also can see all kind of war movies … ). This is a movie for all of us, independent of your orientation being gay, hetero, bisexual, … It is a Love story.Each feeling, being angry / disappointment / sad / etc …, can be seen on the faces of Adele and Emma and by this I have to say that these actresses are just superb, in fact I don't know another word to say extraordinary acting. This year's Palm d'Or winner is a coming of age story about a teenage girl, Adele (the literal title in French is The Life of Adele), who discovers her homosexuality and begins a relationship with Emma, a college student. The major sex scene that everyone talks about took a gruelling 10 days to shoot and was only the actors 2nd shot on-set together, they literally didn't know each other and were suddenly put together to perform these scenes for an imposing, frustrated director.Léa Seydoux and Adèle Exarchopoulos have both stated that the 3 hour film doesn't really show how much they shot, that the director would do hundreds of takes of even the most simple scenes, extend scenes and shoot for extremely long periods of time and would become enraged if they laughed even once out of one hundred takes.Knowing how the actors felt about it (thankfully they have been vocal in interviews about how horrible and unpleasant the experience was) how uncomfortable they were with unchoreographed sex scenes; sex scenes are almost always choreographed, shots and various angles kept to minimal length so that actors are more comfortable and that the experience is as desexualised as possible. The correct English translation of the title is The Life of Adele, as if the life of the character is just discovering her sexuality in a teenage romance.If it wasn't for the gay twist, the same storyline with a hetero couple would make people leave the movie at the first 20 minutes.. Those who had seen, I am sure you can't express the feeling in words.I started watching with skepticism, but turned out to be the Best of 2013 on par with The Hunt, better than Hunt in terms of the emotions displayed by Adele at her age. Look up search term "Eileen Myles really hated blue" she says it so much better than I ever could.But I have to write nine more lines of text for this film, which it does not deserve even that much, much less the three and a half agonizing hours I endured watching girl pornography by and for straight men. I feel that the only reason this movie has got so much attention is the cheep use of lesbian porn, and you can find that a lot faster on the web without wasting three hours of your life. Finally, an event occurs which Emma uses as an excuse to break things off with Adele, crushing the younger woman and introducing her to her first taste of heartbreak.Over the course of three hours, "Blue Is the Warmest Color" explores the dynamics of this relationship in meticulous detail, and it's something to behold. You want to see good things happen to her, but after a while you kind of just want to be away from her because her discomfort with herself begins to rub off like a stain.Typically, debate about this movie has centered around the graphic sex scenes between Adele and Emma, which reduces the movie to a titillating mainstream porno when it's anything but. This movie is why i want to be an actor, and i pray that the audience watches this film with an open mind and heart in order to feel everything that these beautiful characters are feeling. This is simply gender propaganda and Mr. Kechiche's films something he can't feel, except for the sexual excitement he gets filming actresses not pretending but going all the way (as they said after making the movie). This film is so slow, so boring, so predictable, so has-been-done-before that it boggles the mind that someone actually thought it out, wrote it down in script format, and then convinced someone else that it was a good idea to make it into a movie, then convinced an investor to sink his money into this utterly pointless exercise in futility, a very mundane lesbian story with no redeeming qualities whatsoever.And someone should have told the director, Mr. Kechiche, that there was something called "editing" where you actually cut out the scenes that don't add anything to the story, like people sitting down to eat dinner every 10 minutes, and talking about stuff that is completely irrelevant to the story. The theme of this film has been done to death, and I have watched much better lesbian movies than this one that were never even shown in theaters let alone won the Palme D'Or. You just have to check Netflix or any DVD store, or Amazon for lesbian themed movies and you will see a plethora or them, many much better than this French bore that has more scene of people eating and dancing than anything else. The love story between Adèle and Emma is too graphic and there is no art in watching two women sucking, licking and caressing each other many times for a long period in excessive sex scenes. The lead character looks like she should be doing rolls for 14-15 year-olds and there's not a hair to be found away from the head.It does earn and maybe even define the title "coming of age film", tracking a teen girl shifting into young adulthood. I thought their tone was in keeping with the raw nature of sexual awakening and desire, but I just felt that they went on a bit too long....a hammer would have done, but I was presented with a jackhammer, if that makes any sense....Lea Seydoux was great as per usual, but aptly given the original French title of this movie and the name of the lead character,Adèle Exarchopoulos was absolutely incredible...I never read this book, but if they say a picture can convey a thousand words, this book must have been longer than Encyclopedia Britannica and then some, because seriously, there were so many things being said without a word being uttered, it was utterly mesmeric... It seems quite fitting ironically that his characters discuss Sartre regarding existence preceding essence, for in this film, the essence of the main character drives the existence of the narrative.Also, I would like to add that in certain frames of the movie, Adele Exarchopoulous is the spitting image of a young Sandrine Bonnaire, who also exploded onto the scene with A NOS AMOURS and VAGABOND some 30 years ago. The hype about the lesbian sex ( though titillating) doesn't matter, it works as a great coming of age love story that doesn't hide the hard truth about it. It is an extraordinary film, unapologetically frank in its depiction of the titular character's sexual awakening and emotional growth over the course of several years, but still acutely affecting in the way that it fully immerses the viewer into the primal, dismantling experience of falling in love. 'La vie d'Adele' could have been such a beautiful film, but to me it has a sick porn movie feel to it. This movie goes so far beyond "documentary" that it is insane....for 3 hours I felt like I was truly in Adele's heart, feeling every high and low she went through.I normally avoid reading reviews for movies because I get majorly over-hyped at first, then eventually disappointed. Adele was initially in denial about her sexual feelings in the face of unsupported and cliquey girlfriends, but with Emma she's free to comfortably show her true colours - the two walk hand in hand in a gay pride scene, surrounded by other liberated individuals and the freedom of this scene is just radiating.The most remarkable aspect of Blue is the Warmest Color is not the story itself but the transcendent and epic way its depicted. It is in fact a long movie, but although I felt it wasn't necessary, the running time didn't deter me and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested watching a film that talks about growing up and exploring sexuality without prejudice and moral dilemmas.Rating: 8,5. It was pretty well just a base, non creative love story with the only things changed being its now about some lesbians, with gratuitous nudity thrown in and conversations about art throughout the film.I think the major problem with this film was not the actresses or the premise, it was the lacklustre hack of a director, who is clearly just some straight guy making a movie on what is mainly accepted to be a love story and trying to be edgy. Maybe if you don't watch many European films, or have never seen a Lesbian-themed film before, you can end up being taken so aback by the sex scenes - which, credit where credit is due, are carefully embedded in the story - that you'll go 'wow'. As for the rest, enough to say that the whole story would fit in a twenty minutes short if not for the long, nap-inducing meaningless scenes.The movie is full of scenes containing lengthy character close-ups, silent walks apparently to nowhere in special and even people sleeping are scattered all over, making the three hour long final cut almost unbearable to watch.I could not figure the purpose or why they left scenes where nothing happens in a movie that is too lengthy and boring.I am ready for the gay community bashing session, but even some of them agreed with me, saying this is a low-paced movie with a simplistic and naive screenplay. Watched Blue is The Warmest Color for the second time, ill say again: this movie is the most touching and realist love story ever told. Set in small-town France, the film explores how Adele and her girlfriend Emma (Léa Seydoux) try to continue their passionate relationship in a world where same-sex affairs are still stigmatized. The film has explicit sex scenes, but they seem somehow remote, almost as if Adele and Emma are trying their best to achieve personal fulfillment through physical means. There are flaws here and there, I was in the party that found the extended sex scenes unnecessary, it is rose-tinted and overly-optimistic of people's tolerance, it is overly-romantic of people's artistic intelligence, and perhaps the film doesn't address prejudice and hetronormativity in the same way that Weekend does, for example, but it remains a remarkably human experience; an experience so grand yet intimate and genuine that Blue is the Warmest Colour is likely one of the great modern visions of love and longing, as well as a true modern LGBT masterpiece.. Sometimes the Universe gives us this privilege, it could be in a Painting, in a Play, in Music or in this case , in a Movie.When all the necessary ingredients are gathered and mixed harmoniously and naturally we have the perfect Chemistry.The right Director, the right actresses for the role, the right story, the right music, the right everything.And the result is Art.From the teenagers doubt about their sexuality, through the unknown world of something new, through the intense passion to the suffering of losing someone we love, we have it all so clear, simple and realistic in this masterpiece.This movie will be a reference.. You can really see that their hart and soul went into this, I cannot remember a performance this good by such a young cast.What I loved most about this film is how it literally and figuratively zoomed in on the life of Adele. The time jumps itself where a bit unexpected at first but added to the plot.There where quite a few sex scenes and normally they don't add a lot to the plot but in this film I think it was one of the key points to show the passion that Adele and Emma had for each other.I hardly noticed the score (I'm actually not sure if it was there at all) but most dance scenes where really well done.So much detail went into the ending of the film which I thought was a great touch.I think I was 16 the last time I fell in love with an actress on-screen, but the stellar performance and amazing beauty of Adèle Exarchopoulos was just to much to handle! This amazing movie is one of the best movie I have ever seen in my 10-years cinema life.The 2013 Palme D'Or winner from Cannes Film Festival, La Vie d'Adèle - Blue Is the Warmest Color,is not only stunning but also impressive.It is a love story between two woman who meets in a gay bar.The way they speak , they eat is seems to be so real.Because of that the audience can imagine themselves as the third character in every scene.I think this arise from the director.The director,Abdellatif Kechiche, has done its best.The duration of the movie is neither long nor short.It is enough for the audience to understand the general atmosphere of the events.the leading actors in the movie(Adèle Exarchopoulos and Léa Seydoux)were excellent.. Winner of the prestigious Palme d'Or at 2013 Cannes Film Festival, Blue Is the Warmest Color garnered universal acclaim from critics & viewers around the world for its raw & powerful portrayal of a human story but what really provided this coming-of-age drama a worldwide attention is the substantial amount of controversy it generated from its steamy lesbian sex scenes, which are no doubt graphic in nature.And since every major award winner comes burdened with heavy expectations, this film is no different. And supporting her with another stupefying performance is Léa Seydoux who plays Adèle's love interest Emma, and their on-screen chemistry is impeccable.Finally coming to the controversial sex scenes that have kind of defined this movie ever since it had its first premiere, Blue Is the Warmest Color features one of the most erotic, graphic, explicit & explosive girl-on-girl action in cinema history but this one part is so overly exaggerated & blown out of proportion that it's plainly insulting to the whole film & what it's really about. This film tells the process of a young woman growing up, coming to terms with her sexuality and living her life as a person she wants to be.Despite it being three hours long, I could hardly believe it when it ended. When I look at her eyes, I would know what's going on and how it's going to be.Lastly, I would like to thank Abdellatif Kechiche, Adele Exarchopoulos, Lea Seydoux and anyone involved in this movie for having created the real epic of cinema.. It's a French film concerning a young lesbian couple with explicit scenes of sex, bearing an NC-17 rating, and is ten minutes shy of being three hours long. It briefs how hard a life as a gay and within that relationship problems like regular ones.The director used some of the outstanding tricks to capture many great scenes for the movie. It shows how todays director's are fearless to show what they really wanted in their films.Like the original French title say 'La Vie D'adèle: Chapters 1 and 2' this movie divides its story telling into two parts. Movie's most important aspect is its honesty.i think that is the bet the director made to himself and started shooting endless video of the two costars until they would not see the camera at all.that and together with their talent give us an honesty that jumps out of the screen and grab each one with a different way.i personally totally forgot the lesbian theme much like broke-back mountain.a true passionate love story with Greek actress Adele giving an outstanding performance.she shows so much with such a simplistic and honest way that leaves you speechless.Lea Seydoux is also excellent. She really uses her eyes and mouth to convey her emotions quite well, it feels like there isn't a moment in the movie that you don't know what Adele is thinking. The film imposes itself as a raw slice of Adele's life.Do not get discouraged with the staggering three hour long runtime, Blue is the Warmest Colour is a pleasing reality-based, hard-hitting depiction of our young generation's internal thought process in dealing with love.

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The Siege

A U.S. military barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, is bombed by terrorists. It is determined to be the work of Sheikh Ahmed bin Talal, a known extremist. A Black Ops team works to capture the Sheikh. Posing as shepherds herding goats, they stop the Sheikh's car, kill his drivers, and extract him, blowing up the car to destroy evidence. Then, they fly him to the United States to stand trial.The action shifts to New York City, where one day, a call comes in that an MTA bus in Brooklyn has been taken hostage, with NYPD officers and FDNY firefighters on the scene. When the NYPD sends in the bomb squad to disarm the device, it detonates. Much to everyone's relief, it's just a paint bomb, and the passengers are escorted to safety.The investigation into the incident is handled by Special Agent Anthony Hubbard (Denzel Washington) of the FBI's Counter-Terrorism Task Force and his partner Frank Haddad (Tony Shalhoub). As the investigation gets under way, Hubbard is told that someone is flashing a government badge at the warehouse where the bus is being processed. Hubbard drives out to the warehouse to investigate. The employee in question is a CIA officer named Elise Kraft (Annette Benning). Though she's cordial and asks to liaise with the FBI, Hubbard brushes her off. Thinking she's hiding something, Hubbard gives orders for Elise to be tailed.The next morning, Hubbard and Haddad are summoned to John F. Kennedy International Airport, where a man named Khalil Saleh (Assif Mandvi) has just arrived carrying a briefcase that's packed with $10,000 in small bills. Customs has detained him for further questioning in light of the heightened terror alert. In questioning, he claims that the money is dowry for a wedding. Nonetheless, Hubbard and Haddad tail him to a suburban street in Brooklyn. They follow Khalil as he has a meeting with another unidentified man on the street. Unfortunately, the stakeout is blown when another agent, Mike Johanssen (Mark Valley), inadvertently gives himself away, and Khalil flees on foot. Hubbard and Haddad attempt to give chase in their car, but lose him when he scales a fence and then hops into a passing red van.The van is eventually recovered, and is found to have been reported stolen and carrying bogus plates. While they're on scene, Hubbard and his team get word from another agent, Floyd Rose (Lance Reddick), about the whereabouts of their missing individual: he's shown up at a CIA safehouse in Staten Island, with Elise Kraft. The FBI team proceeds to raid the safehouse, capturing all of the CIA personnel, including Elise. Hubbard and Haddad personally take Elise, and put her into their car to be taken into custody.As Hubbard and Haddad drive Elise back to Manhattan for further questioning, they try asking her for more information about the bus that was paint-bombed. Elise, however, dodges the questions, instead, bringing up conversation about Haddad's background.While they're driving across the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, Hubbard's and Haddad's individual cell phones ring almost simultaneously. It's disturbing news: three men armed with rifles and wearing explosives have just taken an MTA bus hostage at Broadway and Bedford Avenues in Brooklyn. When Hubbard, Haddad and Elise arrive on scene, the NYPD and FDNY have already set up a perimeter and the NYPD Emergency Services Unit is getting snipers into position. Hubbard is patched through to the bus's driver, who agrees to hand the phone over to the hostage taker. Having learned from another officer that there are six children on the bus, Hubbard decides to use that to his advantage. He begins addressing the hostage takers (with Haddad supplying a running translation in Arabic), and makes a plea for them to release the children.Much to everyone's surprise, the hostage-takers acquiesce to Hubbard's requests and release a group of children from the bus. They are quickly escorted by police back behind the perimeter. Hubbard then resumes negotiations with the hostage-takers, trying to get as many hostages as possible released. It takes a while, but eventually, he convinces them to release the elderly passengers. After another tense moment, the bus doors slide open and some senior citizens begin to exit the bus. However, just moments later, the terrorists suddenly renege on their promise and detonate their explosives, causing the bus to explode in a huge fireball. The explosion instantly kills the 25 civilians and suicide bombers still on board and injures numbers of NYPD officers, FBI agents, and FDNY firefighters due to the shockwave and debris raining down everywhere within several hundred feet of the bus. Hubbard is among the FBI agents injured when the explosion throws him off his feet and temporarily deafens him during the process.An investigation is quickly launched by a somewhat agitated Hubbard into the bombing. In time, the FBI is able to identify one of the bombers as a young individual named Ali Wasiri. In a turn of events, Wasiri is revealed to have been on a State Department watchlist, leading them to wonder how he got into the country. This is answered when they find a student visa in Wasiri's name, and this leads them to Samir Nazhde, a professor of Arab studies at Brooklyn College who sponsored the application. Hubbard wants to arrest Samir, but Elise insists that Samir is not a terrorist and that his continued freedom is vital to the investigation, even striking up a sexual relationship with him (while Hubbard and Haddad watch from afar). Hubbard also learns from Elise about the possibility that the terrorists behind these attacks might be followers of the Sheikh who are exacting revenge against the United States.A day or so later, Hubbard gets a surprise visit from General William Devereaux (Bruce Willis) of the 101st Airborne Division. While they converse, Hubbard asks Devereaux if he knows anything about the Sheikh. Devereaux claims that the Sheikh is old news, and the bombers' demands for the U.S. to release the Sheikh are impossible to meet because the Sheikh is dead (which we can see is false given the opening sequence).Acting on another lead, the FBI team eventually uncovers an apartment recently leased to three young Arab men. According to the landlord, they spend their days watching TV and eating pizza. This gives Hubbard an idea when they carry out the raid. He sends one of his agents, Danny Sussman (David Proval), up to the apartment disguised as a pizza deliveryman, and carrying a pizza box, in which they have planted a smoke grenade. Right behind Danny is a fully armed SWAT team. Danny drops the pizza box off and it is carried into the apartment. When it explodes in the face of one of the occupants, the SWAT team breaches the door and storms the apartment. Two of the men are killed when they try to shoot back with assault rifles, and the third (the guy who picked up the pizza box) is killed in the crossfire. Haddad finds bombmaking equipment under one windowsill that includes many of the elements used on the bus.Some time later, the FBI team is shown knocking off after work at a midtown Manhattan bar. Hubbard is coerced into slow-dancing with Elise. As they dance, Hubbard asks Elise if she thinks her friend Samir is in league with the terrorists. Elise doesn't seem to think so. The dance is interrupted though when the bar is suddenly rocked by a shockwave, which momentarily knocks out some of the lights and sets off the panic alarms on some cars outside. As it turns out, a bomb has been set off at the New Victory Theatre on 42nd Street. Hubbard, Haddad and Elise race to the scene, and are forced to abandon their car at the north end of Times Square due to emergency vehicles obstructing traffic. When they reach the theatre, they find FDNY firefighters and NYPD officers at work handling triage and evacuating injured or panicked civilians as smoke billows out from the theatre's façade. Numerous civilians have been killed, and many more critically wounded (at one point, Hubbard's attention momentarily falls upon a young woman coming down the staircase missing part of her left arm, before collapsing halfway down into the arms of a firefighter).The terrorist attacks on two buses and the New Victory Theatre has led to an increased sense of urgency and fear amongst New Yorkers. Hubbard holds a strategy meeting with senior law enforcement officials, but things don't go successfully. The meeting is furthermore interrupted when they get a call that a lone gunman has taken kids in an elementary school classroom hostage and planted what appears to be a radio-controlled bomb. While waiting behind the barricade, Hubbard sees the news helicopters hovering around outside. Not willing to let innocent lives be lost, he barges through the artificial police barricade of chairs and furniture, bursts into the classroom, and shoots the gunman.The events in New York City have drawn increased scrutiny from officials in Washington, D.C. Hubbard, General Devereaux and Elise, now going by the name Sharon Bridger, are among those summoned to a meeting of the top heads to discuss how to resolve the terrorist situation. During the conversation, Devereaux is asked about the feasibility of imposing martial law on Brooklyn until the terrorist cells are flushed out. He explains that it would be the worst possible decision to deploy the military as it would not help them find the cells. Furthermore, Hubbard argues that deploying the military will only drive the terrorists underground. However, what's clear, as Sharon explains, is that the terrorist cells aren't working like a traditional terrorist network. In most cells, cutting off the head of the network causes the other cells to die off. In the current situation, each terror cell seems to be operating independent of each other: the bus was the work of the first cell. Once that cell was taken out, the second cell carried out the attack on the theatre gala. There are possibly three or four cells at most in Brooklyn, but the timetable until they are found is impossible to determine without knowing who to look for.While this meeting is underway, another terrorist attack happens in Manhattan as a lone individual crashes a stolen van full of explosives into the lobby of One Federal Plaza, the location of the FBI's Counter-Terrorism Task Force. The blast partially demolishes the building, killing 600 people, including Hubbard's own agents, Johanssen and Tina Osu.In spite of objections, the President declares martial law and elements of the 101st Airborne Division, under Devereaux (Willis), occupies and seals off Brooklyn in an effort to find the remaining terrorist cells. Subsequently all young males of Arab descent, including Haddad's son Frank, Jr., are rounded up and detained in Yankee Stadium. Haddad resigns in protest, while civilians stage violent demonstrations against the Army and the racial profiling of the Arabs and the Army fights to maintain control. There are reports of Army killings.Hubbard and Sharon continue their investigation and capture a suspect, Tariq Husseini, although it isn't without incident as the Army is tipped off to the raid and decides to crash it. In the resulting confusion, the chop shop that Tariq runs is blown up. Husseini is tortured for information, but when he doesn't reveal anything, Devereaux has him shot. Afterward, Bridger tells Hubbard that Husseini knew nothing of value because of the principle of compartmentalized information and, sickened, she finally tells Hubbard what she knows. It is revealed that she herself provided training and support to militants opposed to Saddam Hussein's regime. After the funding was cut, she took pity on the few of them who had not yet been taken out by Hussein's forces, and arranged for them to escape to the United States, ultimately leading to the present situation. She and Hubbard compel Samir to arrange a meeting with the final terrorist cell. Hubbard convinces Haddad that he needs his help and Haddad returns to the FBI.A multi-ethnic peace march demonstrates against the occupation of Brooklyn. As the march is getting under way Hubbard and Haddad arrive at the meeting place, but Bridger and Samir have already left. Once inside a bathhouse, Samir reveals to Bridger that he is the final cell, and boasts that "there will never be a last cell." He straps a bomb to his body which he intends to detonate amongst the marchers. Hubbard and Haddad arrive in time to stop him leaving but just as they show up, Samir shoots Sharon in the stomach after a struggle. Hubbard shoots Samir but despite their best efforts he and Haddad can only watch as Bridger bleeds to death, saying the first half of the lords prayer and then in arabic "Inch Allah".Hubbard, Haddad, and other FBI agents, raid Devereaux's headquarters to arrest him for Husseini's death. Deveraux insists that under the War Powers Resolution the authority vested in him by the President supersedes that of the court which issued the arrest warrant. A Mexican standoff ensues, but it's broken when Hubbard reminds Devereaux that the civil liberties and human rights which he took from Husseini are what all his predecessors have fought and died for. Devereaux finally submits, and is detained. Martial law ends and the detainees are freed, including Haddad's son.

suspenseful, murder, violence

train

imdb

Roger Deacons adds his wonderful cinematography, and Bruce Willis turns in a fine performance as an over-zealous army general.The film delivers a cautionary tale about extreme reactions to terror and the loss of freedoms that can result from acting in anger, rather than with reason and law. Movies that make people think and talk are valuable, and in that light the film is more successful than initially considered.Yes, there are gaping holes in the script and the plot and the concept, but as a little thriller it maintains our attention throughout and offers some fine moments from actors such as Denzel Washington, Annette Bening, Tony Shalhoub, Bruce Willis, Sami Bouajila, Ahmed Ben Larby, Aasif Mandvi among others. The head of the FBI's Counter-Terrorism Task Force (Denzel Washington) teams up with a CIA operative (Annette Benning) to hunt down the terrorist cells responsible for the attacks. There are numerous noble Arab-Americans, and the movie emphasizes this, but – let's be honest – there are also Islamic whack-jobs in our midst who enjoy blowing themselves up with as many innocents as possible so they can go home to Allah and 72 virgins (or whatever).I like the fact that General Devereaux (Willis) isn't a black or white character and viewers can have completely different views about whether or not he's actually a villain. Read the spoiler commentary below for details.The film runs 116 minutes and was shot in New York City with a couple scenes in California.GRADE: B- ***SPOILER ALERT*** DON'T READ FURTHER IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE FILM One of the main points of the movie is that it's wrong to mistreat Muslim-Americans by profiling them, rounding them up and subjecting them to investigation outside normal procedures because it's equivalent to the internment of Japanese Americans during WW2. Days after the WTC Attack I saw this movie again and obviously (to my regret) I found many new things to meditate about, this movie makes an interesting remark about what almost every US government have done at least one time, the so called 'shift of policy', and this is the key to the whole mess (in the movie and in real life), US government can't pretend to look after some 'groups, organizations or people' when they are useful to their interest and when they no longer need them just dispose then like trash, remember, 'what goes around, comes around...', sure, I totally condemn terrorism, but as we can learn from the movie, this kind of behavior gives birth to extreme hate and enemies, and this is (or was) NO fiction. Mr. Denzel Washington's (FBI Agent Anthony 'Hub' Hubbard) performance is powerful (as usual), the rest of the supporting cast did a good job too, Annette Bening's (Elise Kraft/Sharon Bridger) seems a little 'old' for the role but does an excellent job though.. The response from the people being attacked with me was enthusiastic, so that gives you some indication of what the film is like, if you haven't yet been subjected to it.My reaction had nothing to do with "racism," or lack of action, which non-Americans seem to assume is the only thing keeping the Yankees spending money on cinema. Today was the day the terrorist attack on the PENTAGON and the WORLD TRADE CENTER and other places which was more sunbstancial and incredible compared to the attacks depicted in this movie which looks amateurish in comparison to the real attacks.A good wake up call to all who snickered and dismissed this film as UNLIKELY and HOLLYWOOD FANTASY.Nothing is impossible and I also would like to say that most media ART IS A REFLECTION of reality.The CIA and other world intelligence branches can only do so much.Most of their work comes AFTER the attack.Preventing an attack is next to impossible if freedom is to be had by the masses.See this film and learn.Great film although a ittle improvement with screenpay would have taken this movie to classic status.Only for people who are interested in spy films and politics.The fans of the lead actors will enjoy this film as well for their performances as adequate,particularly Washington........ But there is much worse to come; as the attacks keep happening, the United States military, under the command of the staunch general William Deveraux (Bruce Willis), takes charge and hunts down virtually anyone in NYC who just might look like a terrorist (i.e., anyone of Arab/Islamic extraction), even if that happens to include Washington's FBI partner (Tony Shaloub). They've already won!" THE SIEGE was, at its time, a fairly controversial film, less for its depiction of terrorism and violence than for what many Americans of Muslim and Arabic origin saw as perpetrating a dangerous stereotype of them, a stereotype that they had every right to rail against then, and do even more so in the wake of Paris and San Bernardino. That being said, however, the film does show what history should have told us: that overseas covert or military actions carried out years or decades in the past can result in the kind of nightmarish blowback seen here on screen, or for real in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania on 9/11. And when martial law is declared in what we like to call our Land of the Free, as happens in this film, then terror can win out, as it almost does even after the attacks themselves stop.Zwick gets plenty of action and tension out of the situation in THE SIEGE, less of a Schwarzenneger free-for-all or even a DIE HARD-type thing (Willis' presence aside) than something more akin to the 1977 John Frankenheimer classic BLACK Sunday; and Washington's Everyman-type FBI agent and Willis' hard-assed general are perfect antagonists. We then follow the FBI, the CIA and the military (portrayed basically by Denzel Washington and Tony Shalhoub, Annette Bening and Bruce Willis respectively) as they try to identify the various cells and regain control of the situation. Again, from 911, we know that this portrayal turned out not to be that far off the mark.Third, in the movie the ultimate response of the US government is to declare martial law and to send troops on to the streets of New York City. Movie Review: "The Siege" (1998)20th Century Fox presents this most daring thriller on the "war-on-terror" ever-conceived by Hollywood motion picture industries to this day directed by Edward Zwick, who makes full use of the an original script by journalist-turns-screenwriter Lawrence Wright, when "The Siege" fulminate cast by casting director Mary Colquhoun (1930-2000) in favors of any supporting role contracted in a twisting-and-turning suspense-striking plot, where FBI agent Anthony Hubbard, portrayed by high-octane driving Denzel Washington, must keep fast-tracks to unfold countless threads within the City of New York initiated by "Martial Law" executed U.S. military in shapes of death-sentence pushing character of General William Devereaux, given face by never-seen-before hostile beats of utmost disciplines by actor Bruce Willis, who could have earned his first Academy-Award-nomination for Best Supporting Role in a completely Award-season-snubbed highly-visceral motion picture of countless shading grey areas of controversy, when even the love affair between a U.S. governmental official, performed by full-engagement-showing actress Annette Bening, who must question ever aspect of her professional as personal character's life, including the relationship to her Oriental boy-friend character of Samir Nazhde, here portrayed by fully-directed actor Sami Bouajila, at moments of urban bomb explosions captured in utmost of elegance-striving cinematography by Roger Deakins and 1940s U.S. homeland security threatening Japanese habits after "Pearl Harbor" recalling concentration camp scenarios here placed below Brooklyn Bridge exterior production design, when any Oriental-looking and Muslim-religion indulging inhabitant in the five boroughs of New York gets gathered for interrogation under General Devereaux command to a motion picture historical highlighted reverse-cut close-up scene between Denzel Washington and Bruce Willis in a life-or-death stand-off situation under orders-following soldier-drawn machine guns.© 2018 Felix Alexander Dausend If one believe the movie, then one accepts the premise, that Denzel Washington as a police officer could go up against a standing army led by Anthony Hubbard (Bruce Willis) as Major General William Devereaux. While some Arab-Americans may have felt offended by this I think the viewers understood that this was a tiny percentage of the Muslim community, and it was better for them to recognize this in order to distance themselves from the extremist.However, the real issue and prophetic warning of this movie was not about Muslim extremism at all, but about how our citizens were capable of going collectively insane over a tragedy and throwing away our freedoms in the name of safety, and the tragic consequences of such a short-sited decision. Edward Zwick directed this film that stars Denzel Washington as FBI counter Terrorism Taskforce leader Anthony Hubbard, who enlists the help of a CIA agent(played by Annette Bening) to battle an escalating series of terrorist attacks in New York city after the U.S. abducted a radical Islamic religious leader. When one attack in particular hits close to home for all, Martial Law is declared by Major General William Devereux(played by Bruce Willis) which greatly alarms Hubbard, as his fellow agent, an Arab American(played by Tony Shalhoub) is rounded up with other suspects in an internment camp, while the CIA agent knows more than she's willing to tell about the terrorist cells responsible... The Siege is everything I knew it was for a decade without the unneeded benefit of proof.This is neither good nor bad, just the facts.In five years time I will walk past a DVD shelf with The Siege on it and think 'yep I've seen it, then without any specifics I will re-think the thoughts of the first paragraph.In this case Denzel is FBI Agent Anthony Hubbard, his second in command is played by Tony Shalhoub, who for the purpose of this review (and the film) I might point out is of 'middle eastern' descent.When a terrorist threat arrives in New York City (yes the film was unfortunately prescient) it is swiftly identified as being of middle Eastern descent. Her name is Alyse Kraft (Annette Bening), and she tentatively teams up with Hubbard and co, providing advice and occasional hints, without ever really seeming to 'lock in' to the task.After a series of bombings the army is consulted, lead by General Bill (Bruce Willis), and the politicians run a merry dance trying to decide how to deal with this fiendish threat to the American view of freedom, and if armed intervention is necessary.The Siege presses every button that you think it will and shows all sides of the story – from the American side of the story that is – that means people from the middle East are neither all good or all bad (except the 'all bad' ones), and *GASP* Americans can be pricks and racists too, I would never have thought! And it's a shame that this is the case, too, because this is acutally one of the best movies that was released this year.Filled with powerful drama and suspense, and some terrific performances (including a surprisingly good one by Bruce Willis, and Denzel Washington and Annette Bening are great as usual). It's so sick and twisted.At least they did make the FBI guy look good in the film, which is a rarity, but that's only because Denzel Washington played the role. With the military ready to strike anything they are told to and the Muslim community keen to help however they can, tensions are simmering and ready to boil, Hub tries to stop the terrorist cells before they can strike again.I noticed this film be released in the UK in 98/99 sort of time but never got round to seeing it despite it looking like a good action movie. The action/thriller side is OK and it also throws in some very harrowing scenes of terrorism that (at the time) must have seemed impossible to many viewers in the US (sadly in Northern Ireland we are far too familiar with terrorist attacks to be shocked by the aftermath of a bombing in a film – we have seen it in reality for decades) but these moments are few are far between. Willis is laughably bad in his character who suddenly becomes a big powerful distator of New York without any real reason – I wonder if, made in 2004, this film would be brave enough to have such a criticism of the military's role in fighting terrorism? It is well acted, with the likes of Denzel Washington, Annette Bening, and Tony Shalhoub (who's a looong ways from Wings here) strutting their bad self, well directed by Edward Zwick (who's best film to date is Courage Under Fire), and at least tries to intertwine an action/thriller plot with a literate script. The movie is a fantasy that explores the question of what might happen if Arab terrorists went wild in a major American city, in this case New York (obviously getting its inspiration from the Trade Center bombing). Another warning the movie conveys is the evil of violating civil liberties, in this case the Gestapo-like roundup by the U.S. military of Arab-American citizens in New York under suspicion of being terrorists.When it first came out, "The Siege" was such a controversial film largely because it dealt with stereotypical issues associating Arabs with terrorism. I wouldn't want any officer from the higher levels of U.S. bureaucracy to turn into reality what transpired in the movie, specifically the callous acts of Bruce Willis's military general against Arab-Americans residing in the Big Apple."The Siege" has an interesting gallery of quality actors. What a disappointment!It starts out okay but just gets more silly and the plot flies up and disappears into the atmosphere after the first hour.Bruce Willis, who I usually like,is completely miscast and rather wooden.Denzel Washington is great but, with his talents, should be starring in better movies than this routine thriller.Not a disaster, but not reccomended either.However, the concept of New York under martial law is interesting. But the plot, although good in the first 30 minutes of the movie, leaves us all confused and disappointed.Denzel Washington, Tony Shalhoub, and Annette Benning put in fine performances but I thought Bruce Willis was horrible in this movie.6.5/10. In The Siege, Edward Zwick (Legends of the Fall, Glory, Courage Under Fire) follows the conventions of the genre fairly closely, but manages to throw in enough creative inventions to make the ride worthwhile.Denzel Washington plays FBI agent Hubbard, a dedicated law enforcement officer committed to tracking down the terrorists who are wreaking havoc in New York City. The FBI is trying to track down Arab-American terrorists in the city, and along the way gets occasional assistance, and frequent interference, from representatives of the CIA (Annette Benning plays agent Bridger) and the US army (Bruce Willis plays General Deveraux).The plot follows a standard formula but has enough innovative twists to make it engaging. However the attempt to make the audience contemplate international relations, Constitutional law, and government conspiracies falls short.The film is basically a cross between a mindless action film and a film that shocks us to reality such as Saving Private Ryan.Denzel Washington and Annette Benning turn in good performances, but Bruce Willis's screen time is uncharacteristically limited to a few scenes.. Lame and clichéd.All forgiven due to the psychic brilliance of the film.Bruce Willis and Denzel Washington play bad general and good federal agent, respectively, and the assortment of terrorists, protesters and media round out what could easily have been a TV movie, and what might have worked even better as one. The film is especially engaging because of the manner in which it is clearly based on a number of real-life events - from the bombing of the US Army base at Dhahran which opens the movie, to the alleged terrorist networks run by Osama bin Laden, to the role of covert US activities in creating and perpetuating terrorism.Washington's character, FBI Agent Anthony Hubbard, considers himself to be a force for universal good. And lots of people cried later in the movie.With this said here is my review:The Siege is by far one of the best action films out there. Bruce Willis is an Army General, Denzel Washington is a FBI agent, Annette Bening and is a CIA agent. It is interesting to see in the film how a city such as New York might respond to this kind of terrorism.Also, "The Siege" explores the kind of racial or ethnic implications that go along with such an enormous terrorist action. Bruce Willis is the villain, in an open criticism of the American military's authoritarianism, but is a character so little explored and poorly developed that it looks like a caricature.The film was thought of as a thriller, and we actually feel the tension growing, but the ending is disappointing and predictable. THE SIEGE ( rating, * * * ½ out of 5 )From writers Lawrence Wright, Menno Meyjes and Edward Zwick who also directs, comes this modern thriller that contains plenty of gloss and lashings of style.FBI Agent Anthony Hubbard, (Denzel Washington) CIA Officer Sharon Bridge, (Annette Bening) and Army General Devereax, (Bruce Willis) form a somewhat strained coalition as they combat a rash of terrorism in New York City.Each party has an agenda and the fight for power becomes ruthless and in the army's case, very un-American as Martial Law is declared. Denzel Washington has never played a bad role in his life, Annette Bening is strong as a worn, slutty CIA agent, and Tony Shalhoub shows he's more than the jackass cabbie from "Wings."Taking all Arabs captive was going way too far, but I think the movie's producers were angling at the U.S. government's history of secretive, often brutal operations. A CIA agent and terrorist trainer (Annette Benning) cries when she "realizes" all the evil she's made...(!!!) The best thing in this movie is still Denzel Washington.

tt0363163

Der Untergang

The film starts out with a short clip from a documentary where the real life Traudl Junge speaks about how even though she feels like she should be angry with her younger self for becoming Hitlers secretary, it is very hard to forgive herself.The narrative begins in November of 1942. Traudl Junge and four other young women are arriving at Führer's Headquarters Wolf's Lair in Rastenburg, East Prussia. The women are met by Hitler's valet, Heinz Linge. After he gives the women an introduction, Hitler emerges from his office and proceeds to individually ask each woman her name and where she is from. Traudl Junge is the first woman chosen to have her secretarial skills tested and is eventually chosen to be Hitlers personal secretary.The story jumps ahead to April 20th, 1945, Hitler's fifty-sixth birthday. In Berlin, inside the Führerbunker, Traudl Junge is awakened by the bombardment of Soviet artillery from above. A furious Hitler storms out of his office and asks his Generals to inform him where the gunfire is coming from. General Wilhelm Burgdorf informs Hitler that Central Berlin is currently under fire from Soviet artillery, but he doesn't know where its coming from. Burgdorf gives Hitler a phone connected to General Karl Koller who informs Hitler that the artillery battery is only twelve kilometers away. After finding out the Soviets are much closer than he was told, Hitler yells at his Generals for not informing him and that he had to find out this news for himself.Above ground in the Reich Chancellery, many head Nazi figures gather for Hitlers birthday reception. At the party, SS General Hermann Fegelein informs SS General Heinrich Himmler that Hitler is ordering the evacuation of all German military offices by initiating Operation Clausewitz. Himmler says that Hitler will take the whole Reich down if he remains in Berlin. He suggests that Fegelein speak to his sister-in-law, Eva Braun, to see if she can convince Hitler to leave the city. Soon after, Hitler enters the room and is greeted with a salute and "Sieg Heil" from everyone.The film jumps over to the evacuation of the SS Führungshauptamt. It also introduces a parallel story surrounding Professor Dr. Ernst-Günter Schenck, an SS colonel and doctor still in Berlin. Upset by the orders to evacuate, Dr. Schenck argues with SS General Tellermann that because he is both a colonel for the SS and a doctor for the Wehrmacht, he should not be ordered to evacuate so that he can stay to take care of the sick. Tellermann finally agrees and issues Schenck an authorized permit to stay in Berlin.Back in the Reich Chancellery, many of the remaining generals are giving their final goodbyes to Hitler. When Himmler says goodbye, he begs Hitler to leave Berlin and suggests getting in touch with the Western Allies, but Hitler refuses and leaves. As the generals are getting into their cars to evacuate, Himmler tells Fegelein that he thinks Hitler has finally lost it and that since Berlin will fall in the next few days, he is going to have to take it in his own hands. At the same time, Albert Speer arrives at the Reich Chancellery to talk with Hitler.Overlooking a model for the proposed "Welthauptstadt Germania", Hitler praises Speer on his genius for realizing what Germany will become once they win the war. Fegelein and Traudl Junge speak up urging Hitler to leave the city before it is too late, but he refuses again. Speer backs him up by telling Hitler that he must be on stage when the curtain falls.The film cuts away to the streets of Berlin and the civilians trying to leave before the Russians capture the city. Another parallel story is introduced surrounding a boy named Peter Kranz and his small outfit of Hitler Youth soldiers manning a FlaK 88. An older man, who is missing his left arm, walks up to the group of kids and is identified as Peters father. He tells Peter and his fellow soldiers that they are to young to fight and to stop. After several minutes of arguing, the group of soldiers tells Peters father that they will fight until the very end because they swore an oath to The Führer. Peter calls his father a coward and runs away.In his war room, Hitler refuses the plea from General Alfred Jowl to begin the retreat of the 9th Army. Hitler states that General Felix Steiner will be able to counterattack the Russians once his men arrive in Berlin. He also orders SS General Wilhelm Mohnke to defend the city at all costs. Mohnke requests the evacuation of civilians, but Hitler refuses. Outside of the war room, many of the generals express their concern that Hitler is going crazy, stating that he is ordering army divisions that only exist on the map. Hitler makes his way up to the surface to present awards to the Hitler Youth which happens to include Peter. Back in the bunker, Traudl Junge and some of the other girls discuss how they can't abandon Hitler like so many other people are doing.Back in his office, Hitler tells Speer about his scorched earth plan and that he wants to systematically destroy important industrial parts of the city before the allies arrive. Begging for the mercy of the German people, Speer tells him it will only do harm to the future of Germany, but Hitler states that the only German people left are the weak and that they deserve to die.Meanwhile, up in the Reich Chancellery, Eva Braun and many other guests are having a party. Fegelein grabs Eva aside and begs her to convince Hitler to leave, but she refuses. Off to the side, Traudl Junge tells her friend Gerda that the whole situation is unreal and is like a bad dream. The whole party suddenly comes to an end when an artillery shell hits right outside the building, sending debris through the windows. Everyone descends back down into the bunker.Up on the streets, General Helmuth Weidling is being accused for not holding his post and for retreating. Even though he denies the accusations, he is ordered to report to the bunker for execution.Back in the SS Führungshauptamt, Dr. Schenck receives a call from Mohnke ordering him to collect all the medical supplies he can find and to bring them to the bunker.General Weidling arrives at the bunker as he was ordered to, asking why he is to be shot. General Hans Krebs informs him that orders are that any general who retreats is to be shot on spot. After Weildling tells him that he hasn't moved at all, Krebs informs him to speak with Hitler about it.Dr. Schenck arrives at a military hospital to get the requested medical supplies, but it has been abandoned and cleaned out except for dead bodies. Schenck also discovers a group of elderly and sick patients who have been left for dead.Back in the bunker, General Wilhelm Keitel informs General Weidling that his report has impressed Hitler and not only will he no longer be shot, but that he has been promoted to the commander of Berlin's defense. Weidling states that he would rather have been shot. On the other side of the bunker, Fegelein pleads to Traudl and Gerda to leave and informs them that what Hitler has told them about a possible victory is false.In the war room, General Krebs informs Hitler that the Russians have pushed the German lines even further into the city and that General Steiner wasn't able to gather enough soldiers for a counterattack. Hitler orders everyone leave except Keitel, Jodl, Krebs and Burgdorf. Hitler yells at them for disobeying a direct order and that his entire military has been lying to him. Hitler states all of his generals are cowards and traitors and that because of their incompetence, they have lost him the war. Hitler leaves the war room and tells Traudl that she can leave if she wants, but she refuses to. The rest of the remaining generals argue over what to do now that Hitler has given up.Eva, Gerda and Traudl talk a walk just outside the entrance of the bunker to grab a smoke. Eva talks about how she hates Adolf's German Shepard, Blondi, and abuses the dog whenever Hitler is not around. Bombs start to fall again and they retreat inside the bunker.On his way back to the bunker with medical supplies, Dr. Schenck runs into a group of soldiers about to execute a small group of old men for not helping defend the city. Schenck pleads to the soldiers to spare the old mens' lives, but they are shot anyway. Schenck leaves and finally arrives at the bunker with the supplies and is shocked to see how many wounded civilians are there.Meanwhile, Joseph Goebbels' wife and six children arrive at the bunker to stay with him under the care of Traudl. The Goebbels children dress up and present a song to Hitler. After the children leave, Hitler discusses the best ways to commit suicide with Eva, Gerda and Traudl, giving them each a cyanide capsule.Now April 23rd, Eva and Mrs. Goebbels each write letters to their families informing them that the war is almost over and that they plan on staying with Hitler until the end. Meanwhile, Hitler orders General Keitel to link up with Admiral Karl Dönitz to capture more oilfields for offensive maneuvers once they push back the Russians.Hitler receives a message from Hermann Göring stating that he wishes to take command of the Third Reich since Hitler can no longer do anything from Berlin. After declaring Göring a failure and a traitor, he orders him to be executed. Meanwhile, Albert Speer arrives at the bunker and pleads with Traudl and Mrs. Goebbels to reconsider staying with Hitler.Speer meets with Hitler to say his goodbyes. He also begs that Hitler spare the German people and not take everyone down with him, but once again, Hitler refuses. Speer then informs Hitler that he has personally ignored and even defied many of his orders for some time. Upset, Hitler rejects a handshake and tells Speer to leave.Peter, who has left his unit and been fleeing from the approaching Russians, is able to make it to his home to find his father and mother waiting for him.During dinner, Hitler appoints General von Greim as the Commander in Chief of the Air Force with order to reorganize and correct the mistakes that have been made. He tells von Greim that he must be ruthless because compassion is for the weak and a betrayal of natural selection. During this dinner, Hitler receives a report that Himmler has offered Germany's surrender to the western allies. Upset that his most loyal general has betrayed him, Hitler orders Himmler to be executed and for Fegelein to report to the bunker to be promoted in place of Himmler.Hitler has a meeting with General Ernst-Robert Grawitz who is requesting to leave Berlin so that he and his family can escape, but is denied. After Grawitz is dismissed, Otto Günsche informs Hitler that Fegelein has left the bunker and cannot be found, upsetting Hitler even more. Meanwhile, at home, Grawitz kills himself along with his entire family and Fegelein is executed for treason once he is found.Back in the war room, Hitler is informed that the Russians have advanced even further and that Berlin no longer has any air support, stopping any more supplies from reaching the remaining army. However, Hitler still has hope that General Walther Wenck will be able to rescue Berlin. After Hitler leaves the room, the remaining generals discuss that Wenck lacks the manpower to do anything to the Russians, but they cannot surrender.Traudl Junge then reports to Hitler so that she can write his last will. Hitler states that since WWI, all of his thoughts and actions have been dictated by his love and loyalty to the German people. As Traudl is typing it up, Goebbels informs her that Hitler has ordered him to leave Berlin, but he cannot do it and will need her to write up his will too. Meanwhile, Hitler then has a small ceremony where he marries Eva.Later on, Hitler is informed that neither General Wenck nor any other army division will be able to rescue Berlin. Hitler tells them that he cannot surrender and that neither can any of his generals. Hitler informs Otto Günsche that he and Eva will commit suicide and that he is to make sure that the Russians will never be able to find his body.Dr. Schenck and Dr. Werner Haase are ordered to the bunker where Haase gives Hitler instructions on how to commit suicide. Meanwhile, Dr. Schenck is forced to wait with a bunch of drunken soldiers who have given up any hope of victory, but later witnesses Hitler giving Blondi a cyanide capsule.Meanwhile, Eva and Traudl talk about the approaching end. Eva gives Traudl one of her best fur coats and makes her promise to try and make it out of the bunker alive. Hitler then has his last meal with Traudl and a few others, and then informs them that the time has come. He gathers around Traudl and his remaining friends, including the Goebbels, to wish them goodbye. Mrs. Goebbels attempts one last time to convince Hitler to leave Berlin, but he refuses, stating that millions of people will curse him tomorrow. Hitler and Eva retire to their room and commit suicide. Otto Günsche then informs the remaining generals that Hitler is indeed dead and his and Eva's bodies are carried to the surface where they are doused with gasoline and burned.General Krebs has a meeting with the Russian generals informing them that Hitler is dead and that Germany will not accept unconditional surrender. However, the Russian generals tell him that they must.Later on, Mrs. Goebbels gives all of her children a sedative and poisons them while they are asleep. She and her husband commit suicide not long after, along with Generals Krebs and Burgdorf. General Weidling orders the Germany Army to cease fire. Traudl Junge, along with a few other women, is able to make it out of the bunker dressed as soldiers. Dr. Schenck informs the women that they don't have to be taken prisoner because the Russians aren't looking for them. Traudl is joined by Peter, who is now orphaned after his parents committed suicide, and the two of them are able to pass through the Russian army.Some of the remaining SS soldiers, along with Dr. Schenck, are hiding from the Russians in a building. When they finally hear the news that Germany has officially surrender, the majority of them commit suicide in order to remain loyal to Hitler, but Dr. Schenck is able to make it out of there alive.After getting through the Russians, Traudl and Peter find a bicycle and escape from Berlin.The film ends by revealing the fates of each individual after the war. The last clip is the real life Traudl Junge talking about how even though she wasn't aware of the extent of the concentration and extermination camps until after the war, she still feels like being young isn't an excuse and that it would have been possible for her to find things out. Prof. Ernst-Günther Schenck was played ny Christian Berkel who will later display Fritz Shimon Haber in Haber.

boring, murder, bleak, dramatic, violence, flashback, insanity, historical

train

imdb

The movie balances well between large-scale effects of bombs exploding in ruined streets and depictions of different persons going though the experience – from Hitler and his staff in the well-protected bunkers to the principal military commanders torn between reason and loyalty and German civilians trapped in an inferno. I have never seen a film picturing the insanity of Hitler in his very last days in a bunker in Berlin with his high command, and how the German people were hypnotized by him like in this film. It is difficult to highlight one actor or actress in this constellation of stars, but I was impressed with the performance of Bruno Ganz and his "human" Hitler, totally different from the stereotypes usual in other movies. The cinematography and the battles are stunning, and the scenario of Berlin completely destroyed recalled the neo-realistic movie of Roberto Rossellini "Germania Anno Zero".For those who know Germany and German people, it is amazing to see how this wonderful country survived to the chaos, destruction and lack of command, arrived from the ashes like Phoenix and sixty years later is again one of the greatest nations. Not since perhaps Rod Steiger's portrayal of Benito Mussolini in Moustapha Akkad's LION OF THE DESERT (1980) have I seen a notorious dictator more realistically acted than Bruno Ganz's stunning display as "Der Fuerer" in The Downfall (2004).Sitting amongst a full-house of patrons here at the Toronto Int'l Film Festival's 2004 edition, Ganz captivated the local audience with the scariest Hitler I've ever seen up on the silver screen -- better than Noah Taylor's English Hitler in MAX just a couple of years back.Audience members get a glimpse into the final days of Hitler's rule from the bunker deep beneath the Reich Chancellery in Nazi Berlin's dying days. Bravo to director Oliver Hirschbiegel for doing this the right (German) way -- for intrepidly tackling a period piece few German producers might.I'd had a chance to chat with the actors post-screening, with lead actress Alexandra Maria Lara (playing Traudl Junge) candidly admitting the sheer amount of work she'd diligently invested in bringing her character to life -- doubtless complicated by the death of Frau Junge in 2002. The director, Oliver Hirshbiegel, working with a big cast, brings to life the madness of the last days of the monster, as observed by a young and impressionable secretary who witnessed most of the crisis.At the beginning of the film we watch as five young women are brought to be interviewed by Hitler for a job as his personal secretary. We watch a man at the beginning of the film that is still thinking he is in command of the German forces, but his authority has eroded, as it becomes clear to the people under him the war is lost and it will be a matter of time before they are defeated.We watch the life of privilege the higher ups led inside the bunker. Somehow, every scene is dripping with underlying tension that never really explodes; a kind of unsettling unbelieved grips you when you see seemingly ordinary people commit astonishing atrocities and sins towards mankind, just for their faith and loyalty to one man, Hitler, who himself walks the edge of reason.Great movie : 10/10 without a doubt.. Interviewed while the film was in the making, Eichinger explained that he would portray Hitler "as a man, as a human" ("wie ein Mensch.") This was revolutionary in cinema, where renditions of the Nazi leader have–pre-Eichinger–still not gone far beyond the "evil-dictator" approach. From a historian's perspective, everything is wrong with that approach, and Eichinger had the courage to transcend it for the broad public.The first two decades of post-World War II historians pretty much demonized Hitler, as did all movies before "Der Untergang." This was understandable, at the time. The film is very realistic, and an excellent ensemble cast breathe life and believability into the roles of the various members of the Nazi party and because every performance is picture perfect, the whole thing comes together brilliantly as one whole piece. It is a very intense movie about the final days of Adolf Hitler (a SUPERB roll played by Bruno Ganz, he should get at least one Oscar for this...) which had me coming back to see the movie a second and even a third time (I saw T3 only twice, he he). It was amazing, it was great, it was jaw-dropping...The main criticism that many people had on this movie was that Hitler and the other Nazi party members looked too human. The makers of this movie never intended to make him look like a nice or a bad man, they intended to show him the way he really was and they did an amazing job.I've seen many documentaries about Hitler and read a lot of books about the man, so I think I can say I know quite well how he acted and reacted. They all must have studied there characters for many hours, because they were all excellent.As the horror and reality of the movie have only just ended and burned themselves on your retina for the rest of your life (By the end of the movie, you'll have seen many officers commit suicide, Hitler and Eva Brown being burned behind the bunker, the Goebbels murdering their children, people being hanged on a lantern for stupid reasons, young children dying as they try to defend Berlin...), you think you've had it all, but than the real Traudl Junge gives away a last testimony, looking back on her life with Hitler ... This is an important film and absolutely a must for anyone who has ever pondered how WWII, the Holocaust and all that was at all possible.Der Untergang has sometimes been criticized for making Hitler and the Nazis look sympathetic and human. The film shows these often horrifying moments and realisations in all to realistic detail.Ultimately, Downfall shows the human and personal element of the end of the war for Hitler and the Nazis. The film deals with the history of Hitler's last days in underground bunker , it's the true story of the historic downfall and death (at age 55 in 1945) of the infamous Nazi dictator's culprit of death of 50 million people during second war world and killing of 6 million Jewish in concentration camps . I don't believe anything in the film suggests that its creators sympathize with the Nazi regime and those who had orchestrated it.Showing Hitler as a human being (amazing performance by Bruno Ganz), a man who loved his dog, was a vegetarian and could display some moments of tenderness did not undermine the overall image of a lonely, domineering, conscienceless, and hateful man who believed that his people, his compatriots, women and children deserve to die because they are no longer deserve to live and because "in a war as such there are no civilians".Did those who think that that the film "humanized" Hitler forget the most chilling scene in the movie, the one that shows Frau Goebbels crush the ampoules with cyanide between her children's teeth, after they had been dosed with a sleeping draught? But I am convinced that he was totally of sound mind until the very end, which is why leadership never slipped from his hands." The film's director Oliver Hirschbiege says that, in the same way it was evil of Hitler to see Jews as less than human beings - i.e. as "insects" - it would be equally wrong to portray Hitler as a madman, because that would excuse him of culpability: "I think the biggest mistake is to have an image of Hitler as insane - that he was not a human being but a monster. It is 1943 when director Oliver Hirschbiegel's film about the last tormented days of Adolph Hitler begins, and that voice belongs to the real Traudl Junge (played here by Alexandra Maria Lara), one of several young women smuggled into the Führer's headquarters in East Prussia to interview for a position as his private secretary. The German military has suffered severe losses, Berlin is under artillery attack by the advancing Russians, the great experiment in National Socialism is crumbling like the city, and Hitler (Bruno Ganz) and his key commandants have retreated to the leader's private bunker. When Hitler is told that "fifteen to twenty thousand" of those young men were lost in an effort to fight off the Russians, his heartlessly-spewed response is: "that's what they're for." But he will go out onto the street during a lull in the shelling to honor youngsters as heroes who "history will take note of," and pinch the cheek of one particularly innocent- looking lad.The bipolarity of a man who himself has gone down in history as one of its greatest monsters is at the heart of "Downfall," the screenplay (by Bernd Eichinger) for which is based on historian Joachim Fest's book (The Downfall: Inside Hitler's Bunker, The Last Days of the Third Reich) and on the memoir of the real Traudl Junge (Until the Final Hour: Hitler's Last Secretary). I'm at a loss for words.First of all, this project which took two years of director Oliver Hirschbiegel's life was an incredibly brave thing to tackle, seeing as there hasn't been a film chronicling Hitlers last days for 30+ years.The attention to detail is there to see as well and as far as I can tell, is factually as accurate as it possibly can be. Some of the scenes such as his various rants at his officers and generals, where Speer tells him of his betrayals had me in awe of this mans performance.There were some incredibly shocking scenes also like where the German officer kills his family for not being able to leave Berlin.Akin to 'The Pianist' this is simple, but honest film-making at it's best, which demands the utmost from cast and crew in order to succeed, typified by the final scene with the Goebbels children and the Goebbels themselves. It's one of the few films where the acting is truly compelling I heard a lot of controversy about DER UNTERGANG as soon as Bruno Ganz had been cast and together with director Oliver Hirschbiegel they both decided to make a film where every minor detail about Hitler's last days should be totally accurate . I have to say,Downfall was probably the best movies I have ever seen.Not only did the movie focus on the last days of Hitler,but also the last days of the third Reich.Seeing it through the eyes of one of Hitler's personal secretaries,Traudi Junge,gave me a clearer image of Nazi Germany's downfall.This is one of the very few movies I have seen that I believed I wasn't watching actors on the screen.It was SO real.You see how the members of the bunker have doubts and know they're not going to win.Bruno Ganz as the famous dictator was pure magic on the screen.He was like Hitler reincarnated for the screen.Like no other movie before,I can still remember the scenes vividly.The scenes just stay in my head,so much that i can probably watch the movie in my head.Another thing that made the movie real was the accuracy.Like previous movies about Hitler,they most likely "twist the plot" so it can appeal to a large audience.But this movie,they stayed close to the actual story as much as possible.The creators really did their homework on the accuracy thing.I was impressed Hitler wasn't really the main character,because not only do we see his side of the story,but for the first time ever,they show the other members side as well.We see a more definitive take on the whole regime.I would recommend this movie to anyone interested in the last days of Nazi Germany.Der Untergang is cinema at it's best.. This film, which tells the story of the last few days of World War II in Europe, largely seen from the perspective of Hitler and members of his inner circle as the victorious Russian army approaches the gates of Berlin, avoids that concept and tries to show us Hitler the man rather than Hitler the devil. Hitler, the most odious figure in History, is portrayed not in a sympathetic way but as he was: a man, persuaded that he was doing the right thing; with painstaking realism, and aided by one of the most riveting performances ever, the film shows us that there is a monster inside every one of us, living side by side with more gentle traits. For those unfamiliar with the film, Downfall portrays the last two weeks of the Nazi government flitting from the bunker beneath the Chancellery to the civilian bomb shelters to the embattled streets of the ruined capital.It's astonishing achievement is to put a human face to some of the most infamous figures in history; it strips away the stereotypes and hyperbole and absurd dramatics to let you see the people behind the caricatures without diminishing the horrors they wrought. "Downfall" is a fascinating and compelling look at the mindset of the German people at the end of WWII, inspired mostly by the firsthand account of one of Hitler's secretaries who survived the madness that was his bunker in those last days. Here we have an excellent performance from Bruno Ganz as Adolph Hitler, who shows the man's insanity, inhumanity, and his cunning way with people in his intimate circle that allowed him to seduce those around him and the German population at large. Likewise, we get a searing performance from Julian Kohler (a fantastic actress best known for her lead in "Nowhere in Africa") as Eva Braun, representing perfectly the German elite seduced by the promises of a Utopian Third Reich, and who are in utter and complete denial of the horrors around them right up to the last minute as everything they fought for comes spiraling down into their own self-made hell.One of the few flaws of the film is that it can't decide at times whether to be a straightforward docu-drama (there are often too many of Hitler's inner circle to keep track of) or a soaring WWII epic (there's some compelling subplots revolving around Hitler's youth movement added for dramatic effect). Still most people do not like to see human suffering even to those who may, by all that is right, have it coming; and so it was essentially a depressing experience to watch this film.Alexandria Maria Lara, who played Hitler's last personal secretary, Traudl Junge, provided the only bright spot in this necessarily grim picture. A important film for discover the image of a time without shadows of propaganda or preconceptions.A important film for see Hitler not like supreme monster but like small man at end of ambition.A important film for explore of different faces of reality, for understand the personal truth like ordinary form of self-protection.A film about the corpse of an ambiguous era, about the shards of a lie, about death and duty, about closed worlds and anatomy of fear, about fake myths and foolish hope, about sense of life and signification of final gestures.It is a movie, a splendid movie about fall of Nazi regime. I saw the movie last week in an overcrowded cinema and was surprised about the outstanding actors (Bruno Ganz and Corinna Harfouch) , the perfect screenplay (Bernd Eichinger) and the work of director Oliver Hirschbiegel.What happened on the screen gave the closest insight into the darkest part of German history and the darkest corners of human nature.The movie shows the human being Hitler as that monster and mad man he was. Some however are continuing to display courage in valiantly defending the city and show continuously hopeless resistance in the face of the advancing red army (1st Belarussian army)bought on by years of Nazi propaganda.The film magnificently achieves to bring to screen the combination of Traudi Junges ( Hitlers private secretary) memoirs, Nazi officials memoirs, German war archives and the documentary "blind spot" to a conclusion on screen.Bruno Ganz brings the fuhrer to life in his exceptionally good performance. For Germans to confront their past this way is nothing short of breath taking.The actors were great, and the performance by Ganz as Hitler is one of the most unnerving things I have ever seen committed to film. I have never seen a more gripping saga in my life, absolutely stunning.Every performance from every actor, from the incredible Bruno Ganz, down to the young children playing the Goebbels children, was immaculate.Even now, several weeks after I first saw it, I have vivid memories of scenes from the film, not just the graphic harrowing scenes which I think will always remain with me, but the conversations, the one between Hitler and Speer springs to mind. In Oliver Hirschbiegel's "Downfall", we follow young secretary Traudi Junge (Alexandra Maria Lara) into Hitler's bunker and witness the final days of the Third Reich through her increasingly disillusioned eyes.Finally, Germany gives us a film on the matter, and, rather unsurprisingly, it feels far more authentic that any other take on the subject. I have seen the movie today and I must say, it is the most impressive German movie since "The boat".Hitler, Goebbels with his wife Magda, the generals Keitel and Jodl and the other leading Nazis are surrounded in Berlin by Russian troops a few days before the end of the war in europe. This is a brilliant film about the final hours of Hitler, his foot soldiers and the people who worked and lived around him in his bunker.Unlike most war films this is a German made movie with German actors and this gives this so much more authenticity. Exhibiting relentless realism & exceptional accuracy on-screen, Downfall (also known as Der Untergang) recreates the events surrounding the final days of German dictator Adolf Hitler's life in the Führerbunker while also depicting the fall of the Third Reich & Berlin during World War II.

tt0299117

Roger Dodger

At lunch with several marketing professionals Roger (Campbell Scott) expounds on the primal difference between men and women. His argument is that men have a place and that is to hunt and have women, and women are naturally designed to stay at home. Later that evening as he lets himself into the apartment of Joyce (Isabella Rossellini), his boss at work and partner in an undercover office romance, Joyce states that she wants to end their relationship. The next day Roger is further bruised by the fact that Joyce has invited the office to her apartment for a party and the company invitation excluded Roger. Roger realizes that his time as office pet has come to an end, and as he trucks back to his cubicle he finds his nephew Nick (Jesse Eisenberg) in a standing meditative state. A senior in high school Nick says he has come to New York to interview at Columbia and would like to spend time with Roger getting a quick course on how to get a girlfriend. Roger takes him out on the town to give him lessons on how to start the relationship with women and eventually start dating. Roger sneaks Nick into a bar and puts him through some paces, first attracting the attention of Andrea (Elizabeth Berkley), an attractive woman. Soon Andrea summons her friend Sophie (Jennifer Beals) to make up a foursome, and they are immediately attracted to Nick because of his openness and unassuming manner and the fact that he has none of the jaded attitude that Roger has. From Rogers point of view Nick doesnt have the temperament for true urban womanizing. As the night wears on Roger castigates Nick for his inability to close the deal and make love to a woman and successfully give up his virginity, and decides to crash Joyces party. Roger gives Nick some instruction and even manages to set up an opportunity with an office associate Donna (Mina Badie) but Nicks conscience prevents him from reverting to Rogers tactics to make love to the inebriated young woman. But the appearance at the party leads to a scene in which Roger makes it very public what has happened to his relationship with Joyce, and manages to get himself fired in the process. As they move back into the night Roger tells Nick that there is always a fail-safe method to getting a woman, and that is to visit a brothel. At the underground location Roger cannot let Nick lose his virginity in such an emotionally barren atmosphere, and drags him back to his apartment to sleep things off. Roger has failed to introduce to the mysteries of the world, but has perhaps, gained a glimmer of a conscience. Nick travels back to his mother but Roger shows up unexpectedly to tutor Nick and his classmates on their home turf, bonding with the younger man in a more potent way, in an atmosphere populated by pre-adolescent peers.

psychedelic, philosophical

train

imdb

When Nick, his naïve, inexperienced 16-year old nephew comes to town, Roger decides to train the boy in the fine art of manipulation and seduction, taking him out for a night on the town that the youngster will not soon forget.As conceived by first time writer/director Dylan Kidd, `Roger Dodger' is less a full-fledged narrative and more a series of extended conversations. Isabella Rossellini, Elizabeth Berkley and Jennifer Beals also turn in outstanding performances as the various ladies who play a part in the two men's adventure.In his debut film, Kidd shows himself to be in full control of his medium. ROGER DODGER (2002) ***1/2 Campbell Scott, Jesse Eisenberg, Isabella Rosselini, Elizabeth Berkley, Jennifer Beals. Scott gives a remarkable performance as a silver-tongued misanthropic New York advertising copywriter facing a personal crises that only takes fuel to the fire when his teenage nephew Eisenberg (a nice thurst and parry polar opposite turn) comes to visit him to gain some insight to his ‘lady killing' social skills which leads to a night of unveiling some inner demons via his fast-talking eviscerations and character assassinations in a furiously funny way. Scott's bravura (and brave) take on a smart, verbose and insecure jerk straddles the fine line of being a complete monster and an honest to goodness dyed-in-the-wool cynic on the subject of the fairer sex (who are represented smartly by Rosselini as his on-the-skids lover/employer and Berkley and Beals as two young women the relatives hit on in an eye-opening lesson in the battle of the sexes and what it really means to be a man. We get to see the real man then, and it's not funny what we see.The interplay with the nephew, Nick, beautifully played by Jesse Eisenberg, is the best acting of the year. Yet as appalling and thoroughly unlikable as Roger is, he's played by Campbell Scott, who's so good that he makes Roger a person who is quite literally addicting to watch.After getting dumped by his boss, Joyce (Isabella Rossellini), the ultimate player Roger is more than a little peeved. However, he has a breakup with his boss and lover (well, duh…) Joyce (Isabella Rossellini), and his 16-year-old nephew Nick (Jesse Eisenberg) shows up, saying that he was looking at colleges in the New York area and decided to give his favorite Uncle Roger a visit. Roger talks a mile a minute, very suave like, and decides to take Nick out on the town in search of sex, which, he claims, is `everywhere'.A fine, inventive movie, with good acting by the leads. This is a good introduction to Roger: lots of talk, but he can't back it up, and you can tell he has now idea what in the world he is actually saying.Scott won a few awards for his performance in Roger Dodger, which I can understand. After a slew of film festival back-slapping (Tribeca, Spirit), writer/director Kidd had high expectations for P.S. Not to get ahead of myself, but after watching that disappointment I had to re-rent Rodger Doger and remember what I liked so much about his storytelling.Roger Dodger follows a "day-in-the-life" of young Nick (Eisenberg), who craves becoming a MAN by losing his virginity and looking to his uncle Roger (Scott) for guidance in the ways of manhood, women, and the social habits of Manhattan's single men and women. Bitter because of a hard life, a crummy job, a boss and girlfriend who uses him more than he admits (played beautifully by Rossellini), the role of teacher-student changes as both Roger and Nick begin to discover more about their own hopes and realities after meeting two strangers (Beals and Berkeley) and a haunting scene in a New York brothel.This is the Kidd that's brilliant.. I liked the opening scene best, which was sharp and funny and drew Scott's character very nicely, but I felt the movie never had a clear idea of its own intentions and never knew where it was going, which is why it never really gets anywhere.Now, on the one hand I can understand not wanting to make the movie pat, not wanting to spell things out for the viewer, but I just felt not enough was done with Scott's obvious rage and self-destructive behavior. Meanwhile, his sixteen years old nephew from Ohio Nick (Jesse Eisenberg) unexpectedly arrives in his office asking Roger to teach him how to seduce women. Campbell Scott would garner the award for his intense portrayal as self-absorbed, skirt-chasing, pseudo-intellectual ad writer Roger Swanson in Dylan Kidd's "Roger Dodger." First time director and script author Kidd encapsulated a real part of the Manhattan "Lust not Love" scene where emotionally impoverished guys pursue much more intelligent women.The film begins with a restaurant scene where through Socratic dialogue with friends, Roger quickly establishes that he has a fast tongue unsupported by a deep mind. With no sense of what's appropriate Roger tries to hook Nick up with cocktail bar after-work gals looking for a date and when that fails, well, there's always the neighborhood brothel.Jennifer Beals as Sophie and Elizabeth Berkley as Andrea are two such women who are amused by but don't fall for a silly ploy by Roger to get them to spend time with him and the kid. No "My Dinner with Andre," Roger plumbs the depths of sexual and relationship cliches and the other cast members respond in very real Manhattan (sometimes) babble of their own.Most of the story takes place at night so this is sort of a silly "Sex and the City" noir flick (one scene was shot in Lower Manhattan's notorious and still open for business Hellfire Club, a meeting ground for the S&M and B&D crowd).Low on budget and high on Manhattan's fast evening life, "Roger Dodger" is an Indie film that takes chances with a quirky story and pulls it off through the work of a cast that largely isn't in mainstream movies.The DVD comes with extra features. Jesse Eisenberg's first ever major film, Roger Dodger, is a unique coming-of-age story with enough simplicity on the surface and enough complexity beneath it to take the form of an impressively entertaining study of the social interactions between men and women. (No discredit to Jesse; if there's anything Roger Dodger does reinforce, it's the fact that he deserves every bit of success that he's achieved)."Sex is everywhere," Roger Swanson, played by the show-stealing Campbell Scott (Dying Young, Big Night), tells his socially lost, 16-year old nephew, Nick (Eisenberg). Nick has traveled alone to New York City in the hopes of convincing his smooth-talking Uncle Roger into teaching him the ways of seduction so that he might end his romantic troubles by finally getting a girl and losing his virginity. Free from Hollywood-ized n0nsense and feel-good drivel, the scenes between the two guys and the two women they engage at a bar are perhaps the film's best, showcasing not only Roger's subtle tricks and Nick's charming innocence, but also the natural chemistry between Scott and Eisenberg and the vulnerabilities they both carefully expose with their characters.The chaotic events of the night lead to an ending that, while it strays slightly from the tone of the rest of the movie and perhaps comes a bit too suddenly, is perfectly raw and unexpected. Enter Dylan Kidd's writing and directing debut, the 2002 terrifically funny and memorable film Roger Dodger.Campbell Scott (The Spanish Prisoner) plays Roger Swanson, a fast talking, chain-smoking, ever drinking 30-something that believes he is truly God's gift to earthly women. Roger dominates the dialogue and with rapid fire crass and the occasional sneer at those that joke at his revelations, we are introduced to a man who is on a conceited high that will eventually lead to his emotional crisis.Enter Roger's nephew, Nick (played by Jesse Eisenberg) who shows up from out of town and looks to Roger for help in the disposing of his virginity. However, one is never lost or feels betrayed by the filmmakers because the dialogue remains so crisp and real.Campbell Scott won a best actor award from the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures for his role in Roger Dodger and in my opinion, he was overlooked for an Academy Award nomination for the same role. The film was monotonously dark, making for little to catch the eye and distract from the lack of plot.The guy I went with thought it was a lot funnier than I did, so perhaps it was a "guy flick." I recommend this movie if you're in the mood for hearing a bunch of vaguely amusing recycled pick-up lines and party dialogue rattled off by semi-intelligent jerks. Though you'd have a better time if you actually went to one of these snobbish parties and heard the same dialogue in person with the opportunity to talk back to the pricks.If you want an intelligent, funny coming-of-age comedy about a young man's experiences with older women, see "Tadpole." Even though it's shot on video, it's a lot more visually appealing than this clunker... There are plenty of mini-synopses here, so I'll skip that part, and get directly onto the "viewers beware" section of this review.The acting is good, the sets were competent, and the direction was far better than the script deserved.The titular character, Roger, is intelligent, witty, and remarkably reprehensible - but then, guys who haunt the singles scene are. Once he's actually talking with women, one begins to wonder how he's ever gotten through a night without wearing someone's drink - this level of casual, cheerful boorishness is remarkably rare and grating.I'd hoped that this would be a reasonably realistic look at the guys who view seduction as a sport - what it turned out to be was a caricature set up for the sole purpose of making the audience want to knock him down.If 'Fear Factor' and 'Jackass' are your favorite television shows, you may enjoy this. "Roger Dodger" is a very clever and witty film with the memorable performances from Isabella Rossellini, Elizabeth Berkley, Jennifer Beals, and Jesse Eisenberg (as Roger's teen-aged nephew Nick who one day unexpectedly comes to NYC to pay his uncle a visit and to learn from him the fine art of seducing women). The film belongs to Campbell Scott who gives a wonderful performance as a man that sure knows how to talk but who has a lot to learn on how to communicate and relate to somebody. A good-looking New-Yorker, a latter-day Casanova, who can elaborate on the imminent obsolescence of male gender due to the accelerating diminution of its utility, during his working lunch with the presence of his co-workers and their boss Joyce (Rossellini), a woman significantly older than him and whom he has been seeing secretively for quite a long time, he is her "boy".But right in that night, Joyce unilaterally decides to sever their casual affair, Roger doesn't even have his say in it, but at least, the break-up sex is still on the table, so he takes it with a grudge. Meanwhile, Roger thrills to play his utilitarian role as his wingman once he finds out Nick is a 16-year-old virgin andThe coaching session starts on the sidewalk, by talking, and the gist is that "sex is everywhere", here, the hand-held camera employment from the first-time director Dylan Kidd, a tactic has shown great pragmatism and advantage in its intrusive manner under dialogue-laden, interior- located contexts, causes a somehow fluid and distracting effect al fresco, which trivialises the conversation, however, once the pair plunges into the (retrospectively speaking) three-steps mission to make Nick score that night: hooking-up-ladies-in-the-bar, gatecrashing-a-party and ultimately, the "fail-safe" adventure in a seedy whorehouse, the film becomes unstoppable, accurately captures the nitty-gritty in the metropolitan dating sphere, deceitful, desperate and destructive.A Manichaean strategy to juxtapose an impressionable virgin with a cynical playboy works its way to be beneficial to both parties, Nick, seals his first kiss with an amiable, mature and attractive Sophie (Beals), and sees the vulnerability of a maudlin Donna (Badie), Roger's colleague in the party which Joyce organises and Roger is not invited, and sensibly chooses not to take advantage of her. But Mr. Scott also excavates much deeper under Roger's vain front, he bespeaks a seething soul who has nothing in his grip, who is disheartened by superficiality of the man-woman interrelationship, and the fact that he is constantly under-appreciated for being outspoken about it, yes, that's THE inconvenient truth, if you don't play along with the rule, you are excluded.The film is also Jesse Eisenberg's screen debut, incredibly, his trademark tic of being self- conscious and out-of-the-place has already been honed up to a full blossom. A condescending and annoying prick of a main character, pseudo-intellectual-and-insightful dialogues which actually make you cringe, and a camera-work so god-awful that you can't help thinking this movie was filmed by blind cripples who were holding a camera for the first time in their lives.But there's more to Roger Dodger than just an everlasting lust for sex and a race to get some. And that's another beautiful side of this film: that while Nick's supposed to be the student and Roger the mentor, it's actually the Nick's ways we see as the proper ones.Still, the movie plays it nice to everybody, not trying to demonize one character and make the other look like a saint. He and his boss, Joyce (Isabella Rossellini) are in a physical relationship that ends, just as soon as Roger's nephew Nick (played by Jesse Eisenberg) comes to town on a "find out your ideal profession day" for his high school.Nick knows Roger has a reputation for being a ladies man and asks him for advice on fishing for women. and there could be excitement, however by the time the pace has picked up, we are mellowed and the film actually put several people to sleep who viewed it when I saw this.Campbell Scott was not terrible and I do look forward to seeing him as BATMAN in the upcoming film and I also thought Jesse Eisenberg did a fine job, however the film never came together.I hope that the director, Dylan Kidd comes up with something better for his next film, however I know it is being written with Jon Bon Jovi.... We had to wait a year for this movie in the UK, meaning we got Igby Goes Down first, another NY-set writer-director debut story of a disaffected teen going through the city with an Ice-cold adult mentor and a script drowning in sarcasm.This is where the similarity ends, as Nick Swanson simply wants to get laid as opposed to Igby's figuring out the meaning of life alongside the sex. The end is hardly happy or redemptive; no sentimental reconciliation scenes here, again it's left to the audience's imagination, and Roger may also have changed by the ending, but his advice is merely toned down rather than showing women any consideration; there's nothing to say he wouldn't be telling the students everything we heard during the night in New York if they were a couple of years older.In short, excellent with a great music score, I'm glad I chose this over any of the two Bruckheimer films out this summer, and here's hoping it doesn't take another two years to see Dylan Kidd's next work.. This is one of those movies that won't shock you with their twist endings, intelligent plots, amazing special effects or outstanding acting, it's just a very enjoyable movie that will definitely make you laugh.Roger Swanson, after breaking up with his boss/lover, meets his nephew Nick, who is in town for some interviews and decided to come by his uncle's work place. Eventually, he admits he's there because his mom described his uncle as a "lady's man" and that he needs his help in getting laid.The whole movie, is basically Roger's lessons for his 16 years old nephew, every detail is explained by him as rocket science, and this made this movie very funny.If you expect to see a lot of nudity or dumb comedy go rent American Pie, this movie is not like that, it just shows what our (men's) perspective is like, and the sad thing is... But his macho erudition is undermined by the surprise entrance of his 16-year-old nephew, Nick, whose naive view of sex and kind treatment of women flies in the face of Roger's style.The choppy, hand-held outdoor scene in the beginning of the film is actually pretty annoying, and many indoor shots are shot too dark for my taste, but director/writer Dylan Kidd weaves a very interesting story supported by a variety of women who denigrate Roger while elevate his young nephew. While watching this movie, you have this desire to escape the situation but can't help but to see what happens next.This is the story of Roger (Campbell Scott), an advertising writer with an incomparable wit and abundant ego. However, after being dumped by his boss/lover Joyce (Isabella Rossellini) and a visit from his lovelorn nephew Nick (Jesse Eisenberg), Roger's bachelor lifestyle turns into a nightmare.This is above all else, a conversation film. The script, written by the debut director Dylan Kidd, flows along and breakneck speed delivering line after line of witty, hard-hitting and cynical dialog and the performances of these lines keep you enthralled with the film.Campbell Scott (Long Time Companion, Singles, Big Night) escapes from his usual charming characters and takes on the role of Roger with relish. The jerky hand-held in-your-face filming was effective during the scenes where the characters were static and had to convey lots of dialogue - the opening scene in the restaurant, for example, and in the club when Roger and his nephew hook up with the two women. Campbell Scott plays Roger, an ad copywriter, who thinks he is a ladies man but the truth is he doesn't know as much as he thinks and that is true when his boss, played by Isabella Rossellini, ends their affair.Of the blue, Roger's teenaged nephew, Nick, played by Jesse Eisenberg, shows up and wants his Uncle to help him lose his virginity.

tt0126886

Election

Jim McAllister (Matthew Broderick) is a much-admired high school history teacher living in the suburbs of Omaha, Nebraska, who is actively involved in many after-school activities, one of which is overseeing the student government election process.Tracy Flick (Reese Witherspoon) is an overachieving junior with an insufferable air of self-importance. She lives with her bitter and divorced mother who encourages her to "to whatever it takes" to succeed in life. Earlier in the year, another teacher, Jim's best friend Dave Novotny (Mark Harelik) was fired from his job and divorced by his wife, Linda (Delaney Driscoll) after it came out that he and Tracy were having a sexual affair, while Tracy's reputation was unscathed.Against this backdrop, Tracy announces that she is running for student council president. Initially she is unopposed, as she is widely seen as the natural candidate for the job. When Tracy presents Mr. McAllister with her list of nominating signatures to qualify for the election ballot, she makes a remark about "working closely" together... which he interprets as an indication she may later try to seduce him as she did with Dave. Perhaps annoyed by Tracy's presumptuousness, and/or concerned that he might give in to this seduction and share the same fate as his friend Dave, Mr. McAllister decides to persuade junior Paul Metzler (Chris Klein), a slow-witted, but affable and popular football player to enter the race. Paul is unable to play football as he is recovering from a ski injury that resulted in his left leg being broken, and Mr. McAllister suggests a new way to explore his talents through student council. Although Paul is ambivalent at first, he agrees to run, much to Tracy's consternation.Meanwhile, Paul's adopted younger sister Tammy (Jessica Campbell) is rejected by her romantic interest Lisa (Frankie Ingrassia), who dismisses their time together as "experimenting." Lisa then engages in a passionate relationship with Paul. In retaliation, Tammy decides to run for school president as well. During a school assembly to hear the candidate's speeches, after Tracy only draws polite applause and Paul is barely able to read his speech, Tammy announces that the office of school president is useless and promises nothing, except to try and dissolve student government. The speech rallies the students to a standing ovation, but her subversive diatribe results in her getting a suspension from school.While working on another project after school, Tracy has an uncharacteristic fit of rage and destroys all of Paul's campaign posters. She then drives to a local power plant to dispose of the shredded posters in a nearby dumpster. Unbeknownst to Tracy, her attempted cover-up is witnessed by Tammy who was meditating near her favorite spot, an electric substation. The next day, when Mr. McAllister confronts Tracy about the missing posters and lectures her that "all of our actions can carry serious consequences," Tracy adamantly claims innocence, despite his insistence that all evidence points to her as the chief suspect. At that moment, Tammy knocks on the door and tells Mr. MacAllister she knows who tore down the posters. Tracy is asked to wait outside the room while Tammy speaks to Mr. McAllister. Tracy experiences a moment of sheer panic when she peers in the window only to see Tammy revealing the shredded posters. What Tracy can't hear is that Tammy is falsely confessing to a skeptical Mr. McAllister that it is she, not Tracy, who perpetrated the poster sabotage. As a result, Tammy is disqualified from the election and expelled from school. Tracy is now off the hook. But this clearly does not sit well with Jim, who still suspects Tracy is the guilty party. Meanwhile, Tammy's punishment of being sent to an all-girls Catholic school secretly pleases her and is the reason she took the blame for the vandalism.The day before the election, Linda Novotny asks Jim to come over to help unclog her bathtub drain. After Jim completes the job, Linda unexpectedly initiates a sexual liaison with him and then suggests that he book a motel room for them to continue their dalliance later that day, a proposition Jim himself had half-jokingly made to Linda shortly after her breakup with Dave. However, Linda apparently has a change of heart and is nowhere to be found when Jim arrives at her house to pick her up for their tryst. Not knowing where Linda could be, Jim walks into her backyard where he has the misfortune of being stung by a bee on his right eyelid, causing a terribly painful and unsightly allergic reaction. He then drives back to the motel and desperately tries to reach Linda by phone, but to no avail. Jim eventually returns to his own house later that evening only to find Linda and his wife (Molly Hagan) huddled together crying in the living room. Realizing that Linda has disclosed the infidelity to his wife and that he is no longer welcome at home, Jim spends a miserable night sleeping in his car outside Linda's house.The next day election day Jim oversees the counting of the ballots, though by now his right eyelid is grotesquely swollen and almost completely shut as a result of the bee sting. Paul had voted for Tracy, feeling that it would be arrogant to vote for himself. But this turns out to be a costly decision. The ballots are meticulously counted by a duo of student auditors, who determine that Tracy has prevailed by a single vote. It is then up to Jim to perform a final ballot count to certify the outcome. When Jim happens to spot Tracy dancing excitedly in the hall, he deduces that she may have been tipped off about the vote count. Angered by Tracy's unseemly display of glee and her dirty-tricks campaign tactics, Jim decides to take matters into his own hands by surreptitiously disposing of two of Tracy's ballots and declaring Paul the official victor. This turnabout elicits incredulity and shock from the two student auditors, who are certain that their original vote count was accurate. Tracy is shocked and despondent upon hearing the unexpected news of her defeat. Jim goes to the same motel he intended to commit adultery in, only this time to actually use it for lodging.The next morning, Jim wakes up and is confident of patching things up with his wife now that the election is behind him. However, the school janitor, to whom Jim had been unknowingly rude earlier by creating unneeded extra work for him, discovers the two discarded ballots in the trash and presents them to the principal. When Jim is confronted with the evidence of his fraudulent intervention, he admits everything and resigns from his job. The rigged election becomes a nationwide email trope, and as a result Jim's wife fails to forgive him.Divorced, publicly humiliated and ostracized by everyone he knows for this one half-hearted attempt to thwart Tracy's evil schemes to win the election, Jim leaves Nebraska forever, choosing to fulfill his longtime dream of moving to New York City, where he becomes a tour guide at the American Museum of Natural History and begins a quiet relationship with a new woman.After serving her senior year as the new hard-line and strict dictator-like class president, Tracy graduates at the top of her class and gets accepted into Georgetown University in Washington D.C., with a full scholarship and a desire to go into politics as both her major and future career, but she soon finds the experience disappointing. Despite having gotten everything she ever wanted in life, Tracy still has no friends, no social life, and cannot fit in anywhere at the university as most outgoing students there have slid-on-by connections. Tracy comes to accept the fact that it is indeed lonely being at the top of everything.The happy-go-lucky Paul gets into the University of Nebraska with a scholarship of his own where he joins a popular fraternity, makes many new friends, and resumes his career at playing football for the university, while the misanthropic Tammy becomes romantically involved with a fellow student at the all-girls Catholic school and later runs away with her for places unknown.Jim's friend, Dave, moves to Milwaukee, Wisconsin and takes a low-paying job stocking shelves at a local supermarket.As the film draws to a close, the film skips forward seven years after Jim's dismissal from Nebraska where Jim recalls a final encounter he had with Tracy. On one cold winter day, Jim is at a conference in Washington D.C. and while walking the streets, he sees Tracy from a distance as she enters a limousine outside a fancy hotel with a congressman (revealed to be Mike Geiger, a Republican representative from Nebraska) whom she appears to work for as a member of his congressional staff. Suddenly enraged at the thought of Tracy, yet again, lying, cheating, seducing and manipulating her way into political success for her own selfish reasons, Jim hurls a milkshake at the limousine, and then makes a quick getaway.The film ends with Jim safely back in New York City at his tour guide job posing questions to a group of young elementary school children who are visiting the museum, deliberately ignoring the raised hand of an overeager little blonde-haired girl who reminds him of the ruthless overachiever Tracy Flick.

comedy, dark, cruelty, flashback, humor, satire

train

imdb

tt1071875

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance

Johnny Blaze (Nicolas Cage) was a former stunt rider who often teamed up with his father on various stunts. When he discovered that his father's death is impending, he makes a deal with a man named Roarke (Ciarán Hinds) who claims to be the Devil in exchange for his soul and a curse to be set upon him. Johnny now hosts an entity called 'The Rider', a fiery demon who punishes sinners, no matter how petty the crimes are. However, his father dies regardless, and having two minds fighting for control over his new powers, Johnny attempts to stay as far away from mankind as possible, hiding out in Eastern Europe (Romania).In the present, a drunken priest named Moreau (Idris Elba) attempts to warn the order of monks residing in a castle that the Devil has sent out forces to retrieve a certain boy and his mother hiding there, despite the head monk's (Anthony Head) reassurances of their safety. At that moment, mercenaries hired by Roarke breach the castle and kill all of the monks except for Moreau, while the mother, Nadya (Violante Placido) and her son Danny escape. Moreau chases after them, as well as the mercenaries. Trying to protect Nadya and her son, Moreau is driven off a cliff before he shoots the mercenaries' tires, delaying them before they can go after Danny and Nadya. He survives, as a tree breaks his fall. Moreau seeks out Johnny, who has been living in isolation in an abandoned village. Johnny initially refuses to help Moreau locate the mother and her son, but after he is promised that Moreau's ancient order can exorcise the curse from his soul, he agrees.Nadya and Danny are found by the mercenaries, who drive their car off the highway and crash it. Their leader, Ray Carrigan (Johnny Whitworth), takes Danny after a struggle and attempts to execute Nadya. Sensing this, Johnny unleashes the Rider (having held it in for some time) and transforms. He arrives just as Carrigan is about to kill Nadya, and kills two of his men. The Rider senses the great evil in Danny and attempts to kill him, but Nadya distracts him long enough for Carrigan to knock him out with a grenade launcher. Danny is taken away, while Johnny wakes up in a nearby hospital the next day and confronts Nadya, who is also there. They both join forces in order to save her son. Meanwhile, Roarke arrives in Europe, and sets up a "firewall" within Danny (via cellphone) to prevent the Rider from locating the boy, but advises Carrigan to run, as the Rider can still sense 'him'.Nadya takes Johnny to one of Carrigan's contacts, and finds that he is in an old quarry. Johnny begins to transform, and when Nadya confirms her son and Carrigan's location, Johnny rides there mid-transformation. Carrigan prepares himself with an army of his men, including a rocket launcher that could hopefully defeat Johnny. The Rider appears and a battle ensues while Nadya frees Danny. The Rider makes short work of the mercenaries by "riding" a Bagger 288 and defeats Carrigan. As Nadya and Danny escape, the Rider catches up to them and attempts to kill Nadya. But in Danny's presence, the rider is forced to turn back into Johnny Blaze, partly due to the fact that Danny is the Devil's son. Roarke approaches Carrigan, who dies in front of him. However, Roarke resurrects him as a being known as Blackout, who can render a person's environment pitch black and decay anything he touches. Roarke sustains some injuries due to his weak state on the Earth and sends Blackout to retrieve Danny.Moreau catches up to the group and leads them to a Sanctuary, where the monks there, including Methodius (Christopher Lambert) ensure the protection of Danny. Before the exorcism, Moreau explains to Johnny that the Rider was once the Angel of Justice, Zarathos, but was tricked into going into Hell and was driven insane. Retaining his sense of justice, Zarathos became a Spirit of Vengeance, an entity who took pleasure in punishing the wicked regardless of their crimes, although Johnny questions if the Angel's benevolent spirit still exists. Johnny is successfully exorcised, but Methodius reveals his treachery and plans to kill Danny to prevent the Devil from taking over his body and achieving higher powers. Johnny, Moreau, and Nadya are imprisoned as Danny is about to be executed. However, Blackout arrives and kills Methodius and the monks, retaking Danny back to Roarke. Nadya is devastated by what has occurred, but Johnny swears to rescue Danny, even though his powers have been removed.Armed from the Sanctuary weapons vault, the group makes their way to a Turkish coliseum, where Roarke and his followers gather to enact the trade. Moreau distracts the followers while Johnny attempts to free Danny, but is knocked back by Roarke while Moreau is killed by Blackout. The ceremony interrupted, Roarke opts to kill Johnny in retaliation. Danny, knowing that he has his father's abilities, returns Zarathos to Johnny, who becomes more powerful and is now able to exist in daylight, appearing to be in full control as well. Danny is taken again and a chase ensues between the Rider, Nadya, Blackout, and Roarke. The Rider dispatches Blackout and causes Roarke's vehicle to crash. The Rider confronts Roarke, who declares that Johnny is the worst deal he ever made. The Rider then literally sends Roarke back to Hell, slamming him into the fiery depths of the Earth. Nadya catches up, but is dismayed to find the Rider pulling Danny's lifeless body from the wreck of the car. Reverting back, Johnny says that he feels the Angel of Justice reawaken within him once more and resurrects Danny with the Angel's blue flames. Johnny then rides off, now engulfed in holy blue flames, declaring that he is "The Ghost Rider".

murder, violence, flashback, good versus evil, psychedelic, action

train

imdb

At first glance, 'Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance' seems like an unnecessary sequel, another example of Hollywood mining old ideas and slapping the 3D label on it for a higher ticket price.When viewed in right 'spirit', GR:SOV is a bit of harmless fun, a mindless superhero/action film where you can turn your brain off and relax. On the proviso that he's rid of his curse, Ghost Rider/Johnny Blaze (Nic Cage) agrees to help Danny's mother Nadya (the absolutely stunning Violante Placido) save her boy.Probably the highlight of the film is Nic Cage, who unashamedly hams it up. In 1990 a new version of Ghost Rider was introduced with a different character and it ran eight years.The first film was an amalgam of the ideas presented in these two series, mostly the first, and struck me as the comic-book come to life. Really, the only thing that was disappointing (other than Cage being too long in the tooth for the role of Johnny Blaze) was the villain, Blackheart, who was seriously scary in the comics, but fairly bland in the movie and looking totally different."Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance" (2012) is a worthy follow-up with Nicolas Cage returning as Johnny Blaze. Another positive is the rockin' soundtrack.I don't mind the story switching to Europe since the locations are excellent, particularly the amazing cave-monastery, but there are other changes that I'm not so crazy about, like the charred biker jacket of the Ghost Rider, but this is just a matter of taste; I simply prefer the cool "costume" as opposed to the dirtbag biker look. One of the worst stories I've ever seen in a movie, crippled by awful directing and poor acting even from Nicolas Cage, of whom I happen to be a fan. The movie is a complete disaster from beginning to end, failing to capture the spectator because of a weak storyline, bad timing and management of tension and viewer expectations, and action sequences that besides not having the impact the film maker wishes they had, look pretentious and anti-climatic.About the lines written for the characters, all I can say is: if *I* was invited to work in this movie as an actor (and I'm not an actor by any stretch of the imagination), I'd still be embarrassed to say them and ashamed that other people would watch me doing it.The fight scenes are not believable at all, seems like people are waiting to be punched in the face, shot or whatever it is that's going on at any given moment. The ghost rider has the potential to be one of the coolest and most successful franchises today,Ghost rider is so iconic and so much can be done with him,the problem is morons are making the films.The film has several styles that never really gell,It tries humor but fails,Halfway though the movie it literally starts making fun of itself..and its not funny.I felt like they were saying haha we got your money.The over used Prophecy child theme,The fish eye 1970's lens used to death and poor effect..the home computer cgi..If you rent this one day in redbox you'll want your dollar back,If i ever see the director I'll ask for my money back and shame him for taking something that could be so cool and just dropping the ball,he should be banned from making films for 2 years for this one.I hope one day someone with imagination and talent takes on a ghost rider film and finally does it justice.. well it's not like the first one but it's interesting to be seen...and it'll be more interesting to see a 3rd movie from this series...yes the effects are weak and the casting could've been better as always Nicholas Cage knows what he's doing but come on let's be serious other actors from this movie are way out of line... GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE is the ultimate b-movie complete with b-grade actors (welcome back to the silver screen Christopher Lambert), a generic plot (the only way for the devil's power to survive is by taking over the young body of his progeny), lots of guns, a villainous threat whose true evil power is the insane amount of cliché dialogue, and a feisty damsel in distress. Ghost Rider's dialogue is kept to a minimum as much as Cage's is not – but he never gets to truly cut loose into a- quality action, even though it appeared that the f/x budget would allow such, and, surprisingly, doesn't get a lot of face time. I think the film is good because it is full of cool action-packed scenes and has a decent plot.This action-fantasy stars Nicolas Cage and Idris Elba as they take you on a fiery ride you'll never forget. Some people may be disappointed but if you're in for some crazy Nicolas Cage and some crazy action then you're going to enjoy this.It doesn't look like a sequel though. Both seem to want to achieve completely different results from an audience that it's actually difficult to say which one's better.If you're looking for great eye-candy, and whack visuals, then Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance delivers. The movie isn't really much better or worse than the original, which I thought was passable entertainment, not great but not bad either.In this film Johnny Blaze is hiding out in Eastern Europe when he's contacted by a Monk named Moreau (Idris Elba) who tells him a plot to take possession of a young boy's body. I especially like the pyrotechnics and the smoke effects."Ghost Rider 2: Spirit of Vengeance" had a good enough group of actors together. We've all seen this story line some where before but really it's just the setting to let Nicholas Cage go crazy with the Freaky new iteration of the Ghost rider, and that is exactly what he does.I was not a fan of the original, i thought it was a little too boring for a movie based on a character possessed by the spirit of vengeance. All round though the effects are pretty impressive and the new look of old flame head with the burnt and craggy old skull and the charred clothes is a much more appealing style for a character this dark.The strangest thing for me is that this didn't really feel like a superhero movie. When you open your mind to such an experience, the aforementioned faults become irrelevant.Consider the odds: it is a closely-controlled, big-budgeted blockbuster sequel targeted at the horrified-of-boredom, escapism-craving superhero- movie audience (which is how Hollywood studios wrongfully conceive us...), and despite all this, GR2 is clearly a work of its own, therefore considerably more interesting than its by-the-book predecessor "Ghost Rider" (Mark Steven Johnson, 2007)....And as a result, sadly also widely misunderstood, hence the criminally low IMDb rating. One thing that is an improvement over the first movie is that this features some cool action and Ghost Rider has more powers. When Johnny Blaze awakes in the hospital, he joins to Nadya and Moreau to save Danny from Roarke and Ray."Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance" is an underrated and entertaining sequel of the 2007 film. Cinematography & Editing are passable.Performance-Wise: Academy-Award-Winner Nicolas Cage returns as Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider, and, like always, he is sincere & honest. (It also might be good to point out that I love Nic Cage and enjoy the semi-constant character he plays in all movies)The story is a bit choppy, but overall it's a highly entertaining, exciting, enjoyable movie to see (especially in 3D)! I also think people over look just how well Cage played the role of Blaze in this film - when he starts to go crazy, he goes frigging crazy!If you're looking for an Oscar-worthy movie, this is not your cup of tea, but if you're looking for a way to be highly entertained for an hour and a half, you need to see this movie.. I feel like I got what was missing from the previous movie - more or less - in this steroid-pumped, mind-numbing follow-up."Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance" is a sequel that has no real ties to the film that preceded it, which to me is a good thing (because it's actually continuing the story and not repeating it), but it's not a remake (or that other fashionable Hollywood term, "reboot"). This last part is no doubt due to the co-directing team of Neveldine/Taylor, those guys who brought us the incredibly insane "Crank" action movies with Jason Statham.And it has Nicolas Cage; depending on how you view it, having Nicolas Cage as the chain-wielding specter Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider can really either be a good thing or a bad thing. Only the accursed Johnny Blaze can stop Roarke from bringing about hell on Earth."Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance" is a totally different beast from the earlier film. Another thing I'll also give this film credit for is that it is much darker than the first movie, and Cage's more-than-slightly unhinged portrayal of Ghost Rider does not see the character uttering bad one-liners every time he takes somebody's soul to Hell. Instead, this Ghost Rider appears to be a real demon and a real force to be reckoned with, with the full powers of Hell at his immediate disposal.I feel that is what elevated this picture slightly above its 2007 predecessor.And further catapulting this vehicle into full-blown camp territory is a cameo from the original "Highlander" himself, Christopher Lambert, as a monk who may not be as benevolent as he appears and whose time on the screen is, unfortunately, extremely short (because I don't believe Lambert has appeared in a theatrically released mainstream Hollywood film in more than a decade).Despite the strong critical backlash against it, I think that Neveldine/Taylor did one good thing with "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance" by deciding to take it into an even darker, more insane direction than 2007's "Ghost Rider," making it seem even more like a live-action comic book. This isn't really a direct sequel to the 2007 "Ghost Rider" movie but it does show similar background and past in a comic book like manner. Unfortunately, the same can be said about Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, because despite the intensity of the action and the main character's ferocity, the screenplay lacks of narrative cohesion, and it only brings us a parade of situations in order to display bizarre camera angles, slow-motion stunts and extraordinary special effects. Nevertheless, I have to say that the film managed to keep me moderately entertained.The screenplay of Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance consists of a modular adventure with a "mcguffin" (a kid in this case) as the plot's detonator, and with an anti-hero searching for redemption in order to justify the presence of action scenes of an increasing complexity, but null suspense. What is more, I wasn't interested in the main character's suffering, nor in any threaten from the villain.On the other hand, the magnificent cinematography and brilliant special effects from Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance were the main reasons why this movie kept me moderately entertained, and why I consider it worthy of a slight recommendation, even though it's a bit painful for me to say that, because I'm generally against the "style over substance" mentality. It is not nearly as predictable and "by the book" as most films are today, and the action scenes are really well done and fun to watch.It is true that this is not the movie you should watch if you are looking for a good Drama with in depth character relations and such, but hey, if that's what you're expecting, take a look at the cover next time you're about to watch a movie! Losing the big budget, safe, Hollywood look of the first film, this action packed sequel comes under the hands of Crank directors, Neveldine and Taylor.And it is with that change I felt I had my first issue...Being so used to the typically Hollywood format of the first, it took some time to catch up with (and at time prefer) this new style of direction!Carrying the same hand-held, indie look (which I'm sure was a pain in the ass for the FX guys), the film is quick cut and at times, packed with a little too much.A change of location moves things to Europe which is nice, and gives things more of a comic book feel. It was exactly what I expected to see when I walked into a film titled "Ghost Rider - Spirit Of Vengeance" staring Nick Cage. Nicolas Cage who played Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider seemed uncomfortable with his character and didn't quite know how to bring out the true feeling of the movie. In the first Ghost Rider, we saw a Nicolas Cage who really did look like he was comfortable in the shoes of Johnny Blaze. Neveldine/Taylor put their own directorial spin on it that gives it that rushed, fast-paced, adrenalin feel that just works so well with Ghost Rider.With the first movie, everyone criticized it for the lack of action and the dragging story. Note that I have read none Ghost Rider comics.1)Nicolas Cage's acting had some very funny bits.2)The Ghost Rider looks better.3)The action was great.4)There were some very funny moments.5)Moreau was a great character6)Ghost Rider defeating the main antagonist was goofy and funny!Now let's see what I didn't liked about the film.1)The acting at times.2)The film is sequel, though Ghost Rider's origin story was different like the writers or the directors haven't seen the first one.3)The main antagonist wasn't cool.4)The first moment with Ghost Rider feels like the makers needed to make the film longer so they put plenty unnecessary moments.5)At times the writing was bad.6)When Roarke give Ray Carrigan super powers things start to make no sense and this isn't explained.7)Ray Carrigan's death is a bit disappointing. The other big clue that I would probably hate this film was the directorial team of Brian Taylor and Mark Neveldine, who were responsible for the ADHD Jason Statham action flick Crank, a film that annoyed me from start to finish.To make matters even worse, the plot is derivative, reminding me an awful lot of the far superior sci-fi classic Terminator 2: Judgment Day (a boy and his tough mother are protected by a once-bad, leather jacket wearing, partly human protector who rides a motorbike), the script is terrible (even Cage's wild eyed mad acting technique cannot detract from the awful dialogue), and there are some truly lousy performances from the supporting cast (worst offenders: Fergus Riordan as irritating kid Danny and Christopher Lambert as facially tattooed monk Methodius)— all of which had me struggling to stay awake.I will definitely not be getting my hopes up if a third Ghost Rider movie should ever get the green-light.. I didn't watch the first one for a while, i think i will do soon because there some parts of the story that i didn't really get, like they didn't match with the first movie.As for the Rider suit, it was way better in the first movie, sharper, more style, i know what they tried to accomplish with this one, but it came out as not as good as visual look. Anyway Ghost Rider 2 end up being a disappointing sequel to a first movie that was not a masterpiece, but a good cheese fest that i really liked. If you are a fan of the comics or of the first movie it might be worth seeing, but after viewing this film I just felt like it wasn't bad or good just plain decent. And Of Course The Directing In This Movie Is Crazy Ridiculously Bad- Ass. Some Of The Shots In This Movie I've Never Seen Before & It's A Real Treat To See Action Directed In A Gritty & Original Way. If Your Looking For A Fun Time At The Movies Where You Can Just Sit Back Eat Your Popcorn Laugh & Watch A Fun Movie With Some Great 3D Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance Is The Movie For You.. Ghost Rider himself looks better and there are some good action sequences, but overall this film is a step back.. I Know That There Were A Few People Who Hated This And Liked The Original But Fans Are Hypocritical Of Themselves.I Will Say That Nicholas Cage Did A Better Acting Performance In This, In The Original; He Did Do A Good Performance But His Insane Performance Was Believable, However Not Enough To Get To My Votes For "Best Insane Performances Ever." The Only Complaint I Have Is That Ghost Rider Gets Hit Down With A Grenade Launcher...This Is The Spirit Of Vengeance, He Would Not Go Down That Easy.Overall For A Movie That "Fans" Have Been Waiting For This Doesn't Deliver To The First However Its Not As Awful As Everyone Says.. Too bad he gets sort of wasted in this movie by its disappointing story.And Nicolas Cage always seemed like a perfect choice to play the crazed Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider but after this movie, I'm suddenly not so sure about that anymore. It's from the guys who made Crank 1 and 2.Let's look at the good and bad of this film.THE GOOD Every action scene is entertaining and fun to watch. Felt more like buggy wimpy knock out!The only good thing about this movie is the fact that Ghost Rider actually looks really cool and much more realistic compared to the first one. Good to see Cage is not posing in this movie and is on screen even when Johnny Blaze is in full flame-on screaming skull (he had a stunt guy doing the stand-in for Ghost Rider in the original). Nic Cage's crazy-face is fun and all, but when I watch a Ghost Rider movie I want a lot of action with skullhead. Ghost rider: Spirit of vengeance it was a good movie but it's not the best but I still enjoy watching it.

tt1298650

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

After a failed attempt to rescue his first mate, Joshamee Gibbs in London, Captain Jack Sparrow is brought before King George II. The king wants Jack to guide an expedition to the Fountain of Youth before King Ferdinand and the Spanish Navy can locate it. Jack's old nemesis, Captain Hector Barbossa, now a privateer in service to the British Navy after losing his leg and ship, the Black Pearl, which he says was sunk, is heading the expedition. Jack refuses the offer and escapes. He meets up with his father, Captain Teague, who warns Jack about the Fountain's rituals. Jack learns someone is impersonating him to recruit a crew to find the Fountain. The impostor is Angelica, Jack's former lover, and the daughter of the ruthless pirate Blackbeard, who practices voodoo magic and wields the mythical "Sword of Triton" that controls his ship, the Queen Anne's Revenge. While Jack is shanghaied aboard Blackbeard's ship, Gibbs escapes execution by memorizing and destroying Jack's map showing the Fountain's location, forcing Barbossa to take him along. Meanwhile, after a failed mutiny aboard the Queen Anne's Revenge, Jack is forced to guide the crew to the Fountain. Blackbeard seeks the Fountain's power to circumvent his predestined fatal encounter with a "one-legged man", who happened to be Barbossa. Jack must find two silver chalices aboard Juan Ponce de León's missing flagship, the Santiago. The Fountain's water must simultaneously be drunk by two people from the chalices. Drinking from one chalice containing a mermaid's tear will extend life; the second person dies, their remaining years of life transferred to the other drinker. Jack also discovers that the Black Pearl was captured and shrunk before being added to Blackbeard's collection of other shrunken ships in bottles. The Queen Anne's Revenge heads for Whitecap Bay to find and harvest mermaid tears. A mermaid named Syrena is caught, but Philip Swift, a captive missionary, falls in love with her. Reaching Ponce de León's ship on an uncharted island, Angelica and Blackbeard coerce Jack into retrieving both chalices. Jack locates the grounded, decaying vessel, only to find Barbossa there. Both guess that the Spanish have taken the chalices, after they are nowhere to be found on the vessel. Jack and Barbossa team up to sneak into the Spanish camp and steal the chalices. Barbossa reveals he only wants revenge against Blackbeard for attacking the Black Pearl, and his leg being amputated. Jack and Barbossa escape with the chalices. Meanwhile, Syrena, reciprocating Philip's love, is tricked into shedding a tear. Blackbeard collects it, leaving her to die of dehydration while Philip is forced to go with them. Jack returns with the chalices and bargains with Blackbeard for Angelica's safety, Jack's confiscated magical compass, and Gibbs' release. In return, Jack vows to give Blackbeard the chalices and lead him to the Fountain; Blackbeard agrees, and Gibbs is set free with the compass. At the Fountain, Blackbeard's crew is confronted by Barbossa and his men and they battle while Barbossa and Blackbeard fight. The Spanish suddenly arrive, intending to destroy the Fountain, believing its power an abomination against God. They crush the chalices and throw them in the swamp. When Barbossa stabs Blackbeard with a poisoned sword, Angelica pulls it out but is cut and poisoned. Barbossa obtains Blackbeard's magic sword and gains control of the Queen Anne's Revenge and her crew. Philip is mortally wounded, but he returns to free Syrena. She retrieves the missing chalices and gives them to Jack, telling him not to waste her tear. Syrena goes back to the dying Philip. She says she can save him if he asks her to. When he asks for her forgiveness, she kisses him and takes him underwater. With Blackbeard and Angelica both nearing death, Jack wants Angelica to drink from the chalice containing the tear. Instead, Blackbeard drinks it, asking his daughter to sacrifice herself. Angelica agrees and drinks from the second chalice. Jack is upset to lose Angelica, but realizes he made a mistake about which chalice contained the tear. Neither of the two are happy, and believe Jack tricked them. Angelica's wounds are healed as the Fountain fatally consumes Blackbeard's body. Eventually, Jack & Angelica admit their love for each other, yet he distrusts her intentions and strands her on a cay. Now wielding Blackbeard's magical sword, Barbossa captains the Queen Anne's Revenge and returns to piracy. Jack finds Gibbs, who had used the compass to locate the Revenge. He reclaims the shrunken Black Pearl and the other conquered ships in bottles, carrying them in a gunny sack. The two leave, hoping to revert the Black Pearl to its original size. In a post-credits scene, a voodoo doll of Jack crafted by Blackbeard washes ashore and is found by Angelica, who then smiles.

boring, fantasy, murder, action, revenge, entertaining

train

wikipedia

Johnny Depp, the goofy pirate that we have grown to love, returns to his iconic role of Captain Jack Sparrow in an action-packed tale of truth, betrayal, youth and demise.The plot is when Jack crosses paths with a woman from his past (Penelope Cruz), he's not sure if it's love—or if she's a ruthless con artist who's using him to find the fabled Fountain of Youth. Brings everything from the classic bizarre comedy to the nail biting action scenes.The marketing for the movie have been intelligently subliminal like some other great film releases, like Avatar, or Blair Witch (the real vs fake) and the recent awesome film production The Artifice (the-artifice.com) and so on.This is not a film to miss, does not matter if you are a die hard fan of Pirates, or new to the series! As far as the Pirates of the Caribbean movies go, On Stranger Tides may be lacking in the rollicking fun of Curse of the Black Pearl, which I absolutely loved, though it's closer in spirit to it than those of the two movies before, but I think it is better than Dead Man's Chest, which had great effects and a brilliant Bill Nighy but felt overlong and ferentic sometimes, and At World's End, which had the cast giving their all, great visuals, score and final battle but rather convoluted and bloated on the whole.On Stranger Tides isn't perfect. The characters are not the best developed, but they are fun and there aren't too many of them to interrupt the flow of the story, a big problem I found with At World's End, while the action sequences are both exciting and nail-biting on the whole.I wasn't so sure about Rob Marshall as director, but he does a far better job than expected, and the film is livelier in pace than Dead Man's Chest and At World's End. The acting is good enough for what it was. Geoffrey Rush is underused in a way, but he does have some great lines and a fun presence so he isn't a complete waste.In conclusion, On Stranger Tides is not a perfect film, but as an instalment to a decent enough franchise it is a more than worthy one. The "new" course set by "On Stranger Tides" uses worn sails, but with a fresh wind of characters and more importantly, a more direct purpose.As promised in the end of "At World's End," Jack's looking for the Fountain of Youth if for nothing more than ships and giggles. The "Chicago" filmmaker chews the scenery well and creates effective moods and tones, but the action could have been a bit more inspired, especially considering the series' reputation for sword-fighting ingenuity.Marshall's best work and the film's best sequence deals with mermaids, not the singing and seashell bra type, but seduce you with their looks and then try and devour you with fangs type. Plus you add in Ian McShane as the diabolical Blackbeard, and he's an actual bad guy, unlike Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), who's jumped sides about as often as Jack Sparrow himself – and here begins the movie in the employ of the British King.The stunts are well staged as usual, and good use was made of the location shooting on Oahu and Puerto Rico. These Pirates films are all about entertainment and thankfully this latest adventure with Captain Jack Sparrow at the helm is back to basics, reminding me of the formula that made the very first one, Curse of the Black pearl so great. Cruz and McShane are infinitely more interesting and entertaining and play off of Captain Jack much better.Speaking of Depp's Jack Sparrow, I would make the argument that this character has entered the rarefied air of film comedy icon. I can imagine that many has been sitting with a feeling if the Pirates concept is going too far(Specially after POC nr.3) but thanks to a tight script this fourths installment of POC is definitely worth a watch.I personally didn't like the 3rd one cause of too much talk and confusion, but this one lives up to the first two.Jack Sparow and captain Barbosa are the scene stealer s, their chemistry is Top-Notch. I watched the preview last Thursday.I cannot disagree more with one of the reviews which suggested the latest version is a bit dull.On stranger tides is not only better than the last two instalments but nearly as good as the the original.The storyline is lucid,plenty of jokes which made the first movie good,less use of nonsense CGI and absence of two characters actually gives a new lease of life particularly since Ian McShane is as expected just brilliant.Penelope Cruz appears to be hiding in long dresses to hide her obvious problem at that time.All in all the best movie outing for sheer fun since Inception.Its a popcorn movie and does a good job of what is expected!. I have to say I was really looking forward to Pirates of the Caribbean 4, I really enjoyed Curse of the Black Pearl.Then Dead Man's Chest and At World's End were good, but there was room for improvement.POTC: On Stranger Tides was full of action. Because it will always be as good as the first one.thats whats special about this, that it Never Gets boring or Old. Jack is Back,maybe not as powerful as ever, but with a new cast and new story and a new tide, brings a great deal of action to the series.So this is a MUST-SEE film of the year so far. out of the rest of the pirates movie , this one lacked a little bit of sudden turn of events which made the movie a little slow....Still the story was amazing creating a last moment of forthcoming thrill and interest with jack with "his pearl" and and his own fleet of ships.The role of Barbossa was amazing with gradual display of his usual deception and pride of a "Pirate".Not much to go with Blackbeard.cast taken together is also good with the breath taking and beautiful Penelope Cruz to give them the boost(although she was showing in some places which strengthened the story ending)Too predictable with the thing with the switch of the chalices. I thought the first Pirates film was excellent, the second one started to confuse me a little however I still very much enjoyed it while the third film was so confusing and I was beginning to fear the worst...however the reason I say welcome back was that after the third film it had seemed there would be no return for the franchise, however now with a much simpler story than the third and still maintaining the action, humour and still an intense storyline this franchise has well and truly taken off once more.The return of Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush with Penelope Cruz and Ian McShane added to the cast creates an experience not to be missed. I thought this film would never have happened, since the first three films wrapped themselves up pretty nicely as a trilogy, but I suppose studios never say no to profits there for the taking, especially if the point man in Johnny Depp is game to don his eyeliner and pirates garb one more time, and possible more films lined up since the final scenes and the coda after the end credits blatantly teases and flirts with its audience and fan base.Captain Jack Sparrow (Depp) is back to charm one and all with this swagger and wit, and this time sans his Black Pearl as he goes on a mission, or at least it's one of those self fulfilling rumours, that he's assembling a crew to set sail on a quest to locate the proverbial Fountain of Youth. As with what's characteristic of a Pirates of the Caribbean movie, there are always more than one party interested in either joining in or serving as competition, and here we have an English royalty keen on recruiting Jack amongst their ranks to led by Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), now an English privateer, the Spanish Inquisition team who are narratively the weakest of the lot save for one pivotal scene, and a true blue pirates outfit led by the villainous Blackbeard (Ian McShane) aboard his Queen Anne's Revenge ship, with his daughter Angelica (Penelope Cruz) as his first mate and one time ex-fling of Jack's tasked with luring the latter out and joining their quest rather reluctantly.But everyone has ulterior motives, and in true Jack Sparrow fashion, the character relationships all play out like the reality game show Survivor as in previous films, where deals are cut, some allegiances are strongly forged while others being temporarily serving mutual self-interests of the moment. Part of the fun is to witness how Sparrow navigates through sticky situations and almost always come up tops, with the nagging suspicion that Fate smiles on his side consistently, seemingly having no plan at all when he embarks on various mini quests in gathering artifacts all geared toward the primary mission, from the capture of mermaids (and they're of the nasty in attitude variety) to chalices all part of a strange ritual required to get to the secret fountain everyone is craving for.Joining the fray this time round are old hands such as Geoffrey Rush in bringing a lot more to the Barbossa character, and Gibbs (Kevin McNally) as Jack Sparrow's loyal and trusty first mate. Pirates of the Carribbean: On Stranger Tides is an entertaining ride and much more simpler than the bloated At World's End.The story: Johnny Depp returns to his famous role, witty Captain Jack. The action in this one is rather good and Captain Jack Sparrow is once again the best character, only this time he is the main guy with no others taking time away from him in bunches like the previous two installments. Whilst this race is going on Captain Jack meets up with old flame Angelica(Penélope Cruz) hot as ever and is taken captive on her father Blackbeard's(Ian McShane) boat who is also on the hunt for said fountain.This story is back to a basic plot after the more complicated 2&3 of the series and this has been a good move. In fact, I have only managed to see the first one completely; the second and third one were too long, too boring, and too confusing to be worth my time.Stranger Tides boasts of a tight script, stellar visuals, fantastic adventure and, of course, great performance from the entire cast, especially Captain Sparrow, Johnny Depp. i really really liked this movie a lot...it was SO great, everyone in it did a great job....i loved Jack Sparrow as always, Johnny Depp is such a brilliant actor...Ian Macshane did a wonderful job as Blackbeard, i really didn't want to leave after it went off, i wanted to stay and watch it again...Penelope Cruz was a welcome addition to the movie and it was great to see Barbosa again...if you haven't seen it you should, and wait till the credits are over to see a little more, its only about 10 seconds but I'm glad we waited around to see it..i gotta say i do not agree with people saying this movie was boring, there was nothing boring about it, it was funny like the others, there was plenty of action, new characters, (it was cool seeing Vernon Dursley from Harry Potter in it) i was very glad i went to see it, fans of the franchise will be very pleased...i don't want these movies to be run into the ground but so far i haven't been disappointed at all with any of them...so i give this one 10 out of 10 stars. If in 2007 Pirates of the Caribbean 'At Worlds End' left you at your 'wits end', then it's understandable that you may have reservations about seeing the fourth instalment of this hugely popular franchise.The aptly named 'On Stranger Tides' certainly is in uncharted waters, as this chapter is the first Pirate movie not to star Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley and the first not to be Directed by Gore Verbinski also known for directing such films as 'The Ring' and more recently; 'Rango'.The film starts with Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) in London on a mission to save the always entertaining Gibbs (Kevin McNally) from an appointment with the gallows. Whilst there Jack crosses paths with a woman from his past (Penelope Cruz), who ends up trapping him aboard the Queen Anne's Revenge, ship of the most feared pirate 'Blackbeard' (Ian McShane) on a quest to locate the Fountain of Youth.Unfortunately the notorious Blackbeard is very badly portrayed by McShane with no real terror brought to the character like the previous Davy Jones; and with a 'mystic' zombie sidekick that is as pointless to the movie as the witch in Robin Hood – Prince of Thieves; the film should really be walking the plank very early on.However, thanks to the star performer Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow, this movie is surprisingly good. While I went out of "At world's end" after three hours feeling like it had been at most one and a half, I started looking at my watch twenty minutes into this movie, thinking "When will this get really started?" This film was clearly aimed at a younger audience than the previous ones, and so were most of the jokes. Before it's release, the idea of adapting a theme-park ride to film was seen as a creative death knell by an admittedly cynical part of the movie-going public (myself included), but the film defied critics to become one of the more memorable action-adventure blockbusters of the new millennium, and introduced Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow, one of modern cinema's most charming and appealing characters. "On Stranger Tides" proves to be an enjoyable and entertaining instalment in this series without ever troubling classic status.Johnny Depp IS Captain Jack Sparrow and without Orlando Bloom or Keira Knightley the focus is even more upon him this time. Despite not being a great movie, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl was an entertaining film, but it was Johnny Depp's extraordinary performance as Captain Jack Sparrow what made it seem much better than what it really was. Another stupid thing is how the whole crew went to drink from the fountain to get youth and at the end only black beard and angelica drank from it, and one of them had 2 sacrifice..but overall this movie is good for entertainment, but if your a fan of the 1st trilogy I don't think you will like this 1...I really don't see why its called on stranger tides anyway, I know its a novel, but the name of the movie should have been "pirates of the Caribbean: the fountain of youth". It is a great much anticipated addition to the pirates franchise.The reasons why this is so good is it follows a more Pirates of the Caribbean Curse of the Black Pearl feel to it, which sat better with the people and the first movie was a classic, so smart move there.Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) had great dialog in this movie that was funny and delightful, bringing back the same old Jack we all know and love and he still maintained everything about Jack that makes him great and he also still managed to surprise me with new sides to his character. The addition of new characters such as Black-beard (Ian Mcshane) and Angelica (Penelope Cruz) was also a good move as Angelica, acting as Jack's love interest and almost his equal, made it more interesting to watch because Jack has not had a love interest and nobody has really been able to outwit Jack Sparrow (sorry Captain Jack Sparrow) and Black- beard was also a great character, being very villainous and having the uncaring aspect of a villain in that he would just kill anyone and also to add he is probably the best pirate villain I have ever seen in a film in my opinion. Unlike previous movies it doesn't have heavy creature show (like Bill Nighy's Davy Jones)...Coming to plot , Jack Sparrow & Barbossa on a quest,travels to find the elusive fountain of youth..The movie elevates the consequences of his questIf you enjoyed Depp's performance in this franchise , then I'm sure you wont regret..The special effects are excellent and are as usual....Plot is managed well and execution of plot is good .. After expecting the 4th instalment of the POTC for more then 3 years...oh, dear...I feel like I just wasted more then 2 hours of my life...I love the Pirates, especially Jack so I caught the first show on the release day only to feel so frustrated after the first 15 minutes of the movie...Kept saying it has to get better but it didn't...same stale, lifeless,annoying on occasion dialogue, lack of chemistry between the characters (made me miss Orlando Bloom...a lot...and I hate Orlando Bloom..), even lack of action...I enjoyed the sparkly, witty dialogues in the previous parts...Witty Jack doesn't have a witty line in this in over two hours...the best he can do is:" There should be a captain in there somewhere..." Phuah...!!! If your a die hard fan like me, you should enjoy some old things mentioned from previous films and the comedic genius of Johnny Depp, but this wasn't a good enough movie to watch again. Coming to the performances, Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush & Kevin McNally are the only ones reprising their roles from previous features while the new additions include Penélope Cruz & Ian McShane who play Angelica (Jack's former lover) & Blackbeard (the prime antagonist), and the performance by the entire cast is, in one word, terrible.On an overall scale, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is a sequel that shouldn't have been made in the first place.

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King Arthur

Synopsis of King Arthur (2004)Some historians believe that the classical 15th century take on King Arthur was based on a real hero named Artorius Castus who lived a thousand years earlier during the Roman occupation. At the beginning of the film, Lancelot takes up this story in a voiceover, saying by 300 AD the Roman Empire stretched from Arabia to Britain; however, they were not satisfied and attacked the powerful Sarmatians to the east. At the end of the fourth day of intense fighting, only a few Sarmatian cavalry were left. The Romans had been impressed with their bravery, and spared their lives on two conditions: first, they would be incorporated into the Roman military and second, their children and childrens children were also pressed into service.Therefore, in 452 AD Lancelot as a young lad was taken into service--around the same time a young Arthur was being groomed to take over from his father as leader of the Sarmation knights. With his father away often, the priest Pelagius had become his beloved guardian (prior to travelling to Rome to spread his message of free will and freedom, which was blasphemous to the Pope).The Knights under Arthur have served their fifteen years in Roman Britain south of Hadrians Wall. The film jumps to 467 AD as Arthur and the remnants of his knights ride out to meet Bishop Germanius and his Roman escort who is coming to present their freedom papers for travel throughout the Roman Empire. Merlin's Woads attack the Bishops escort, and the knights arrive in time to turn the tables on the attackers. They return to the Hadrian's Wall garrison, but not before Arthur surprisingly spares the life of a Woad, while being watched from the trees by Merlin.Arthur offers Germanius his quarters to refresh himself. Whilst there Germanius notices a disc of Arthur's depicting Pelagius and contemptuously tosses it on to the floor, breaking it. He is further horrified when he comes to the meal to find a round table where he could not assume a position of head of the table. Arthur, who wanted to follow Pelagius teaching, had introduced this; it was necessary for all to have equal placements at the table. However, there are many empty places, and all that survive are Arthur (Clive Owen), Lancelot (Ioan Gruffudd), Tristan, Gawain, Galahad, Bors (Ray Winstone) and Dagonet.Bishop Germanius firstly dismays the knights by reporting that the Romans would now be pulling out of Britain and that a large Saxon army had landed and would probably take over the country. So for what had they risked their lives? He then dismisses the others, in order to explain to Arthur alone the double-edged reason for his visit: the Marius Honorius family, in particular his son Alecto, the Pope's favorite godson and pupil (and a possible papal successor), were in danger of capture by the Saxons. Arthur and his men have been ordered by Rome to effect a rescue before their freedom papers can be served. Arthur is furious on behalf of his fellow knights at this betrayal of their freedom--being sent on their most dangerous mission yet--as they would need to travel north of Hadrian's Wall. The wily Germanius says it is for the Church whom Arthur loves and surely, they would not balk at rescuing a young boy.Arthur goes into the courtyard as Bors' partner Vanora sings a hypnotic song about home. Arthur is spotted but he dashes their hopes when he explains their mission. Dagonet implicitly trusts Arthur and prepares for the mission. The others in varying degrees of reluctance and anger follow his example, and the next day they set off through Hadrian's Wall.Meanwhile Cerdic's Saxons have landed. They burn every building and kill everyone they come across. They are joined by a Woad spy who tells them of the important Roman family. Cerdic (Stellan Starsgard) sends his son Cynric with his men to capture the family and then rejoin his father at Hadrian's Wall.Arthur's men go deep into Woad territory to reach the Roman family and are soon ambushed by the Woads. As they move in for the kill, Merlin gets word of the Saxon invasion, and to their disgust, he pulls the Woads back from the ambush; Arthur and his men are bemused to find they are free to continue their journey.They reach the family, and the father Marius at first refuses to go, but Arthur forces them for the sake of his mens freedom. He then learns of Marius' harsh dealings of the peasants, which cuts across his Pelagian ideals. He sets their local leader free and orders them to prepare for the march south. They are about to depart, hearing the Saxons' drums, when Arthur becomes suspicious of a bricked-up building. There he finds Woads with all but two starved and tortured to death. He rescues the two survivors--Guinevere (Keira Knightley) and a young boy--and takes them on their escape route from the Saxons. Marius is furious but Arthur fells him and they all leave, with Marius threatening reprisals when they get back to Hadrian's Wall.Guinevere recovers on the journey and plays with both Arthur's and Lancelot's feelings, telling them that the Britons, not the Romans, are their real heritage.Arthur knows they must rest and they spend the night in a forest. He follows Guinevere who brings him to Merlin. He accuses Guinevere of leading him into a trap, but she says Merlin is not there to kill him. Merlin explains that his men see Arthur more Briton than Roman and as their only leader against the Saxon invasion.As day breaks, Marius grabs the Woad boy and threatens to kill him. Guinevere calmly shoots Marius with her bow and arrow, and his men are given the choice of surrendering or dying. They choose the former. Tristan arrives and says the Saxons are much closer and they must leave. As they journey, Arthur seeks Alecto's forgiveness for his father's death. However, Alecto calmly says not only had his father lost his way, but stuns Arthur by saying he fights for a Rome that doesn't exist and that Pelagius had been excommunicated and killed under Germanius' orders for heresy the previous year.They reach a glacier and the Saxons are right on their tail. They dismount from their wagons and Arthur leads them all carefully over the cracking ice. He then sends the rest on while the seven knights and Guinevere take up a position at the end of the glacier with bows and arrows to await the Saxons.As the Saxons approach, the knights starting killing those on the flanks, forcing the advancing Saxons to bunch, but still the ice doesn't break up. Arthur realises the ice is not going to break and gives the order to draw swords. Dagonet rushes forward with his axe and starts hacking away at the ice. The archers try to protect him, but eventually Saxon arrows get through and he dies just as his last blow breaks up the ice. Many Saxons drown and the rest cannot follow them as a sad Arthur and his men retrieve Dagonet's body, catch up with the column and lead them to safety. Cynric and his survivors return to his father, who strips him of his leadership and humiliates him.A very belligerent band of knights snatches their freedom papers from Germanius and then buries Dagonet. After the funeral, Guinevere sits with Arthur and presses the point of how his allegiance should really be with this island, especially now that the Romans have tricked him.That night Guinevere comes to his bed and while they are making love, Arthur is summoned to the wall where he witnesses the Saxons' arrival.Arthur is now convinced that he should remain. He releases the knights from their allegiance to him and sends them away with Germanius and the Roman garrison, while he and the villagers prepare their defenses. They are joined by Merlin and the Woad archers led by Guinevere.Cerdic is desperate to meet this Arthur, the name he has continually heard since he landed. Under cover of a truce, he meets him face to face, finally deciding that Arthur is the first man on this island worth killing.As Arthur goes back behind Hadrian's Wall, an invigorated Cerdic watches as the gates to the Wall mysteriously open. He sends an advance party of Saxons (Cyrnic's survivors but without Cyrnic) forward to soften up Arthur's men. Meanwhile as the retreating Romans march away, the remaining knights' horses are unsettled by the sound of the Saxons beating on their war drums. The knights look at each other and know they have to rejoin Arthur, but this time it is of their own volition.The first wave of Saxons is annihilated by a combination of the Woad archers and the knights so Cerdic leads his remaining men into the final bloody battle. This time the big siege engines are brought in by Merlin to support Arthur. Lancelot and Cyrnic kill each other, Cerdic pointedly kills Tristan in the sight of Arthur, who charges Cerdic; they fight to the death--Cerdic's death. The Saxons are annihilated at the place now known as Badon's Hill.Arthur is grief-stricken over Lancelot's death and says he has let them all down, but the survivors--Gawain, Galahad, and Bors--stand by him. In the final scene, Merlin marries Arthur and Guinevere and Arthur is proclaimed King to the joy and support of Woads and Knights alike.Edited 21 January 2015. (ly)

violence, boring, historical, murder, flashback

train

imdb

tt0079501

Mad Max

The film is set in the near future of a bleak, dystopian and impoverished Australia that is facing a breakdown of civil order primarily due to widespread oil shortages. (This is not explained in this film but in the sequel, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior.) Central to the plot is a poorly-funded national police unit called the Main Force Patrol (MFP, derogatorily called "The Bronze" by their enemies), which struggles to protect the Outback's few remaining townspeople from violent motorcycle gangs. The MFP's "top pursuit man" is a young police officer, Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson), badge number MFP4073.A member of one of the motorcycle gangs, Crawford Montazano (nicknamed Nightrider), escapes from police custody by killing an officer and stealing his vehicle. MFP officers chase the Nightrider in a high-speed chase that results in several serious wrecks. Among those involved is a cocky motorcycle cop nicknamed Goose (Steve Bisley), who radios Max. Max pursues Nightrider in a high-speed chase which results in Nightrider's death in a fiery crash. After the dangerous chase, Max' police chief, Fifi McAfee, warns Max that Nightrider's gang will be out for him now because of Nightrider's death.Nightrider's gang, which is led by Toecutter (Hugh Keays-Byrne), plans to avenge Nightrider's death by killing MFP officers. Meanwhile, they vandalize property, steal fuel, and terrorize the citizenry. While chewing up a town where the Nightrider's remains arrived by train, the gang brutalizes a civilian couple that tried escaping to the road; the couple is overtaken, then both of them are raped and the car is wrecked. Max and Goose are informed about the incident and go to the crime scene. They find Toecutter's young protegé, Johnny the Boy (Tim Burns), and the girl of the couple in the middle of the wreckage. Johnny's drug-fueled rantings reveal him as a member of Nightrider's gang; Goose looks on Johnny with particular disdain, as his leg was broken during the Nightrider pursuit. However, they do not kill Johnny, but arrest him and drag him away in chains.Johnny is held at the MFP's dilapidated Halls of Justice pending a visit from the Court. However, when the attorneys arrive, Johnny is ordered released: the judge has set Johnny free because no witnesses showed up for the trial. (Without the testimony of witnesses, no charges could be filed; the courts declared "no contest" for the case.) A shocked Goose attacks Johnny and must be physically restrained; both Goose and Johnny shout threats of revenge at each other. The second-in-command of the biker group, Bubba Zanetti (Geoff Parry) arrives at the courthouse to pick up Johnny, on orders from the Toecutter. Bubba does so begrudgingly, because he hates Johnny for his rowdiness, lack of style and drug addiction, and hates the Toecutter's favoritism towards Johnny.Shortly thereafter, Johnny the Boy sabotages Goose's MFP motorcycle while Goose is shacked up with a singer he met at a cabaret. His rear wheel locks up at high speed the next day, throwing Goose from the bike; Goose, however, survives without even suffering "road rash". Goose borrows a ute to haul his bike back to civilization. Unfortunately, Johnny ambushes Goose, throwing a brake drum through the ute's windshield, causing Goose to roll the vehicle over, Gas leaks from the fuel tank, soaking the ground around the truck; Johnny, at the belligerent urging of the Toecutter himself, then burns Goose alive in the wreckage. Goose survives, but after seeing his charred body in the hospital's burn ward, Max becomes angry and disillusioned with the police force and resigns from the MFP with no intention of returning. He takes a road trip with his wife and infant son in the relatively peaceful coastal area north of their home.While on holiday, Max's wife, Jessie, (played by Joanne Samuel) runs into Toecutter's gang, who harass her. She escapes, but the gang manages to track her to the home where she and Max are staying. While attempting to escape from the gang again, Jessie and her son are run down by the gang, who leave their crushed bodies in the middle of the road. Max arrives too late to intervene. His son is pronounced dead on the scene, while his wife suffers massive injuries. (It is revealed in Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior that she later died from her injuries.)Filled with obsessive rage, Max once again dons his police outfit, straps on his sawn-off shotgun, and steals a supercharged black Pursuit Special to pursue the gang. He methodically hunts down and kills the gang members: several gang members are forced off a bridge at high speed while others spill their bikes; Max shoots Bubba off his cycle with his shotgun (Bubba shoots Max in the leg with a pistol first, though, giving Max a limp that is consistent throughout the series, then runs over his exposed arm). Max struggles back into his car and pursues the Toecutter into a forbidden area. Max forces the gang's leader into the path of a speeding tractor trailer and he is crushed in a head-on collision.Max later finds Johnny the Boy taking the boots off a dead driver at the scene of a crash. Johnny desperately tries to convince Max that the man was dead when he found him and that his drug addiction has made him mentally unbalanced. Max doesn't listen and handcuffs Johnny's ankle to the wrecked, overturned vehicle with a ruptured petrol tank. Max lights a crude time-delay fuse and gives Johnny a hacksaw, leaving him the choice of sawing through either the handcuffs (which will take 10 minutes) or his ankle (which will take 5 minutes), and then drives off into the desolate outback, ignoring Johnny's frantic ramblings. The camera shows Max's car from the front, with a large and fiery explosion in the distance behind it, leaving Johnny's fate unknown. Max blankly continues to drive in a rainstorm into the Outback, a shell of his former self.

suspenseful, murder, cult, violence, good versus evil, action, tragedy, revenge

train

imdb

tt0426883

Alpha Dog

Alpha Dog is based on events that took place in 2000 and characters are given fictional names. The film is set in November 1999. It tells the story of Johnny Truelove (Emile Hirsch), a young drug dealer in Claremont, California and his circle of friends, which includes Frankie Ballenbacher (Justin Timberlake), Tiko "TKO" Martinez (Fernando Vargas) and Elvis Schmidt (Shawn Hatosy). The film demonstrates internal gang dynamics and social context that contribute to the events leading to kidnap and murder.Johnny's father, Sonny Truelove (Bruce Willis), supplies his son with marijuana, from which Johnny makes a fortune dealing and selling. Johnny owns his own house where he holds meetings and parties. Another associate of the gang is Jake Mazursky (Ben Foster), who owes Johnny a $1200 drug debt. After a failed attempt at asking for the money from his parents, Olivia (Sharon Stone), and Butch Mazursky, he goes over to Johnny's house where Johnny is having a party. A heated argument is held between the two, which results in a violent fight that Frankie and the gang break up. Jake tells Johnny that he'll never pay him the money. In retaliation, Johnny gets Jake fired from his job by ratting on him to his boss that Jake is on drugs. Later that night, Jake and his gang break into Johnny's house, stealing his flat-screen t.v., breaking his backyard window and defecating on Johnny's carpet. The next day, Johnny, Frankie, and Tiko decide to go to Jake personally and collect the money with the threat of violence. On the way, though, they stumble upon his brother Zack Mazursky (Anton Yelchin) and decide to kidnap him in broad daylight, throwing him into the van. Frankie is worried about the situation, while Johnny is thinking about what to do with him.Zack makes little effort to escape. Frankie offers him beer and cigarettes, which he accepts. During a street fiesta, Frankie offers him a chance to escape, which Zack declines, not wanting to cause him trouble with Johnny. The two strike up an unlikely friendship. Zack stays at Frankie's house for the night and even helps him with his chores. Zack meets some of Frankie's friends, including Keith Stratton (Chris Marquette), a young pot head, and even strikes up a relationship with Julie (Amanda Seyfried), the youngest member of the group. They all learn of Zack's kidnapping, yet do nothing as Zack seems cool with everything. Julie even refers to him as 'Stolen Boy', and thinks it's hot. Johnny comes over and contemplates with Frankie on what to do. Frankie grows nervous when Johnny asks Frankie about the possibility of having Zack killed, though he quickly dismisses it.Back at Zack's home, Olivia and Butch do everything they can to find Zack. Olivia grows angry with Jake when she learns he owed money to Johnny. Missing Person posters are put up. Johnny becomes increasingly paranoid about the situation. He calls Jake with the intent of explaining the situation, but learns that Jake already suspects it was him who kidnapped Zack and screams that he'll "rip his throat out and eat his heart". Johnny hangs up and calls his lawyer and explains the situation, which his lawyer replies that Johnny is looking at 25 years to life in prison for his actions. High with anxiety, Johnny seems to have made up his mind.The next night, while Frankie, Zack, and the gang are at a party at a hotel, Johnny approaches Elvis, who is in deep debt with Johnny, and offers to cancel the debt if he agrees to have Zack murdered. Elvis is skeptical at first, but agrees. Johnny gives him a TEC-9 pistol and leaves with his girlfriend. Back at the party, Zack loses his virginity when he has sex with Julie and her girlfriend, Alma. Elvis arrives at the hotel and explains to Frankie that he is taking Zack home, at which point the party ends and everyone leaves except for Frankie, Zack, Elvis, and Keith. Frankie is relieved to have Zack go home until Elvis reveals Johnny's plan to kill Zack. Frankie is enraged at Elvis, and angrily tells him he won't let him do it. Elvis instead takes Keith and they go to a remote location in the hills to dig a grave. When they get back to the hotel, Elvis tells a disturbed Frankie that they are all looking at life in prison if Zack goes home. Frankie sadly agrees and he, Elvis, and Keith trick Zack into thinking he's going home.Back at Johnny's house, his dad, Sonny, and their attorney confront him about the kidnapping. Sonny is furious with his son, and when he learns of Johnny's plan to kill Zack, he commands that he call it off, which Johnny refuses, believing that Elvis and Frankie aren't really going to kill Zack. Meanwhile, Frankie, Elvis, Zack and Keith arrive in the hills. They start walking up a hill. Zack is not aware of what's going to happen and is tricked into believing someone's picking him up. Zack grows little suspicious when a deeply saddened Keith silently tells Frankie he can't go through with it, and, after giving Zack a goodbye hug, goes to wait in the van. Realizing what's happening, a panicked Zack asks Frankie what he's doing, Frankie reassures him and the three continue walking up the hill. Zack sees the grave and begins to break down, sobbing and begging Frankie and Elvis to let him go. Frankie contemplates to Elvis that they shouldn't do it, but Elvis is keen on the job he's been given. Frankie calms Zack down and tells him that he would never hurt him, and ties a weeping Zack up with tape. He is astonished when Elvis knocks Zack into the grave with the shovel and ultimately fires at Zack with the pistol killing him. Frankie and Elvis then silently leave.Zack's body is found 3 days later. The epilogue shows the aftermath of the crime. Zack's mother, Olivia, is interviewed; she talks candidly about her failed suicide attempts and the loss that she has experienced from her son's murder. After being convicted, the gang members serve time: Tiko serving 9 years for the kidnapping; Keith serving at a juvenile facility until the age of 25 for digging Zack's grave and 2nd degree murder; Frankie serving a life sentence for the kidnapping; and Elvis on death row for murdering Zack. Johnny disappears and is finally arrested in Paraguay in 2005 after 5 years of being on the America's Most Wanted list. However, the real Johnny was arrested in Saraquema, Brazil.

tragedy, revenge, murder, violence, home movie

train

imdb

The characters, for the most part, aren't likable, but very realistic and well-played.The premise, of course, is based on a true story, but in my opinion was very well put-together so that it wasn't dull in any way, shape, or form. To me, it felt like a better-quality, more entertaining version of films like "Bully" and "Havoc".I would highly recommend this movie to anyone who likes true-crime dramas.. Alpha Dog starts off as what seems like a movie all about a group of friends who life their idea of the American dream: doing drugs, having sex, and hanging out with each other not a care in the world. However, when their leader, Johnny Truelove (Emile Hirsch), decides to kidnap the brother (Anton Yelchin) of a man (Ben Foster) who owes him drug money, their perfect world begins to shatter as they realize that their mindless prank has become a situation that could get them stuck in jail for the rest of their lives.The acting is pretty good considering the cast is mostly young men with little to no experience. I could name the other young actors too, whom did all a great job in this movie, but you can also read their names on the IMDb list for the movie.I liked the movie, because it's an honest, dramatic and sometimes funny look at small time crime-rs.. Gone were the moments where you can see everything he thinks and feels on his face as when he portrays Z-boy Jay Adams or as Tim Travis in "Imaginary Heroes." He is supposed to be the heartless bad guy in this and since he is portraying a real person perhaps the flatness of this character is due to an accurate depiction of real life Jesse James Hollywood. Even knowing all that I knew, the story, the actors, the characters, even knowing all that, the emotional wave that takes over and propels the film through its last act is just beyond any words. At one point I actually heard myself saying in my head that he is the star of this movie, if there is one.I could go on...Ben Foster, Shawn Hatosy, Chris Marquette, Sharon Stone, Amanda Seyfried, Dominique Swain, Olivia Wilde, Bruce Willis...I put them in alphabetical order because it wouldn't be fair to rank them. I recorded it off of the TV because it said it had Bruce Willis and Sharon Stone in it… little did I know that they had very small parts.The movie is a drama about a group of 20 something's all running around in gangs, smoking pot, causing trouble and waving guns around. It keeps you hanging really well.It is not the best drama I have ever seen, but it is still very good.I will give this film 7 out of 10."Dude, this shirt is f****** cool, Bob Marley is cool, you guys think the kidnapping is cool?"For more reviews, please like my Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ordinary-Person-Movie- Reviews/456572047728204?ref=hl. The dialogue feels extremely unnatural, even for kids who normally have no sense of English, a lot of the stereotypical screaming women are very over the top and many of the actors behave like they've never even been drunk or high, much less seen a real gangster, or even a poser gangster before (except perhaps Ben Foster and Sharon Stone, who both have at least one very competent scene).Mr. Cassavetes seemed to disagree with me, particularly with regards to Justin Timberlake. There are far better movies that have presented these types of negative lifestyle's as-is (see Kids, Gummo, American History X, Trainspotting, Finding Forrester, etc.) as well as ones that have come off relatively preachy (On The Waterfront, Requiem For A Dream, Blow, Leaving Las Vegas, etc.) but still manage to have a consistent vision.Many audience members will be affected by the fact that this film is a true story. No matter the outcome, this is merely another tragic and stupid story of what happens with kids with too much free time and too much of their parents' money; had the main character not been on the FBI's Most Wanted list for 5 years or rather had the victim not been white, rich, and in a suburban setting, this story would've never caught anyone's attention. Gritty and unsettling how far this "kidnapping" goes which hits home at the end when the audience is told what happened to everyone involved.It's a fact based drama surrounding a middle class drug dealer and his gang of 20-ish friends who kidnap the teenager brother of a client who owes them money and refuses to pay. But in the end, he's still in danger.This is Nick Cassavetes film based on a real life crime story. While mixing reality with the dramatization of the movie is interesting, there isn't enough emotion invested in the characters (largely due to the lack of character development) to care about what happens to them.On the bright side, Justin Timberlake shines and does a wonderful job of both creating a real character and pulling empathy from the audience.. It has an outstanding cast (Bruce Willis, Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried, Emile Hirsch, Sharon Stone, the late Anton Yelchin, etc.), but it wasn't quite an outstanding movie. The characters, as I understand, are eerily like the real life people depicted, and all of the actors have done a great job terrifying me, surprising me, and making me feel sadder than any other film I can remember in recent history. Which is by no means meant to discourage you from watching this film, as I believe it is an absolute must-see for anyone who cares about the society we live in.Jake Mazursky, an explosively charged skinhead, owes a large sum of drug money to a young thug called Johnny Truelove. But then, as fear starts to spread of having to do hard time, Johnny and his allies make a decision that spins the situation horribly out of control...The character of Jake is played by Ben Foster, and I think he did an amazing job. It is a portrait of frighteningly laconic individuals and the shockingly low bar to unnecessary violence, and it shows just how easy it is for young people to get involved with all the wrong influences, simply because they have not yet lived long enough to know any better, or lack the proper role models to show them alternative ways.I cannot recommend this film enough. Next time, instead of ripping out this headline, rip out your notebook on which you scrawled this junk of a screenplay, and start over again.You know, Nick, It is fitting that two formerly 'good' (and I do use that term loosely) actors, Sharon Stone and Bruce Willis, are at their worst in this film. The people that spent upwards of $ 10.00 will be more then willing to forgive you.Unfortunately, your movie is just one in a long line of exploitative films designed for middle class white kids that for some reason, worship ghetto (or inferior) culture. The best movies that deal with gangs/drug dealers ultimately and I know this is a hard thing to do for Hollywood, make judgments upon the characters they portray. The story is totally predictable, there's lots of bad acting (Heather Wahlquist was surprisingly good and funny though) and even accomplished actors like Harry Dean Stanton or Sharon Stone couldn't save this mess. The soundtrack fits the story of a bunch of teen wannabee gangstas well.Alpha Dog reminded me of Larry Clark's "Bully" only that the latter is still a much better movie despite Clark's manipulative and hypocritical exploitation of his protagonists and his playing the shock card about the oh so disturbing state of the nation's youth. Some of them have meanwhile arrived there, so if you're watching it for the first time, you'll probably see a lot of actors you've seen elsewhere.However, i've heard almost nothing about Alpha Dog which led me to the believe that it is another movie you rent on DVD and fast-forward through it or do something else as it's playing. One is the tragic true story of a harmless young man punished by idiots for no reason whatsoever.The other is the gallery of characters we meet in the movie: Nazi-Jews (sic), stoned teenagers and an occasional careless parent. Damn, what can I say about this film apart from it is excellent, and I mean Justin Timberlake was excellent in this film, him and the lad who played Zack Mazursky get the performances of the film, this film is thought provoking, heart wrenching, absolutely spot on, I would recommend this film to anyone, so it starts off very gangsterish and continues in that manner for most of the film but I would strongly urge anyone to give this film a chance if just to watch the ending which by the way isn't what you should just skip to and watch, you need to watch the film to truly understand what it's about.Do yourself a favour and watch the film, don't just watch some of it then switch it off thinking it's crap, give it a chance and at the end of it you will be thinking damn, that was awesome!!.. A truly pathetic movie, I know that those "type" of derelict drug addict losers exist in real life minus the murder/kidnapping and are nothing but a waste of good oxygen that someone else could be breathing. The Actors like J.Timberlake are so Bad please never ever give a new role for him,poor Work real.A Movie that no one on this World need. I have to admit, that the story of "Alpha Dog" looked good to me, when I read about it, but then I saw the movie."Alpha Dog" is the worst movie I have seen since a long time now, it is boring, it can't stand its own ambition to be "reportage"-like movie or something like that and has absolutely nothing to score with.You have Bruce Willis - a good actor - who got a lame role in which he could not even perform anything. But its soulless posturing and jaded cynicism are far more repellant than cool.The film is a retelling of the story of Jesse James Hollywood, one of the youngest people ever to appear on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list.In writer-director Nick Cassavetes' vision, Hollywood (renamed Johnny Truelove and played by Emile Hirsch from "Lords of Dogtown") is a craven punk who inherits his criminal tendencies from his father and grandfather (Bruce Willis and Harry Dean Stanton, respectively) and whose empire of drug dealing, violence and partying is built on the work and muscle of a circle of sycophants.Johnny is terrified, for instance, of Jake Mazursky (Ben Foster), a local hothead who owes him money but has no fear of him or his goons. He likes showing the sex and drugs and fighting all right, but he uses distancing tactics such as scrambling time or labeling new characters with such tags as "Witness #11" or having a journalist interview the principals about their retrospective thoughts.His work with actors is similarly uneven: Hirsch, Timberlake (!) and the whiny Yelchin are good, but Foster is allowed to chew the scenery with heedless abandon, and Sharon Stone's performance as the kidnapped boy's mother varies from sympathetically strung-out to laughably self-indulgent. They kidnap a 15 year old played by Anton Yeltchen (who, in the movie, is the brother of Ben Foster, who owes them $1,200), only Anton is glad to be kidnapped cause he resents his over-bearing parents, and gets a glimpse into this anything-goes, 24-hours-a-day-party-scene of the rich and responsibility-free youth of the west coast. I didn't think, I would like this movie as I am not into these kinda of movies, I gave this movie to my brother for his birthday but never watch it until that today.I was thinking the movie was not going to be that good, the acting will be bad but that sure changed after I put the DVD on.This movie start of with little party, then it dose not take too long to get to action, when Jake gatecrashes Johnn'y part they both come to a blow.The next morning Zach who just had argument with is parents,sneak out of his room, only to be kidnapped by Johnny and he pals.Zach's is okay with it, figuring his brother will pay the debt soon. Johnny tellsFrankie to be Zach's minder and they become really good friends, While Zach is being kidnapped, he really enjoying drinking and smoking.It can get bit silly, that a lot of people know that his been kidnapped but that the only downside.but my god the ending,I was shocked I didn't think it would end that way, it was so shocking.Acting was really good, great movie7/10. The good news about Alpha Dog is that it works an absolute treat, a deeply distressing yet inherently moving film about people who amble into certain circles; quickly find their feet and then come into access the sorts of cars, houses and wealth that ought to be beyond them at this early stage in their lives.Where the likes of "11:14" was something like eight vignettes crammed into an 88 minute run time, and my criticisms were that if Pulp Fiction was by its own admission "three stories...about one story", and was an involving; burning drama which struck us as adult, why would you want to up the story quota and shorten the runtime in order to create something inferior and merely childish? It's not a bad movie, but not much better than that.After a slow start, the film has a few interesting things to say about the Californian youth culture, and paces nicely toward an end in which I have to admit I was engaged. Justin Timberlake (in the midst of his transformation from music star to acting star) stands out as one of the slackers/wannabe gangsters who kidnap a kid and then don't know what to do with him, and the young cast are ably supported by veterans Bruce Willis, Harry Dean Stanton and Sharon Stone.It is interesting to see a film which only becomes interesting when the action *stops* rather than starts. As for the cast, Bruce Willis and Sharon Stone are fine as usual (though their parts are rather small), but the real surprises to me were Ben Foster, Anton Yeltchin and Justin Timberlake, especially the latter, who is mostly soft and "dilatory" in his music, but gave a remarkably tough performance in the movie. But still, in all the other ways possible, I found it to be a great movie.The actors themselves were pretty good, particularly Justin Timberlake (surprisingly). I know that the director wanted to say certain things about life in Southern California, and he is going to open some eyes, but the acting takes this movie down significantly. Vannila Ice anyone?If you watch this movie have a barf bag nearby you will need it for this script and for this acting.This isn't realistic, accurate or interesting or well acted.PLOT: some suburban losers who think they are gangsters kidnap the brother of a guy who owes them money- stupidity ensues along with terrible acting and unrealistic sequences.. i am in no way trying to compare the two, but alpha dog reminded me a little of requiem for a dream just because in the end of both movies you walk away with 'wow, seemingly benign situations can get REALLY out of hand sometimes'maybe stories like this wouldn't happen if drugs were legalized and governmentally regulated? Geat grouping of young up and coming stars.The story line was excellent and stayed true to the character.A must see for any Emile fan,keep an eye on this kid for the future.Also watch for some great acting by Mr. Timberlake who is becoming a better actor with each role he is given.Remember this is what Hollywood needs,more new story lines not rehashed old ones that never did well in the first place.All I can say is keep more movies like this coming and the silver screen will be fine for years to come.As for the previous mention of Emile check out a movies he did called Wild Iris,Dangerous Lives of Alter Boys,and Lords of Dogtown to see this kids talent.Thanks for the forum to voice my opinion,till next time,keep watching and supporting the fine art of acting.. But there were sooo many characters and changes in the end, the movie is about Justin Timberlake(who was great) character and the kidnapped kid. However, on the bright side, Justin Timberlake does a good job of acting and making his character real. You got good performances from Bruce Willis, and Sharon Stone,, Emile Hirsch is great, the afformentioned Timberlake,, and a cast of others that is too numerous to mention here, basically a young boy get's kidnapped by a bunch of drug runners,, he is kidnapped because his older brother owes money to a guy,, the brother don't pay,, kid get's kidnapped,, but it's really not that simple,, although that is really what it boils down too. The world of young, idiotic and foolhardy drug dealers is explored in great deal in this film, with some excellent role performances from Emile Hirsch, Justin Timberlake and, most of all, from Anton Yelchin, who really made us feel for the character of Zack. The only reason I started watching this film is because I think Emile Hirsh and Anton Yelchin are good actors. The acting of Yelchin in that scene is the main reason why I'm reviewing this film, so that anyone who starts watching sticks up to the end because it's really worth it. This is a really good movie and I really just wanted to comment on all the people that say the acting is bad and the kids in the movie are trying to hard to be ghetto wanna be gangsters. Based loosely on a true story the film does move on quite well making you want to watch it all the way through.

tt1504320

The King's Speech

Prince Albert, Duke of York, the second son of King George V, stammers through his speech closing the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley Stadium. The Duke has given up hope of a cure, but his wife Elizabeth persuades him to see Lionel Logue, an Australian speech therapist living in London. During their first private session, Logue insists on being called Lionel by his patient. In addition, breaching royal etiquette, Logue calls the Prince "Bertie", a name used only by his family. When the Duke decides Logue's treatment is unsuitable, Logue bets him that he can recite Hamlet's "To be, or not to be" soliloquy without trouble and distracts him by playing music through headphones while recording his performance on an acetate record. Prince Albert leaves in anger but Logue offers him the recording as a keepsake. After King George V makes his 1934 Christmas radio address, he explains to his son the importance of broadcasting to a modern monarchy and demands that Albert train himself, starting with a reading of his father's speech. His attempt to do so is a failure. Later, the Duke plays Logue's recording and hears himself reciting unhesitatingly. He therefore returns to Logue, where he and his wife both insist that Logue focus only on physical exercises, not therapy. Logue teaches his patient muscle relaxation and breath control but continues to probe gently and persistently at the psychological roots of the stutter. Albert eventually reveals some of the pressures of his childhood and the two men start to become friends. With George V’s death in 1936, his eldest son David ascends the throne as King Edward VIII, but causes a constitutional crisis with his determination to marry Wallis Simpson, an American socialite divorcée who is still legally married to her second husband. It is pointed out that Edward, as head of the Church of England, cannot marry her, even if she receives her second divorce, because both her previous husbands are alive. At his next session, Albert expresses his frustration that while his speech has improved when talking to most people, he still stammers when talking to his own brother and reveals the extent of Edward VIII's folly with Simpson. When Logue insists that Albert could be a good king instead, the latter labels such a suggestion as treason and dismisses Logue. When King Edward decides to abdicate in order to marry Simpson, Albert reluctantly succeeds him as King George VI. The new king and queen visit Logue to make up the quarrel, startling Mrs. Logue, who was unaware that the new King had been her husband's patient. During preparations for his coronation in Westminster Abbey, George learns that Logue has no formal qualifications. When confronted, Logue explains how he was asked to help shell-shocked Australian soldiers returning from The Great War. Since George remains unconvinced of his own fitness for the throne, Logue sits in King Edward's Chair and dismisses the underlying Stone of Scone as a trifle. Goaded by Logue's seeming disrespect, the King surprises himself with his own sudden burst of outraged eloquence and allows Logue to rehearse him for the ceremony. Upon Britain's declaration of World War II with Nazi Germany in 1939, King George summons Logue to Buckingham Palace to prepare for his upcoming radio address to Britain and the Empire. Knowing the challenge that lies before him, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Winston Churchill and Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain are present to offer support. George and Logue are then left in the broadcasting room. He delivers his speech with Logue conducting him, but by the end is speaking freely. Preparing to leave the room for the congratulations of those present in the palace, Logue mentions to the King that he still had difficulty enunciating 'w' and the King jokes back, "I had to throw in a few so they'd know it was me". After the King and his family step onto the balcony of the palace and are applauded by the crowd, a title card explains that Logue was always present at King George VI's speeches during the war and that they remained friends for the rest of their lives.

depressing, dramatic, feel-good, inspiring, historical, storytelling, sentimental

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It occurred to me that some of them may have been alive when George VI gave the actual speech to the British Nation which had just declared war with Hitler.The King's Speech is a feel good movie, but a very adult one, and while it tells a good story, well scripted, absorbing and believable (except for an odd line or two), Tom Hooper's film is far more driven by character than by plot.You may need to see it to believe it but, Colin Firth has no obvious competition for the best actor awards which are coming his way. Overshadowed on the global stage by powerful orators like Adolph Hitler and Benito Mussolini, the King relies on the help of a little-known Australian speech therapist named Lionel Logue to find his voice and courageously lead his people into the most devastating war humanity has ever faced.This is a powerful, hilarious and deeply moving story, told against the backdrop of a critical juncture in modern history, of the emergence of a deep friendship out of a professional relationship between two men who would otherwise never have socially interacted. (Apparently, this also happened at the Roy Thomson Hall premiere.) Geoffrey Rush (Elizabeth: The Golden Age) does a fantastic job as Lionel Logue and Colin Firth (A Single Man) is excellent as King George VI.I saw the second public screening of this movie at the Ryerson Theater during the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). He was joined by Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush after the movie ended for a brief Q&A.It turns out that David Seidler also had a stuttering problem as a child and drew inspiration from the king's struggle. Not only does the actor get pitch perfect the stutter, but he also invests a kindness, courage, and vulnerability in the character that work in harmony to create an unforgettable George in an exquisite period peace.Not to forget how generously Geoffrey Rush underplays Lionel, the speech therapist who is instrumental in making the king a speaker and a friend. Truly, there is no way to improve upon the achievement that this film represents, whether in casting, direction, writing, artistic value, you name it.The story gives us a fascinating look into the struggles faced by George VI on his way to becoming king of England. Edward is typically romanticized and lionized, but here we see him as more of a spoiled, selfish lout.But the heart of the movie is the relationship between George and Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush), who is helping him overcome his speech problems. is good, and as it should be.Colin Firth in the role as King George VI is really good, and he is completely convincing as a man who struggles with different things, such as his temperament, memories from his childhood and of course: his stammering. Let's not forget also the other main characters, Lionel Logue played by Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter as the Duchess of York, Michael Gambon as George V and Timothy Spall as Winston Churchill - all absolutely perfect for their respective roles. While the very idea of a stammering king is inherently interesting, as is the historical context of a gathering world war, the real substance of this movie is the interplay between two fine actors, Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush. Colin Firth was believable as King George VI, Helena Bonham Carter good (if, I thought, a little too irreverent in places) as his wife Elizabeth. Then - the abdication crisis, as his brother King Edward VIII gives up the throne for the woman he loves (the American divorcée Wallis Simpson) leaving poor Bertie (as George was known) to take up the reins and the responsibility of rallying the nation as Britain and its Empire slide toward inevitable war with Nazi Germany.The movie begins with Bertie's disastrous and almost incoherent 1925 speech at Wembley and ends with a still hesitant but nevertheless eloquent speech declaring war on Germany in 1939. In between, the movie essentially deals with the speech therapy that Bertie received from the Australian Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush.) It isn't really all that interesting to witness almost two hours of speech therapy, but one has to feel a certain sympathy for Bertie as he faces this situation that to him must have been terrifying as well as a certain admiration for him - unlike his brother, he sucked it up and overcame his weaknesses and limitations and did his duty. Two years after the decent but unremarkable "Slumdog Millionaire" got an Oscar, and a year after the even more unremarkable "The Hurt Locker" also undeservedly received the coveted statue, the Academy performs an even worse atrocity by denying The Social Network and Black Swan (among others) the best picture award, instead opting for "The King's Speech", a movie so obviously engineered to win a lot of Oscars that it hurts.Of course, this is not a BAD movie. The acting by Geoffrey Rush, Colin Firth and Helena Bonham Carter is first-class and the cinematography is beautiful.Unfortunately, a story about a man overcoming his stuttering is about as boring as it sounds, and the totally risk-less direction doesn't help things either. If I was disappointed by Boyle's latest offering I was pleasantly surprised by THE KINGS SPEECH The movie suffer somewhat from the hype surrounding it but that's not to take away from the fact that it's one of the most charming films I've seen in a long time . With this type of movie a film largely succeeds or fails due to the supporting cast since the two are in danger of dominating the film to the detriment of everyone else but Bonham Carter , Jacobi , Pearce and Gambon make an impact with their small roles as does as unrecognisable Anthony Andrews Realising that the main story of the Prince's stammer isn't enough to carry a 2 hour film the screenplay by David Seidler has a couple of subplots involving King Edward's abdication and the ascent of Hitler in Germany and director Hooper develops the subplots very well . No surprise there then, since it is rare for a commercial feature film to portray historical events with any degree of verisimilitude.I think that Colin Firth is badly miscast as George, and though he struggles hard with the role he fails to convince chiefly because he is physically so wrong - too tall, too good-looking and altogether too commanding a physical presence. Some of the other parts, however, are well played and a delight, especially Geoffrey Rush who is brilliant as Dr Logue (though I confess I have no idea what he was actually like), and it is interesting to see Ramona Marquez, so amazing in "Outnumbered" as Princess Margaret Rose.But much more important than the miscastings, is the general tone of the film and its misrepresentations of the political and social realities of the time. It is also to be doubted how familiar Geoffrey Rush would be with his king in 1930's England with its rigid class system.The performances are however superb, flawless and dazzling with Helena Bonham Carter and Colin Firth hitting exactly the right tone. This was a truly delightful film to watch, supported by a powerful cast and for many people this film will be like an enjoyable course in English History for Dummies as the history and drama of King George's brother abdicating the throne and Adolf Hitler threatening to plunge Europe into a Second World War unfold in a very personal story of struggle.by Shane Kester. So he can not, as far as I am concerned, be awarded for the overall success of this movie (I'm talking about aesthetics, not the Oscars) but rather, the actors.The people in "The King's Speech" make good acting look easy. The acting is splendid, the costumes well-researched, the background score including some classic pieces of Mozart and Beethoven is inspiring, and Tom Hooper's direction is admirable.What hampers the film is the fact that it's protagonist, a stuttering man (Colin Firth) who must ascend the throne when his brother (Guy Pearce) abdicates, is really quite a dull man with a fierce temper and an inability to express himself as a person until he meets the challenge of a speech therapist. But for all his courage in overcoming his handicap, he keeps the story from moving forward until the last thirty minutes when the story's stature becomes more important because of the impending threat from Hitler and WWII.However, it must be said that Colin Firth plays King George VI with gusto, matched only by Geoffrey Rush as Mr. Logue, his therapist. Colin Firth deserved his Oscar and Geoffrey Rush would have deserved a nomination as a Best Actor rather than Best Supporting Actor since his role his clearly a co-starring one.More importantly, the film does a grand job of humanizing the Royals.. It's so hard when you're seeing a movie after it's been hyped as much as "The King's Speech" has and been nominated for 12 Academy Awards to boot not to have expectations of greatness....and be somewhat disappointed when greatness fails to materialize.That said, "The King's Speech" is a perfectly well-made and mostly entertaining film about King George VI and his efforts to overcome a stutter that threatened to hurt his image as ruler of his kingdom. The delivery of that speech is the film's best moment; the rest of the movie is tasteful and intelligent, but not overly inspired.I could have done without the "Ordinary People" therapy moments between George and his speech therapist (played in the film's best performance by Geoffrey Rush), in which we learn that George's problem results from a troubled childhood and the pressures placed upon him by dear old poppa. At the time I saw this, I was reading David Halberstam's "The Fifties," which talks at length about the very same kind of transition between radio and television in the late 1940s, so I found that part of the film especially of interest.Colin Firth is quite good as George, and Helena Bonham Carter doesn't get much to do (but does what she does get to do well enough) as the Queen Mum.Grade: B+. I enjoyed this film but apart from Geoffrey Rush's fine acting and some amusing snippets of dialogue, it did not strike me as an Oscar contender.The film covers the period between the end of the reign of George V and the early days of George VI (Colin Firth).Firth plays Prince Albert ("Bertie" who later took the name of George on his coronation) as a character demanding our sympathy. The last ten minutes alone may win him his long-awaited Oscar.Geoffrey Rush may also run away with a little golden statue this year: he is by turns funny, wry, and sympathetic as Lionel Logue, and his scenes with Firth are invariably the highlights of the film. I enjoyed the relationship between the excellent Geoffrey Rush and Firth, even if it's a reversal of My Fair Lady, the commoner advising the posho on speech.Then Michael Gambdon's King George V is wheeled out to deliver the most awful leaden-footed exposition, all about how Germany is in enthral to the Nazis and how Bertie's feckless brother is involved with this Wallis woman. They make you be interested in something you wouldn't have been, have you not seen the movie about that person or about a thing.The stammer that King George VI had is undoubtedly performed with a great power by Colin. In the spirit of his contemporary, Peter Morgan (writer of The Queen, Frost/Nixon and other great films), and also The Social Network, Seidler takes what would seemingly be a very trivial anecdote – King George VI of England's speech therapy sessions – and manages to create a genuinely compelling and fascinating drama out of it. Another important element that enriches the dynamics of the film is Alexandre Desplat's beautiful, understated score, which combines his own compositions with fantastic pieces of classical music that really work well to enhance the emotions of the story.In costume dramas, the acting is often just as if not more prominent than the cinematography, costume and set design, and The King's Speech is no exception. At the center of the film are two monumental performances from two of the greatest actors working today: Colin Firth, whom I still believe deserved the Oscar last year for his sublime turn in Tom Ford's A Single Man, and whom I believe deserves the Oscar this year for his equally sublime performance as King George VI. Rounding out the supporting cast are wonderful performances from Helena Bonham-Carter as the king's loving wife (and future Queen Mother), and Guy Pearce as King George's snooty, outrageous brother who is more obsessed with his married American socialite girlfriend than with actually doing a good job as monarch. It is a wonderful ensemble that works fantastically well together, and results in some of the best performances of the year.Although I would rank it up there with the likes of The Remains of the Day and Atonement, The King's Speech is also set apart from those movies for one important reason: It is funny, and certainly much funnier than I expected it to be. But The King's Speech is just that: A wildly enjoyable piece of entertainment, with a heart, a fantastic story and script, and beautiful production values, music and cinematography easily make this one of the best films of the year.. From the great libraries of war movies like Ice Cold in Alex, through modern day classics such as Chariots of Fire, The Kings Speech will take its place proudly at the top table.To Colin Firth, winning the Oscar is somewhat incidental. His wife Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter) comes across a reputed speech therapist Lionel Logue (Jeffrey Rush in an equally compelling performance) who helped impaired World War I veterans regain their voices. Director Tom Hooper who was responsible for fine work in the recent John Adams mini-series, takes the story of Prince Albert in a much different direction than one might think by reading history books.Collin Firth does a masterful job of portraying Prince Albert, who falls directly into the role of King after the death of his father George V (Michael Gambon) and abdication of the throne by his brother Edward (Guy Pearce) when he, for some reason, just has to marry the love of his life - a thrice divorced woman named Wallis Simpson (Eve Best). The guts of this story is the relationship between King George and his peculiar speech therapist, Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush). I have not seen yet all the films nominated to the Oscar, but the excellent Colin Firth is really awesome in the role of King George VI. The idea for the film came about after Seidler read about how King George VI (Firth) overcame his stammer after a friendship was formed with his voice coach Lionel Logue (Rush). There are so many levels and angles one could use to describe this movie.One could take pity on a man for whom most of the world would believe had it "comfortable" - particularly in the background of the Great Depression - but one learns early that "Mr. Johnson" had his own deep problems and unlike most of us had to alternative but to face them head on.When I saw his 2 young daughters history suddenly came alive for me, realizing that they were Elizabeth and Margaret.There is some dry British humor when the speech therapist asks "Mrs. Johnson" if her husband can avoid speaking engagements.History comes alive in this movie that is entertaining, educational and inspirational.I left the theater believing George VI was a man who had a terrible handicap to overcome and through humility and guts, did so while leading Britain through her most terrible period.This is easily the best movie I have seen in some years.. Although it's often called the most feared human task, public speaking is, nevertheless, a talent we expect of all modern leaders.In "The King's Speech", the British Duke of York, Albert (Colin Firth), is about to become the King of England (King George VI) at a time when the people who shared his destiny were the eloquent Winston Churchill, Franklin D. His personal bravery was well developed in the brilliant portrayal by actor Firth.What makes "The King's Speech" a great movie is the magnificent acting and casting, supported by a superb story about the salient qualities of leadership. The events in the film were moved up to the time just before Edward abdicates, making the important speech of King George VI at the beginning of World War II. The film is poignant, with some great touches of humor and fantastic performances, and the dramatic license makes Albert's plight all the more desperate.Colin Firth is magnificent as Albert/King George VI. A great film takes a struggle and a person you think you might not care about, and makes both seem as intimate to you as your own life.Colin Firth, in "The King's Speech," gives one of the best performances I've ever seen. The King's Speech is an impressive movie from start to finish, where we see newly crowned King George VI (Colin Firth) attempting to cure his stammer problem by seeking the help of speech therapist Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush). Colin Firth did a great job in portraying King George VI, as did Helena Bonham Carter portraying his wife, Queen Elizabeth. Basically set in the 1920s and 30s, this tells the story of how King George VI (Colin Firth) who had a stammering problem when speaking receives help from an Australian speech therapist Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush)to control his stammering so he can do speeches, whilst his supported by his wife Queen Elizabeth (Helen Bonham Carter). It used to get really embarrassing watching the king struggle with the words while people raised placards saying "God save the king" albeit Lionel assists him to get his fluency and works wonder eventually.The drama is well depicted and well assisted by some great performances by Geoffrey Rush, Colin Firth and Helena Bonham Carter.

tt1188990

Fritt vilt II

Jannicke (Berdal), the only survivor from the massacre depicted in the previous movie, is picked up in Jotunheimen and brought to a hospital in Otta. At the hospital, she receives good care, but seems distant from her caretakers. While she stays in the hospital, she meets a boy named Daniel and the two have a pleasant conversation. Meanwhile, in the rest of the hospital police officers Einar and Kim discuss Jannicke's situation and investigate her last known location at the hotel where they discover several bodies nearby including the mountain man's and has it sent back to the hospital. At the hospital, officer Sverre flirts with the local nurse Audhild while nurse Camilla tries to uncover Jannicke's story. It is also revealed that Jannicke has been suffering nightmares from her previous encounter with the mountain man and even goes as far as attacking the mountain man's body in the morgue, much to the surprise of her caretakers. They decide to drug her to keep her calm after her emotional outburst, much to the protest of nurse Camilla. During this time, the police investigation continues as they begin to discover more bodies. However, at the hospital the mountain man shows sign of life and is frantically resuscitated, much to the horror of Jannicke who violently attempts to stop them but is tranquillized in the process. The doctors manage to successfully bring the mountain man back to life and leave him under watch by Sverre. Eventually the mountain man wakes up, murders a distracted Sverre, and breaks free. He then proceeds to go in a killing spree across the hospital while a recently awoken Jannicke escapes the hospital in the aftermath with Daniel and Camilla while locking the mountain man in the basement. They proceed to rendezvous with officers Kim, Ole, Einar and Johan outside. After being told to stay outside by Einar, who has been investigating the mountain man's background, Jannicke watches nervously as he enters the hospital with Ole and Kim accompanying while Daniel is taken away by his mother. Inside, the officers fail to find the mountain man and decide to pull back from the hospital but are side tracked by Johan's radio message revealing the location of Sverre's body. After finding the body, the officers are attacked and all but Ole are killed in the ambush. After watching gunshots within the hospital, Jannicke offers to enter the hospital with officer Johan. However, this plan is interrupted when the mountain man attacks, wounding her and killing officer Johan as well as frightening Camilla. The remaining two are then saved by a severely wounded Ole who dies of his wounds distracting the mountain man allowing the survivors to escape. Enraged, Jannicke travels to the hotel where the first movie occurred and falls asleep waiting for the mountain man. The mountain man eventually appears and seems to have the upper hand over Jannicke but is defeated when Camilla arrives. Not satisfied with the mountain man being stabbed through the chest by his own pickaxe, Jannicke ensures the mountain man's death with a shotgun blast to the head.

violence, murder, flashback

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Then I popped "Cold Prey 2" in and I was speech less.There are 3 things that every slasher movie needs to be enjoyable1. A Good Pace - This is what a lot of slasher movies get wrong and this was one of the main problems I had with the first film. I thought it was more violent and action packed this time around but not overly done because just like in the original it focused on suspense and scares and character development more than gore and torture which is very rare in slashers these days. There is not one dull moment in this film and is more fast paced than the original but it also has a build up too and is twice as entertaining and thrilling but the things that kept me from giving it a full 5 star rating is that it kind of lost its slasher touch making it more like an action/thriller with an body count and was less scary. The last half was fantastic though and kept me on the edge of my seat and had me rooting for the lead to survive and the film leaves it open for a Cold Prey 3 and I can't wait! The "snowman" that we thought was killed in first movie wakes up at the hospital and horror once more brakes out. I think the actors does a very good job, and you get close to the characters just like in the first movie. "Cold Prey II" successfully follows up its original with a good level of suspense and legitimate jump scares. "Cold Prey II" definitely doesn't help give movie audiences an alternate view of what to expect if you plan a ski trip to that part of the world.After surviving a horrific killing spree at an abandoned ski lodge, a college girl named Jannicke (Ingrid Bolsø Berdal) is taken to a remote hospital for treatment. Unfortunately, the monstrous murderer isn't dead and begins slaughtering the patients, nurses, and doctors in his mission to finish what he started with Jannicke."Cold Prey II" is the perfect example of a modern slasher film done right. Although it brings nothing new to the table, it manages to keep up a level of suspense and delivers some legitimate jump scares at the same time.I couldn't shake the feeling that director Mats Stenberg and writer Thomas Moldestad were doing their own version of "Halloween II" and "Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter" for a Norwegian audience. Like those classic 1980s films, much of the action takes place in a hospital. The vision of the giant killer in "Cold Prey II" standing at the end of a corridor with the lights blinking reminded me of the same type of scenes in the sequels to John Carpenter and Sean S. Cunningham's iconic originals."Cold Prey II" is a welcome addition to the slasher genre. "Fritt vilt II" is the sequel of "Fritt vilt" and in this one we find Jannicke who wakes up in the hospital and all of her friends are dead and she is alone or she thinks that she is. One and last thing I have to say, and that is that her nightmare did not even start.I liked this movie and I believe that is a really good sequel for a horror movie and I also believe that the interpretation of Ingrid Bolsø Berdal as Jannicke for one more time was really nice. I also liked the interpretation of Marthe Snorresdotter Rovik who plays as nurse of this hospital and helps Jannicke.Finally I have to say that I did not expect that "Fritt vilt II" to be such a nice horror movie and I am glad that it was.. I watched this movie back to back with its first one.I found this one was a better thriller than the first.But this screenplay also follows the famous movies like "visiting hours" It was a solid start from part 1. Not like other movies here you meet the killer with a new team, this starts from what it ended in the first part.The lead heroine was very convincing in her role since she comes out well in this part.I should say the accompanying doctor girl had a charming cute comedy stuff face but she tried well.On the whole it was convincingly presented except some loop holes like they fail to mention about the corpses they found later on in the crevasse.I would rate it 7 on 10. Check Out. Jannicke (Ingrid Bolse Berdal) is found wandering shocked in the snow in Stehotinn by Ole (Kim Wifladt) that brings her to the Otta Sjukehus Hospital where his girlfriend Dr. Camilla (Marthe Snorresdotter Rovik) works. Jannicke tells the location of the breach where the bodies of her friends Eirik, Mikail and Ingunn and the psychopath killer are to the skeptical police officers. This is a pretty decent slasher trilogy in the making.I saw the first "Cold Prey" and thought it was okay. It was kind of slow and the kills weren't that great but it was beautifully filmed, well- enough acted for a Swedish film, or maybe that's Norwegian, who knows, and it had an awesome twist ending with one of the best hardcore metal songs to the end credits I have ever heard. In many respects it was a lot like Halloween (1978)."Cold Prey 2" is even better than the first. It keeps all the successful elements from the first movie (well shot, well acted, well-directed) but has more kills, more tension and less build-up which is good because really, I've seen it all before and unless your birthing some slasher narrative miracle of nature there really is no need to have protracted character development revolving around horny teens.Actually I liked this one (#2) better because it takes place in a hospital, has fully mature adults who are way less happy and way less whiny than the annoying teens in the first movie and has way better kills and pacing.By the way, Halloween 2 (1980) takes place in a hospital. It takes place right after the events of the first film as our heroine from the first is taken to a nearby hospital. In essence Cold Prey 2 is a fusion of Halloween 2 and Friday the 13th Part 4: The final Chapter but again it has its own stamp and it stands alone and proud in the slasher genre. Throw in some great kills and you have one of the better horror sequels in some time. If not, it does make sense watching it (especially if you are more of a slasher movie fan), because this does continue where the other one left off at the end.This is more straightforward and does not try to be "cute" (again talking about the ending of the other movie, but also about "character" moments and decisions that you'll only see in a movie like this one). At the end of the movie, you'll be left with nothing but disappointment, but hey, wasn't that also quite predictable of a slasher movie sequel from Norway?. Fritt Vilt should definitely be remembered as Norway's lead Slasher (though I haven't had any chance to see any other Norwegian Horror films). Instead of writing this review as I usually like to, separating the good from the bad, I've decided this time to write my thoughts in the chronological order they've occurred.First of all - Cold Prey 2 picked up pretty much exactly where Cold Prey ended, and was an actual sequel, rather than a film that only used the same location or same slasher. It wasn't as obvious as Mark Hamil's total makeover between The Empire Strikes Back and The Return of the Jedi, but it was still noticeable and slightly hurt suspension of disbelief.Second - Slasher-wise, this sequel unfortunately pretty much devastated all the greatness of the first film. Most importantly - be persistent, if the first film presented the slasher as a man, don't make him a superhero in the 2nd.Third - the ending, while having no twists and no exceptionally wise turn of events, was still very original and well done! Excellent acting by Ingrid Bolsø Berdal (despite her hair) and a great way to finish the story while leaving some potential loose ends for the third film.Coming to think of it, now that I re-read the aforementioned notes, I think I liked this film even more than the first one! I really love how the writer/director takes their the time for us to LIKE the characters. I CARED about them, and didn't want to see them hurt, unlike some of the horror movies where the characters are almost annoying and w kinda LIKE to see them killed off.It just makes for a more roller coaster of an emotional ride. Previously she had nightmares and visions and even visited the bodies of her friends in the morgue.Now with the killer on the lose, off course he turns the light off and starts taking people out. Now he believes Jannicke and makes it to the hospital as the killer is about to run out of people to kill. Cold Prey 2 is a competent slasher that still could have been improved some more.. The sequel to the brilliance that was Cold Prey does it again with this excellent follow up.The Plot = This picks up exactly where the last one left off, where Jannicke is picked up from the side of the road dazed confused and full of blood, is taken to the local hospital which in fact is closing down, where only a few members of staff are working there and a handful of patients, but when the police find the bodies of her friends and killer and are brought back to the hospital, the killer comes back alive and starts pick-axing his way through the hospital.Wow very rarely we get a sequel that matches the original but this one actually does and again hits all the right notes, where in the first one was mostly character development in this one we get a bigger body count and more action, which again I always love. The killer yet again was genuinely creepy, big, brutal and is even more nastier, like the scene with the nurse and the fire extinguisher (really brutal).Again like the first one, we get a build up of the main characters and then kicks into gear gives nearly an hour's worth of sweet action, as the survivors attempt to avoid the mountain man and exit the hospital in time for more police to arrive. That's essentially the price you have to pay when you want a feature with lots of action elements, which in my opinion make for a more entertaining watch (depending on the story).A factor I liked about this movie was that we get more of a back story on the killer this time, which really kept me interested and I even wanted to find out more and more, and the cast were again decent, I liked the fact that they were normal looking people and not fashion models The killer also makes for an interesting hunter, laying down a couple traps for our victims to find themselves caught in, proving that he's also fairly intelligent. The final scene was just pure brilliance and doesn't suck like a lot of movies I've seen.The cast, well Ingrid Bolso Berdal (Jannicke) does it again, I was glad that she survived the first time round and this time she's just as great becoming more of a action babe this time round without going over the top which I liked and Marthe Snorresdotter Rovick (Camilla) was an interesting addition to the cast as the Doctor, she made a very sympathetic character and not just another crying and sobbing supporting player she really comes into her own especially towards the end.All in all while the first one delivered mood and atmosphere, this one delivers old school action slasher with an intimidating and potentially iconic killer and another must see. I didn't have high expectations for a sequel that brings back to life a killer that had been hit by pickax, took a fall of at least 30 feet onto frozen ice, and spent several hours lying at -20.Despite of this I found Fritt Vilt 2 to be an enjoyable sequel even if somewhat a predictable one. The camera work and sound effects are very and I found the acting even better than in the first movie with Ingrid Bolsø Berdal once again giving an excellent performance as Jannicke, the only survivor of Fritt Vilt 1. I can't really express an opinion on the dialogs as I watched this film in Norwegian and only understood most of it because I speak some Swedish.Spoilers begin _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Why did I not find it as good as the first movie then? First of all what made Fritt Vilt I really good was the setting: the characters were stuck in an abandoned hotel in the middle of nowhere surrounded by high snow which made any attempt to escape very difficult. In the sequel they are in a hospital and a few of the characters could have run out of it earlier than they actually did. 3) When the homicidal maniac - who has killed all your friends, 1 doctor, 1 nurse, and 5 policemen - manages to disappear you decide to go after him but you obviously forget about the Glock you were holding in the hand and only bring the shotgun and a knife! 5) If you are nurse when your favorite patient decides to hunt down the homicidal maniac who just killed your boyfriend, you first think about it for a couple of hours, then make up your mind and run home to grab your hunting rifle but make sure not to call anybody for help!The final scene is neat though: how to put it? I liked the first part better but this movie is also worth watching.I loved how it picks up exactly where the last one left off. It's entertaining and gripping from beginning to end.What I liked a lot in the movie is that the audience gets some information about the killer, we see interesting parts of his back story.7/10. Superiorly Supreme Norwegian Slasher Art. Logically unfolding sequel to the supremely atmospheric and haunting Norwegian horror hit "Cold Prey", released two years prior. Sole survivor Jannicke gets picked up by the side of a snowy road and taken to a nearby hospital that is as good as empty due to being closed very soon. "Cold Prey II" is a more than worthwhile successor of the original, this time with a sinister abandoned hospital setting instead of an abandoned skiing resort setting. The sequel is actually even slightly more suspenseful than the first film, because there's a more intense aura of mystery hanging around the killer's persona. Let it be clear that these Norwegians definitely know how to generate the right mood for an atmospheric and nightmarishly intense horror film. When is the last time a slasher actually scared you? She's taken to the local hospital where she reveals the story of the massacre of her friends at the ski lodge by the masked psychopath Geir (Robert Follin, who replaced the first film's Rune Melby). This spells bad news for everyone as Geir breaks free and goes on yet another vicious murder spree through the hospital.Taking an obvious page from the book of the 'Halloween' franchise, rookie filmmaker Mats Stenberg, taking over for the first film's director Roar Uthaug, moves the 'Fritt Vilt' story out of the lodge and into the hospital, very much like Laurie Strode's experience in 'Halloween II.' It seemed, at first, that this sequel would lose the feel of the first film due to the change in location, but it ended up not losing a beat at all. However, the film is not solely about the slasher-style scares & kills. In fact, 'Fritt Vilt II' has some of the best suspense and build-up I've seen in this subgenre for a long time. Although very few of the characters had to pull off overly complex characters, Yannicke definitely had some substance to work with and performed very well as one of the most badass "final girls" that's come to the slasher subgenre in a while.Overall, 'Fritt Vilt II' is a fantastic entry into the genre and is a contender as one of the best slashers of the decade, being one of the few films that may all-around surpass its predecessor.Final Verdict: 8.5/10 -AP3-. I was remarkably underwhelmed by Cold Prey, I'd been told it was a work of art but saw it as just another generic slasher flick.For this reason I came into Cold Prey 2 thinking it would be more of the same but was pleasantly surprised.Picking up from the closing moments of the first film we follow our "Final girl" Jannicke as she recovers in hospital but the nightmare is far from over.With a new setting, great cast and competent delivery this is what I expected in the first place and was quite a joy to watch.Don't get me wrong there is nothing revolutionary about Cold Prey 2 but it's some fine story telling and I'm now excited to see how the trilogy ends.The Good: Very well written Solid cast Follows on perfectly from the first film One great comedic moment The Bad: Ending is a tad rushedThings I Learnt From This Movie: Somewhere between the first movie and this Jannicke turned into Perry from Kevin & Perry. the killer fainted in front of the hospital, If he was killed I would give 9 points for the movie. Annicke (Ingrid Bolsø Berdal) survives Cold Prey to return to the sequel as does our killer (Robert Follin). Along with her friends, is the killer, a Jason kind of guy who just won't die.If you like the Friday the 13th type of slasher and don't mind the subtitles, it is a fairly decent film.

tt1139282

Stolen Lives

Tom Adkins Sr. (Jon Hamm) is a police officer. He's married to Barbara (Rhona Mitra) and they have a son who disappears. While trying to find their own son, they also meddle with the past. The body of an unidentified child appears at a construction site buried within a suitcase. Some years ago, three children seemed to disappear, their bodies never found, never a clue about their whereabouts or what happened to them. There is no even clear evidence of being connected cases.Matthew Wakefield (Josh Lucas) has lost his son, John (Jimmy Bennett), who happened to have cognitive disabilities. He was passing by a sleepy town, and stopped at a downridden countryhouse. The farmer is jealous of his beautiful wife called Rose Montgomery (Morena Baccarin) and threatens Mathew because the wife seems to be making a pass at him. Later on, Mathew stops by at a bar and takes John with him - with the promise that the child would not drink any alcohol or cause any trouble. Suddenly, the sexy wife appears and Mathew lost sight of his son - at the bar's back yard, the wife and Mathew are about to have a sexual relationship. When Mathew returns to the bar, his fun somehow spoiled, he cannot find John anywhere.Matthew's loss happened 50 years ago, and was never able to get over that loss. His wife, Mrs Sally Ann Wakefield (Jessica Chastain) tells Tom Adkins that he could never get rid of his own guilt. John's disappearance may have something to do with Roggiani - sometimes nicknamed Diploma (James Van Der Beek), the only person who helped Mathew to look for his son. The police chief (Jude Ciccolella) thought that Mathew was exaggerating. In fact, he threatens Mathew with telling the jealous husband that he was with his wife. Diploma helps Mathew to search the town, but there's something fishy about him. In a moment, he looks like taking out the rubbish, but when the camera approaches him, we can see that he is putting nails onto an old suitcase. Mathew goes to the sexy wife's home, and threatens the stupid husband, who calls the boy "retarded" three times. It's implied that John never appeared alive again.Later, when the body of a boy enclosed on a suitcase appears, it's very difficult to identify him. Tom Adkins tries to forget about his problems by immersing himself in that investigation. Mrs Wakefield shows him an old photograph of Mathew, John and Diploma, which immediately puts Tom after the trail. Tom questions Diploma about what happened in the spring of 1958. Diploma used to worked at the building site of a company called Beans, and there he used to work with Mathew as bricklayers. Diploma admits to having done it, because the body was retarded and was destroying Mathew's life. Diploma says that that boy should have never been born at all. Tom punches Diploma when he tells of the only time when he really enjoyed killing the boy: he was disguised as a clown at a fairground and took away that boy, who innocent way took him to his favourite place - somewhere under a tree. It's implied that that particular boy was Tom and Barbara's son. Diploma says that he broke his neck while the fireworks were exploding around them.Tom and Barbara's marriage did not survive Tom's guilt. They find the body of their lost son - it had been Diploma who killed him and buried his body under his trailer park mobile home. At the funeral, it looks like there may be hope for the marriage, as Tom finally allows himself to break down and cry.

flashback

train

imdb

tt0834102

Senki

A successful young doctor with a beautiful wife, a happy child, and a comfortable house finds his life suddenly changed in ways he never thought possible after being injured in a serious car accident. To the outside eye Lazar Perkov (Boris Nacev) has everything -- indeed his friends and colleagues have even gone so far as to christen him with the nickname "Lucky." But appearances can sometimes be deceptive, and despite having all the creature comforts, Lazar is constantly trying to live up to the demands of his overbearing mother and discontented spouse. Every day seems to be pretty much the same for the man they call Lucky, until one day when Lazar barely survives a devastating automobile accident. Upon recovering from his life-threatening injuries, Lazar is confronted by a series of people who appear to die time and again, and always deliver the cryptic message "Return what is not yours. Have respect." Experiencing such visions in dreamland is one thing, but when they begin to invade his waking life, Lazar quickly draws the conclusion that these apparitions are simply lost souls who have yet to find peace in the afterlife. When the specter of an old woman begins speaking in a dialect Lazar can't recognize, the frightened accident survivor seeks out the aid of a linguistics professor in deciphering her message. Despite the fact that the professor always seems to be away at a conference, his wife is more than willing to help. Soon, she and Lazar have entered into a bizarre relationship. Unfortunately for Lazar, the situation only grows more haunting, and as the people around him begin to appear and disappear at random, and his wife appears indifferent to her husband's fate as she departs for a seaside vacation with her lover and child. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

pornographic, psychedelic

train

imdb

tt0082449

Ghost Story

In a small New England town, four elderly men form what they call the "Chowder Society," regaling themselves with the telling of scary "ghost stories." Membership in the club, in fact, requires that one present such a story. The four old friends consist of Ricky Hawthorne (Fred Astaire), a lawyer, and his partner Sears James (John Houseman), along with Dr. John Jaffrey (Melvyn Douglas) and Edward Charles Wanderley (Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.), a successful businessman.When Edward's son, David, living in New York, falls from a window after the girl he's sleeping with turns suddenly into a hideous demon, Edward grieves. His other son, Don (Craig Wasson), a college professor who's fallen on hard times, shows up in town, not getting a great reception from Edward, who always preferred the other, more ambitious son.But now the four elderly gentlemen are unsettled, experiencing nightmares. Clearly, something is bothering them. Edward becomes so distraught, he wanders across a bridge in the snow. When he sees the same female apparition that caused his son to fall to his death, Edward, too, falls to his death from the bridge. Although his death is ruled a suicide, his son Don and Edward's three remaining elderly friends doubt it. Don approaches the remaining three friends, requesting membership in their group, offering up a bizarre "ghost" story of his own.Don's flashback:A few years earlier, then a promising junior professor in Miami, Florida, Don meets Alma (Alice Krige), a beautiful if mysterious secretary who comes to work at the university. They immediately become involved in a torrid sexual affair, which interferes with Don's job, causing him to miss work and earn the scorn of the Dean who previously championed him.But Don finds something strange about this strange, exotic woman -- a coldness, and he drops her. Later, he hears from his brother David that he has met the same girl in New York and intends to marry her. Don warns his brother that she's trouble, but to no avail. And indeed, Don suspects she caused his death - the fall from the building as seen earlier.Back in the present, the elderly friends react to Don's story. Sears dismisses it, but Ricky believes him. Elderly Dr. John Lafferty, after having a nightmare about the same woman - Alma - dies of a heart attack. This leaves only Sears and Ricky. Thus, they finally tell Don their own strange history with a woman who looked exactly like Alma.Their flashback:Back when the four friends were young in 1931, the beautiful Eva Galli (also Alice Krige) came to town, and, indeed, it's obvious that she's the same person as Alma in the present. The four friends are smitten with Eva, who encourages their sexual interest.It was Young Edward (Don's father) who first took her to bed, but he was impotent with her. When she mocked him later in front of his friends, Young Edward leaps to silence her, knocking her down, accidentally killing her when her head smashes into the stone fireplace. Horrified, the young men realize that she's dead. They consider calling police, but realize it would only mean wrecking their lives. Instead, they load her body into her car, then push it into the nearby lake. As the car descends, Eva stirs inside, looking out at them from the back window.... still alive!Back in the present, Ricky and Sears admit that the death has haunted them all these years. Whereas Sears is dubious, both Ricky and Don believe that Alma and Eva are one in the same and that her ghost has returned to seek revenge after 50 years.Don suggests they go to Eva's old house, now in ruins, to confront the past and her ghost once and for all. They go there, but Don falls on the rotting stairs and breaks his leg. Sears goes off in his car through the snow for help, leaving Don and Ricky behind, but one of Alma/Eva's evil accomplices, an evil boy, causes his car to crash off the icy road and he dies.Ricky nearly dies at the hands of one of Alma's the accomplices, an arrogant young Hod, but Ricky manages to get to the authorities, telling them to pull Eva's car up from the lake to reveal her body inside. This is intercut with Don, who confronts the rotting specter of Alma/Eva's ghost. Ricky and the authorities drag out the ancient car, opening the rusted, corroded door, finding the still-living rotting corpse inside. It falls out, disintegrating before their eyes. Don is spared from the monstrosity of her vengeful ghost, and the town is restored to peace.

horror, gothic, murder, flashback

train

imdb

tt0118829

Cats Don't Dance

In 1939, Danny, an optimistic cat, dreams of Hollywood stardom, so he travels from Kokomo, Indiana to Hollywood in hopes of starting a career there. After meeting a new friend Pudge, Danny is selected by agent Farley Wink to feature in a film called the Li'l Ark Angel that is in production alongside a white cat named Sawyer at Mammoth Studios. Upon joining fellow animals; Tillie, Cranston, Frances, and T.W., Danny is dismayed on learning how minor his role is and tries to weasel his way into more time in the spotlight. Danny winds up angering Darla Dimple, a popular, extremely spoiled child actress and star of the film, so she assigns her Valet Max to intimidate Danny into no longer trying to enlarge his part. Danny learns from the studio's mascot Woolie that human actors are normally given more important roles than animals; a fact that none of them are very happy with but know they must accept. He longs for the spotlight and tries to make a plan that will encourage humans to provide animal actors with better scenarios — such as by assembling a massive cluster of animals and putting on a musical performance for the humans. Later, Danny is given advice by Darla (while masking her true villainous nature with a sweet one as she always does) through song on how to interest and satisfy audiences. He takes this information to heart and groups the animals for an audition on the Ark in hopes of attracting the humans' attention. However, Darla, fearing that the animals are jeopardizing her spotlight, has Max help her flood the stage, while L.B. Mammoth, the head of Mammoth Studios; and Flanagan, the film's director, is giving an interview, gets the animals blame and fired. The animals are depressed at being barred from acting in Mammoth Studios (especially Danny who was convinced by Darla that she was trying to help the animals). As Woolie tells Danny to leave for home, Cranston, Frances, and T.W. blame him for ruining their careers while Tillie suggests Sawyer to follow Danny. After a comment from the bus driver and seeing Pudge wander the streets, Danny comes up with a plan yet again. He secretly invites Sawyer, her friends, and Woolie to the premiere of Lil' Ark Angel. After the screening and a battle with Max that sends him flying away on a Darla Dimple balloon, Danny calls the audience's attention. Upon Sawyer, Woolie; Tillie bringing Cranston, Frances, and T.W. backstage to help Danny, the eight animals put on a musical performance that entertains and impresses its viewers. Meanwhile, Darla attempts to sabotage the show by tampering with the set and special effects equipment, but her attempts instead cause her to inadvertently enhance the performance as well as injure herself. Then last, she tries to ruin the show by pulling a big all-switch, though this sets off an enormous fireworks finale, making the animals' performance a complete success. Furious at the animals, Darla berates Danny then she accidentally confesses to flooding Mammoth Studios and framing the animals when her screaming is picked up and amplified by a nearby microphone, revealing the truth about the incident to the audience, including L.B. Mammoth and Flanagan. Pudge pulls a lever, sending Darla down a trapdoor. At last, the animals' demand for larger roles are met and their dreams are fulfilled after so long. There is a montage of film poster parodies which put the main animals in roles. It is shown afterwards that Darla fired from show business and is now working as a janitor for her punishment. She puts up a "The End" poster on a wall, and it falls down and wraps around her.

psychedelic, alternate reality

train

wikipedia

tt0770829

La ragazza del lago

Inspector Giovanni Sanzio, a Keenan Wynn look-alike, is on the case in this Italian version of Norwegian author Karin Fossum's mystery novel "Don't Look Back" (oddly translated into Italian/Friuli as "Lo squadro di uno soonosciuto").A beautiful girl is found dead on the lakeshore of a small Italian Alpine village, and Inpsector Sanzio is called in to employ his tremendous powers of professional guesswork to discover they whys and wherefores. In the process, he stumbles across an earlier (unsuspected) murder, the choking of an autistic 3-year-old by his parents.After chasing somewhat desperately after one false lead after another, Insp. Sanzio lights on the autistic boy's father: murderer of both his own son and the young lady, who had been the son's babysitter. The father was tired of the girl's accusing stares, guilty that neither he nor his wife could understand, let alone handle, their son's autism.Oddly enough, the girl was suffering from a terminal brain tumor, and having only months to live without her cherished little babysitting charge, she allows the father to drown her in the lake. Significantly, Insp. Sanzio arrives on the scene to note the girl has been carefully laid on her side, with her head awkwardly turned away...and this, says the inspector, shows she was murdered, without offering resistance, by a murder she knew and trusted.It amazes the viewer how laid back and calm these European mysteries are; cops are relatively sedate, and everything seems to be located in the boonies, far from civilization. Though the film meanders with silly red herrings, it nonetheless demonstrates how a real homicide detective does the job...whether it's Europe or America. The little Alpine Italian village is beautiful, adding some respite from the horror of murder. The Italian dialect spoken here is very melodic: it is much more like the Spanish-sounding Friuli language of Switzerland. Viewers will enjoy this subtle, beautifully shot movie. Fans of Karin Fossum will appreciate the way the Italians handled her globally popular "Inspector Sejer" mystery.

horror, flashback

train

imdb

In this Italian setting, a young girl named Anna is found dead on the shore of a rural mountain lake, lying nude on her side with her clothes neatly arranged by her. Intitial suspects are the girl's boyfriend and a mentally slow man who lives nearby with his wheelchair bound elderly father and who first discovered the body and put his coat over it. A seasoned criminal investigator from the south, Inspector Giovani Sanzio (Toni Servillo), is called in to help local authorities to help solve the death. Director Molaioli gets the most from a fine supporting cast and this who-done-it takes several turns that keeps your interest peaked from beginning to end. A beautiful victim in a beautiful setting starts us off on an interesting who-dun-it, with suspects emerging by the handful for our world-weary detective to evaluate. Endings are never more important than in mysteries – a weak one makes us feel guilty for killing time. After all, the pace started to pick up when the body of a young woman is found by the lake (hence the title) of a small and quiet Italian town, with the story progressing like an investigative drama that made me wanted to scream Twin Peaks!In essence, this film by Andrea Molaioli, based upon the novel by Karin Fossum, runs very much like how an investigations is set out to be, full of red herrings, half truths, deceit, together with plenty of doubt, and little leads to plough things forward. For that, I thought it captured the dilemma of an investigator really well, with Toni Servillo in excellent form as Commissario Sanzio, a stoic, no-nonsense police investigator who together with his small team, have to solve this strange case. If I may say so, it puts the audience into the thick of the action really well, with the ABCs of an investigation - Assume nothing, Believe nobody, and Check everything, superbly brought out.And that started right from the beginning too, as things are not quite they seem, and I was quick to pass judgement on the film, thinking that it was an open and shut case too soon, and too obvious. For those who enjoy a good dose of investigative drama, then this film would be right up your alley. There are frustrations of course when you find yourself drawn into the events of the picture, working toward trying to solve the case before Sanzio does, but each time being thwarted, and going back to the drawing board if you had missed a potential lead, or had been blindsided and failed to pick up clues that the actors give out, akin to playing a game of Cluedo.But those who don't enjoy wrecking your brains too much, fret not too. The story is rich enough not to dwell too much on the police work, deftly splitting its time to dig into a little more of its central characters so that they flesh out in more three-dimensional terms, rather than being flat. The ensemble cast deserves credit for making their characters believable, and hence all the more difficult when you try to weed out the possible suspects with clear motivations. In particular, we see more of Sanzio's personal life in the film, where he has to deal with a wife suffering from advanced dementia, and a growing teenage daughter (Guilia Michelini) with whom he sometimes fail to see eye to eye with. To me, for personal reasons, this was as accurate a movie as can be that had brought out similar feelings during probes into what had happened, and you know what? Perhaps it should come as no surprise that the story is adopted from a Scandinavian source; the lago (lake) was originally a fjord, and the book was Karin Fossum's bestseller mystery novel Don't Look Back (apologies to Nicolas Roeg), which Sandro Petraglia adapted for the screen in collaboration with directorial debutant Molaioli.Things start when little six-year-old Marta (Nicole Perrone), who has spent the night with her aunt, is sent off home, but on her way is talked into mounting the van of somebody she knows (in this town, everybody knows everybody else), and her safe trip home is derailed. Till he's not, says another.Though this may seem more a study of provincial angst than a police procedural, the most angst-ridden and the center of the story is a former homicide cop, Inspector Sanzio (well played by noted director and theater man Toni Servillo). Than Anna Nadal (Alessia Piovan) is found dead by the side of the lake, arranged in a peaceful position and with a coat over her naked body.Anna has a father, Davide Nadal (Marco Baliani), who loved her excessively; his videos of her have an almost voyeuristic quality. His wife is (Anna Bonaiuto) elsewhere and he is hiding secrets about her from his daughter Francesca (Giulia Michelini), which whom he has an uneasy relationship This may seem revealing too much, but when we know this, we still know little; the essential information is yet to come along with the confession of the murderer. And in this "existential" approach to murder—though this is hardly new—it's not so important Whodunit as what's motivating everyone, and how much lies hidden in a seemingly quiet, well-behaved town, the turbulence below the placid surface of the lake.Andrea Molaioli has worked with directors Nanni Moretti, Carlo Mazzacurati, and Daniele Lucchetti. The Girl by the Lake/La ragazza del lago swept the Italian Oscars with ten Davide di Donatello awards including Best Film, Best Director, Best Editing, Best Actor (Servillo) and Best Screenplay. I saw the film yesterday at the local Filmpodium that is sponsored by the Town of Zurich and I was touched by its quietness and restrained atmosphere and the complex story line. Everything in this movie – from the production value to the acting - is underwhelming .The result is something that resembles a bad television episode of a crime series, definitely not movie. The result, as in too many Italian movies lately, is that actors are left alone to do what they can, showing enormous differences in their performances. You have Tony Servillo and Valeria Golino doing their job, but most of the rest of the cast is borderline amateur.This movie greatly embodies the little ambitions that too often have been lately seen in Italian Cinema.. An atmosphere which recalls Georges Simenon but the plot itself is closer to Agatha Christie's whodunit.Although a little MTV quality,the movie is often filmed on location and the mountain landscapes are wonderful.What puzzles the viewer is that almost all the characters are suffering ,including the cop,who 's got a wife in a mental hospital (probably Alzheimer's disease).Directing is effective if a little remote;but ,this is crucial in this kind of investigation,all the characters are interesting and the cast rise to the occasion.A girl was killed on the banks of a lake and many people from the village are suspects.If you like detective stories ,this movie was made for you.. Despite the acting of a few most of the movie looks like a fiction. The story was interesting enough but the flow is very very slow and some of the dialogs are pretty much irritating (I'm Italian, people do not speak like that). The photography and the camera work is all right but nothing more than a television film, pity because the location and the setting deserved more. Toni Servillo is always a good actor and lead the film easily but often he has to deal with average if not amateur actors. Up to a certain point it was still smart, then it just felt into some obvious and predictable conclusion, which seemed to be just the end they could finally make but I think they could have resolute the movie differently, giving to it a better twist. This film should give inspiration to young Italian filmmakers because despite all other countries it seems like in Italy it's quite easy to make movie, don't need much for the producers, camera and photography can be as simple as possible, no fancy shooting and the movie can be shot in two weeks maybe. More and more directors are realizing that, and other movies are being filmed here at the present time. 'The Girl By The Lake" is a good mystery movie with several suspects and a detective with an insinuating style that gradually arrests your attention. The suspects backgrounds and possible motives are uncovered like layers of an onion, so towards the end of the picture you feel you are nowhere closer to a solution than when it started. The movie is saved from a lower rating by the efforts of Toni Servillo as the Police Inspector, a nondescript sort who showed a great deal of charisma and brought his character to life. I do not agree with a contributor who felt the support cast was amateurish as they were competent down to the least character.This picture is worth a good look and is better than the website contributors give it credit for. The climax was not thrilling, but probably the way many murder cases end in the real world, matter-of-fact and not with guns blazing like in the movies.. ''La Ragazza Del Lago'' is an enjoyable movie with high production values and an engaging story based on the second book in the Konrad Sejer series, written by the Norwegian author Karin Fossum. Since this is an Italian production, Inspector Sejer is renamed as Commissario Sanzio, played by one of the best contemporary European actors, Toni Servillo who portrays the protagonist as having the character traits that Fossum have attributed to him in the novels i.e. a solemn, pessimistic middle-aged man living alone, who nevertheless has a profound insight in the field of psychology, something that proves to be helpful in every murder investigation.The story is not an original or particularly exciting, it involves the murder of a young girl living in a small, quiet village where everybody seems to have their own secrets. ''La Ragazza Del Lago'' will appeal mainly to the crime fiction fans who prefer the slow-burning, character oriented mystery and not to those who expect lots of action and special effects to a crime film (e.g. Hollywood productions). This was a delightful detective story about a murder mystery set in a charming and picturesque European mountain village. I liked the subtlety of various scenes and how it was filmed in a unique and interesting style. The actors are all good in this movie and come across as natural and realistic characters who live in an isolated and tight knit community.There are many different things going on as a veteran detective investigates the mystery and uncovers secrets of the towns people. The film is slow moving however, and requires patience and close attention for enjoyment of the plot, otherwise I could see how this movie's quirky style might be unappealing to the mainstream. Despite this, the movie for most if its running time is well worth watching for those looking for an offbeat and interesting whodunit.. Based on a book written by a Norwegian female crime novelist who probably has Agatha Christie as her idol, "La Ragazza Del Lago" AKA "The Girl By The Lake" is an engrossing murder mystery set mostly in a small Alpine town near Udine, Italy. The naked body of a beautiful young woman is accidentally discovered by a little girl near a lake. Excellently played by Toni Servillo, this inspector is like a more human, more vulnerable Hercule Poirot. The entire cast is good (by the way, Valeria Golino is perhaps even more beautiful at 41 than she was at 21; and the young Alessia Piovan is simply a knockout, face & body), but Servillo always remains the central figure. After a slightly slow start the film grips you, and Andrea Molaioli's direction is very atmospheric - he really transports you to this scenic, peaceful (?) little town. However, I felt that the ending was not fully satisfying: basically I was expecting at least one more twist and I was surprised to see the end credits appearing so soon (SPOILERS here, so don't read the next few lines if you haven't seen it: I also think that Anna having made a "pact" with her killer would have been a more plausible explanation for her not fighting back than the one the movie offers; even if she was prepared to die, she would have wanted it to be on her own terms END SPOILERS). I do recommend this film to fans of Agatha Christie-type mysteries, but Christie herself would probably have added at least one more sting in the tail. This foreign language film feels more like an extra long episode of a TV detective show, like the Italian version of Columbo or Poirot. That's not much of knock as long as you go into The Girl by the Lake knowing you're not going to see anything all that new or different.Commissario Sanzio (Toni Servillo) is summoned to a small Italian town when a young girl goes missing, only to see her turn up almost immediately. What keeps Sanzio in town is the body of a teenager (Alessia Piovan) found dead by the local lake. He also has to determine if her death was connected to a secret the girl was keeping from everyone, all the while dealing with his own teenager daughter (Giulia Michelini) and mentally ill wife (Anna Bonaiuto).The reason why I say this feels like a TV episode is that only one of Sanzio's sidekicks actually does anything at all, while the other one and the prosecutor are nothing more than window dressing. Yet, the movie establishes the relationships between those two and Sanzio far more than is deserved by their parts in the story. And the film plops us down into the middle of Sanzio's family problems, again like it's a storyline being picked up from earlier in the season.Emphasizing this small screen sensibility is that there's nothing exceptional, or even potentially exceptional, about The Girl by the Lake. I've got no real complaints with any aspect of it and did like it, but there's nothing complex or fantastic about the mystery, nothing striking about the acting and nothing compelling about either the filmmaking or the storytelling. If you like that sort of thing, you'll probably enjoy this movie. I think this movie is really, really good.I watched it today for the second time, after four years since I first saw it. These people claim that the ending was dull, that the way the assassin confesses his crime is too 'casual', and that the reason behind the murder isn't strong enough.I do believe that these people didn't fully understand the movie, so I thought it was a good idea to explain my interpretation. The reason leading me to this conclusion is that the clues allowing one to put all the pieces of the puzzle together are quite subtle, and they might be harder to catch for people that aren't fluent in Italian, and that had to read the subtitles to understand them.First important, and perhaps neglected, fact: Anna (the girl that was killed) witnessed how Angelo (the sick toddler) died. She cannot ask her boyfriend either, because he is crazy in love with her, and would never help her to end her life.She needs someone with a motive to kill her, so she starts behaving in such a way that will lead someone to indeed do it. This not only allows Anna to end her suffering, but also to take vengeance for Angelo's death, whom she loved dearly.At first the murderer claims that he killed Anna because they were lovers but she became obsessed by their relationship, driving him insane. And we'll never know for sure what really happened by the lake, whether Corrado killed Anna because she asked him to, making him understand that this was the only way for him not to be accused of his son's death, or because he snapped and assaulted her violently.I do think that this movie is way more subtle than one might realize. And, apart from the sophisticated murder's plot, there are many other reasons that make it a gem: the amazing performances by both Servillo and Golino, the inspector's complex relationship with his daughter, which is constantly put under scrutiny with the comparisons drawn from Anna's experience, his wife's struggle with Alzheimer, the somewhat chaotic process of trial and error that the inspector has to face, with many false leads that constantly throw him in the wrong direction, and finally the very honest description of ordinary people, that seem good people with normal lives on the surface, but that deep down have many things to hide and undisclosed problems to face.. In all honesty this movie did have some charm and heart at times and although I don't speak Italian (shocker I know) the acting seemed good, but the story just flopped in the end. I don't know if the book it was based on ends so abruptly and unceremoniously but it all seemed like such a waste of time. The killer just comes clean to the detective like a bad Perry Mason episode, the movie gives the viewer very little to go on as far as trying to solve the mystery (which to me can be important or at least entertaining in a crime drama) and there just seemed to be a lot of loose ends and not enough suspense. The ending is the last thing we see in a movie (other then the credits naturally) and this end was pretty dull and lifeless, just like the girl by the lake.. Quite bluntly, good film up to the ending. Yet all through the film they were saying how it was a gentle death, that it appeared she almost submitted,which made sense when they found she had a terminal illness. Stupid, nonsensical ending which made what could have been a good film appear quite pretentious.

tt1675434

Intouchables

The film begins at night in Paris. Driss (Sy) is driving Philippe's (Cluzet) Maserati Quattroporte at high speed. They are soon chased by the police: when they are caught, Driss, unfazed, doubles his bet with Philippe, convinced they can get an escort. In order to get away with his speeding, Driss claims the quadriplegic Philippe must be urgently driven to the emergency room; Philippe pretends to have a stroke and the fooled police officers eventually escort them to the hospital. As the police leave them at the hospital, Philippe asks what will they do now, to which Driss answers: "Now let me take care of it." as they drive off.The story of the two men is then told as a flashback, which takes up almost the rest of the film.Philippe, a rich quadriplegic who owns a luxurious Parisian mansion, and his assistant Magalie, are interviewing candidates to be his live-in carer. Driss, a candidate, has no ambitions to get hired. He is just there to get a signature showing he was interviewed and rejected in order to continue to receive his welfare benefits. He is extremely casual and shamelessly flirts with Magalie. He is told to come back the next morning to get his signed letter. Driss goes back to the tiny flat that he shares with his extended family in a bleak Parisian suburb. His aunt, exasperated from not hearing from him for six months, orders him to leave the flat.The next day, Driss returns to Philippe's mansion and learns to his surprise that he is on a trial period for the live-in carer job. He learns the extent of Philippe's disability and then accompanies Philippe in every moment of his life, discovering with astonishment a completely different lifestyle. A friend of Philippe's reveals Driss's criminal record which includes six months in jail for robbery. Philippe states he does not care about Driss's past because he is the only one that does not treat him with pity or compassion, but as an equal. He says he will not fire him as long as he does his current job properly.Over time, Driss and Philippe become closer. Driss dutifully takes care of his boss, who frequently suffers from phantom pain. Philippe discloses to Driss that he became disabled following a paragliding accident and that his wife died without bearing children. Gradually, Philippe is led by Driss to put some order in his private life, including being more strict with his adopted daughter Elisa, who behaves like a spoiled child with the staff. Driss discovers modern art, both traditional and modern, and opera, and even takes up painting.For Philippe's birthday, a private concert of classical music is performed in his living room. At first very reluctant, Driss is led by Philippe to listen more carefully to the music and opens up to Philippe's music. Driss then plays the music he likes to Philippe (Boogie Wonderland, by Earth, Wind & Fire), which opens up everybody in the room to dance.Driss discovers that Philippe has a purely epistolary relationship with a woman called Eleonore, who lives in Dunkirk. Driss encourages him to meet her but Philippe fears her reaction when she discovers his disability. Driss eventually convinces Philippe to talk to Eleonore on the phone. Philippe agrees with Driss to send a photo of him in a wheelchair to her, but he hesitates and asks his aide, Yvonne, to send a picture of him as he was before his accident. A date between Eleonore and Philippe is agreed. At the last minute Philippe is too scared to meet Eleonore and leaves with Yvonne before Eleonore arrives. Philippe then calls Driss and invites him to travel with him in his private jet for a paragliding weekend. Philippe gives Driss an envelope containing 11,000 euros, the amount he was able to get for Driss's painting, which he sold to one of his friends by saying it was from an up-and-coming artist.Adama, Driss's younger cousin, who is in trouble with a gang, takes refuge in Philippe's mansion. Driss opens up to Philippe about his family and his past as an orphan in Senegal, who was adopted by his then-childless aunt and uncle and brought back to France. His adoptive parents later began having children of their own, his uncle died and his aunt bore still more children. Philippe recognizes Driss's need to support his family and releases him from his job, suggesting he "may not want to push a wheelchair all his life".Driss returns to his suburbs, joining his friends, and manages to help his younger cousin. Due to his new professional experience, he lands a job in a transport company. In the meantime Philippe has hired carers to replace Driss, but he isn't happy with any of them. His morale is very low and he stops taking care of himself.Yvonne becomes worried and contacts Driss, who arrives and decides to drive Philippe in the Maserati, which brings the story back to the first scene of the film, the police chase. After they have eluded the police, Driss takes Philippe straight to the seaside. Upon shaving and dressing elegantly, Philippe and Driss arrive at a Cabourg restaurant with a great ocean view. Driss suddenly leaves the table and says good luck to Philippe for his lunch date. Philippe does not understand, but a few seconds later, Eleonore arrives. Emotionally touched, Philippe looks through the window and sees Driss outside, smiling at him. The film ends with Driss bidding Philippe farewell and walking away.

humor, feel-good, entertaining, sentimental

train

imdb

tt1797530

Tomb Raider

The game begins with Lara setting out on her first expedition aboard the ship Endurance, with the intention of finding the lost kingdom of Yamatai. By her suggestion and against Whitman's advice, the expedition ventures into the Dragon's Triangle, east of Japan. The ship is struck by a violent storm and shipwrecked, leaving the survivors stranded on an isolated island. Lara is separated from the others and captured by a strange, savage man. She manages to escape while her captor is killed as the cave collapses due to her actions. As Lara tries to locate the other survivors, she finds more evidence that the island is inhabited, such as strange carvings, dead bodies, and animal sacrifices. She eventually finds her friend Sam and a man called Mathias, who claims to be a teacher who was shipwrecked on the island. As Sam tells Mathias the legends of Himiko, Lara passes out; when she wakes, Mathias and Sam are nowhere in sight.When Lara regroups with the other survivors, Whitman decides to go with Lara and search for the still-missing Roth, while the rest of the group (Reyes, Jonah, Alex and Grim) set out to find Sam and Mathias. As Lara and Whitman explore, they discover that the island's inhabitants are worshipping Himiko, confirming that the island is Yamatai. Upon discovering a shrine erected in Himiko's name, they are captured by the islanders and taken to a settlement along with several other survivors from the Endurance. When the survivors attempt an escape, the captors turn on them. Lara is separated from Whitman and tries to hide, but is found by one of the islanders and forced to kill him. She fights off the remainder of the attackers and reunites with Roth, saving him from a wolf attack.Lara manages to activate a radio tower and call for help, but the plane that answers the call is struck by a freak storm, and Lara hears a mysterious voice saying "No one leaves" in Japanese. Unable to save the surviving pilots, Lara is contacted by Alex and Reyes, who reveal that Sam has been kidnapped by the islanders, a violent cult known as the Solarii Brotherhood. Lara tries to rescue her, but is stopped by Mathias, leader of the Solarii, and ordered killed: she is saved by an attack from samurai-like Oni. Escaping the ancient monastery where she is taken by the Oni, she hears from Sam that Mathias is going to put her through the "Ascension", a "fire ritual" to find the next Sun Queen that will burn her to death if it is unsuccessful. Lara follows them to the Solarii fortress and is aided by Grim.The Solarii take Grim hostage, but he sacrifices himself to so Lara can escape. With Roth's aid, Lara infiltrates the fortress and sees the ritual begin. When the fires are lit, a great wind blows them out, showing Sam to be the next Sun Queen. Lara escapes again and reunites with her friends, forming a plan to rescue Sam and escape. Aided by Whitmanwho has managed to negotiate some degree of freedom with the SolariiLara returns to the palace to rescue Sam as Roth commandeers a helicopter to get them out. Lara succeeds, but persuades Sam to escape by land when she sees another storm gathering as the helicopter approaches. As Lara tries to force the helicopter pilot to land, they are brought down, with Lara nearly dying. Roth revives Lara, then takes a fatal blow from Mathias meant for Lara. While mourning Roth, Lara accepts that the storms are not natural, but are somehow connected to the Sun Queen and designed to prevent anyone from leaving the island.She meets up with the other survivors, who have evaded the Solarii long enough to secure a boat for escaping the island, provided that it can be repaired. They are joined by Whitman, who claims to have escaped, though Lara begins to suspect him of working with the cultists. Lara and Alex find parts for the boat in the wreck of the Endurance. They come under attack by the Solarii and Alex triggers an explosion, sacrificing himself so that Lara can escape with the tools. Finding an account of a World War II-era Japanese military and Nazi scientific expedition to the island that sought a way to harness the storms as a weapon, Lara decides to explore a coastal tomb, where she finds the remains of a samurai general who committed seppuku.It is revealed in a message he left that he led the Queen's Stormguard, the Oni that defend the monastery, and that the Queen's successor took her own life rather than receive the Sun Queen's power, leaving the Sun Queen trapped in her body after death, and her rage has manifested as the storms. Lara realises that the Ascension is not a ceremony to crown a new queen, but rather a ritual that transfers the original Sun Queen's soul into a new body: Himiko's spirit wants to escape its current body, and Mathias plans to offer Sam as a new host.Lara returns to the survivors on the beach to find that Whitman has betrayed them, abducting Sam and handing her over to Mathias. Lara, Jonah and Reyes give chase, heading up a river to the monastery, with Lara arriving just in time to see Whitman killed by the Oni. After fighting her way through the Solarii and the Stormguard, Lara arrives at the top of the monastery where Mathias is performing the Ascension ritual. Lara kills Mathias when she shoots him from the roof of the monastery, before destroying Himiko's remains to save Sam. With the storms dispersed, Lara, Sam, Reyes and Jonah leave the island and are picked up by a cargo ship. As she and her friends sail home, Lara decides that there are many more myths to be found and resolves to uncover them, stating that she isn't returning home just yet.

paranormal, violence, cult

train

imdb

tt0076723

Slap Shot

The Charlestown Chiefs, a minor league hockey team, need to drum up attendance for their upcoming game with a team from Hyannisport. Television host Jim Carr (Andrew Duncan) interviews Denis Lemieux (Yvon Barrette) on his show "Sports Talk" about the "finer points of hockey." English is the French Canadian player's second (and not best) language, but Denis gamely describes penalty moves like hooking and slashing, using his stick on Jim to demonstrate.Reggie "Reg" Dunlop (Paul Newman) is the team's aging player/coach, and the team is dead last in the second-rate Federal League. He meets opposing player Nick Brophy (Jon Gofton) at center ice to start the Hyannisport game, and Nick reveals he is drunk and resents that his coach put him in the game. In the broadcast booth, Chiefs player Dave Carlson (Jerry Houser), who supposedly was injured in a previous game, reveals that he isn't playing because he actually has a cold. The lone quality player for the Chiefs is Ned Braden (Michael Ontkean), who is not only the highest-scorer in the Federal League (he makes his record shot during the Hyannisport game), but he is also a Princeton grad who plays for the love of the game.Joe McGrath (Strother Martin), the team's manager, seems to be receiving encouragement by the mysterious team owner to come up with publicity stunts for the players. Some of the men are put into a fashion show, and Johnny Upton (Allan Nicholls) has had it: he warns McGrath that he plans to flash the audience so they won't have to do such degrading things again. Joe blows him off to make a phone call to locate Reg and Ned, who should be at the show as well, but has to stop the call short when cries of shock and disgust greet Johnny when he takes the runway.Ned and Reg pass the mill, which Ned tells him is going to close and lay off 10,000 workers. The Chiefs will have difficulty filling the stadiums with most of the town's residents suddenly out of work. Ned's wife Lily (Lindsay Crouse) drives them home from the local bar, uptight about being a hockey wife with a troubled marriage in a town she can't stand. Ned gives his attention to their St. Bernard dog Ruby and doesn't seem interested in his wife's attitude.Joe is training Reg for a future in an office job and tells him to pick up the three new players he obtained from the Iron League -- the Hanson Brothers (Jeff & Steve Carlson, David Hanson). He finds them at the bus station by the noise of one of the boys trying to force a lost quarter out of the vending machine by shaking it down. He takes them to their hotel where the team will pick up their expenses for a week and, as they go down the hall for sodas, he notices toy cars and tracks in their suitcase. Reg is less than impressed with the new acquisitions, and rails at Joe for picking up any discarded players he can find at rock bottom prices; his plan is to refuse to play them.At the bar Reg meets his (eventually) ex-wife Francine (Jennifer Warren), with whom he still has a good friendship. Before the bus leaves for an away game, Lily offers Ned a book with all the sex scenes highlighted, but he refuses to take it, though Reg is impressed. On the bus, Ned runs a betting pool and says that he will earn enough money to buy the team so he can run it his way. The team worries about a crazy player named Oggie Oglethorpe (Ned Dowd), but learn he was suspended and won't play. As Reg leaves the hotel for the game, he spots the Hansons playing with their racing cars. In the locker room, he sees them wrapping their knuckles with aluminum foil and tape prior to the game.Reg has a roll in the hay with Suzanne Hanrahan (Melinda Dillon), who reveals that she discovered she is a lesbian after a night of drinking and exploratory sex with another player's wife. On the ice, Reg decides to sneak a goal and approaches Tommy Hanrahan (Christopher Murney) in the goalie cage, skating by and egging him on about his wife being a dyke; Hanrahan chases Reg and leaves the cage open for a Chiefs goal. Ned is disgusted and calls the team's win "garbage." Reg, however, wants the team to be fired up and have hope for the future, so he works with reporter Dickie Dunn (M. Emmet Walsh) to suggest that a Florida retirement community may buy the team.The next day Reg sees Lily in the town square and talks with her; she is in a bad mood and even cusses over a statue of a dog in the square, supposedly a canine hero for saving the town during a 1938 flood.Reg tries to bolster the team's morale one player at a time, and talks with Dave Carlson about aging and suggests it may be time to quit hockey. Dave idolizes Reg, and when Barclay Donaldson (Ross Smith) from the Broom County team suggests that Reg shouldn't be in the league, Dave goes after him, and the fight puts him out of the game. Finally, desperate to win, Reg releases the Hansons on the rival team. The Hansons immediately assault and brutalize the opposition, much to the delight of Charlestown's working-class fans, who create a booster club and begin following the team on their own bus to attend away games.At a game against Peterboro, the teams begin fighting before the game begins and with no officials on the ice to stop the ruckus The boys are mutilated as they finally stand at attention for the National Anthem, but an official breaks ranks to yell at the Hansons. Then he realizes the song hasn't finished and cools off.By the time the team goes to an away game against Hyannisport they are winning, but their reputation has preceded them, and mobs of people boo them at their arrival. They stop jeering when the bus drives by with all the Chiefs and boosters mooning them out every bus window as they pass. The other Chiefs players soon take their cue from the popularity of the Hansons and become "goons," fighting as much as (if not more than) actually playing hockey. At Peterboro a fan throws something and hits a Hanson in the face, and all three brothers take to the stands to find and pummel him. After the game the police arrest the Hansons. Peterboro still loses the game. When the bus arrives back in Charlestown and Ned is not on it for Lily to pick up (he gets off and walks the last few miles), Lily is upset and tears out of the lot in her van, but not before Reg climbs aboard and starts talking to her about getting her head straight. She drops him off at his place and drives off in tears. Francine tells Reg she has a job offering in Long Island and will be moving away.Reg goes on Jim Carr's radio show to announce that he wants to put a $100 bounty on the head of Syracuse player Tim McCracken (Paul D'Amato). Dave (who has taken the name "Killer") Carlson calls Reg, anxious to claim the money, which Reg says will have to be earned. Reg tries to get some sleep before the game, but Joe calls to read him off for putting a bounty on a player's head, and suddenly Lily has arrived with the dog and her belongings, anxious to straighten herself out. Reg passes out in the remaining bed space left by the St. Bernard. Before the game, Reg yells at the organist for playing "Lady of Spain" and rips up the sheet music. The game is going well, with plenty of beatings between goals, but Ned refuses to play dirty, so Reg benches him (first in his career) and Ned goes to the broadcast booth to gripe to Jim Carr, going into an uncharacteristic tirade and discovering that Jim wears a toupee (and announcing it on the air).Finally, Reg finds out that the team is owned by somebody named McCambridge, so he goes to the owner's home to talk with him. It turns out he is a she: widow Anita McCambridge (Kathryn Walker) tells Reg that she abhors violence and won't let her kids watch hockey. She plans to fold the team to take a tax write-off as her accountants have recommended. She realizes the Chiefs are sellable but chooses not to. Disgusted, Reg insults her and leaves, then drives to Ned's house to find he is out in the woods trying to avoid talking to him; he yells to Ned that he can play however he wants and, since the team is folding, he wants to go out in style.Reg takes Lily to Francine's beauty shop for a makeover at his expense. She says Lily is pretty and could look like Cher with the right hair and makeup.At the championship game, Reg tells the guys that he wants to play "old time hockey" and not be a goon for what might be his last game. The Hansons are all for it, so they take the ice and wait for the Syracuse team to come out, but the ice remains empty. Then the announcer receives the roster for the opposition: they have brought out the top goons to play against the Chiefs, including McCracken and the dreaded Oglethorpe. The moment the puck drops, the Syracuse men launch upon the Chiefs in a massive fight. Ned doesn't get involved, and Joe sits in amazement in the stands as his boys don't fight back. At the half-time break, Joe hollers at the mangled Chiefs that he has gathered every major NHL talent scout to the game to watch them and offer contracts.Back on the ice, "old time hockey" is gone, replaced by the Chiefs' old ways. While Ned sits on the bench, he suddenly spots Francine escorting the new, improved Lily to the stands; he is overcome with the sight of her, and suddenly he skates out to center ice and begins removing parts of his uniform. Jim Carr is stunned and disgusted, but the band launches into "The Stripper" as Ned continues his striptease and the other players slowly cease their fighting to watch. McCracken yells at an official to stop Ned, but he finds nothing wrong and won't interfere. McCracken then strikes the official, who declares the Syracuse team has forfeited the game and takes the winner's cup to Reg, who passes it to Ned as they skate off the ice (Ned stripped down to his skates and jockstrap) to thunderous applause. The Chiefs win the Federal League and receive a heroes' welcome back in CharlestownReg is pleased that the NHL's Minnesota Nighthawks want to hire him as their coach, and that several key Chief's players will be part of the bargain. Reg and Ned sit atop a convertible in the victory parade, and Lily is by Ned's side. Reg says farewell to Francine, who interrupts the victory parade in town as he lets her drive through with her things in a trailer, and he tells her to stay in touch through his new team.

cult, satire, violence

train

imdb

Mostly hated by critics on its release, as much for its cynical viewpoint as its relentless profanity, "Slap Shot" has since become something of a cult classic.Set in the low-rent world of minor-league hockey, the movie follows the efforts of player-coach Reggie Dunlop (Paul Newman) to turn around the Charlestown Chiefs' final, losing season in a dying Pennsylvania steel town. Even Reggie recoils in disgust, however, when his tightwad manager (Strother Martin) brings in the Hanson Brothers, three thick-lensed, thicker-headed goons who are more interested in fighting than playing Reggie's brand of "old-time hockey".When it becomes apparent that the hometown crowd loves the Hanson's rough and bloody style, Reggie decides to go with the flow, and to fire up his other players concocts the story that, if they can win the championship, the owner will be able to sell the franchise to a group of rich retirees in Florida. Echos of its gritty style can be seen not only in many later sporting films, such as "Bull Durham" and "Major League", but even in the wave of British movies in which characters fight to hold onto their lives after the collapse of hometown industry, such as "The Full Monty" and "Brassed Off".The film really shines as a straight comedy, though, delivering some classic characters and set pieces: virtually every appearance of the Hansons; a clueless, toupee-wearing sportscaster (Andrew Duncan); the team's tiny Quebecker goalie (Yvon Barrette), and Newman himself, in one of his personal favorite roles. I worked in the locker rooms for a minor-league hockey team and I saw every character in this movie: the aging veterans, the eccentric goalie, the lazy pretty-boy, the young players looking for a chance, etc. Along with Chunk from THE GOONIES and The Dude from THE BIG LEBOWSKI, Moe is up there towards the top of my list of favorite characters in any movie I have ever seen.You know you have a classic film when the topic of SLAP SHOT comes up with your friends, or even people you have just met, and you spend hours reciting all your favorite quotes, trying to out-do each other. Real life is truly stranger than fiction, but SLAP SHOT seems to combine the best of all worlds.As legend goes, screenwriter Nancy Dowd got the brainstorm of doing a documentary on minor-league hockey, spending a few months in Johnstown, PA with her brother Ned Dowd. She managed to capture "the spirit of the thing" and compose what is surely one of the most spectacular sports film plays in the history of cinema.As the storyline in SLAP SHOT was true to life, names had to be juxtaposed to protect the innocent. And when it comes to sports-writing, Reggie Dunlop said it best: "If Dickie Dunn wrote this, it MUST be true!" Some of the classic character names in this film must be honored also: Barclay Donaldson, Tim "Dr. Hook" McCracken, Andre "Poodle" Lucier, "Ogie" Oglethorpe, Ross "Mad Dog" Madison, Clarence "Screaming Buffalo" Swamptown and Gilmore Tuttle.With all the other strokes of brilliance and genius SLAP SHOT has become famous for, we cannot forget the contribution of the star Paul Newman, who is believable and sympathetic as washed-up Chiefs player-coach Reggie Dunlop.Minnesota native, the late George Roy Hill, who also directed "The Sting" and "Slaughterhouse Five," could arguably claim SLAP SHOT as the master stroke in his illustrious career.Miraculously, several stars of SLAP SHOT would go on to make other hockey movies: Yvon Ponton starred in the French-Canadian TV series "He Shoots He Scores" and the "Les Boys" film series; Paul D'Amato starred in "The Deadliest Season"; Jerry Hauser appeared in "Miracle On Ice.". It's just right for Paul Newman as the veteran player/coach with a team of misfits from one of hockey's minor leagues who's forever looking for a break from the majors.The Charlestown Chiefs who seem to be the hockey equivalent of the New York Mets are having a perennial losing season. Paul Newman is the coach of third rate failing minor league hockey team, The Charlestown Chiefs. The crowds flock in thirsting for more blood, but then the problems start to arise.Slap Shot is a tremendously funny film, it's also incredibly violent and often vulgar in dialogue, but be sure to know that both things go hand in hand here (or should it be glove in glove?) to create one of the smartest sports pictures in the modern age. A new generation of movie fans have started to seek it out and its reputation and fan base grows ever more larger by the year.Newman was a bona fide star, his hair silver grey but his good looks still firmly intact, his performance has a grace about it that oddly sits nicely amongst this cynical stab at professional hockey; even if his characters' clothes are, in truth, icky. Film is filled out with sparkling support work from the likes of Strother Martin, Michael Ontkean, Jennifer Warren, Lindsay Crouse and Jerry Houser.Not long after originally writing this review, the legend that was Paul Newman sadly passed away, he left behind a movie legacy that few can touch, and trust me, this is one of them. Like many of the other forgotten classics from the 70s (the greatest American movie decade ever), Slapshot, which contains so many great lines and satirical scenes, should go on the need-to-rent list.Paul Newman plays Reggie Dunlop, the aging player/coach of a third-rate minor league hockey team the Charlestown Chiefs. To say the Hansons are dirty players is an understatement, and that initial scene where they hit the ice is hilarious.So Reggie suddenly changes his tune and decides the chiefs will become the dirtiest, rowdiest team in the league. It was this one: "Slap Shot." Although I did enjoy this movie 30 years ago, I can't say I echo Bob's sentiments today, but I laughed along with him when it came out in 1977.It seemed that films in the '70s were either outrageously good or ridiculously sleazy regarding language, sex, or irreverence. Like many other sports films from the 1970s, such as "North Dallas Forty" and "Rollerball," there's a strong focus on how athletes are used and abandoned in a capitalist society, but the message here is leavened, and largely bypassed, by the over-the-top humor, courtesy of Newman, Strother Martin as a shyster owner, and a team full of colorful misfits led by three brothers named Hanson whose thick Dilbert glasses and love for toy race cars doesn't distract them from committing felonies on the ice against their fellow men."Slap Shot" is about as much a guy's movie as can be, so naturally the screenwriter was a woman, Nancy Dowd. She wallows in all the profane banter, casual misogyny, and random acts of brutal violence in a way that might play a bit on the page like "Clockwork Orange" but is saved by the film's amiable humor and sense of fun.The darkest thing about "Slap Shot" is the premise. The Charlestown Chiefs, a minor league hockey team, are about to fold, and player-coach Reggie Dunlop schemes to turn his motley crew into winners by getting their blood up, along with their fans, by transforming them into thuggish winners to attract the attentions of an outside buyer that might keep the team running in friendlier climes.As played by Newman, Dunlop is very likable in his rascally ways, even while taunting a goalie about his lesbian wife for a cheap score. Newman throws up some vivid detail in this scene and others that must have caused a few people to blanch when "Slap Shot" hit theaters in 1977, but his banter is perhaps a bit less scandalous today and the movie as a whole seems to be improving with time. It's about the only thing out there, other than maybe "Youngblood" and "Miracle," for hockey-loving moviegoers, and it remains the most popular, perhaps even best take on one very odd sport.The film is disjointed, though, with a strange subplot about one player named Braden who resists Dunlop's "gooning it up" and Braden's long-suffering dipso wife. There's a driver who takes a sledge hammer to the team bus to "make it look mean," assorted opponents who look like they escaped from "Oz," and especially the Hansons, who are used very well because they are used sparingly.Director George Roy Hill was never wedded to any one style, and this is as far as you can get from other films he made that same decade, like "A Little Romance" and "The Sting." He does very little to dress up "Slap Shot," even the credit sequences are perfunctory, but he knew how to make a good movie, and did so here. Throw in the Hanson Brothers, a nutty Quebecois Goalie, a profane pervert and a college boy and you have a colorful cast of characters.Oh, and if you think the violence is a bit overrated, a couple of years ago I was treated to a minor league hockey brawl in Jacksonville, Florida where the Orlando Defenseman actually BIT a Jacksonville player and was suspended for 5 games.. In Slap Shot, a hockey club hires a trio of thugs to beef up its mediocre hockey team.Fresh and unexpected, this is one of the best of Paul Newman's mid-period movies (also note "The Drowning Pool"). Set vaguely in Canada or upstate New York, the picture loses steam in the second half and gets bogged down in soap opera; but the memorable first match appearance by the Hanson Brothers--the aforementioned thugs--is a magical movie moment, not to be missed."Slap" takes the time to investigate an array of pro sports themes: sadistic player violence; boorish sexuality; fan behavior; fan loyalty to athletes and vice-versa (or total absence thereof); the bloodless, detached world of athletic club ownership. Scrappy Massachusettes hockey team plays dirty to win, with player-coach Paul Newman getting to show off a rare mean-spirited side of himself which doesn't sit particularly well (the whole movie is full of gratuitous put-downs, but hearing Newman tell a bitchy woman, "Your kid looks like a fag to me" has no kick to it--it's just ugly). I really don't know why but Saturday afternoon was spent watching it instead of doing other more important (?) things.This film came out in the 70's at about the same time as the Philadelphia Fliers (more to the point the Broad Street Bullies) were using the same rough house tactics as was depicted in this movieOne of the big jokes that came out at this time was "I went to the fights and a hockey game broke out".This movie comments on the life of a hockey player and what goes on behind the scenes in the front office as well as how hockey players are at the mercy of the owners. This is the best hockey movie, [The Might Ducks offer little competition] and is a cult classic that any sports fan will love. I had only heard of Slap Shot as a hockey movie with Paul Newman in it. He's Reggie Dunlop, the fun-loving player / coach of minor league hockey team The Charlestown Chiefs. But after the lively Hanson brothers (bespectacled, goofy Jeff Carlson, Steve Carlson, and David Hanson) join the team, Reggie is inspired, and the team turns their fortunes around by beginning to play dirty.Considered by many to be the greatest hockey film of all time, "Slap Shot" is not just a must-see for fans of the sport, but also people who love a good comedy and fans of the actors involved. Written by Nancy Dowd (whose brother Ned was a technical advisor and plays the much-talked-about character Ogilthorpe), "Slap Shot" is highlighted by a hilariously profane script that allows the cast to throw out all sorts of obscenities.Adding some gravitas to the story is the "depressed working class town" atmosphere, in which the potential closing of a local mill could spell all sorts of trouble for the team and the citizens.The actors work together wonderfully: the cheerful Newman, the priceless Strother Martin (Newmans' nemesis in "Cool Hand Luke") as the weaselly manager / P.R. man for the team, Michael Ontkean (as the goal-scorer who won't get with the program and play rough), Jennifer Warren, Lindsay Crouse, Jerry Houser, Andrew Duncan (very funny as the toupee-wearing local announcer), Yvon Barrette, Allan F. It's the mid-70's and Reggie Dunlop (Paul Newman) is the ancient player-coach of the Charlestown Chiefs, a minor league hockey team in the Northeast. If you accept sports as entertainment with machismo and honor, you can appreciate this film for its' dressing room cliché humor and small town usual killing time on the road for the Charlestown Chiefs, a minor league hockey team led by an over the hill payer-coach and in a town one plant closing short of collapsing. This profane comedy sport classic, is really a slap in the face, if you happen to be in the warring path of the Charleston Chiefs, a loser ice hockey team. Newman again owns the movie as Reggie Dunlop, the coach of the team, a true supporters who'd back any of his players, if in a rut. I'm really sorry, Paul Newman, but you've made so many other better movies; if I write one bad review, I hope you'll understand.Newman plays a hockey player and coach in this utterly 70s sports movie that seems to be both spoofing itself and taking itself entirely too seriously. If you want to watch a Paul Newman sports movie, try Somebody Up There Likes Me instead.. In the film's beginning, at a sparsely attended hockey game a woman yells at a French-Canadian player, "frog pussy!" The viewer would then know that the movie will be profanity-laced and downright raunchy. Paul Newman stars as aging veteran player-coach Reggie Dunlop of the Charlestown Chiefs, a Pennsylvania minor league hockey team on a losing streak. The closest thing I can think of to compare this to is "Major League", which is a compliment unto itself.Even if you don't like the sport, the movie is absolutely worth your time for an unusually profane (and always likable) Paul Newman and for the psychotic Hanson brothers.Thoroughly entertaining.8/10. I love reading and watching movies about it.Slap Shot is the classic hockey comedy. Directed by George Roy Hill and starring Paul Newman, the film follows a minor league hockey team known as the Charlestown Chiefs who after hearing they will be folded by the end of the season decide to play more violently/dirty in order to attract more popularity.The film has some very funny moments, great performances and is a must-watch if you're a fan of ice hockey or even a fan of sports films in general.This film, Goon and Puck Hogs are the only R-rated comedies about ice hockey I can think of.The sequel to this film is nowhere near as good and I haven't even bothered watching the third film as its Rated PG and seems to be more like mighty ducks, even though I do love the Hanson Brothers.9/10. The only guy, not for the dirty play is Newman's second man, Braden (Ontkeon, who's cheating on his average looker of a wife (Crouse, who's so entertaining, thanks to her anger) We have an older randy player, who likes to ramble on with old tales, as well as some ethnic players, one not really getting the character exposure he should of, while the other one, opens the movie, in what you could say, is a funny and hurtful interview. Despite getting up in years, foul-mouthed ice hockey coach Paul Newman (as Reggie "Reg" Dunlop) still plays with his young team. Hey, I guess I have a thing for the long hair and the glasses....This has to be Paul Newman's BEST movie, and he was totally convincing as a hockey coach/player. When it ended my wife (who has become a hockey fanatic over the past few years) commented on how it's a movie where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts: it's not a terribly quotable film, but you leave having gone through a full experience.Slap shot is grimy and sometimes very sleazy, and with the exception of Harry S Truman from Twin speaks, the Chiefs follow coach/player Paul Newmans lead: we got to get people seeing this team again and win some (bleep) games, so he goes for a sort of nihilistic approach: screw it! Paul Newman gives one of his wildest, most delightful performances as the crafty, foul-mouthed, aging player/coach of the Charlestown Chiefs, a failing ice hockey team that is energized when it starts playing fast, loose and dirty. paul newman was 51 at the time and playing an active hockey player. It still is a funny film after all these years though I did notice a number of things in the movie that made it even more than just a funny sports movie.Nancy Dowd's very observant screenplay and George Roy Hill's sharp direction showed the trials and tribulations of being a minor league hockey player: the long road trips, the drinking & partying, the competition against other teams that are going through the same lifestyle.(Arguably, writer/director Ron Shelton did a slightly better job dealing with the same plot in a different minor league sports movie several years later: "Bull Durham".)The characters and the subplots still have me laughing out loud: Dunlop putting a bounty on a competing player's head, the rug-wearing radio announcer (wonderfully played by Andrew Duncan), the French Canadian goaltender (Yvon Barrette) who makes Yogi Berra's malaprop statements sound grammatically correct, the underhanded general manager (the late, great Strother Martin), the unexpected striptease by the Chiefs leading scorer Ned Braden (Michael Ontkean) which catches many players, who were beating each other on the ice, totally off guard. The great thing about "Slap Shot" is that is doesn't try to do too much, it just plays itself out, and like Newman's character, is what it is, and that should work just fine, thanks!This won't make any movie-of-the-year lists, but it's worthwhile watching for some very funny moments--if you're a hockey fan, then it's indispensable!. The legendary Paul Newman stars in one of his few comedic turns as Reggie Dunlop, the player head coach of the Charlestown Chiefs, a B-league hockey team with abysmal attendance and a losing record.

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The China Syndrome

TV news reporter Kimberly Wells (Jane Fonda) and her freelance cameraman Richard Adams (Michael Douglas) visit the Ventana nuclear power plant outside Los Angeles as part of a series of news reports on energy production. Kimberly is an ambitious reporter who wants to become a "hard news" reporter, however, her superiors seem to be holding her back due to inexperience at reporting hard news and perhaps because she's a woman. As such, Kimberly reports stories of local interest that contain little substance.While watching the Ventana control room from an observation area with public relations officer, Bill Gibson, the plant goes through a reactor SCRAM, a temporary shutdown of part or all of the plant. Shift supervisor Jack Godell (Jack Lemmon), initially believing the SCRAM to be standard, notices what he believes to be an unusual vibration during the SCRAM. On the control console, a chart recorder indicates that the water level in the reactor core has risen to an abnormally high level. The crew begins opening relief valves in an effort to prevent too much water from damaging the plant, but the chart continues to indicate an off-scale level. Minutes later a crew member notices an alternate gauge on the control panel showing that the water level is dangerously low. Suspecting that the recorder pen may be stuck, Godell taps on the glass cover. He and crew chief Ted Spindler (Wilford Brimley) watch, sickened, as the pen trace rapidly drops to show that the water level is now mere inches away from exposing the reactor core, and still falling. The staff scrambles to close the relief valves and restore the coolant systems, but for several agonizing minutes no one knows whether the core is about to undergo a disastrous meltdown. Eventually, backup systems are able to slow and reverse the falling water level, and the reactor is brought under control.In the observation gallery looking over the control room, Richard, when told he was not permitted to film the control room for security reasons, has tucked the camera under his arm and surreptitiously films the incident. Because the glass is soundproof, the visitors can only guess as to what is happening, however, the panic of the crew is quite apparent, as is their relief when the danger has passed.When they return to the television station, excited about the event and the illegal footage they have of it, the station's news director, after receiving a phone call from his superior, refuses to air the footage, citing federal law and fearing criminal prosecution from Ventana's parent company. Richard, believing that there is more to the story than is indicated in the plant's official statement (which referred to the near-meltdown as an "unexpected transient"), steals the film from the station vault.Meanwhile, Godell, suspecting there is more to the strange vibration he felt at the beginning of the SCRAM, does some investigating of his own and uncovers evidence that the plant is unsafe. Specifically, he finds evidence that the welds for the water pumps were not properly X-rayed to show their integrity. Godell concludes that another reactor SCRAM at full power could cause the cooling system to be severely damaged which would result in a catastrophic meltdown. Godell asks the plant foreman to delay restarting the reactor but he refuses, under pressure from the plant's owners, who stand to lose millions of dollars each day the plant remains "off line."An official investigation by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is held and each Ventana employee present at the SCRAM is interviewed for several hours. They are later exonerated by the NRC which concludes that while some errors by personnel were recorded, they still did their jobs adequately. Kimberley Wells travels to a bar near the plant where it's employees often go and meets Godell himself, celebrating the NRC's ruling with his fellow employees. She asks him a few hard line questions about the safety of the plant, however Godell tells her the plant is safe and that there are backup systems to handle problems like the recent event that took place. Kimberly notices that Godell seems a bit nervous about the plant's safety.Suspicious that there may be more errors to investigate, Jack dons a radiation suit and examines the defective water pump himself with a Geiger counter. He finds an area where nuclear material has leaked onto the floor. His supervisor, Herman, quickly orders a cleanup and tells Jack not to reveal the problem to anyone and to get the plant up and running. Jack does so with obvious reluctance and leaves work for the day but steals some of the damning x-ray films taken by the construction company that built the plant. At a construction site, he talks to one of the firm's officers, showing him the questionable x-ray. When Jack gets no satisfaction, he threatens to go to the NRC himself. The officer tells Jack that the firm has it's own security force that could be sent to harass or harm him.Kimberley talks to Richard's business partner, Hector, and finds out that Richard, who hasn't been heard from for several days, is at a convention of nuclear scientists in LA. She finds Richard there and he tells her he's showing the film to a couple of nuclear power experts; a physicist and an engineer. The two scientists determine that the plant very nearly went into meltdown, called the "China Syndrome" where the nuclear material heats beyond the capacity of the plant's personnel and safety systems to stop it. Reaching ground water under the plant, the material would explode into the atmosphere, rendering most of southern California radioactive an uninhabitable wasteland for decades and possibly causing illnesses like cancer in the region's inhabitants. Kimberly and Richard both go to Godell's house and confront him directly, saying they know that Godell and his team narrowly avoided a meltdown. Godell, more nervous than he was before, tells them that he agrees with them and tells them about the false X-rays and the cost-cutting measures done by the contracting company. He also tells them that he was threatened by the firm if he goes to the NRC. Kimberly and Richard agree to keep Godell's identity anonymous if he can get them some of the incriminating evidence to present at the conference where Richard had talked to the two nuclear scientists.Richard arranges for Godell to meet Hector with a bundle of the x-ray film, but while Hector drives to the convention to deliver them, he's run off the road by hit men from the contracting firm. Kimberly calls Godell and asks him to speak directly to the convention committee himself. On the way there, he is chased by more hit men and is unable to join Kimberly. He drives to Ventana, knowing the men following him won't be permitted past the plant's security gates.Godell rushes to the control room and finds the plant is nearly at full power. Now convinced of the evidence and unable to stop the power-up, he grabs a gun from the control room's security guard and forces everyone out. Once alone and secured inside the control room, he brings the power down to a safer level. He also tells the plant's managers that if anyone attempts to take control of the reactor from the outside or break in, he'll open valves and flood the containment building with radiation, which would render the plant unusable. He then demands to be interviewed by Wells on live television.Kimberly arrives and is escorted into the control room. Godell tells her that he'll voice his concerns about the plant's safety on live television. Kimberly contacts Richard, who contacts every other major television network. In the hour it takes for them to arrive, the plant's parent company's CEO, McCormack, orders Herman to find a way to cause a reactor SCRAM. The SCRAM, if plotted correctly, will distract Godell long enough for the rest of the team to seize control of the plant. After Richard leads the TV production teams into the same observation room he original filmed in, he misses seeing the SWAT team that also arrives to deal with Godell himself.Kimberly begins to interview Godell, who speaks frantically and makes little sense while explaining the more technical aspects of the recent accident. In the middle of the live interview, the SCRAM is started and the camera's cables are physically cut. Godell begins to panic, rushing from one control panel to the next, trying to avert a catastrophe. The SWAT team suddenly bursts into the control room and shoots Godell. Kimberly tries desperately to help him, however, Godell, near death, tells her "I can feel it..." An ominous vibration, like the one Godell felt in the first incident, shakes the room. More alarms begin to sound and the SCRAM causes significant damage to the plant, as portions of the cooling system physically collapse. The reactor is eventually brought under control by the plant's automatic systems and by Godell's co-worker, Ted Spindler. When the incident ends, Kimberley sees that Godell has died.Outside the plant, a phalanx of reporters and television crews are awaiting word on the events inside. When the plant spokesman suggests that Godell was "emotionally disturbed" and that he "had been drinking", Kimberly Wells confronts the spokesman in front of the other reporters, and eventually gets one of Godell's co-workers, Ted Spindler, to admit that Godell would not have taken such drastic steps had there not been something dangerous about the plant. Ted tells the media that Godell was a hero for averting a disaster and that there will be a much deeper investigation this time. As Kimberly, obviously upset at Godell's death, gives her closing comments, the broadcast is cut off.

tragedy, dramatic, murder

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imdb

That little gnawing sensation that the director would hope you feel while watching his thriller.Jack Lemmon's performance is a fine one, and Jane Fonda and Michael Douglas follow. The movie occasionally gets too technical (especially in the second-half) and could use more human interplay, however the performances by Jack Lemmon, Jane Fonda (as a puff-piece newswoman in the right place at the right time) and Michael Douglas (as a freelance cameraman) are superb. But, when a news story about the leakage of nuclear energy breaks; let's just say - there is your monster.Jane Fonda is absolutely superb as Kimberley Wells, an ambitious Los Angeles reporter relegated only to fluff pieces by her sexist boss (Peter Donat). You have the stellar cast - Michael Douglas in an uncharacteristic 'free-spirit' role that pretty much launched his movie career, Fonda playing her typical forthright female doing her bit for womens lib, and Jack Lemmon as assured as ever showing us a man with a crisis of confidence. When THE CHINA SYNDROME was released, plenty of right-wing critics and pro-nuke supporters blasted this film, particularly since its three leading stars were all known for their liberal politics and their overt distrust of nuclear power. But it only took two weeks and a near-catastrophic accident at Three Mile Island to shut those critics up.Fonda and Douglas are the L.A. news crew that witness a potentially nasty accident at the Ventana nuclear power plant. The result is a nightmarish climax that pulls various political, technological, and human interest stories together in one disturbing package.While obviously quite politically liberal in nature, THE CHINA SYNDROME, well directed and co-written by James Bridges (THE PAPER CHASE), is also fundamentally a message movie about the inherent dangers of putting technology and nuclear power together. Wanting to get out of reporting fluff, Jane Fonda follows up to get the plant expert (Jack Lemmon) to talk.Fonda is magnificent in this film, and Lemmon shows a whole range of emotion during the accident, and afterward as a man who wants to tell the truth even if it hurts his company.When a company stands to lose a billion dollar investment, you can be sure that there will be an attempt to murder someone (Daniel Valdez) to keep things quiet.Lemmon and Fonda were both nominated for Oscars, and probably should have gotten them.Things depicted in the story have actually occurred in the past (before this film), and it was fascinating to see the reactions of the characters. 'The China Syndrome' Synopsis: A reporter finds what appears to be a cover-up of safety hazards at a nuclear power plant.'The China Syndrome' was controversial when released, but over the years, has gained a substantial fan-following among film-buffs. Of course everyone will know about the coincidence of the Three Mile Island incident which occurred within days of the film's original release which gave it instant topicality and of course gave it a commercial boost, but subsequent nuclear-related disasters at Chernobyl and Fukishama mean that the movie's relevance doesn't diminish as time goes by.All of that would be of no matter unless it wasn't a cracking good film which it certainly is. The film makes telling points about corporate greed over safety considerations still relevant in every walk of business today, but also confronts the limits of free speech and obviously, the debate on the use of nuclear power as an energy source in today's society, but at a more basic level it's just a top-class thriller which ratchets up the tension throughout. The acting just couldn't be better, Fonda is convincing as the lightweight "feel-good spot" TV reporter who scents a real story for the first time, Douglas as the rule-bending maverick camera-man desperate to get the story out there and Lemmon in one of his last great roles as the company man whose loyalty is tested by his own conscience when he becomes aware of the cover-ups at the plant.Sure the fashions and depicted technology to name but two elements are dated as only a film set in the 70's can be, but the message of the movie combined with its entertainment value easily transcends these to deliver a taut, exciting and thought-provoking film which was one of the best of, in my opinion, a great decade for Hollywood movie-making.. Terrific award-winning casting of Jack Lemmon, Michael Douglas and Jane Fonda, as the TV news reporter who wants to do "real news" stories. Story: China Syndrome stars Jane Fonda, who plays Kimberly Wells, a TV news reporter stuck doing irrelevant "fluff stories" who hopes to one day do some "real news". TV news reporter Kimberly Wells and her cameraman Richard Adams visit the Ventana nuclear power plant where they discover an accident.They have it all on camera.Jack Godell is the supervisor on duty in the control room during the incident.He knows something is seriously wrong at the plant when he feels the vibration.He wants to talk but they want to keep his mouth shut.The China Syndrome (1979) is a thriller directed by James Bridges.The title of the movie is jokingly mentioned in the film that if an American nuclear melts down it will melt through the Earth until it reaches China.The casting of this movie is brilliant.Jane Fonda does a fine job as the red headed Kimberly Wells.The young Michael Douglas, who's also producer of this film, is great as the hot tempered Richard.I especially liked Jack Lemmon who does amazing job as Jack Godell.His performance alone can raise my review up to 9 stars.He won the best actor award at the Cannes film festival.Also in this film you can find Richard Herd who plays Evan McCormack.This movie shows us something that can happen in real life.We all remember what happened in Chernobyl back in 1986.There are plenty of breathtaking scenes in the movie.One of them is where Jack is driving and he notices he's being followed...And there's a lot of power in the end.. Says much about corporate corruption at the expense of the common person, so that the powerful can gain gain huge profits and disregard the environment and safety of others.Nearly 30 years later this film is compelling about the power of certain corporate entities that since the films release have gained ten fold in their ability to control; It shows the need for regulation of the public against powerful business interests whose primary goal is profit.Jack Lemmon is brilliant- while Jane Fonda and Micheal Douglas are as equally compelling in their roles. Fonda, Douglas and Lemmon were known "lefties", but the accident at Three Mle Island provided shocking context to this fictional drama.This film works on many levels, taking shots at both public utilities and TV news. Later, as Lemmon and Wilford Brimley (nicely playing Lemmon's friend/colleague, caught between duty and loyalty) fight a sudden crisis in the plant' s control room, they're obviously running a boiling-water plant (built by GE.) A small point, but curious, considering how many details the screenwriters got right.Like any good drama, the film asks more questions than it answers. It was harrowingly close, but The China Syndrome received the worst kind of publicity when as it was going into theatrical release, the accident at Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant happened. Jane is a TV News reporter who is constantly being assigned to puff feature stories and just happens to be at a nuclear power plant when an accident occurs. Fonda plays a TV news journalist who is only given light, superficial stories to run with due to her good looks, while Lemmon is the shift-manager at the power-plant who is the only employee who is willing to admit that something is badly wrong in his place of work. Both characters have their own individual demons to wrestle with and these they confront in the final showdown in the plant control room, where Fonda's character get's her chance at breaking a serious news story, while Lemmon is allowed to alleviate his guilt by speaking out about the very real danger the unsafe power plant presents to the public in the form of the potential disaster known as the China Syndrome.The film also looks at the role of the media. Also, the depiction of the behind-the-scenes chaos that goes on in the making of slick news feeds is very well done, and does give an insight into the workings of this particular machine.As I said earlier Jane Fonda and Jack Lemmon are especially good in a well-acted film. Jack Lemmon turns in a five star performance as the supervisor trying to expose a cover-up at his nuclear plant, with Jane Fonda playing the reporter trying to investigate, and Michael Douglas plays her cameraman.I don't know whether or not the current threat of a terrorist attack makes "The China Syndrome" more disturbing, but either way, it's still definitely a movie that everyone should see.I hope that those people who spent years pushing nuclear power saw this movie just so that they could know that their views and ideals are completely defunct.. TV newscaster Kimberly Wells (Jane Fonda) and her radical camerman Richard Adams (Michael Douglas) are at a nuclear power plant when a serious accident happens. One of the central characters (Michael Douglas) IS a crank, who drives me up the wall by mispronouncing `nuclear' (why DO people do that?), and it's annoying that he should coincidentally turn out to be right; but the heroes are the saner people, Jane Fonda and, in particular, Jack Lemmon.Mind you, I don't want to make great claims about this film. Jack Lemmon really stands out in my mind, but Jane Fonda does a good job and Michael Douglas is great as the hot-headed cameraman. Best of all, however, is Jack Lemmon in a straight role as a worker at a nuclear power plant who soon becomes aware that something very fishy is going on at his place of work. As one of the plant workers, played by Jack Lemmon, investigates, he realizes the problem goes deeper than initially believed.The news station refuses to allow Kimberly to show the film and puts it in a safe, where it is stolen by Richard, who thinks everyone at the station, including Kimberly, is a wimp. Pretty soon, the nuclear people are anxious to get the news people to keep their mouths shut.The China Syndrome is an excellent film all around, including the acting, directing by James Bridges, and the editing. The cameraman (Michael Douglas) secretly films the panicked actions of Plant Manager (Jack Lemmon) in the control room. While a disputable debate on nuclear technology preponderates most of the receptions, if one thinks a bit deeper, it is not a film deliberately provokes its viewers to be aware of the instability of nuke per se, the real culprit is a malfunctioned organization under loose management and its money-seeking honchos' myopia in neglecting a potential and fatal glitch and preferring bankrolls to its social responsibility for the public's safety, nuke is not the reason why the tragedy happens, it only serves as an agency to trigger the chain reaction, if every and each one does their adequate job, the entire system should function faultlessly as it claims.It is not a movie with a conventional happy ending - a lone guy with rectitude fights against the merciless enterprise finally grants a victory against all odds, or a fearless journalist pursues a scoop which divulges a cover-up and prevails the justice. If the 'China' syndrome is not to be taken literally, the nuclear danger surely is.And the subject is even more relevant today, after the infamous Three Miles Island accident, which by an irony of fate, happened a few days after the film's release, after Chernobyl and more lately, Fukushima, any normal person of the 21st century would regard nuclear energy with a certain distance. Throw in a few conspiracy theories, and wonderful performances from Jack Lemmon, Jane Fonda and Michael Douglas, and 'The China Syndrome' is an intelligent, taut and topical thriller.Jane Fonda plays Kimberly Wells, a beautiful news presenter who's consistently frustrated with having to present the "lighter side" of the news. Jane Fonda and Michael Douglas {who also produced the film} also contribute excellent performances, and Fonda is particularly believable in her insistence upon reporting hard news, a problem faced by countless female journalist even today. Jack Lemmon is the employee who realizes just how dangerous the plant is and Jane Fonda is the crusading television reporter who takes the story on board and both players are at their best.The events portrayed in the film are, of course, terrifying and not in the least bit far-fetched, (much of what happens here happened in real life at Three Mile Island), and although it now looks like something a period piece it, nevertheless, highlights just how fragile and dangerous a world we have created for ourselves. She and her crew (the cameraman played by post-'Coma' Michael Douglas who is also the producer of the movie) witness an accident in a nuclear power plant while they were on a visit. It contains almost no preaching, but rather follows a naive TV reporter who gradually comes to realize the threat presented by nuclear power plants, not because of an inherent danger, but because the purveyors are more interested in the bottom line than in the safety of those affected.Many hated the film because they saw it as a political tract made by ultra-liberals like Jane Fonda and Michael Douglas, but if you view it simply as a drama, it's gripping, exciting, full of well-developed, distinctive characters and, ultimately, a truly suspenseful contemporary thriller that hits close to home.Historical note: For some, especially those in the energy industry and inhabitants of the Harrisburg, PA metro area, it hit perhaps a little too close to home, as less than a week after this film was released, the devastating explosion at the Three Mile Island nuclear facility occurred.Update, 04/08/2007: In the nearly a decade since I first wrote this critique, I've heard a lot of commentary on the film. There are several worthy actors of note, including the great Lemmon(who steals the film), Michael Douglas, Jane Fonda, Wilford Brimley, the underrated Scott Brady, James Karen, James Hampton, and Richard Herd. Jane Fonda plays Kimberly Wells an up and coming TV reporter who wants to expose the accident, when she and Adams are ordered by their station and threatened by the power company to keep silent or face retaliation. James Bridges directed this nuclear-age thriller that stars Jane Fonda as TV newswoman Kimberly Wells, who, along with her cameraman Richard Adams(played by Michael Douglas) do an investigative report on a nearby nuclear power plant when a near-meltdown occurs, though plant management deny it as such, Kimberly isn't convinced, and manages to persuade nervous technician Jack Godell(played by Jack Lemmon) to go on air to tell what he knows; this leads to a hostage situation with potentially disastrous consequences... This is a pretty good thriller at a nuclear power plant in southern California that was directed by James Bridges and stars Jane Fonda, Jack Lemmon and Michael Douglas. Fonda and Douglas are sent on a routine assignment at a nuclear power plant and an accident almost happens and they get it all on film. The China syndrome starts with a bang- Jane Fonda and Michael Douglas are at a nuclear power plant when something goes wrong and they manage to capture it on camera. The China syndrome starts with a bang- Jane Fonda and Michael Douglas are at a nuclear power plant when something goes wrong and they manage to capture it on camera. basically,a reporter and her cameraman discover a cover-up at a nuclear plant.it was alright,i guess.it had some exciting moments and some tension, and the acting is good,but it also seems too long.there are a lot of slow spots.Jack Lemmon,Jane Fonda and Michael Douglas star.Douglas looks quite different with a full beard.Wilford Brimley also stars in the movie.James Bridges directed the movie.he co-wrote The China Syndrome with T.S.Cook and Mike Gray.for me,this movie is no classic,though many people may disagree.if it didn't have so many slow spots,i would give it a higher rating.as it is,i give The China Syndrome a 6/10. Although very slow and dated by today's drama/thriller standards, this brilliantly-acted movie is perhaps the best ever done on the subject of nuclear power plants. She plays a reporter who, in the words of the trailer, is "paid to smile, not to think", and while she's visiting a nuclear power plant with her cameraman Michael Douglas, they witness an emergency shutdown.If you've seen the famous clip of Jack Lemmon looking at his shaking cup of coffee, you've seen a clip from this movie. And the film turned out to be awfully prophetic: the real life notorious "Three Mile Island" incident occurred not long after.A small time news station is doing a series of stories on nuclear power, and while they are present at the Ventana power plant, an accident takes place. All the roles were well-played: Jane Fonda ("Kimberly Wells"), Jack Lemmon (Jack Godell") and producer Michael Douglas ("Richard Adams") are all excellent in their roles, plus all of the rest of the cast. She gets her big break covering a routine story at a nuclear power plant with her freelance cameraman Richard Adams, played by Michael Douglas. The movie stars Jane Fonda as a young news anchor named Kimberly Wells who works for a local Los Angeles news network who with the help of her cameraman Richard Adams (Michael Douglas) expose the problems of a nuclear power plant which are so dire that if nothing gets done to solve it, it could mean the end of our world. I also found the performances by both Jane Fonda (who also got an Oscar nomination for best actress) and Michael Douglas (who also produced the film) to be so good that I'm convinced that nobody could have played their characters better than they did.

tt0058155

The Gorgon

In a small European town, an old castle was once inhabited by three sisters. No, there was nothing normal about them, for they were The Gorgons. The most infamous was Medusa until her head of snake laden hair was cut off. Fear has swallowed the town because they believe that either Euryale or Medera, still live there. Dr. Namaroff (Peter Cushing) is the first to discover the awful truth as the immortal Gorgon has taken a human form. The human that she posses is Carla, Namaroff's assistant. She does not know what is happening to her due to the fact that she blacksout when the Gorgon takes her over. She and her love interest Paul believe that the Dr. is lying because he is jealous. As the number of murders mount, the two men fight. Finally the awful truth is discovered and Paul and the Dr. fall victim to The Gorgan's power and are turned to stone. The only one left who knows the secret of her power is Prof. Meister (Christopher Lee). It is up to him to take her head and break the curse forever or to fail and doom more of the townspeople. He takes his sword and finds the evil beast from ancient mythology, and luckily a mirror in her castle.

gothic

train

imdb

Typically, the DivX edition I watched was plagued by artifacts and a few jump-cuts (not to mention being in the odious pan-and-scan format); however, I was very glad to have finally caught up with it – especially in view of the DD Home Video company’s recent folding (this had been mentioned as one of a possible number of Columbia/Hammer DVD releases).Peter Cushing is rather unsympathetic and pitiful here (but still commanding as ever); Christopher Lee (playing much older than his years and who only really comes onto the scene during the last half-hour) is his usual pompous self; Richard Pasco, then, makes for an unusual hero. Other notable cast members include police chief Patrick Troughton, Michael Goodliffe (as Pasco’s father, who along with his other son, falls victim to The Gorgon) and Jack Watson as Cushing’s over-eager aide.In most aspects, this is a typical Hammer product from their 1955-68 heyday: rich-looking (production design courtesy of Bernard Robinson) but essentially undernourished – the monster ‘attacks’ being centered around one family unit, while the much-feared castle seems to be situated in the immediate vicinity of the local inn! All the key characters in the film are driven by the most desperate love: the pregnant Sascha in the opening scenes, Professor Heitz mourning and defending a lost son, Carla and Paul in their foredoomed affair, Namaroff oppressing Carla and torturing himself with the love she can never reciprocate, Ratoff(who might at first seem a token thug)worshipping Carla as devoutly as is master does, even Christopher Lee's celibate Meister has a father's anxious protectiveness towards Paul. Its premise is daring and imaginative - a female spectre so hideous that all who gaze on her are turned to stone, a power even more unnerving than the physical ferocity of lycanthropy or vampirism.It boasts a wealth of Hammer expertise: Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee are at their peak; John Gilling scripted lucidly; James Bernard's score is one of his finest, the familiar overwrought strings underlaid with a spectral organ effect; and Michael Reed's pathecolor photography defines the Hammer ‘look', all sombre interiors and gorgeous autumnal forests. Karl Meister (Christopher Lee) come to Vandorf to investigate the murder of Paul´s father and brother, the discover that the local Dr. Namaroff (Peter Cushing), his assistant Carla Hoffman (Barbara Shelley), the inspector and the residents are hiding the mystery of the Gorgon."The Gorgon" is another great film by Hammer. Directed by their best director, Terence Fisher, and with the stars Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and Barbara Shelley, "The Gorgon" has an engaging but predictable story, wonderful cinematography and good performances. Aside from the fact that it stars Hammer's two biggest actors - Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing - The Gorgon also features a fairly original cinematic monster, and it makes for a great fun watch! As the title suggests, the film focuses on a mysterious 'Gorgon', a woman with a head full of snakes that can turn people to stone just by looking at them. The fact that this film stars both Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee is definitely to its advantage, although it is unfortunate (as is the case with many of their joint ventures) that they don't get to spend a lot of screen time together. It has to be said that the special effects are a bit shoddy and the monster doesn't look particularly scary; but stuff like that is part of the charm of Hammer Horror, and personally - I wouldn't have it any other way! No living thing survived and the spectre of death hovered in waiting for her next victim."Directed by Terence Fisher for Hammer Film Productions, The Gorgon stars Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Barbara Shelley and Richard Pasco. But cest la vie, the story is such we have to have these close ups, so lets just embrace this minor itch for existing in a time before CGI and applaud its adherence to the Gothic tradition that the film faithfully captures.Tho featuring the big Hammer Horror hitters Cushing & Lee, it's Barbara Shelley who really takes the honours. This is an enjoyable rather forgotten movie from the Hammer studio's, staring both Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee again.I particularly liked the atmosphere of the movie. Other damn good reasons to watch "The Gorgon" include: the production company (Hammer), the director (Terence Fisher) and the fact that it's another film pairing two of the most legendary genre icons that ever lived: Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. Granted, they share very few scenes together and actually Christopher Lee only appears late in the film, but still their mutual presence adds a whole lot of charm to an already intelligent and atmospheric Gothic chiller. Hammer gives some rich production values to THE GORGON, a horror film starring PETER CUSHING as a doctor with some mysterious secrets and CHRISTOPHER LEE as an inquisitive professor who wants to solve the riddle--namely, whatever is causing the strange deaths of several unfortunate victims who turn to stone under the evil gaze of "the gorgon." BARBARA SHELLEY commands interest immediately as a mysterious woman who knows somewhat more than she should about the legendary myth involving Maguera. The story is somewhat simplistic but holds a certain power because of the atmospheric sets and the high quality of the acting by an all British cast.I've been critical of some of the Hammer films because they use garish color to get their effects (as in THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES which was done at an earlier time by Fox in glorious B&W with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, superior in every way to the Hammer version). But THE GORGON has been photographed with an eye for atmospheric details that give the proper Gothic feel to the story.The ending is somewhat disappointing in that The Gorgon is not quite as sinister and real as it should be (especially with regard to the snake headdress), but it's good to see Christopher Lee playing a good man for a change.Well worth viewing.. This 1964 Hammer Production boasts an ambitious premise which the make-up man ultimately finds to his disadvantage when the Gorgon is finally revealed at the end.It is a carefully built-up film with tons of atmosphere and mystery, but very little horror, hence Hammer should be commended in approaching the subject with such subtlety. Indeed, Peter Cushing's role perfectly shows his adeptness at playing stone-faced, ruthless roles as well as the ones in which he is more civil and good-natured.Watchable Hammer fare, with a decent ending, but it's ambition conversely restricts the film.. Another excellent collaboration of Hammer's number one director, Terence Fisher, and this great Production company's two greatest stars, Horror icons Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, "The Gorgon" is another impressive film that no Hammer-fan or Horror lover in general can afford to miss. The accused man's brother comes to the village in order to investigate himself, following a local legend about a mysterious creature..."The Gorgon" is a film of controversial reputation among my fellow Hammer fans. Atmospheric and slow moving, this movie may not be for everyone, but if you're in the mood for a solid Hammer horror about people turning to stone, then check it out. When Carla (Barbara Shelley), beautiful assistant to the mysterious and tight-lipped Dr. Namaroff (Peter Cushing), tells Paul of the local legend of Megaera the Gorgon, the snake-haired monster whose spirit is rumoured to haunt a nearby castle, he suspects that there might be some truth to the story and decides to investigate for himself...The Gorgon, from Hammer director Terence Fisher, is inspired by the mythology of ancient Greece, and tells of a creature so hideous that to look at it can result in being turned to stone. However, with the emphasis on emotional interplay rather than solid scares—the result of which is way too much talk instead of action—The Gorgon ends up being an unexceptional affair despite some splendid cinematography, a couple of genuinely atmospheric scenes, and solid performances from its excellent cast (which also features Chistopher Lee as Paul's mentor, Professor Karl Meister, and Patrick Troughton wearing a very daft helmet).In addition to the plodding (and rather predictable) script, The Gorgon is also guilty of muddling its mythology (Megaera was in fact the name of a Furie), and delivering one of Hammer's weakest monsters: the titular creature—fairly effective when partially hidden in the shadows—is hardly the stuff of nightmares when revealed in all of it's hideous glory thanks to the use of some particularly awful makeup and the laughable rubber snakes that move awkwardly on its head.. It's a Hammer Film ,it stars Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. I assure you there's a market for this movie. It's not exactly the best "horror" story, but it presents a very interesting mystery and mixes classic Greek myth with more modern times, which you don't see often (and it's done well here, despite the fact they screwed up the names).People have had concerns about the cheesy effects used for the snakes. One of the three Greek mythological Gorgons spirit overtakes the body of a woman in a small town in England in the early 20th century and petrified victims start to appear whenever there's a full moon.Director Terence Fisher shows his undeniable skill for creating appropriate and sordid atmospheres in his horror films with a touch of Gothic in this one. The story -a complete fantasy- is also well handled by Fisher and sustains interest without major bumps all along.Peter Cushing, Cristopher Lee and Barbara Shelley render their usual fine acting in roles with no secrets for them; there's also a good performance by the less known Patrick Troughton ("The Scars of Dracula", "The Omen") as the Chief of Police.What somehow demerits the picture is its special effects and not because they are particularly bad, but because by the early 60's it was really difficult to make a convincing make up of a head with living snakes instead of hair (this would be an easy task for today's computers). Nonetheless and if you consider the time "The Gorgon" was released the special effects don't really hurt the film.Clearly not in the same level of the best horror movies that Hammer gave us in the late 50's and early 60's (such little classics as "The Mummy", "Horror of Dracula" or "The Curse of Frankenstein"), "The Gorgon" stands as a most original product surely enjoyable for fans of the genre.. The movie is not scary, the turning to stone effects and the Gorgon hair-snake make-up was embarrassing, the sets are cheesy, and I thought the acting wasn't up to par either. time here allowing one of the characters to have a nice death scene.Peter Cushing as a mysterious nobleman and Christopher Lee the professor A Hammer film that looks to Greek mythology for the basis of it's plot with the mythical creature known as The Gorgon (a woman with snakes for hair and the ability to turn anyone who looks her in the eye to stone) being adapted and shone through the Hammer Films' prism.This film features the combined talents of Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee and Patrick Troughton who are all amazing. Creative plot easily inspired in old Greek's myth, Medusa here supplanted to another name Gorgon as movie's title and Megeara in the picture,the astonishing atmosphere allowed by Fisher in a colorful sets haunting by a moonlight,Cushing is fabulous in his role,also Barbara Shelley,but Christopher Lee was totally disagreement wiith the real character very older to him,also another plot's fail the main actor appears almost in last part of the picture,despite that the whole thing is delightful to every fan who loves Hammer!!Resume:First watch: 2018 / How many: 1/ Source: DVD / Rating: 7.25. Not-bad Hammer horror has a solid production with rich color and a good cast, but the romantic complications between mysterious, possessive doctor Peter Cushing and assistant Barbara Shelley verge on soap opera. Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing star in this surprisingly atmospheric horror film.Cushing is the villain, a doctor who holds the key to a series of unsolved murders plaguing a European village. At the center of the mystery is the legend of the mysterious Gorgon, who can turn men and women to stone with one look from her evil eyes.This is all standard B horror movie stuff, but there are a couple of scenes that manage a fair level of creepiness, and the British cast are able to make the material sound better than it actually is. There was a great use of colour and maximising of the potential of the sets to create a nice, almost–creepy atmosphere that belies the fact it was filmed on the usual low budget.After a number of people are mysteriously killed in Vandorf village bigwig professor Christopher Lee eventually comes to the rescue but finds the victims have been turned to stone in their horror at seeing something. This underrated little film from Hammer features an all-star cast including Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Barbara Shelley, Patrick Troughton, Richard Pasco & Micheal Goodliffe.Rumor has it that the town of Vandorf is haunted by the spirit of the legendary Gorgon named Mageara(whose appearance is so hideous she turns those foolish enough to gaze upon her into stone)..mysterious deaths and rumors of the victims being turned to stone bring many of our lead characters together to investigate.This is a wonderful film with fitting music and wonderful set designs which add to its overall atmosphere of haunting terror. Gorgon, The (1964) *** (out of 4) Extremely well-made Hammer film about a small town haunted by a strange curse, which causes people to die from fright and turn into stone. Oh yeah,"The Gorgon" is really bad-the special effects(especially the Gorgon's make-up)are horrible,but I enjoyed the film.It's pretty scary,atmospheric and well-acted(horror veterans Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee are great as usual).So if you like subtle horror films from Hammer,then this one is a must-see-just don't expect something with over blown budget here.You have been warned.... But it is worth watching, if for nothing less than the fine performances given by Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. The film is very atmospheric, with swirling mists in graveyards at midnight and a good score. Unfortunately he ends up turned to stone as well so it's up to Paul Heitz (Richard Pasco) to find the truth behind his father's & brother's deaths & the local villagers don't seem to want to co-operate...This British production was directed by Terrence Fisher & I didn't think The Gorgon was one of Hammer's best by any stretch of the imagination. This is a Hammer film starring both Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. The fiercely pragmatic and secretive Dr. Namaroff (superbly played by Peter Cushing) tries to cover up for the Gorgon while both the determined Paul Heitz (a fine performance by Richard Pasco) and the aggressive, take-charge Professor Karl Meister (Christopher Lee in wonderfully robust form) try to get to the bottom of things. Among the great enunciators in this movie, in addition to Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, is Barbara Shelley who plays Carla Hoffman, Dr. Namaroff's assistant. Although Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee are given star billing, the movie is more like a play with an ensemble cast of characters all 'driven by desperate love,' (as noted by others) -- which is the real unifying theme of almost all the scenes. Contrast this with her role in "Quatermass and the Pit" (1967) as a 'modern' woman.This movie doesn't get old by watching it once a year at Hallowe'en, because you forget the minor glitches (for example, the Gorgon's fakey appearance, a few cheap looking hillside sets, Christopher Lee's hair style and mustache), and you just remember and enjoy it as a well made, interesting story well told.. It's also the last time that the studio's most famous stars Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing teamed up with arguably the studio's best director, Terence Fisher, who of course was responsible for their 1950s classics like THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN. The Gorgon, directed by Terence Fisher and starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, all three veteran horror film stalwarts, retells the story from Greek myth of the snake-haired woman so ugly that anyone who looks directly at her is turned to stone. And as if that weren't enough talent both in front of and behind the camera, the film was scripted by John Gilling, who would ultimately direct six pictures for Hammer himself, including such beloved miniclassics as "The Plague of the Zombies" and "The Reptile." In "The Gorgon," a university student named Paul Heitz (played by Richard Pasco) comes to the German village of Vandorf, in the year 1910, to investigate the recent deaths of his brother and father, both of whom had mysteriously been turned to stone by an unknown agency. When his father Professor Jules Heitz and brother Bruno die under mysterious circumstances, Paul Heitz travels to a small town to determine what is going on.It's the early 1900s and he finds villagers who are wary of strangers and apparently live in fear, particularly when there is a full moon.He hears of the legend of Megaera, a Gorgon so hideous that to look at her will turn you to stone.Of particular interest to him are Dr. Namaroff and his attractive assistant Carla Hoffman.Namaroff is obviously hiding something and is very possessive of Carla, who suffers from blackouts and memory loss....It's one of those typical Hammer movies that comes on TV late at night and you just cannot help but watch the absurdity of it all.All the familiar faces are here, Cushing, Lee, Matte Paintings, but Hammer movies never fail to entertain, even if they do fail to shock.Not unlike Nosferatu, we have one man who is an outcast in a village, which hides a secret. The secret is, it's Medusa's not so famous sibling, who can turn a man to stone with her red eyes and awful hair.The effects are funny in a Hammer way, but Lee and Cushing put a bit of class into the proceedings.Not as good as the Dracula films, but has a little kookiness to it all.. Hammer took a break from the Dracula and Frankenstein movies to focus on the Gorgon character, a witch with snakes as hair, her face turning those that look at her into stone.

tt0067491

Night of Dark Shadows

Handsome young artist Quentin Collins arrives at his newly inherited estate of Collinwood with his beautiful wife Tracy. They meet the housekeeper Carlotta Drake and the caretaker Gerard Stiles. Quentin happens upon a 19th-century portrait of a blonde woman with captivating green eyes that seem to mesmerize him. Carlotta informs him that the woman is Angelique, who had lived there over 100 years earlier. The Collins's friends Alex and Claire Jenkins, who have co-written several successful horror novels, move into a cottage on the estate. Quentin soon begins to be troubled by startling visions and haunting dreams about one of his ancestors, Charles Collins, and his ancestor's mistress Angelique—who had been hanged as a witch in a past century. Carlotta eventually reveals to Quentin that she is the reincarnation of Sarah Castle, a little girl who had lived at Collinwood over 150 years ago, and that Quentin himself is the reincarnation of Charles Collins. Charles had had an affair with Angelique, wife of his brother Gabriel, resulting in her being hanged—and Charles being sealed alive in the family crypt with Angelique's corpse. On a trip to New York, the Jenkins's discover a painting of Charles Collins, which bears an uncanny resemblance to Quentin. Convinced that their friends are in grave danger, the couple hurry home to Collinwood, where they are attacked by the ghost of Angelique. Meanwhile, Quentin has become possessed by the spirit of Charles Collins, and attempts to drown Tracy in a disused swimming pool on the estate. Alex and Claire arrive in time to revive her, but Quentin, having no memory of his actions, refuses to believe their wild tale. Carlotta and Gerard conspire to eliminate Quentin's loved ones. Quentin, seeing the scratches on his wrist where Tracy had tried to fend him off, realizes the truth of Alex's warning and rushes to rescue his friends. Gerard has managed to take Tracy prisoner (despite his having been shot in the face by Claire), and Quentin fights with him high atop a train trestle. Quentin defeats Gerard, who plunges to his death. The group rush to confront Carlotta, but she jumps from the top of Collinwood when the ghostly Angelique beckons her from below. In the end, Quentin and Tracy are about to leave Collinwood when Quentin goes back inside the house. Tracy follows to find him now completely possessed by Charles Collins—and Angelique reborn in the flesh. The camera freezes on Tracy's faces as she screams as Quentin and Angelique advance on her. A newspaper caption at the end reveals that Alex and Claire Jenkins have been killed in a car accident. Witnesses reported seeing a ghostly fog filling the car as it veered off the road.

paranormal, gothic

train

wikipedia

tt0387514

Prime

New York City. Rafi Gardet (Uma Thurman) comes to see her therapist, Lisa Metzger (Meryl Streep), and tells her she has signed her divorce papers. She is distressed because she has suddenly started to think she wants to have children. Lisa tells her she should try to live in the now, for now.Dave Bloomberg (Bryan Greenberg) is at home when his friend Morris calls. Dave joins Morris (Jon Abrahams) as he goes to see a girl he who has dumped him after their first date. Morris smears a cream pie in her face, which seems to be his usual approach to this situation. This time, though, the girl calls her brothers out from the house, and Dave and Morris do a quick escape in their car.Dave goes to see a movie with a girl. In front of the theatre he meets an acquiantance, Randall (Zak Orth), who introduces him to his friends Katherine (Annie Parisse) and Rafi. When Dave goes to the bathroom he finds himself locked out of the theatre, along with Rafi; they exhange looks. After the movie they all go out, and Dave and his date argue over whether or not they are dating. Later, Dave is in his bedroom with the phone. He calls Rafi, but hangs up. He calls again and finds the nerve to ask her out. There's noise in the background; he tells her it's his roommates, but it's actually his grandparents (Jerry Adler and Doris Belack), who he lives with.Dave picks Rafi up at her apartment building; he finds the doorman (Ato Essandoh) somewhat uncommunicative. At the restaurant he talks about the quirks of his Jewish family. They buy beer at an all-night store, and Dave has to show ID. Rafi asks Dave how old he is; he circles the subject, but they establish that she is 37 and he is 23. That's a bigger age difference than Rafi thought, but Dave convinces her to continue the date, and he takes her to a secret garden hidden behind a gate.Rafi is back with her therapist. We flash back to the garden, where Rafi and Dave chat and kiss. Rafi tells Lisa about the age difference - though she lies and says Dave is 27 - and she isn't sure she should be getting into a relationship, but Lisa says it's a good thing. Later Dave talks to his mother on the phone; she is worried that he is dating a girl who isn't Jewish.Rafi talks to her friend Katherine about Dave. Dave goes to his family home, and we discover that his mother is Rafi's therapist. After dinner they have argue; Lisa believes faith to be central in a person's life and thinks it causes too many problems to marry outside your faith. Dave says she sounds like an after-school special. He also tells her that the woman he is dating is older than him; he says 27.Dave visits Rafi at her apartment; he unsuccessfully tries to make the doorman laugh. They talk about art, listen to jazz and kiss. Dave and Morris go to a bakery to get Morris another cream pie, and Dave tells Morris about his feelings for Rafi. Dave's parents talk about how they can get Dave to date Jewish girls. Dave and Rafi go out again and end up sleeping together.Rafi goes to see Lisa again and talks excitedly about Dave. She blurts out his real age and admits that she was and is embarrassed by the age difference. She also says he is an artist, though he is not very confident about it and his family is unsupportive; we see a flashback of her and Dave talking about this. Lisa looks startled and asks where he lives. She realizes that they are talking about her son and breaks off their session. Soon she's on the couch of another therapist (Madhur Jaffrey), asking for advice on what to do. She decides to stay on as Rafi's therapist, not revealing anything.Dave takes Rafi out again, and they have a candlelight dinner next to a big painting by Rafi's favourite artist. Another day she comes to see him play basketball and takes him home to bed. Back at Lisa's office, Rafi talks about how much sex she and Dave have, how happy she is and how beautiful his penis is. They also touch on personal hygiene, and Rafi explains how Dave never used Q-tips before he met her, complete with a flashback. But Rafi also talks about her doubts about whether she and Dave can have a serious relationship. In another scene, Dave tells Rafi how his mother and family do not accept that Dave is dating a non-Jew. He remembers how he introduced a former girlfriend, who was black, to his grandmother, and how she reacted by wacking herself on the head with a frying pan.On the same day, Dave loses his job and has to find a new place to stay because his grandparents are swapping apartments with relatives. He goes to see Rafi at work, at a fashion shoot, and offends her employer. But he is soon forgiven, and at night they go dancing. Rafi insists they go to Dave's place after; she finds out he lives with his grandparents and laughs. She sees his paintings for the first time and tells him he should paint for a living.Dave drops off some stuff at his parents' place, saying he is staying with Morris for a while. When Rafi arrives for her appointment with Lisa at the office next door, Lisa narrowly keeps the two from meeting. Rafi tells her that Dave is moving in with her. That weekend the couple go to the Hamptons to visit Rafi's friends, a gay couple (David Costabile and Will McCormack), along with Randall, also gay, and Katherine. The group discuss politics and arts, but Dave feels excluded and feels like he's being tested. Randall expresses concern that Dave at his age might not be able to give her what she needs, especially when it comes to children.Dave and Rafi go to a gallery opening. She lets her contacts know about his art, but she doesn't introduce him to some of her friends. Dave still doesn't have a job and just hangs around Rafi's apartment all day. One day Lisa goes into a furniture store with her husband, and they have to hide when she sees Dave and Rafi there. In their next consultation, Rafi tells Lisa about her problems with Dave, but Lisa interrupts her. She tells Rafi the truth. Rafi is shocked and angry. She tells Dave, and Dave argues with his mother on the phone.Dave brings Morris to Rafi's apartment one day, but hides him in a closet when Rafi comes home early because she doesn't like other people in the apartment. She finds out and blames Dave for acting like a child. They fight. Later at a restaurant Rafi breaks up with Dave.One of Rafi's art connections comes to see Dave's pictures. He buys two and wants to set up a show. Dave also gets his own apartment. He is still down about Rafi, but Morris takes him out, and Dave ends up bringing a girl home with him - a model he previously met at Rafi's photo shoot (Mini Anden). But soon after he and Rafi meet in a grocery store and rush back to his place to have sex. They rekindle their relationship, and Dave talks his mother into having them over for dinner with the whole family. Rafi and Lisa make friends again, and the family seem to relax about the idea of Rafi and Dave together, and of Dave being a painter. Rafi mentions the possibility of having children with Dave.Rafi learns of Dave's night with the model. Heartbroken, she confronts him. Dave talks to his mother, who tells him she understands his love for Rafi, but that sometimes good things come to an end. One night Dave goes to see Rafi, who comes home at the same moment. The doorman makes sure they meet in the elevator. Dave apologizes. Next we see them in bed together. Dave says he wants to make a baby with her. Rafi says she can't let that happen.One year later, winter. Dave and Morris are walking down a street. Dave is talking about leaving and seeing the world. He realizes he forgot his hat in a restaurant, and he goes back for it. At the restaurant he sees Rafi and her friends at a table. He turns away and goes outside, but then he wipes a circle in the frost-clad window. Rafi sees him, they look at each other, she smiles. We see flashbacks of their relationship. Then Dave raises his hand as goodbye and walks away in the snow.

entertaining, flashback

train

imdb

Everything about that scene bespoke an upper-middle-class 20-something living with his grandparents and lacking direction.Not to mention that the intimacy between Rafi and David felt so natural that I felt convinced that Uma and Bryan had something off-screen during filming. No monologues that sound like they were cribbed from 'Chicken Soup for the Soul', just real people reacting to each other and their circumstances.Meryl Streep is great in this (and this is coming from a straight, twenty-something male) and Uma Thurman and Brian Greenberg have a real chemistry together. Midway through "Prime," there's a scene in which Uma Thurman's character, Rafi, comes to her boyfriend's (Bryan Greenberg) house for dinner with his family. His mom, played by Meryl Streep, as usual giving a performance better than the movie it's in, has up until very recently been Rafi's therapist. The therapist loves Rafi and thinks she's a wonderful person, but she also knows much about her that prospective mothers-in-law don't necessarily know about their sons' girlfriends, things that compound the problems raised by Rafi's not only being 14 years older than the son, but also decidedly NOT Jewish.I wish more of "Prime" had been about this relationship, the one between Thurman and Streep. I was too distracted by the fact that he had a wonderful actress like Streep in his film and didn't seem to know what to do with her."Prime" is far from a bad film, and given its indifferent reception when it was released in theatres, I actually expected it to be worse than it was. You don't watch this movie to feel good about the romantic endeavors that litter your brain but are almost never real, nor do you watch it to laugh at what is going on.I especially liked the fact that Uma Thruman didn't play the role of the stupid blonde that she got in some of her latest movies and also that the movie tried to capture reality more than fantastic situations that no one can relate to and that always end in happy ending.Mix Jewishness, visits to the psychologist, divorcées in the fashion business having gay friends and dating younger guys and you get ... Uma Thurman plays well, Merryl Streep is always a good actress, but in this movie manages not the be annoying as well, which I think is a step up for her. Meryl Streep does a good enough job (but she's not at her best and why are her eyes always reddish?) as Rafi's therapist and David's opinionated mother. The characters are realistic, each reacting to the other in believable ways, but it ends up with mostly hilarious outcomes.No spoilers here, but the rough idea is that an older, just-divorced woman (Uma Thurman) gets romantically involved with a much younger man (Bryan Greenberg). All the leads (Meryl Streep, Uma Thurman, Bryan Greenberg) were wonderful, as were the supporting roles. No, she is much stronger now, and with the help of Lisa, her therapist, she will know better how to deal with anyone that might try to play with her feelings.Enter David, the young hunk of a guy, who likes what he sees when he meets Rafi, casually, one night while waiting to go in to see a film at Cinema Village. It features a new permutation on the old mistaken-identity plot: 37-year-old divorcée Rafi (Uma Thurman) starts dating carefree 23-year-old David (Bryan Greenberg), neither of them realizing that he is the son of her therapist Lisa (Meryl Streep). This smartly written comedy-drama stars the divine Meryl Streep as Dr. Lisa Metzger, a Jewish psychiatrist who one day must deal with the fact that one of her patients (Uma Thurman), a 37- year old divorcée, is dating her 23 year old son. Uma Thurman turns in what I believe is the best performance of her career, a full-bodied performance as an independent career woman on the outside whose interior struggles keep her a mess and hunky Bryan Greenburg shows definite leading man potential as son and lover David. I don't know enough about the production end to know, but I see two-three movies a week at this theater, and I've never noticed it before - this time it was so distracting I couldn't pay enough attention to the story, which I thought for this day and age a little weak. We both decided to see PRIME partly because we both like Meryl Streep and also, because we heard that the movie was supposed to be funny. Well, we both liked it and not only that, but just about everyone in the theater seemed to feel the same way.As for the story, Uma Thurman plays a newly divorced 37 year old named Rafi who meets up with a 24 year old kid named Dave played by Bryan Greenburg. However, what IS significant is that all this time, Rafi is seeing a therapist named Lisa Metzger (Meryl Streep) who turns out to be the mother of Dave, Rafi's love interest. In conclusion, I would recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys comedy and loves Meryl Streep as she was good in this movie as was Uma Thurman.. I was hesitant about this film at first, because I have not liked so many films starring Uma Thurman, but I must say she did an excellent job portraying the "older woman," and Bryan Greenberg was perfect as her hunky younger boyfriend, but Meryl Streep was superlative playing a role that could have become a combination of the stereotypes of therapist and Jewish mother in other hands.So many scenes were funny and evoked other strong emotions at the same time. In New York, after a troubled process of divorce, the thirty-seven years old Raphael "Rafi" Gardet (Uma Thurman) meets the twenty-three years old Jew David Bloomberg (Bryan Greenberg) in a session of "Blow-up" and they start seeing each other. If the story was about a protestant family and the "jabs" had been about those of the Jewish faith they would be termed anti-semitic.I rented this movie because of the cast, but Meryl Streep and Uma Thurman showed their age and probably gave one of their worst, if not the worst performances, of their career. I think we can expect great things from this very gifted young man.Also, I think film made it fairly clear that David could have maintained some kind of a relationship with Rafi, by the way she held his gaze in the final scene. to cast someone as bad of an actor as Bryan Greenberg opposite Uma Thurman, not alone in the same film as Meryl Streep is unbelievable. PRIME brings the gorgeous Uma Thurman back onto the screen in a delightful role played against the comedic talents of the formidable Meryl Streep in a very entertaining film with wonderful shots of New York. And watch out, Bryan Greenberg is gonna be big, as his role of the son on his own journey to find himself is a great introduction to a young man that will go places.With that said, "enough already" with the Jewish angst and the typical Jewish Mother via Meryl Streep who can't see what she is doing to her son by not letting him go about his own life. The last scene will always play in my mind when Bryan wipes the frost away from the window of the restaurant, to reveal the beauty and translucence of Uma's face filled with joy, love, and the sense of knowing she did the right thing for Bryan.PRIME has its moments, some over done, but when you see the beauty of Uma Thurman and the handsome, intelligent face of Bryan Greenberg, you know all is well with Ben Younger and his vision for his film.. This is a solid little work by writer/director Ben Younger who has created a story, somewhat autobiographical, and engaged the interest and devotion of some very fine actors to bring off this simple but very honest view of love and its permutations.Rafi (Uma Thurman) is a recently divorced, successful fashion worker (she sets up camera shoots for high fashion photographers) who is in therapy with the sensitive and understanding therapist Liza Metzger (Meryl Streep) who supports Rafi's need for love and encourages her to put her bad marriage behind her and find someone who will appreciate her. The manner in which this problematic triad is worked through, and it is a bumpy ride, is the story of the film.The atmosphere of this on the surface illogical story is so well realized - the Jewish family scenes are very funny, the warmth of the relationship between Rafi and David say a lot about love despite hurdles, the inner struggle Lisa faces with her own therapist - that the movie is a natural joy to watch. Meryl Streep gives a fine turn as Lisa, and Uma Thurman and newcomer Bryan Greenberg deliver a wholly credible couple with a fine screen chemistry. Rafi (Thurman) just got divorced and starts seeing a younger man (Greenberg), whose mother (Streep) is her Therapist. And like all the others before we get all the same scenes and characters.There's the basketball, food, dance, and love scenes; The nosey over protective mother who has nothing better to do than get over involved in her son's sex life and is oblivious of the fact that her child is a grown man; The crazy friends who constantly bug you for a play-by-play; The spoiled slut with the cat and big apartment; The romantic leading man who likes both sports AND art (yeah right); And blah blah blah, more of the same.Oh and lets talk about Mural Strip and how terrible she was in this movie. Still, Greenberg Penelope Cruz's this role (meaning, like Cruz in Vanilly Sky, he's got some pretty good dialogue and he botches all of it).Streep plays a Jewish psychiatrist & worrywart mother to stereotypical Method competence. Well, I do know which one I would vote for; still, I can't help but think how wasted the talents of Meryl Streep and Uma Thurman are in the absolutely dulling 'Prime'. Often hilarious and poignant comedy regarding a therapist who has a patient, newly divorced, who is now seeing the therapist's 23 year old son.Meryl Streep is in terrific form as the hysterical Jewish therapist who knows how to give advice to others, but can't take what's going on.Of course, there are ethical issues here. In other words, as you walk out of the theatre, you don't really care about Rafi and Dave just like the way you don't really care about two card-board cut outs.Younger seems to focus too much on the topics that come to people easily when thinking about relationships with such a great age difference, such as one person who wants a baby while the other person wants the newest X-Box game, etc.. Despite the film having its fair share of funny moments and tasteful humor, Younger definitely could have explored this relationship on a deeper level and gave Thurman and Greenberg a little more to work with in terms of character development and dialogue. I wonder if she's utilized the services of a few in her day?!Uma Thurman does an equally great job playing one of the most endearing roles of her career.The screenplay is excellent at times, but the plot does get a bit drawn out toward the end of the movie. The cast was good, Uma Thurman and Meryl Streep both acted well as usual... I was looking forward to Prime thinking it would be another brilliant Uma Thurman movie but it turned out to fail as a romantic comedy. Very few romantic comedies are successful at the moment, so I'm not usually surprised when I watch one that isn't that funny, but Uma Thurman and Merryl Streep would of been able to deliver something hilarious.I am a devoted Uma Thurman fan, I think she was brilliant in both Kill Bills and great in My Super Ex Girlfriend, but this movie is, in my opinion, only just worth watching as a comedy. The terrific cast includes relative newcomer Bryan Greenberg who pulls off the young, sensitive artist-in-love with an older woman pretty well; Uma Thurman (sans Samurai sword); and living legend Meryl Streep as the mother / therapist. That she didn't, well, she'll suffer the consequences because no director in his right mind will think once about casting her in the lead role of a romantic-comedy after her dopy, lackluster performance in this dreadful flick.Romance-wise "Prime" tells the vapid story of the very unlikely relationship between the beautiful successful fashion photographer Rafi Garnet, a 37-year-old, childless, recent divorcée, and, scruffy puppy David Bloomberg (Bryan Greenberg), a 23-year-old, not-yet-successful artist. As such, the scene fails, falling to the floor like a dropped board.)The basis for the comedy in "Prime" was supposed to emanate from the fact that Rafi's psychoanalyst, Dr. Lisa Metzger (Meryl Streep playing a be-speckled, giant beaded necklace-wearing Jewish grandmother-to-be stereotype), is also David's mother. (The only gag Younger did not employ was the time-worn "spit take.") We also get a hearty dose of Rafi expressing the most intimate details of her sexual relationship with David, inclusive of her avowed fascination with David's penis, to his petrified mother.In response, Dr. Metzger, in an aside to her own therapist, utters one of the few truly funny lines in the movie, "Up until last week I didn't even think my son had a penis!" Along those lines, up until yesterday I thought "Prime" was going to be a funny romantic-comedy and a wise choice as a "date movie." Had I Ms. Bullock's intuition I would have thought better.. 2.) I've always been a Meryl Streep fan and can watch her in just about anything (and when she was in her "prime" I used to think she was attractive in a classical, offbeat kind of way).Well, this film overstays its welcome pretty quickly with a meandering storyline of a newly divorced woman (Thurman) falling in lust (and maybe a little bit of love) for a younger guy. The film's arc from her low self-esteem as a divorcée, to blooming infatuated lover to mature woman understanding what she wants and needs from love at her age is so refreshing that it lifts this film from the easily categorized ranks of chick flicks, even if the concluding coda feels a bit tacked on and doesn't 100% work without more information on the results of her character's choices.While Younger makes the therapy sessions more like girl talk, and his brief stabs at girl and gay talk conversations don't feel quite right, it's "Lisa"s analyst who keeps more accurately asking "But how does that make you feel?" rather than her own more maternal advise to her patients, let alone her son. For example, when the lead guy meets Uma Thurman for the first time on line at a movie theater the moment is so forced and over acted that I thought that they already knew each other and were in on a joke!! Prime starring Meryl Streep, Uma Thurman and Bryan Greenberg is not exactly your typical romantic Hollywood movie. That really was the only part of the whole movie where I laughed and thought what was happening was funny, which is good because the rest of the film is supposed to be dramatic, and the drama works very well. "Prime" from 2005 is a sweet film starring Meryl Streep, Uma Thurman, and Bryan Greenberg. Uneven Rom-Com. My biggest problem with Prime is that it is not a consistent movie but rather felt like 2 separate movies - a cute romantic comedy taking over the first half and a dull romantic drama taking over the second half.I quite enjoyed the first half of the movie; it was light hearted and cute and the whole dynamic with Meryl Streep (Lisa) being Uma Thurman (Rafi)'s psychiatrist but also Bryan Greenberg (David)'s mother was very enjoyable to watch. Fortunately writer/director Ben Younger finds the perfect note for his romantic comedy/drama, "Prime." Rafi Gardet (Uma Thurman) is just getting over a divorce and is seeing a therapist, Lisa Metzger (Meryl Streep). She knows that even though she may get top billing, Lisa plays second fiddle to Rafi and David, and she leaves it to Thurman and Greenberg to command our attention (which they do perfectly).Ben Younger's script is brilliant in the way it portrays the ins and outs of love. This movie is totally inappropriate for children or teen-agers.That said, it is an interesting film with two excellent actresses: Meryl Streep, of course, and Uma Thurman in one of her more complex roles as a conflicted 37-year-old divorcée engaged in an intense affair with 23-year old David (played by Bryan Greenberg). Each of those issues is dealt with in a way that I found humorous and thought provoking.The trailers give away the movie's main plot twist: the recently-divorced main protagonist (Uma Thurman) undertakes a fling with a much younger man, who turns out to be her therapist's (Meryl Streep's) son. I'd like to say that this was a GREAT film.I'd like to say that Uma was amazing in her portrayal.I'd like to say that Bryan really convinced me.I'd also like to say that Meryl made me really think she was a Jewish overprotective mother.I'm afraid that I can't really say any of these things without lying to you or myself.I'd also be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the movie, so rest assured if you're starting to get fired up.This was a very cute, quite funny and bubbly lesson in life about interaction, sex and relationships. PRIME (2005) * Uma Thurman, Meryl Streep, Bryan Greenberg, Jon Abrahams. Did I mention I'm Jewish?) person again in a film counsels the older, newly broken-up fashion svengali Rafi Gardet (Uma Thurman) who is, to Streep's ignorance, in a relationship with her son David Bloomberg (Bryan Greenberg). It does however get better in the second hour.It is worth watching Meryl Streep and Uma Thurman in the same movie. I love Meryl Streep and I like Uman Thurman in Kill Bill and Bryan Greenberg is pretty hot.

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Jaws: The Revenge

On Amity Island, Chief of Police Martin Brody (Roy Scheider), the hero of two previous shark attacks, has died from a heart attack. His wife, Ellen (Lorraine Gary), attributes it to the fear of sharks. She now lives with Brody's younger son Sean (Mitchell Anderson) and his fiancée Tiffany (Mary Smith). Sean works as a police deputy and is dispatched to clear a log from a buoy a few days before Christmas. A massive 28-foot great white shark attacks and kills him, sinking his boat in the process. Ellen believes the shark intentionally targeted Sean for vengeance because of the deaths of the first two sharks. Brody's older son Mike (Lance Guest), his wife Carla (Karen Young), and their five-year-old daughter Thea (Judith Barsi) come to Amity for the funeral and encourage her to come from Massachusetts to the Bahamas with them. At the islands, Ellen meets carefree airplane pilot Hoagie (Michael Caine). Mike, along with partners Jake (Mario Van Peebles), William, and Clarence, works as a marine biologist studying conch. A few days later, they encounter the same shark that attacked Sean. Jake is eager to do research on the shark, because great white sharks hardly come to the Bahamas as the water there is too warm, and sharks are misunderstood creatures, but Michael asks him not to mention the shark due to Ellen's attempts to convince him to find a job on land. Ellen becomes so obsessive that she starts having nightmares of being attacked by a shark. Then she starts getting psychic feelings when the shark is near or attacks. She and the shark have a strange connection that is unexplained. Jake decides to attach a device to the shark that can track it through its heartbeat. Using chum to attract it, Jake stabs the device's tracking pole into the shark's side. The next day, the shark chases Mike through a sunken ship, and he narrowly escapes in one piece. Thea goes on an inflatable banana boat with her friend Margaret and her mother while Carla presents her new art sculpture. The shark goes for Thea but attacks and kills Margaret's mother instead. Thea and Carla are traumatized following the attack. Ellen boards Jake's boat to track down the shark, intending to kill it to save the rest of her family. After hearing about what happened, Mike confesses about the shark, infuriating Carla. Mike and Jake are flown by Hoagie to search for Ellen and find the shark in pursuit of their boat. During the search, Hoagie explains to Mike about Ellen's belief that the shark that killed Sean is after her family. When they finally find her, Hoagie lands the plane on the water, ordering Mike and Jake to swim to the boat as the shark drags the plane and Hoagie underwater. Fortunately, Hoagie escapes from the shark. Jake and Mike hastily put together an explosive powered by electrical impulses. They begin blasting the shark with the impulses, which begin to drive it mad; it repeatedly jumps out of the water, roaring in pain. As Jake moves to the front of the boat, the shark lunges, giving it the chance to pull Jake under and maul him. He manages to get the explosive into the shark's mouth before he is taken underwater. Mike continues to blast the shark with the impulses, causing it to leap out of the water again, igniting the bomb as Ellen steers the sailboat towards the shark while thinking back to Sean's demise, the shark's attack on Thea, and when her husband killed the first shark. The broken bowsprit impales the shark in the exact spot where the bomb is, causing it to explode on impact. The shark's corpse then sinks to the bottom of the sea. Mike then hears Jake calling for help, seriously injured but alive and conscious, floating in the water. The four survive the harsh encounter and make it back to land. Hoagie then flies Ellen back to Amity Island.

revenge, flashback

train

wikipedia

Lance Guest and Mario Van Peebles frequently appear to be wishing to have better things to do, while Lorraine Gary frequently looks stoned in moments when she is supposed to look frightening.Clearly, the budget spent on this film didn't go into the research, script, or mechanical shark. The true Ed Wood moment of the film comes towards the end of the piece, when the shark rises out of the water, and roars at Elaine. The music is literally able to inject dramatic tension into scenes that, by all rights granted under the accepted rules of film-making, really shouldn't have any.When all is said and done, I gave Jaws: The Revenge a one out of ten. Ellen Brody is now living in the Bahamas after her youngest son Sean, who has followed in the footsteps of his father and become Chief of the Amity police, is killed by another Great White Shark. In what is the most ridiculous plots of all time, we find out that one specific shark is holding a grudge against the Brody family, and after it kills Sean, it swims against the Gulf Stream down to the Bahamas so it can kill Ellen and Michael as well. Jaws: The Revenge is an embarrassment to anyone who knows anything about sharks, and is the worst of the series.The plot is completely wrong in this movie. The shark in the first film did unusual things, but nothing that would make a shark lover cry.The acting in this movie is so bad that...You know what? Even Michael Caine, who is a vastly talented actor, shows absolutely no skill at all.Every copy of Jaws: The Revenge should be swallowed by the shark from the first film.1/10. The last sequel "Jaws 3" was a bad film, but I actually enjoyed it to some degree, but here the personal agenda format was just rubbish and the special connection between the Brody's and the shark was just plain risible. Hey I know, why not on top of the shark following them all to the Bahamas doesn't it learn to walk too, and then it could follow them if they decided to move inland.Michael Caine is a very good actor who has a habit of appearing in bad movies. There seems little point in writing a review for such a film as Jaws: The Revenge, as those who have made it past the tagline and still given it an iota of consideration have likely already made up their minds as to whether or not they can stomach such an overwhelming inundation of garbage. Similarly, the creative black hole of a script somehow bests its own storyline absurdities by shamelessly stealing elements from Spielberg's classic original through clunky, senseless flashbacks (Ellen Brody recalls her husband killing the shark, despite not having been there to witness it) and in certain cases blatant plundering and rehashing of scenes (the charming interplay between Roy Scheider and his son from the first Jaws is leeringly plagiarized, devoid of any redeeming values whatsoever). She moves to the Bahamas to get away from things but...the shark follows her!Jaws: The Revenge is the third and final sequel to Jaws (1975). Essentially all the attack scenes are good value in my opinion and, aside from some fast-editing used in the earlier moments, I thought the cinematography was actually more than decent in capturing those moments rather effectively.Famously Michael Caine missed out picking up his Oscar for Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) in order to film one of the re-shot endings for this. It goes without saying that this film comes nowhere near to the standards of the original but it is great entertainment and is always good fun to watch. The one thing that stops this from being a really great movie is the ridiculous plot, you cannot seriously believe for one moment that the shark holds a grudge against the Brodie Family. Despite of this Jaws: The Revenge is still a very good film featuring the best Shark Attack scenes and Underwater Footage in the "Jaws" Series and the hilarious bonus of getting to see Michael Caine make a fool of himself and for these reasons alone is worth watching. His voice soothes me in a way that not even warm milk and a shoulder rub can match.I'm not going to lie to you and say this is on par with "Jaws", but I will say this: it's not as bad as other sequels (like "Leprechaun in da Hood"), and not even as bad as other shark movies ("Megalodon"). Mario Van Peebles said it best when, near the end of this movie, he said, "I'm gonna give dat shark a meal he never forget!"Ah, yes... The story is about a killer great white shark who comes back to amity in the winter and kills one of the Brody sons at the very start of the movie. This movie would have been definitely if Roy Scheider was in it like Jaws 1& 2 but the movie redeems it self itself with some very good acting from Lance Guest and Judith Barsi(RIP) and from some very great scenes with the shark that are unforgettable. This bone-chilling movie based on the Peter Benchley's novel packs eerie scenes, suspense and embarrassing direction.The film is developed at the Bahamas in a shore community .There ,people is terrorized by a giant shark that attacks pacific tourists at the local beach. The protagonists are forced to fight for their lives in a mortal confrontation.It's an inferior following with average creation of tension,thrills,terror, emotions and brief gore.The shark attack images deliver the exciting united to creepy score by Michael Small inspired on the classic soundtrack by the master John Williams(prized with an Oscar)who heightens the suspense. RELEASED IN 1987 and directed by Joseph Sargent, "Jaws: The Revenge" (aka "Jaws 4") chronicles events when widowed Ellen Brody (Lorraine Gary) vacations in the Bahamas where her son, Michael (Lance Guest), lives and works. From what I understand the original ending made a lot more sense even though it's still far fetched.I realize that few will probably agree with my opinion but, I don't think this movie deserves the low rating it has. like 3-D is some sorta bonus movie to the franchise (or even a parody) because it's as if 3-D never happened in the lives of Mike and Sean Brody the way Jaws 4 plays out and is more inline with the first two films.In this film, Ellen Brody is distraught over the loss of her husband then the loss of Sean and does not want Mike to go near water ever again. I don't think this movie wasn't to bad I do enjoyed some of the scene in the film like the banana boat scene was great & Sean death scene was OK as well the stuff I can't understand the shark take revenge with Brody family follow them all the way to Bahama,but I hope they will do a new jaws movie and make the shark go after different family beside going after the Brody family or do a prequel to jaws about quint & the Indianapolis ship the shark go after quint and sunken sailor on the USS Indianapolis they've to fight stay alive.but I like all the jaws movie jaws 3 the event never happened they never ever mention Michael he working at sea world in this film. I admit that the shark's personal quest for revenge is stupid even for a fictional movie universe, but at least makes the movie work because Jaws 3 was a total mess, and in my opinion is even worse than Jaws 4.Now lets think about it. Jaws The Revenge is about Ellen Brody,the wife of sheriff Brody from the first 2 films.Her son is killed by a shark and to get away from it all,she and the rest of her family go to the Bahamas.There she is plagued by thoughts that the shark is coming to kill her family.People say this is one of the worst films of all time.I disagree.I think its just not what people wanted out of a jaws movie.Its more of a drama with a shark in it.Although the shark is very fake looking,the scenes deliver some good suspense despite its abrupt and absurd ending.The score is good,the acting is good,I just don't see what the fuss is about even if the ending sucks.I found it a lot of fun and I wasn't nearly as bored than with Jaws 3.Give it a try.. This time the movies is that the new Jaws is hunting down members of the Brody family and after killing one of the sons the mother decides to move to her other sons house but never does she know the shark has followed her. Well, I always loved all the JAWS movies,More than ever the first one and by loving "Bruce" the shark i love all his family,but the one in this one takes the cake, I have heard the Alternative introduction which explains how for incredible it may seems whats going to happen we are the ones to choose from fact and fiction..yeah right!!! and the Alternative ending where Jake dies and we see the shark carry down part of the boat underwater and before that expell a lot of blood from its mouth,I taped this version from television a long time ago and then i kind of loved the movie more because it was part of the JAWS family..i have accepted all the bad about it and i applaud that Michael Caine still have a carrear after this one,Ill give it an 8 out of 10. I understand that the fact that a great white shark following them to Bremuda is a little hard to believe, but this film is basically about how the Brody family for some reason have always been cursed by sharks. but back to my favorite scenes...The banana boat sequence was suspenseful and the moment where Michael Caine's plane swoops over the boat just in time to see the shark rise up from the ocean is excellent.There are some great things going on in this film and I think people should back off and take a look at the film and forget about all the vitriol it so undeservedly gets.. A great white shark is after the lives of the Brody family.Can they survive or go down to the murderous jaws one after another?. In the movie the shark eventually followed Ellen Brody and her family to the Bahamas! The worst part is the climax.I actually could not understand the destruction of the shark.The shark was quite massive compared to the other sharks in the Jaws series.The sharks size was as huge as the sharks in the movie-DEEP BLUE SEA.But even though DBS had gone a bit further with it's action packed scenes.Another hating part is the kissing of Ellen & Hoagie.I had expected a lot better plot line from Michael De Guzman,the writer.The worst movie award should be handed over!. It would be the actions and words of one in real life.Perhaps the reason people dispise this film as much as they do is due to the same reason they call the shark "Jaws". It is also better than the many similar plotted shark films released after the first film.The director of "Jaws the Revenge" stated on Entertianment Tonight, "Jaws 3 was not that good." The errors here are due to the fact that the screenplay was written in such a short time. An example is when the shark is attacking the boat and it's eyes roll back in its head, which is what a real great white would do.The ending is terrible and totally brings down the film. I know that it isn't perfect by any means and that it never will be considered to be a good movie by anybody other than the "Jaws Junkies." But, for all the people that like to tear it apart and dissect its every mistake, remember that it's only a movie and not real life. The best part of the film was the actual picture: the bright colors and beautiful Bahamas scenery, which looks gorgeous on a 2.35:1 widescreen.There was good and bad regarding the action scenes with the shark, the "good" being they were decently photographed and not too gory but the "bad" was that, then again, they weren't too scary, either.Lorraine Gary was the biggest disappointment. Those could be skipped, making the movie more enjoyable.Hey, if you liked Jaws, you might like this, especially if you go in not expecting to see a good film.. But when a third sequel comes around and it keeps getting lousier every minute in, I have no choice but to fume smoke out my ears and write a review with a grimace on my face.It's been an odd number of years since the original "Jaws." Ellen Brody (Lorraine Gary), now widowed and living in Martha's Vineyard, a.k.a. the seaside town Amity, has basically forgotten about the shark that she had nothing to do with. But Ellen doesn't wait for that to happen, which is at least one thing about this film that breaks away from the horror-sequel mold.Ellen Brody instead rushes into the water to sacrifice herself to the shark, in a last-ditch effort to stop the killing. (But, seeing how this is a "believe it or not!" kind of sequel, he comes to the surface five minutes later looking just fine, even though he was just carried underwater by a savage beast moments earlier.) And if you fast-forward the next scene, in which they attempt to defeat the shark, you'll see just how humorous the image of a Great White Shark standing on its fin can be.I go to the beach every year, and that, for me, is part of the fun of the "Jaws" series. I've seen my fair share of bad sequels coming off of good movies, but "Jaws: The Revenge" takes the cake as one of the worst.The only remotely funny thing I found about this movie is that the shark, Jaws (or is it Jaws no. I don't think there will a Jaws 5 bbecause the shark died at the end of the 4th movie. This is by far the worst sequel to a good movie I have ever seen.The plot was OK but it was the special effects that made this movie horrible.I mean the shark was like a !%$#*@ puppet, I mean this movie had way worse special effects than the original Jaws and it was made 17 years later. "Jaws: The Revenge" is the worst "shark movie" I've ever seen. Now, let me ask a personal question, how is it that a great actor such as Michael Caine be put in cast of a really terrible movie like this? I can understand that they're all on vacation and she wants to have a fun time, but you know what, when it comes to "Jaws", right when people see the shark swimming around, they should have to scream as if they're really scared. It's of course incredibly silly that a shark would ever do such a thing but a story like this was necessary to put an end to the "Jaws" series. Lorraine Gary is pretty good,and so is Michael Caine.Lance Guest,Karen Young,Mario Van Peebles and Judith Barsi are decent.The opening scene with Sean is pretty good.Joseph Sargent tries his best,but can't make a silk purse from this sow's ear.The shark looks fake,not enough attacks,the movie is way too short,Caines instant drip dry shirt and the ending are a bit ludicrous,and the music isn;t too good. The effects for this movie are truly dreadful..the shark has never looked so utterly fake and..it roars!!???...the acting is also below average..with Lorraine Gary reprising her role from the original two movies and she virtually carries the film on her own..well padded shoulders..as those around her flounder helplessly..Michael Caine apparently did this film just for the money and in order to build a nice house..in one sequence he manages to escape from a sinking plane..swim to a boat..climb aboard..all without getting his shirt wet..AMAZING and possibly the best special effect on show...other supporting cast members arent really worth mentioning..and i will spare the little girl who played Thea the child actress Judith Barsi..who tragically died shortly after filming was completed! (not worthy of the word "movie") Well, I think everyone covered all the laughable flaws already, like the roaring, superintelligent, vengefull, anorexic, hovering, air-breathing, may I say fake looking shark (did I cover it all?) All I can say is the only thing truley scarier than this...THING, is the rumors of a Jaws 5. Lets all forget about the rest of the films for a second and think if this was the first it would have been rated alot higher but since its predicessors were so incredibly good (with Jaws 3 the exception of course) which movie could live up to them. The acting is bad, the shark looks SO fake, and it is not nearly as scary as the other 3 Jaws movies. there were so many possibilities here to make a Great film...but isntead they went "campy"...so my advice would be to just enjoy this film for all of its cornyness, and watch it as a "fun" movie....its too bad , they didnt try to make the shark look more real also, this rubber one looks the worst!!!. About everything is terrible about Jaws 4, especially the acting, characters, story (somehow the shark finds out of the Brody's vacation plans, and what a better place to get away from water than the Bahamas? the worst sequel in history,a shark that plans revenge and holds a grudge against the Brody family.wow thats logic.Lorraine Gary and a few of the lesser known stars from jaws return in this really bad sequel. Jaws: The Revenge (1987) has to be the worse sequel ever made for a good film.

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Zerkalo

This film does not have a storyline, but proceeds in a non-narrative, stream-of-consciousness form. To add to the confusion, several of the characters are played by the same actors. Margarita Terekhova plays the roles of Maria (the mother, also called "Masha" or "Marousia" in some of the pre-war scenes), and of Natalya (the wife of the protagonist as a young woman). Ignat Daniltsev is the protagonist at age 12 (Alyosha/Aleksei), as well as Aleksei's own son at age12 (Ignat).A précis to the film will certainly help the viewer through this labyrinth.The film takes place in three distinct time periods: Pre-war (1930s), War-time, and Post-war (1960s), and can be divided into fourteen sections, each of which takes place during one or more of these periods. In the following breakdown of sections, I will indicate the time period for the section and a brief description of the section's content.1) Post-war. The film opens with Ignat turning on the television set. The program shown is that of a therapist treating an adolescent afflicted with stuttering. The credits follow. The Music: J. S. Bach, Das Orgelbüchlein No. 16, "Das alte Jahr vergangen ist" (The old year now hath pass'd away).2) Pre-war. Edge of a field, Maria and a doctor who is passing by (Anatoly Solonitsyn) meet and converse. Voice-over of the narrator (Innokenti Smoktunovsky), who is obviously the protagonist Aleksei (he talks in the first person, plural, "we"). Arseni Tarkovsky's poem, read by the poet. Maria with the children, Alyosha and Marina, inside the dacha. Maria and children go outside to see the barn on fire.3) Pre-war. Interior night shots. Maria is washing her hair with her husband's (Oleg Yankovsky) help. Maria young/Maria old [Maria Ivanovna Vishniakova (Tarkovskaya)] looking in the mirror (time ambiguous).4) Post-war. Phone conversation between Aleksei and his mother, Maria.5) Pre-war. The printing shop incident. (Maria thinks she has made a misprint, "Shralin"-- slang for "excrement" -- for "Stalin"). Lisa (Alla Demidova), Maria's friend, tells her she reminds her of Maria Timofeyevna (Captain Lebyadkin's sister in Dostoevsky's The Devils), which leads to recriminations on Lisa's part.6) War-time. Natalya and husband quarrel. Ignat watches the Spanish tenants. Archive footage of the Spanish Civil War. Children being evacuated. A stratospheric balloon journey undertaken by a Kurdish aviator in 1937. Music: Pergolesi, Stabat Mater, No 12: "Quando corpus morietur fac ut animae donetur paradisi glori." (While my body here decays, may my soul Thy goodness praise, safe in Paradise with Thee). Ticker tape parade.7) Post-war. Ignat leafs through Leonardo da Vinci book. Natalya drops her purse. Ignat reads Pushkin's letter to Chaadayev (October 19, 1836) to two unknown women, one of whom appears to be modeled after the poet Anna Akhmatova (1898-1966). Ignat answers the door. Ignat and his father talk on the phone.8)War-time. Aleksei looks at the redhead girl (Olga Kizilova). Music: Purcell, from The Indian Queen, Act IV, "They tell us that your mighty powers." Instruction at the firing range where a rebellious Asafyev, a war orphan, keeps getting it wrong. War footage of soldiers unloading cargo. Coming from the firing range, Asafyev walks up a snowy hill. War footage of the crossing of Lake Sivash in Crimea. Poem by Arseni Tarkovsky, read by the poet. War footage of Russian tanks at the liberation of Prague, dead soldiers, artillery batteries, Bikini atomic test (1946). Asafyev stops at the top of the hill and a bird lands on his head, after which he takes it in his hand. Chinese crowd scene, the Soviet-Chinese conflict at Damansky Island, in 1969.9) War-time. Maria with husband leaving for the war. Children playing outside and quarreling. The father with the children. Music: J.S.Bach: Matthew Passion, Recitative: "Und siehe da! Der Vorhang im Tempel..." (And see there! The veil of the temple...). Cut to a picture of a Maria look-alike, "Genevra de Benci" (c. 1470), by Leonardo da Vinci.10) Post-war. Natalya and husband again quarrelling.11) Pre-war. The dacha, Maria, the children on a mat, with Aleksei voice-over. Garden scene with the children.12) Wartime/Postwar. Maria and Alyosha visit her neighbor, Nadezhda (Larisa Tarkovskaya), to sell her a pair of earrings. Levitation scene. Maria as an old woman with the children (dream). Poem by Arseni Tarkovsky, read by the poet.13) Post-war. Aleksei (narrator) on his death bed (although we never see his head), attended by a doctor and the two women from the reading of Pushkin's letter scene (Section 7). Aleksei reaches for and holds a bird in his hand.14) Pre-war. Maria and husband. Music fades in, opening number of J.S.Bach's St John Passion: Herr, unser Herrscher, dessen Ruhm in allen Landen herrlich ist! (Lord, our Sovereign, whose glory in every land is magnificent!). Maria old, with young Alyosha and his sister, and Maria young, briefly in the background (dream).

mystery, psychedelic, avant garde, flashback

train

imdb

I've seen it at different times of my life - first, as a college student many years ago in Moscow; I keep returning to it all my life.When Tarkovsky's Zerkalo (The Mirror) was first released, it divided the audience completely. He suggested that she thought about the times Zerkalo was showing, he tried to explain to her Tarkovsky's symbolism where the bird could be representing life and soul of the main character and the boy with the stutter could mean that it was most difficult for people to communicate and understand each other. To many Mirror is possibly Tarkovsky's most inhibitive and uninviting work, be as it may not a story in the traditional sense but rather an assemblage of images, scenes, and thoughts which at first sight seem to have very little in common and just drift back and forth with no obvious literal explanation. Interestingly this is for two solely different reasons - whereas I admire Kurosawa for the manner in which he managed to perfect the art of cinematic storytelling, Tarkovsky deserves praise for wanting to shake cinema out of its complacent acceptance that films should simply tell a story and little else. Of course Tarkovsky is not alone in having done so (Marker and Greenaway immediately spring to mind), but what distinguishes him from other "art house" directors is that he has managed to take this style of film making and drive it to a stage that can be described as almost perfect.I personally interpret Mirror as a man's life flashing before his eyes before he dies; his relationship with his wife and mother (both played by the same person, in an ingenious move on Tarkovsky's behalf), his children, his friends, the history of his home land, his own childhood. This is where Tarkovsky's genius comes to fore - to create a film which does not dictate to an audience how to feel by manipulating them via music or mise-en-scene, but to make it the other way around. So much more lies beneath the surface, as we are shown a reflection in a mirror that momentarily purports to be reality, but need not necessarily be interpreted as such.The film's magic derives from Tarkovsky's surefooted ability to succeed with a succession of intense, beautiful images. The film wants to distil as much of that precious beauty as possible in a number of disjointed moments, coloured through memory and imagination, from childhood through to the point of death.Apply it to your own life. Ignoring other prominent thematic fields like family or marital problems and Russian or Soviet history (from Pushkin via Stalin to the current fear of a Chinese threat), two topics can be extracted from the movie which Tarkovsky seems to be very concerned about: 1.The confrontation of Man and Nature as two opposing powers, and 2.The continuum of time (the equation of present, future and past).The importance of topic 2 can be made clear by just considering the film's structure: The different time levels are intertwined in an often deliberately confusing way so that it actually becomes difficult to identify them. He takes into his hand a moribund bird, which is lying on his bedside table, squeezes it, and then lets it go so that it can fly up into freedom.Is it the same bird that breaks through a window glass in another scene, or that places itself on the head of that orphan boy whose parents have perished in the Leningrad blockade, as if he wanted to protect him?The birds of "Zerkalo" seem to take up a symbolic function similar to the dogs in other Tarkovsky movies (i.e.: "Nostalghia", "Solyaris"): They represent some kind of link between Man and Nature; they are frontier guards at the gates of the unknown.Tarkovsky sees Man and Nature as two opposing, incompatible powers. If you have experienced Mirror, and by experience I mean much more than just having watched it (the experience may take multiple viewings to achieve) then you will realise the futility of describing or reviewing this film much in the same way as the inadequacy of a second hand account of a mystical experience.Tarkovsky was a mystic: although his religious beliefs are well known there is much less acknowledgement of his conception of God. For Tarkovsky God was everywhere and in everything, his (its) presence is felt in the rustling of leaves in the breeze, the burning of wood, the rain falling (and falling, and falling) on damp fields. But an odd and sad experience comes from watching Mirror, the belief that your own interpretation of the world will never be so deeply poetic or deep as Tarkovsky's, and the world you see on the cinema screen seems more vivid and alive than real life ever will.. Tarkovsky stated that the artist himself does not necessarily know the meaning of an image but is compelled to express his vision.Despite some of the problems in viewing this film there are plenty of moving and mysterious moments, not least the wistful and melancholic look on the face of the mother as she lays in the grass, contemplating her children's future.. Included are film clips from WW 2, the Spanish Civil War, poetry by the director's father.It does help to know that the same actress (Margarita Terekhova) plays the dying man's wife and his mother...as he allows his memory to shift over his life.The only other director I can think of who understands the visual language of film and its significance as beautifully as Tarkovsky is Terence Malick. It is the single most moving scene I have ever viewed on film, its central images consisting of little more than a woman biting her lip and a child shouting a great life affirming cry to the skies while Bach's painfully beautiful music builds to an epic climax. The Time Out film guide sums it up quite well saying: "Tarkovsky goes for the great white whale of politicized art – no less than a history of his country in this century seen in terms of the personal – and succeeds." That is a rather broad description and not a particularly exciting one. On the other hand, by not admitting you were confused by pretentious European cinema you may think you have succeeded in hiding your supposed lack of intelligence, but all you've achieved is to show that you're a coward - unable to tear apart a movie like this with the frankness that it frankly deserves.I'm told this film is about a dying man, recouping his life, childhood, divorce... And yet, Andrei Tarkovsky weaves the hard truths and brutal realities of everyday life into Mirror's surrealist tapestry with an effortlessness that makes the film utterly compelling. It is then stupendous that from this seemingly disjointed puzzle of images and motions, a life rearranged, Tarkovsky is able to facilitate a meditation through which emerges a single vision whereby consciousness and sensation are unified, contact, feeling, perception, past and present melded into a single narrative, free of the burden and anxiety of time.And it's even more potent that this vision having been received at the doorstep of death, before the great fear, it is filled with reassurance and equanimity, a cessation of hope and fear alike. Like a looking glass, reflecting both clear and distorted images of the world, the picture plays like a feverish, waking dream; it is a film, as if seen from the eyes of man, slowly fading away, slipping in and out of reality. I'm sorry if this comment isn't very clear, because every time I try to justify why this film is so brilliant, so bold, so beautiful and so unique, I fear that I cannot explain my reasoning in a manner that Tarkovsky would be proud of. Because we are all different, yet Tarkovsky managed to create a film so difficult, yet so personal to himself and everyone else that lays their eyes upon it, at the same time. The Mirror-An exceptionally brilliant film about childhood,memories and war directed by Andrei Tarkovski.. Apart from its focus on childhood memories as well as war,Russian director Andrei Tarkovski's film "Mirror" is a good mix of past as well as present times.Both time segments are given equal importance.They have been filmed in such a meticulous manner that one can observe how clearly past is separated from the present.The Mirror/Zerkalo is the autobiographical tale of an ill filmmaker who is about to die. I loved many parts of this movie, but some of them didn't add anything to the general picture.Watch it for: a) great music b) young Ignat (or maybe it was Alosha) watching his reflection in the mirror sitting by the fire in silence c) the narrator's mother look into the camera while contemplating the future of her yet unborn child d) the dreams sectionstrong 7/10This movie is often referred to as an 'Ulysses' of cinema. This is also, arguably, his most personal film as many of its scenes heavily draw on Tarkovsky's own childhood such as the evacuation from Moscow to the countryside during WW2, a withdrawn father, and a mother who works as a proof-reader at a printing press.It may seem difficult to decipher this film at first, because the viewer will likely see no connection or storyline whatsoever in the events from the film. Tarkovsky's one of a kind stream of consciousness picture, his unique masterclass in visual and poetic film-making, "The Mirror", is a mesmerizing and entrancing mixture of dreams, images and memories. Tarkovsky himself described the art of directing as "sculpting in time" and realizes the idea in this masterpiece formally and content-wise: There's no story and clear cut scenario as such at first glance, the film's focus is constantly blurring, actors play multiple roles over various generations, and no morale is being preached and served to be taken home. And yet it's all there if you not only want to look at things, but to see."Mirror" invites to be immersed in the pure beauty of the imagery, enhanced by expressive lyrics by Arseniy Tarkovsky and the subtle but effective soundtrack, all tied together to form an essay about life itself, to simply marvel at it, suffer and rejoice. I was sitting there taking photos of the screen in my mind more than a hundred times, and when I left the cinema I said "beauty depends on how you look at the world".That this is how the only mirror works I recognized later, but I had seen this, a great gift to my life. P.S. Just saw "The Wild Strawberries" by Bergman for the first time- beautiful black and white cinematography: definitely Bergman started "the wind of/and the childhood memories and eternal questions" first-in 1957;but even if Tarkovsky has seen it and borrowed Bergman's ideas, he had masterfully enriched and built upon them and became an "original" of the stunning visual beauty and a vulnerable humanity himself as he generously passed it on to us.. The pictures we see and associate cannot be explained, there is no symbolism for us to solve; the viewer just has to look at the film and read it with his/her heart.Andrei Tarkovsky said that the shock the divorce of his parents occurred was one of his inspirations for The Mirror. Still,this one didn't satisfy me.OK,it has got some fine cinematic touches to it and,it has to be said,the film is quite unique since Tarkovski's own father and mother have important parts in the movie (the father as narrator of his own poems! Another of Tarkovskiy's tics here sees him place a person, whom does not speak, in a scene by themselves before having all forms of dialogue put across via the voice of somebody not even there; an aggravating idea that would be more bothersome had it not been for the instances in which Tarkovskiy inserts war newsreel footage amidst his own, a troublesome happening seeing him attempt to feed off of whatever emotional response audiences may have out of it: the moment the man holds up both hands, realises the hole he's dug his way into and observes his imagery but this point does not stir anything. This can, of course, come in the form of a thrilling action movie with scenes and dialog that stick with us long after we see them, and in its purest form, it can come as an expression of the inner workings of someone's mind.The Mirror, the fourth feature film of the Russian master auteur Andrei Tarkovsky, is a semi-autobiographical film presented as the memories and dreams of Aleksei, a dying poet. The unconventional, stream-of- consciousness structure of the film presents these scenes as one might recall them in real life, connected by moods and moments that prompt recollection of others.Many of his earliest memories have little bits of dialog, giving a general sense of what is happening since the specifics have been long forgotten; memories of his adult life with his son and ex-wife contain more complete conversations.At several parts in the film, Aleksei's memories are also paralleled by reflections on Russian history and society, as we are shown footage of soldiers in World War II and hear an excerpt from a letter written by Russian poet Alexander Pushkin, among other moments. The camera moves deliberately through all these scenes as an observer; the long takes, as well as the movie's manipulation of time and sound, are key to accomplishing the intended effect.Tarkovsky himself maintained that he structured The Mirror as one would a piece of music, focusing on the material's form rather than on its logic. Most of the time this did not happen due to the story itself being extremely serene, but for example some of the office scenes left me feeling quite strange in a bad way, as if I wished they weren't there.I loved how we almost never saw the man that Marusya was talking to, it gave her a phantom like character. I didn't feel I was watching an actual movie; maybe I somehow managed to penetrate the mind of a person (from the past apparently) and experience his memories, dreams and thoughts by projecting them on screen. In life we play a part; with movies we are only spectators.Last week I re-watched Andrei Tarkovsky's Mirror for the third time (once in 1999, once in 2005, and now in 2012). Out comes his semi autobiographical work which blends times and dreams to create a film filled with moments as one man looks back on his life with regret and almost always with his mother in mind. If you are the type of person that feels spiritual or meditative at times, or loves to just look at art or watch nature (or people), then the Mirror will be an excellent choice for you.. It is in Andrei Tarkovsky's direction that the film excels, featuring impressive camera work, and impressionist storytelling, The Mirror is one of the few true examples of pure artistic vision in cinema. Few films combine themes of war, of social decimation, of familial crises, of the memories of things and objects (i.e. art book), and mortality like the Mirror, so even when it seems to distance the viewer with its approach to revealing it's not something to discard very easily on the whole.I'd be careful who I'd recommend it to- it's the kind of film that would draw enough comments going either way (love or totally hate or confused by) as to be close to polarizing- but for those who want to take a chance, it's one of the director's best, a unique triumph of personal film-making. If you were to list the top Russian directors of all time, Tarkovsky would be right near the top, perhaps only beaten by Eisenstein.He has a science fiction and fantasy way to look at the world, and even in more realistic films like this one, that sense of wonder comes through. Mirror looks amazing, which is not surprising as Tarkovsky's films are some of the most visually beautiful I've seen, the cinematography was so dream-like that it's enough to leave one in a trance of wonder. Each scene encapsulates the essence of story, transcending the need for developed character and reason.The finest part of The Mirror is the use of natural visuals, as well as the easier pace this film has to Tarkovsky's other films. Much of Tarkovsky's genius is in his ability to create a world in every shot: his signature long takes capture the ontology of image and duration in his subjects, while his offscreen world is always living and present--this, especially as combined with his metaphysical dream/memory content, speaks to the very nature of what makes film unique and exciting to me. The Mirror is a beautiful work of film, and once you've seen and loved Solaris and Stalker, it's essential viewing for any budding Tarkovskiphiles like myself.. Andrei Tarkovsky's MIRROR has to be the most personal film I have ever seen. It also switches between 3 different generations of war.Just like films such as Disney's "Fantasia" and Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" seem to have images transforming into music, this movie's images seem to transform themselves into poetry.'The Mirror' (or, in Russian, 'Zerkalo') even makes use of scenes in black and white colored in a sepia tone, like in 'The Wizard of Oz' and the later 'Bröderna Lejonhjärta'. While there were some unforgettable scenes ( or, more like images ), a movie is never complete without characters or storytelling, which leaves my verdict about The Mirror (1975) very mixed.. And with a brilliant touch the poems incorporated with several scenes are in fact written and read by the director's father Arseny Tarkovsky (It is important to note here that his second wife as well as his real mother appear in the movie).The highly unconventional film follows a nonlinear narrative.. So, a "moment" that is past, it will time wise continue to be "in the present", indeed still and in the future.Another feature of the Mirror is that the frames are widely used in other films of directors after Tarkovsky.

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What Lies Beneath

Claire Spencer (Michelle Pfeiffer) lives in Vermont with her husband Dr. Norman Spencer (Harrison Ford), an accomplished scientist. After dropping her daughter Caitlin (Katharine Towne) off at college, Claire begins to notice the activities of the couple who have moved into the house next door, the Feurs. Overhearing Mary Feur (Miranda Otto) sobbing one day, Claire becomes concerned when Mary tells her she is afraid she may disappear. When she sees Mary's husband Warren (James Remar), a colleague of Norman's at the college, dragging a suspicious form in the middle of the night and putting it in the trunk of his car, she suspects he has killed Mary. Claire decides to investigate. After nobody answers the door, Claire soon witnesses strange occurrences when she is alone in the house and becomes convinced that Mary is dead and haunting her. Desperate to reach Mary's spirit, Claire invites her friend Jody (Diana Scarwid) to join her for a séance in her bathroom. Although the séance provides no results, after Jody leaves, Claire finds a message in the bathroom's mirror that reads "You know". Hysterical, Claire rushes to the college to confront Warren, but is surprised to see that Mary is with him and has been alive the entire time. Mary visits her the next day and apologizes for the misunderstanding, explaining that she briefly left her husband because of their volatile fights with each other. Claire begins to see a therapist at the urging of Norman, who worries that her mental state is declining because of Caitlin's departure and a car accident Claire suffered a year earlier. Despite the resolution with the Feurs, Claire continues to experience strange phenomena in her house. She sees the ghostly image of a woman in the lake from her dock, and finds a silver key beneath the screen of a floor vent. After a picture falls and breaks, Claire notices a newspaper clipping about a missing girl named Madison Elizabeth Frank (Amber Valletta). She learns that Madison attended the university where Norman works, and that the police assumed she simply ran away a year ago. Norman comes home and Claire seduces him as Madison during the tryst, causing Norman to push her away. Claire comes to herself and the memory of her own car accident returns as she remembers that she had caught Norman and Madison together. Distraught by the discovery, she had crashed her car into a tree while driving in a rain storm. Outraged by Norman's infidelity, Claire spends the night with Jody, who confirms to Claire that she too had her suspicions of Norman's infidelity when she spotted him with the girl in the nearby town of Adamant. The next morning Claire is called by the police, after Norman is nearly electrocuted by a hair dryer that fell into the bathtub while he was taking a shower. Claire is convinced that it was an attempt by Madison to take revenge, and that her spirit has now been appeased. Norman confesses to Claire that while he did have an affair with the girl, he played no part in her disappearance. Seemingly reconciled with Norman, Claire visits Adamant, where she spots the same key-necklace in a shop window along with a chest it unlocks. That night, she dives into the lake and uncovers the box, unlocking it with the key and finding the matching necklace. Norman interrupts her and alters his story: after breaking off his affair with Madison she was so distraught that she committed suicide by overdosing on pills in the Spencer house. In a panic, he placed Madison's body into her car, which he then pushed into the lake, and threw the chest with his matching necklace in it into the lake as well. Claire is unmoved by Norman's explanation and tells him the only way to make it right is to notify the police and bring Madison's body up from the lake. Norman pretends to speak with the police on the phone and agrees for an officer to come to the house. When he leaves to take a shower, Claire redials the phone and discovers that he never placed the call. Norman grabs her from behind and sedates her with a paralyzing drug. He drags her to the bathtub and leaves her to drown in the rising water, so that she will appear to have committed suicide. In the midst of this Norman then confesses to Claire that his previous story had been a lie: he killed Madison to prevent her from going to the Dean about the affair and ruining his career. He intimates that he hopes Claire's death will bring him closer to her daughter Caitlin. As he leans in for a final kiss, he spots Madison's necklace around Claire's neck and tries to remove it. Claire's face takes on the image of the dead Madison, and in shock Norman slips on the floor and bangs his head on the rim of the tub, knocking him out. Claire, recovering from the paralysis, barely manages to shut the tap off and save herself from drowning. When she regains her strength she finds that Norman is missing from the bathroom floor. She crawls down the stairs to the phone, and notices Norman apparently unconscious, his head bleeding profusely. As she reaches over him and attempts to make a phone call, he grabs her ankle and in a blind panic she rushes out of the house, grabbing the car keys and a cellular phone and driving away in a truck with the couple's sailboat hitched to the back. As she is crossing the bridge over Lake Champlain, Norman bursts through the back window and grabs Claire; she frantically dials 911 and the truck careens down the embankment into the lake. Underwater, Claire escapes out the window, but Norman grabs her leg. A ghost-like decaying body, grabs Norman and forces him to release Claire's leg, allowing Claire to escape. Norman drowns while staring into the dead face of the woman he killed. Madison's body floats to the surface of the lake as the truck dislodges Madison's own sports car. That winter, Claire places a single red rose on Madison's grave.

suspenseful, gothic, murder, paranormal, horror, haunting, revenge

train

wikipedia

A good old-fashioned scary movie, avoiding irony and self-referentialism at every turn, this film relies on a nice premise and some well-executed creepy atmosphere for its impact. For my wife and I, it gave a bit away about how the movie was likely to end.Michelle Pfeiffer was really good, I'd guess she was in almost every single shot in the film, so anything but a great performance would have shown. However, casting aside that gargantuan issue, What Lies Beneath is an effective creeper come thriller that boasts star credentials.Directed by Zemeckis, formed from an idea by Steven Spielberg (from the story by Sarah Kernochan) and starring Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer as the fragmenting Spencer's. What follows is a mixture of genuine unease and mystery, red herrings and standard boo jump moments, all of which almost gets lost on a saggy middle section as Zemeckis plays Hitchcock one too many times and loses sight of the supernatural heart of the piece, not helped by Clark Gregg's meandering script I might add. In eagerness to manipulate the audience for the fine ending (though you probably will have it worked out at the half way point) the film just ends up as being confused as to what it mostly wanted to be.Pfeiffer is excellent and looks stunning and Ford gives it gusto when the script allows. The true beauty of this film is the manner in which it holds up over time and how it DOES splice all of the great filmmaking techniques together into a nice homage to classic suspense films.The plot, including the incremental revelations of paranormal activities within the newly gone-off-to-college childless home of Pfeiffer and Ford, is not really what drives this movie. It is very hard to find Ebert and Roeper's critiques impervious to default when this film does not tend to lose much of its emotional effects upon repeat viewings.To elaborate, the unknown ghost, its motivation, and its history and relevance to Claire (Pfieffer) are plot points for the basic construction of a three act narrative; and, a three act narrative is a contrivance proved to be effective for the assimilation of information by means of tapping into the inherent way humans use logic to invent concepts from raw data (if a, then b, and if b, then c: therefore if a, then c). My eyes bugged out, my skin crawled, my breath got short, and I couldn't have torn myself away even if the Publisher's Clearing House Prize Patrol was at my door.Along with a great story and masterful directing, this movie features the superb performance of Michelle Pfeiffer. Even "Stir Of Echoes" and "The Sixth Sense", fine films that they are, don't compare to the perfect blend of soundtrack, plot twists, camerawork and performance that make up "What Lies Beneath". When I went to the cinema to watch this movie,I expected it to be another big-budget Hollywood garbage.After the seance I was pleasantly surprised.I saw "Scream 3" some days ago and that movie wasn't nowhere near as scary as "What Lies Beneath".Great performances by Michelle Pfeiffer(she looks really gorgeous in this one)and Harrison Ford.The climax is absolutely terrifying(especially the bathtub sequence).Plenty of suspense and shocks,wonderful atmosphere of dread and fear.Finally after never-ending strain of lame slasher flicks a truly suspenseful movie.Check it out if you dare.Highly recommended.. Great acting from Harrison Ford and Michelle Phiffer really make this movie what it is...A good thriller. As the company's first project, Zemeckis chose screenwriter Clark Gregg's "What Lies Beneath," a modern-day ghost story that, the director told his crew, he wished to bring to the screen as Alfred Hitchcock might have done, IF the Master of Suspense had had access to modern FX technology and computer graphics. (Never mind that none of Hitchcock's 54 films dealt with ghosts or the supernatural per se.) Filmed largely in the Lake Champlain region of Vermont, near Addison, during a hiatus from shooting "Cast Away," the resultant picture, released in July 2000, was still another significant feather in Zemeckis' already crowded hat, and, like those other films named, features impressive yet subtly integrated FX to complement a highly intriguing story. As both a horror film and an exercise in suspense, "What Lies Beneath" must be deemed a complete success.In the picture, we meet an attractive, middle-aged couple, Norman and Claire Spencer, and indeed, as portrayed by Hollywood icons Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer, the Spencers might be one of the handsomest couples in the history of the horror film! But before very long, weird occurrences begin in the newly "empty nest." Strange noises and whisperings, a broken picture frame, spectral reflections in the surface of the lake and (in perhaps the film's single scariest scene) bathtub water, all serve to convince Claire that the ghost of a young woman is haunting her abode...possibly the ghost of her new next-door neighbor, who Claire believes has been killed by her husband. Some of Alan Silvestri's score is reminiscent of Bernard Herrmann's classic music for "Psycho," while Claire's use of binoculars to spy on her neighbors at night cannot help but call to mind Jimmy Stewart in "Rear Window." Pfeiffer and Ford work well together and do have some screen chemistry; they make a credible couple, although Norman, as it turns out, might be one of the least sympathetic characters that Ford has ever essayed. Watching her in this film, in which she easily displays far more dramatic heft than her costar, and also reveals what an effective "scream queen" she can be, the viewer will most likely regret how few other horror vehicles Ms. Pfeiffer has appeared in. And really, besides 1994's "Wolf," I can think of no others, unless we stretch the point a bit and include 1987's "The Witches of Eastwick" and this past summer's horror comedy "Dark Shadows." One of the finest combinations of sensational looks and undeniable acting chops to this day (and Michelle is 54 as I write these words), she is quite simply one of the best we've got, and makes Claire Spencer and "What Lies Beneath" a character and a film to savor. So without giving too much away, it was exciting to watch Pfeiffer work her way through this mystery.Harrison Ford is certainly in fantastic shape for a 58 year old, and with a nice tan, was very easy on the eye; mine anyway! Another complaint I've heard is that the movie "rips off" Hitchcock's films (a collapsing character pulls a shower curtain down off the hooks with her, a character is named Norman, etc) but I do know the difference between a ripoff and a loving tribute, and Zemeckis knows what he's doing, I highly doubt he was trying to trick the audience into thinking these were his original ideas. In "What Lies Beneath", director Robert Zemeckis gives us a thriller that reminds one of the great films made by Alfred Hitchcock. The two personalities, one unbridled and afraid, the other disbelieving and confused, play off one another perfectly to create an aspect of marital discord that adds wonderfully to the film's complexity.With plenty of twists and turns (which I dare not reveal) to keep you guessing to the end, great acting, virtuoso camera work, and some truly frightening moments, "What Lies Beneath" is a thriller that ranks with some of the best of them. But, the secrets Claire finds out are more terrifying than she could ever of imagined.Robert Zemeckis, the director of the movie has done a great job here as usual. (Steven Spielberg is my all time favourite director.) Harrison Ford as usual gives a brilliant performance and Michelle Pfeiffer is good too.I thought What Lies Beneath was a great old-fashioned thriller and we don't get that many around nowadays. The cast is solid,the atmosphere seems right,the imagery equal parts erotic and chilling and yet...There is about forty minutes out of this over two hour fest where there is a completely unnecessary red herring subplot(something that was explained away easily in the ads!)where the error-prone,gradually suspicious-but-loving wife(Michelle Pfeiffer)of a popular college professor(Harrison Ford in a role MANY will not be familiar or comfortable) is wrapped up in the death of a woman that lives next door to their palatial,rural estate. Besides the fact that it has little or no bearing on the true plot of the movie,but the amount of time devoted TO that MacGuffin is so tedious that it feels as if the director,producers and the advertising execs pushing this film weren't on the same page.I seem to have been the only one(at least if you went by the comments I've skimmed so far on this site)to noticed.Director Robert Zemekis wants(stress WANTS)to make a Hitchcock-like thriller:he half succeeds in that he creates good mood and tension,but he fails miserably in making a slow,long,tedious and aggravating film where the plot takes WAY too much time to establish and the action to get rolling. Even after repeated viewings, I can still enjoy the creepy atmosphere and well-crafted narrative.For a basic plot summary, this movies sees Claire (Michelle Pfeiffer) and Norman (Harrison Ford) Spencer send their only daughter off to college. Robert Zemeckis is a master director, so he knows exactly how to craft a movie with the right kind of pacing to fully suck the viewer into the lives of Claire and Norman. I can't say much about Harrison Ford's role without hinting spoilers but he does a commendable job.I enjoyed 'What Lies Beneath' much more during my second viewing than the first time (which was more than five years ago) but I think the main reason was that I was able to pay more attention to other parts of the movie other than just the story, such as the technical aspects (like camera-work and sound effects), and also see and enjoy the homage to so many classics (mostly Hitchcock's films). It doesn't have the humor of "Scream", it doesn't have the camp value of the "Evil Dead" series, it doesn't have the teen appeal of "I Know What You Did Last Summer", it doesn't have the originality of "The Blair Witch Project", it doesn't have the pure suspense of the "Alien" series, and it doesn't have the surprise ending of "The Sixth Element".If you like predictable make-you-jump scary movies, this could be the one for you. Harrison Ford, Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert Zemeckis, what's not to like? While this memorable chiller from Robert Zemeckis may recall every classic thriller from Gaslight (1944) to The Haunting (1963), including a number of references to Hitchcock's classics, What Lies Beneath is a well-done and engrossing modern tribute to the old-fashioned suspense thriller.Vermont housewife begins to believe that her home is haunted by a spirit, but just what do the people around her have to do with it?Many have criticized this film for having a bit of a convoluted plot, but What Lies Beneath is a much more intelligent film than some let on. Michelle Pfeiffer is genuine in her portrayal of the spooked housewife, as is Harrison Ford who does a terrific turn as her husband.Whether seen for its artistic direction or just for an evening of good spooky entertainment, What Lies Beneath is a great watch.*** 1/2 out of ****. I don't think Alfred Hitchcock ever made a movie about ghosts, but if he did, it may have been something like "What Lies Beneath." The film is stuffed with references to Hitch's work with nods to "Psycho," "Rear Window" and "Vertigo." The Master would have been chuckling to himself watching this in the theatre.Michelle Pfeiffer plays a woman suffering from "empty nest" syndrome after her daughter leaves home for college. Harrison Ford plays her rich scientist husband and he spends most of the time trying to figure out what is happening to his wife and cope with the changes in her behaviour.It's rare for a major Hollywood movie to star a middle-aged actress these days and even rarer for the heroine she's playing to be a lonely, depressed middle-aged woman (that must have been a tough sell to the studio!) and it's a refreshing change to see that.Michelle Pfeiffer looks stunning and is holding up well for her age (or rather her magnificent cheekbones are holding her age up well!). It's a departure from the normal roles he plays.Robert Zemeckis does a great job as director as the film shifts gears from low-key psychological drama, to mystery thriller and into the area of the supernatural too. Finally, a movie that actually good and actually scary.Harrison Ford and Michelle Phieffer are Norman and Claire, a married couple, who lives in a lake shore home in Vermont. The evidence pointed to someone that she was close too.What Lies Beneath has a lot of scary moments and the performances by both Harrison Ford and Michelle Phieffer were super, and showed that you don't need very young actors to bring the people to see this movie. But while it may seem quite stupid to try to copy such a brilliant director's work (the "Psycho" remake comes to mind), Zemeckis has surprisingly created a great film here.Clair and Norman appear to be a happily married couple. But gradually she finds out that she isn't going insane and that her husband has kept a terrible secret for her...I liked the performances by Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer a lot, but than again, what else but a fine performance can you expect if you are talking about these two actors. In this film, he again demonstrates his talent, creating a spooky supernatural thriller delivering some of the best suspense I've seen in years.The story by Sarah Kernochan (`9 ½ Weeks', `Sommersby') where the dead victim communicates with someone living to finger the killer is not innovative and has been done numerous times in various forms. You wouldn't think such a cast and director would deign to be in a horror film, albeit one with a sizable budget, but here they are, in this wonderful, captivating thriller.Claire (Pfeiffer) and Norman (Ford) are a well-to-do married couple living on a somewhat palacial lakeside estate in Vermont. So is Robert Zemeckis, whose 3 year hiatus has grown a build-up for his fans-including me-out there expecting some quality cinema, and while this film isn't the classic his previous 2 were (Forrest Gump and Contact), it's far better than what a lot of critics have given it credit for.Norman and Claire Spencer (Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer, respectively) are a happily married New England couple whose grown-up daughter just left home for college. There is some truth in that, but the finale is also thrilling and suspenseful, thus lessening any sort of true negative impact it might have had if the scenes were less competently executed.The only 2 performers who are given a substantial amount of screen time are Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer, and both are terrific. This is a good scary movie where it will send you and your family/friends huddled together at times, a story about Claire Spencer (Michelle Pfeiffer) who believes her lakeside home in Vermont is haunted by a ghost. This film, on the other hand, has a captivating plot; coupled with the the acting performances of Pfeiffer and Ford make this movie worth a watch. wow, good stuff" Some minutes pass: "Wow, nice seeing Harrison not doing his "side smile" and man, Michelle never ages" - Some time later "Well, this movie isn't scary at all, I mean... Counter wise, anybody who can get into the films they watch is certain to be scared by this film.`What Lies Beneath' stars Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer. Claire starts seeing paranormal visions and hears strange whispers, and as she tries to find out who the mystery ghost-woman is, she finds she got a lot more than she bargained for!Wickedly twisted, superbly mystical and wonderfully suspenseful, 'What Lies Beneath' is a brilliant scary movie that doesn't have to rely on gore or run-of-the-mill slashing scenes in order to frighten you.And just when you think the movie is nearing the finish line, the plot takes a turn... Michelle Pfeiffer, Harrison Ford and Robert Zemeckis as the director. Michelle Pfeiffer is amazing on this role, she is the typical homemaker, but this time, she see a ghost, and in the bad tub!!!!!!, that's very creepy, that's the more terrifying scene of all, Harrison Ford is very good on his role, of the sweet husband who hides a secret, his act start getting better after the first hour of the movie, but still Pfeiffer stole the lead role. Even if you don't really care for scary movies, give this one a try, all you film fans, especially if you like Pfeiffer or Ford. Well, you can't really say that for "What Lies Beneath" because even though that happened with the husband who seemed so perfect, this movie had the idea way before most of the ones that followed, like, for example take "Hide and Seek." The dad was so nice, and then turned bad at the end. If you didn't watch the trailer, you will enjoy it even more because you didn't know what you're getting yourself into.The acting are good, especially Michelle Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford, and the music reminds you of Hitchcock, the master of suspense. Robert Zemeckis is an excellent filmmaker, Michelle Pfeiffer is a very capable actress and Harrison Ford, well he is my all time favorite movie star. I have to say that the Story is great and that the cinematography is the technical element that gives the mood for the entire film.Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer are superb! By the way, this is Pfeiffer's film, she has the dominant screen time and she sure looks great!!So what's wrong with "What Lies Beneath"? Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer are great, the story is solid and I love the twists and turns. What Lies Beneath is a very intense movie with some great twists that I would recommend to anyone looking for a good thriller or horror.

tt1454468

Gravity

In 2014/2015, bio-medical engineer Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) is a Mission Specialist on her first space shuttle mission, STS-157. She is on a spacewalk repairing a panel on the Hubble Space Telescope, accompanied by veteran astronaut Matt Kowalski (George Clooney), who is commanding his final expedition. Mission Control (voice of Ed Harris) suddenly instructs them to abort their spacewalk and return to the STS. Houston tells them that debris from a Russian missile strike on a defunct satellite has caused a chain reaction, destroying other satellites, and a huge debris field is heading right at them. Within a couple of minutes, they lose contact with Mission Control, though Stone and Kowalski continue to transmit "in the blind", hoping that the ground crew can hear them.High-speed debris strike the STS, sending it spinning wildly, with Stone at the end of the boom arm. A piece of debris breaks the robot arm off from the STS, and Stone is forced to release the tether holding her to the robot arm. Once free, she is thrown far from the STS. Stone panics, trying to contact Houston or Kowalski. Kowalski, who is wearing a thruster pack, suddenly appears and attaches her tether to him. He flies them back to the STS; on the way they find the engineer Shariff (Phaldut Sharma), his helmet smashed and his skull mostly open and empty. They find that the STS Explorer has been catastrophically damaged. The shuttle's interior has been ripped open by debris and the remainder of crew are dead. Kowalski decides to use the thruster pack to get to the International Space Station (ISS), which is in orbit about 100 km (60 mi) away. Kowalski estimates they have 90 minutes before the debris field completes an orbit and threatens them again.With Stone's oxygen reserve running low, they float through space to the ISS. Kowalski asks Stone about her life back home and learns that her daughter died in a schoolyard accident. As they approach the slightly damaged ISS, they see that its crew has already evacuated in one of the Soyuz modules and that the parachute of the other Soyuz, designated TMA-14M, has accidentally deployed, making it useless for return to Earth. Kowalski says that the Soyuz can still be used to travel to Tiangong, the nearby Chinese space station, to retrieve another module that can take them to Earth. All but out of air and maneuvering fuel for the thruster pack, the two try to grab onto the ISS as they zoom by. The tether holding them together breaks and at the last moment, Stone's leg becomes entangled in the Soyuz's parachute lines. Stone grabs Kowalski's tether, just barely stopping him from flying off into space. Kowalski realizes that his momentum will carry them both away, and over Stone's protests, he decouples his end of the tether so that Stone can survive. The tension in the lines pulls her back towards the ISS. As Kowalski floats away, he radios her with additional instructions about how to get to the Chinese space station, encouraging her to continue her survival mission.Stone enters the ISS through an airlock and gets out of the spacesuit. She begins to get familiarized with the ISS when an alarm suddenly alerts her to a fire. She makes her way to the module where the fire is and attempts to put it out, but she is momentarily stunned when the force of the extinguisher thrusts her backward into the bulkhead. She recovers and knocks the flames down again and pushes through them towards the Soyuz. With the fire closing in, she closes the hatch, pulling in the fire extinguisher at the last moment when it blocks the hatch. She separates from the ISS only to find that the Soyuz's parachute lines are entangled in the station's rigging. She dons a Soviet spacesuit and exits the spacecraft to release the cables when the debris field completes its orbit. Clinging to the Soyuz, the ISS is destroyed around her. Free of the ISS and the parachute lines, Stone reenters the spacecraft and aligns it with Tiangong. She fires the thrusters but the fuel gauge is wrong: the tanks are empty. Stone realizes she is stranded and believes she'll die. After listening to an Inuit fisherman named Aningaaq (voice of Orto Ignatiussen) on the ground speak to her, she slows the oxygen flow which will cause her to fall into unconsciousness from lack of oxygen before she dies. As she begins to lose consciousness, Kowalski suddenly appears outside, opens the spacecraft lock, and enters the cabin. He cheerfully asks her if she wants to live or die. He tells her to use the Soyuz's landing rockets to reach Tiangong. As she returns to full consciousness, Kowalski is gone, part of a hallucinatory dream. Stone restores the flow of oxygen and uses the landing thrusters to navigate towards Tiangong.With no fuel to slow or to dock the Soyuz with the Chinese station, Stone ejects herself from the Soyuz via explosive decompression. She uses the remaining pressure in the fire extinguisher as a makeshift thruster to push herself towards Tiangong, which has also been abandoned. She enters the Tiangong space station and makes her way through its interior to the Shenzhou capsule. The Tiangong station's orbit has deteriorated due to hits by the debris field and it begins to break up on the upper edge of the atmosphere. Stone is unable to separate the capsule from the space station, and she resigns herself to her fate, whatever it may be.As the space stations begins to break up, the Shenzhou capsule is broken off from the station, and Stone fires the device that separates the capsule from the rest of the spacecraft. As the capsule falls towards earth, it rights itself and descends through the atmosphere. The radio crackles with traffic from Mission Control, who are tracking the capsule, and tell her that rescue is on its way. The chute automatically deploys and Stone lands in a lake near the shore. The cabin is full of smoke, and after she blows the hatch the capsule tilts, allowing water to enter. Just when she thought she was safe, she's unable to exit the capsule. The capsule sinks to the bottom with Stone inside. Stone finds a bubble of air inside the capsule and exits the capsule, shedding her spacesuit so she can get to the surface. She swims to shore and with difficulty, gets up and takes a few shaky steps.

suspenseful, realism, atmospheric, flashback

train

imdb

Whilst 'Gravity' falls short against films like '2001: A Space Odyssey', it is a tense and visually stunning thriller from Alfonso Cuarón. The critics stated that you would be gripping to the edge of your seats, this is true in every aspect, the film is full of intense and thriller situations with amazing performances from Sandra Bullock and George Clooney. I identified with Sandra Bullocks character on a couple levels and I felt like I was in her place at the final scene.Gravity. Add to that a story that never relents with suspense and emotional intensity and you have a remarkable movie.The idea of being under constant stress, worrying for your main characters, should not be new if you know the director Alfonso Cuaron's previous major film, "Children without Men." And like that film, he works with his same cameraman, Emmanuel Lubezki, who has become a co-conspirator in his films. The characters also provide some good laughs.It was one of the better 'space' movies. space is much more awesome and frightening if you portray it more realistically.Hopefully the movie also provides a good reminder about how special this little rock is, and how unforgivable the rest of the universe is. In just a few hundred words, I will now try to do the film, its director and cast (Sandra Bullock & George Clooney), justice. GRAVITY, most certainly, brings to mind the adage, "The exception proves the rule!" As this review is being written, Gravity is rated 8.5 on IMDb.com, by 184,000, placing it in the all-time film top 75, just behind The LION KING and just ahead of REQUIEM FOR a DREAM. George Clooney's character, larger-than-life, veteran astronaut Matt Kowalski, is the jovial kind of guy who can be a bit of an ***hole at times, but amazes you with his simple selfless professionalism when it really counts. At the same time - and that's the brilliance of the movie - Gravity is a celebration of the human being, because even though we are in fact very insignificant, it is our will to life, and our effort to make our lives meaningful, that make us matter. That same tagline could easily be effectively utilized for Alfonso Cuarón's latest thriller, Gravity.Starring two unknowns by the names of George Clooney and Sandra Bullock, Gravity puts the two A-listers together as a medical engineer and an astronaut that must work in tandem to survive once a freak accident leaves them adrift in space.Their struggle takes place after debris from a Russian satellite comes speeding through their orbit ripping their space shuttle to shreds causing Dr. Ryan Stone (Bullock) to float untethered in space. Two other astronauts and a radio voice from Houston, Texas are the only other character influences and their parts wouldn't amount to 2 minutes if strung in order.With only two actors to carry the entire 90-minute runtime, the movie relies heavily on its visuals of space and the various orbiting stations with the earth always prominent in the background. Gravity will contend for Oscar's in Visual Effects, Sound and Editing.Cuarón incredibly is able to give his audience a sense of claustrophobia whether his cast are inside an orbiting capsule or in the vast darkness of space. Just when I thought "Lost in Translation" would win the golden cupie doll for the most overrated movie of all time, along comes "Gravity" to steal it out from under Bill Murray's nose hairs.Winning this award is a lot like winning the Double Golden Turkey Award (points if you know which movie won THAT one) - except at least Ed Wood TRIED to make a movie. If you want symbolism, please watch "The Matrix" movies or "Lost." THOSE productions are chock full of symbolism.The symbolism of "Gravity" is a superficial attempt to inject depth and meaning that the script just doesn't have. Except the 10 first minutes that eventually let some hope stay on the screen, and some nice 3D images, this movie has been a waste of time. Seriously, I couldn't tell you what the point of this stupid film was.What most angers me is that it has this collective 8.6 rating on IMDb.com and we would NEVER have wasted time and money if it weren't for this site, which we trusted prior to this. The stunning visuals combined with great 3D work and sound effects totally draw you into orbit right along Sandra for the 90 minutes it lasts. There is almost nothing about this movie that is any way related to how things like this would happen in space. I saw it in 3D which added nothing to the movie experience and to be honest was a complete waste of time and money and there were few scenes (if any) that merited 3D at all.However my greatest contempt is for this website itself (IMDb) who have either actively been involved or deliberately allowed a false rating to be contrived and displayed on this website to dupe people into seeing it.Either the film studio has paid people to write and give falsely great reviews (films above 8.0 are rare) or IMDb have taken money to deceive people like myself into seeing this film with its artificially created high rating.Whether I like a film or not it is irrelevant because I can always find reasons why others would disagree with me but this film had nothing at all to offer.To summarize it was a very weak story line with rather unbelievable lines as to how anyone could have survived and little or no special effects making me for only the third time in my life want to ask for my money back but this film definitely was my highest rated rip off film of all time as I was conned by this site into seeing it because of its false 8.7 rating.I feel so strongly that I may even sue the film studio for misrepresentation as I was definitely not entertained in any shape or form by this film an very much doubt I shall be using this site in future unless they do something about this rating fixing.. Obviously, you have to show the only reference point available over and over again: the Earth from 400 km above, and what you see is more or less the same, for 90 min..And, honestly, Sandra Bullock in a space suit doesn't give me the slightest impression of what it would mean, to be in such a situation as an astronaut. my 4 stars are 2 for acting, 2 for special effects.Dialog get's more or less 0, because it sounds like it was hashed out in about 10 minutes.I'd normally save the rest for plot, but there was none... Bear in mind I'm a huge fan of movies like inception and the matrix, movies which some would accuse of being more special effects than plot - but this takes the biscuit.I'll say no more, because the trailer plus the inevitable ending speaks for itself.. She didn't seem to be the right fit for the role but I don't think she can blamed for bad writing and misdirection ( no one told the director that thirty minutes of hyperventilating might be unnecessary realism?) By all means go see this film for the spectacular visuals but don't expect a story to go along with the spectacle. As many other reviewers here, I have no clue as to which movie the "prof reviewers" have seen.Apparently it's not the same movie that i saw.What i saw, was stunning visuals, bad story telling, bad story writing, one dimensional characters, and a ton of supposed realism gone out the window.I felt like the movie tried to sell me on something that could be real... Want to watch a decent film in space rent Apollo 13 or absolutely anything as I have just wasted 2 hours of my life which I want back.. A friend described Sandra Bullock's moaning and gasping in a good portion of the film as sounding like "bad sex." This was just a bad movie with no realism and, really, no suspense...the whole thing just wasn't believable. How Sandra Bullock's character was not screened out of the space program due to her emotional problems caused by the sudden death of her four year old child cannot be explained. The visuals are great, but the rest is mediocre.Sandra Bullock's character is very annoying and incompetent for most of the film. In space it seems, no one can see you create drivel.The sad thing is that with the utterly inexplicable high reviews and rave ratings this movie has received, Hollywood will only continue to pump out more dross like this and in so doing will only continue to contribute to the dumbing down of science among the general public overall.Basically if you like bad comic books, never progressed beyond junior level science (and did pretty badly in this), like huge pointless CGI explosions, enjoy 2D, juvenile, uninspirational characters, backed up by clueless, uninspirational acting and juvenile one dimensional dialogue (even though they use 3D special effects to no meaningful purpose, beyond a pointless visual spectacle for the spectacularly uniformed ), then this is exactly the movie for you! For example, I like Inception but there is a big difference between filming "no gravity" effects with a normal camera and doing it with a 3D IMAX camera and the Academy Award Oscar is the evidence. The movie takes place in space, but there's definitely no alien twists to consider, because gravity and physics themselves are already their enemy, and all you have to do is to take its ride like you've never seen space before. The genius of the film is just being simple, but what's extraordinary is how it elevates the use of CGI and a direction giving us a good amount of suspense we need for a space thriller. One thing people should know about Gravity is it's a very simple film with a very simple story and concept, but by Alfonso Cuarón's strong ambition, all of its elements are perfectly fit together. Yes there are flaws, like many films, but these flaws are overridden by sheer magnificence and beauty that Gravity manages to create in its depiction of space and the events that occur during a catastrophic mission.To put things short and sweet, the visuals are breathtaking, the tone is perfect and the pacing is flawless. Cuarón captured the mood perfectly and had me in the eyes of Bullock to feel the situation she was in and be involved with the character's emotions from the beginning to the end.The technical production of the film uses techniques which are new to the genre and make the experience seem like nothing you've felt before. There is a definite sense of scale which the cinematography brings through the extreme wide shots and the minute long shots that suggests a lack of impact in space.Lastly, as mentioned, the visual effects are just mind-blowing. The visuals and the effects show space from an angle that has no restrictions and because of this, creates a unique experience that has not been created before.Overall, the film has a perfect rating from me because I can not give it an valuable or deserving faults as I was lost in an unforgettable experience that I reckon will make a big impact in the history of cinema and will last for many years to come.. I'm not sure how to make this review into the minimum 10 lines because, let's face it, the movie doesn't contain 10 lines worth of content, but I feel like people need to see a review from someone that doesn't just do as they're told and follow what the critics say. The main characters are played by Sandra Bullock and George Clooney who both do an excellent job but this flick isn't outstanding because of the great acting or the story, it's the superior technical level this movie is on. Whether you talk about sound, which of course isn't always around as you are in space, so the most of the time you just listen to the powerful soundtrack, the impressive visuals when thousands of pieces of metal fly by you, or just the camera movement by Emmanuel Lubezki who won several Oscars for a good reason. What follows is endless (and mindless) scenes of Sandra Bullock tumbling through space after the shuttle she and George Clooney are on is destroyed, right up to the predictable conclusion. Total rubbish.Sci-fi is a genre open to and full of spurious movies, but adding George Clooney and Sandra Bullock is like trying to polish a turd. And even though i like Sandra Bullock and i believe her acting here is amazing, for what she was given to work with, having to sit for 1 and 1/2 hrs just to watch her float in space is too much.The only interesting thing was the story about the girl with the hairy guy. Total Score: 7.5/10Gut Feeling: 8/10 - While I wondered how her character qualified for a space mission in the first place, Bullock delivers a moving performance in an immersive film that is worth seeing for the cinematography alone.Final Average Score: 7.75. This is a beautiful film, when seeing these images from space towards earth it just looks so peaceful and beautiful, like nothing can ever go wrong or disrupt the big peaceful silence, but something can and does.After about 10 minutes you are hooked, sitting on the edge of your seat, wishing, hoping and sayings thank god that is not me out there. This is a great sci-fi thriller, it is very realistic and very powerful in this deliverance of the story and sub stories, I don't know it this is unrealistic or not, but it really was entertaining and fantastic.I think it was very hyped, but after talking about it with others who have seen it, I like it more and more, in the beginning I might have set my hopes to high, but digging into the film more gives it more meaning and the fact that this is so technically good and very well acted is amazing.. You will live with here all the movie, it has an amazing soundtrack and the visual effects are amazing, you will feel like you're in space and everything that happens, it's happening to you, you live as the character and you feel as you were lost like her. The studio must have paid shills to write glowing reviews so we can waste our hard earned money on this junk.Given that I was there in the 60's when the real Apollo missions were unfolding and worked for the company (Grumman Aircraft) that built the LEM (Lunar Excursion Module) that actually landed on the moon, I am a little more than familiar with space technology and what can and cannot happen.The first real space movie was Kubrik's "2001:A Space Odyssey" which to this day hold a high place in my heart which Gravity failed in every way to capture my appreciation for what I hoped for, and really wanted it to be, a great movie.I paid extra to see the IMAX 3D version and was not disappointed with the CGI special effects and the implementation of 3D. This movie stars Sandra Bullock and George Clooney who are astronauts. It really feels like you, the viewer, are in space with them and that adds to the movie a lot. That is the case here as space just feels real and the huge amount of work to make it happen isn't made a fuss of and doesn't get in the way of enjoying the film. Gravity toys with your emotions from minute one, juxtaposing the beauty and serenity of space with its impending danger and destruction.The film stars Sandra Bullock and George Clooney and tells the story of two astronauts and their fight to get back to Earth after the destruction of their space shuttle. Look out for the scene partway through the film with Bullock floating in a C-shape fetal position, and remember the way astronauts have to relearn to walk and gain strength in their muscles upon returning to Earth, like a child. Movie was awful, George Clooney was decent, but Sandra Bullock just ruined it. Visually, Gravity is unlike what we have seen on a cinema screen before and arguably it has one of the best uses of 3D in a movie. And how great a movie can it really be where there is only one character (and almost no dialog) on camera for most of the film. No way could Ryan Stone figure out how to operate the Chinese capsule just by poking around.Of lesser failures: Space debris traveling 20,000 miles an hour relative to an observer is not going to be visible except *possibly* as an indistinct cloud that passes by so fast the "observer" won't know what hit them.For all of the CGI effort, I had hoped the Earth would look more realistic and (naturally) beautiful.In closing, the special effects were great but the weak story relied on too many absurd contrivances and the script contained no redeeming dialog (sorry, George). A handsome show off, with a serious penchant for rescuing damsels in distress, sits naturally with our George, whatever the state of his pulse.But the movie is really about Bullock's character, and she is an actor capable of both great comedy and feeling (often within the same work) but here she is just not believable with the exception of the initial panic scenes that do get everyone's heart racing for a short time. Next time hire a first year physics student from any university to explain how things in space work.Stop reading if you don't want to know about the easily predictable and totally not a surprise "spoilers".But lets ignore all the "it could never happen that way" stuff and just look at the movie. George Clooney and Sandra Bullock floating around in space for two hours eventually became my best guess.

tt1742044

Jersey Boys

Belleville, New Jersey, 1961.Tommy DeVito (Vincent Piazza) walks in to tell the audience that he's the one to go to for the real story. He claims that if it wasn't for him, he and his friends would have wound up in someone's trunk with a bullet in their heads. He goes over to the barbershop to meet with his friend Frankie Castelluccio (John Lloyd Young), performing his first shave on Gyp DeCarlo (Christopher Walken), a mob man that is known to take care of business for Frankie and his friends. Tommy's surprise entrance startles Frankie and he accidentally nicks Gyp's cheek, but he brushes it off.After Tommy drops Gyp off, he goes to Frankie's home after he has dinner with his parents. His mother doesn't like the type of friends Frankie is hanging out with. Tommy takes him out, saying they're going to practice for something at the high school, when in reality they, along with Tommy's brother Nicky (Johnny Cannizzaro), are stealing a vault. The DeVitos try hauling it into Frankie's car, but it is far too heavy. Frankie tries to drive the car with the vault weighing it down, and he ends up crashing through the window of a store. The three boys hightail it out of there.Tommy, Nicky, and their friend Nick Massi (Michael Lomenda) play at a club as The Variety Trio. Tommy invites Frankie up onstage to sing. His falsetto voice catches the attention of a pretty redhead in the audience. Backstage, Tommy tells Frankie there are two types of women out there - Type A, which will immediately jump into bed with a man and then break his balls, and Type B, which will need to be wined and dined before breaking any balls. Frankie decides to pick up the redhead and take her out, only to be stopped by the police for the attempted robbery.Frankie, Tommy, and Nicky are taken to court. Frankie's parents order Tommy to stay away from their son, and he is sent to six months at a correctional facility. He is welcomed back pleasantly.Nick brings Frankie and a date to break into a church. They get to the organ and start singing a tune together, which the nun in the church hears. She brings in a cop, who arrests Nick. Just as Tommy is getting out, Nick is going in.A while later, when nobody is in prison, the boys play at the club again. Frankie spots a gorgeous girl named Mary Delgado (Renee Marino), who is with another man. Though Tommy warns Frankie about her, Frankie tells him to find a way to get rid of her boyfriend. Tommy gets the bartender to get him out, leaving Frankie room to talk to her. They go have dinner together, where Frankie says he's changed his last name to Vally. Mary tells him that it should be with an "I" since he's Italian and because "Y" is a useless letter ("Is it a vowel or a consonant?"). She takes him to bed, and not long after, the two are married.Frankie is later driving in his car with two goons named Stosh (James Madio) and Donnie (Jeremy Luke). The two of them get into an argument that ends with Donnie supposedly shooting Stosh in the head and killing him. A freaked-out Frankie is told to run out, while Stosh sits up, laughing. Frankie runs to Tommy about this. Tommy says it's a scam so that they can collect money to make it go away. Otherwise, in a real shooting, all the witnesses would be killed. The boys go to Gyp to make this go away, and he tells Stosh and Donnie to never go near Frankie again.With Nicky out of the group (now called The Four Lovers), Tommy learns from his good friend Joey Pesci (Joseph Russo) about a singer-songwriter named Bob Gaudio (Erich Bergen), who had a hit with the song "Short Shorts". They bring in Bob to check the band perform at the club, where he hears Frankie singing, and he declares to the audience (he's taken over the narration) that he must write for this voice. Bob shows the boys a piece of music he wrote, "Cry For Me", which they all begin to perform in front of the waitresses, who are attracted to Bob. Tommy sends them away and tries to negotiate with Bob and Frankie in regards to letting Bob in. Bob wants a four-way split, which Tommy is not cool with. Frankie is fine with it and threatens to leave the group if Tommy doesn't agree. He relents and lets Bob join.The boys try to send their demos to publishers, with nobody interested in listening to them as they go to the studio. Frankie and Bob run into an old friend of Frankie's, the flamboyant Bob Crewe (Mike Doyle), who takes them to a party and later signs them for a contract. After a year, however, Bob realizes the group is just doing backup vocals for other musicians. Crewe tells them that they don't have a unique name or sound just yet.The boys try to play at the bowling alley, but the manager (Billy Gardell) sends them out since he recognizes Tommy for fixing the pins on games. Outside, the neon sign lights up, with the bowling alley's name, Four Seasons, inspiring the boys to name their group after that. Bob then writes a new piece of music, "Sherry", which they sing for Crewe over the phone. Crewe, enchanted by Frankie's voice, tells his assistant to double Frankie's sound.Soon, the radio cannot stop playing "Sherry", and The Four Seasons become sensational. Their next two singles, "Big Girls Don't Cry" and "Walk Like a Man" hit #1. The boys start enjoying their lavish lifestyles, with Tommy bringing in a girl to help Bob get laid. However, the constant touring and cavorting with women leads Mary to think Frankie is unfaithful, so she kicks him out. He shares one last night with his daughter Francine (Elizabeth Hunter), before leaving the next morning and saying goodbye to his other two daughters.Trouble begins to stir when the boys perform on The Ed Sullivan Show. Frankie is approached by a loan shark named Norman Waxman (Donnie Kehr), who says that Tommy owes him $150,000. As they play the show, Nick (now the narrator) tells the audience that trouble started long before this.Two years earlier, as the boys play at the Ohio State Fair, they are arrested after they learn that Tommy defrauded a hotel they stayed at, owing them $120. Frankie's faith in Tommy dwindles, and it only gets worse after they are both interviewed by a pretty reporter named Lorraine (Erica Piccininni). Frankie meets with her first and starts a relationship with her, and after she meets Tommy, he hits on her, infuriating Frankie. He stops talking to Tommy, which the latter can't understand, as he feels he's been good to him. Though Nick tells the audience that if you think Frankie would have cut Tommy loose then and there, you're not from Jersey.The boys meet with their lawyer so that the money-handling can be transferred to Bob. In a fit of rage, Tommy smashes a chair on the desk. In the present time, Frankie goes to Gyp for help with Tommy's debt. Moved by his devotion to his friend, Gyp doesn't take Frankie's money and says he'll see what he can do. Together, the boys, along with Gyp and Waxman gather and discuss Tommy's debts, which go further when Tommy admits he took money from their tax account, amounting to about half a million. Frankie says the band will pay off the debt together. Nick, having had enough of Tommy's shit, quits the group. It is then decided that Tommy will be sent to Vegas for the mob to keep an eye out on him.With only Frankie and Bob left, the two struggle to find gigs to play, as well as making money to pay off the debts. Frankie receives a phone call from Mary, prompting him to return to Jersey. He learns that Francine (now played by Freya Tingley) has run off to the city. She is brought back by one of Frankie's friends. Frankie meets Francine at a restaurant and encourages her to become a singer, with Crewe being able to sign her. After a while, Frankie and Bob finally pay off the debts to Waxman. Frankie receives his weekly phone call from Francine, only to find that it's a policeman answering, telling him that Francine has died from an apparent overdose. Distraught, Frankie is reluctant to play anymore songs that Bob has written.Following Francine's death, Frankie gets back to singing, starting with "Can't Take My Eyes Off You". It starts off slow, and then builds into a bigger song, which he plays to amused crowds.Fast forward to 1990 at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Frankie, Bob, and Nick have reunited. Tommy makes a surprise appearance and reconciles with Frankie. They perform "Sherry", during which each of them give testimonies. Tommy now works for Joe Pesci. Nick explains his leaving the group as a moment of pride and a desire to go home. Frankie says he'll never forget how his experience with the guys started. Bob says he doesn't care where people thinks he came from, and that he's happy to live in Nashville with his wife. We then see the boys in their younger selves performing "Who Loves You".The film ends with the entire cast performing "December 1963 (Oh What A Night)".

neo noir, historical, flashback

train

imdb

I've never seen the musical, but I gotta tell you, if you love 60's, 70's & 80's Frankie Valli songs, your eyes too will adore this movie... Clint Eastwood is one of my favorite directors and I thought "Jersey Boys" would be one of my favorite films of this year, but I was disappointed by Eastwood's adaptation of the hit Broadway play. I understand why they made some of the choices and some of them work very well, but I would have liked to have seen more musical moments.A lot of time is placed on the exposition and I thought it kind of slowed the film down. Other great song moments include "My Eyes Adored You" and the tear jerking rendition of "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You."Eastwood's "Jersey Boys" has its faults, but the sheer power of the music and the acting makes it a treat worth seeing.. Jersey Boys is the phenomenal true story of a 'sound' that took four boys from New Jersey's mob controlled suburbs and made them into the icons they are today – legends whose music is still celebrated more than five decades on!Produced and directed by another living legend – Clint Eastwood – Jersey Boys is a Tony Award winning Broadway and West End musical adaptation of the same name. This is why the audience has to wait a good hour before Frankie Valli (John Lloyd Young) makes our feet tap to the film's first real track: Sherry. The stage version centers on the music more, while the film version adds fullness and close up drama and intensity to the story.The "sterile" and "plain" look of the sets that the professional critics didn't like gives a "stage feel" to the scenes. The fact that Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, who wrote the stage musical, also wrote the movie version, and that Frankie Valli and Bob Gaudio were executive producers gives unquestionable credibility to the movie.Now to get to Clint Eastwood. I did not know much about the Broadway musical before hearing about the movie, so I did not know it was about the true story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons who I vaguely herd of but am absolutely familiar with their songs (and Valli's unique chops), and this is the kind of musical that I really like. These are pertinent because they impact one's reaction to the film version.Director Clint Eastwood knew immediately he wanted to bring the Broadway show to the movies. Piazza is well known from "Boardwalk Empire", but he is just a bit too slick as the guy who scammed the other band members, digging a massive hole of debt - mostly to a mob loan shark named Norm Waxman (played by Donnie Kehr in an excellent performance).Other support work is provided by Mike Doyle as record producer and all-around flamboyant guy, Bob Crewe; Renee Marino starts strong as Mary (Frankie's future wife) but is given little to do as the story progresses; Joseph Russo captures the quirks of a young Joe Pesci, who introduces Gaudio to the band; and the always entertaining Christopher Walken slightly underplays local made guy Gyp DeCarlo who is instrumental in protecting Frankie in those early years. Frankie Valli, played admirably by John Lloyd Young has the iconic voice which leads the famous Four Seasons and this is the story of the rise and fall and rise again of the kid from New Jersey. The direction from Clint Eastwood is inspired, has a slight feel of a scorcese film, mainly due to the forth wall been broken by characters talking directly to camera, but I assume this is due to the way the stage production worked. Overall a film worth seeing whether your a fan of frankie valli or not as there is probably songs in there you love not knowing they were performed by the four seasons. And the make-up of the aged band members at the end of the film is so ridiculous that I actually burst out laughing.Can't believe this is a Clint Eastwood movie.... 'JERSEY BOYS': Four Stars (Out of Five)Film adaptation of the popular (Tony Award-winning) jukebox musical (of the same name); based on the history of the 1960s pop group The Four Seasons. I found it to be a little too long and clichéd at times but entertaining enough (especially with the great music).The story begins with the four young singers starting out as a 'boy band' in the 1950s and follows their many years of touring, recording, breakup and reunion (decades later). I've never seen the musical, and didn't really know anything about it's story (prior to seeing the film), but I've heard it's much better than this movie. (That is, they don't seem fake.)Most of all, this movie uses lots of the Four Seasons' music, reminding me that even though I was never a big fan at the time, they were nevertheless the soundtrack to more of my own life than I had realized. "Four guys under a street lamp, when it was all still ahead of us, the first time we made that sound — our sound." Frankie Valli (John Lloyd Young)It's next to impossible to compare director Clint Eastwood's entertaining Jersey Boys with the popular juke-box stage hit without feeling that the live production is superior. Or maybe because Christopher Walken's mobster, Gyp DeCarlo, is underplayed.But more to the point, this film is a story of rags to riches with the speed bumps large and disorientations many despite the transcendence of the music (Sherry Baby and Walk Like a Man are only two of the memorable hits by this unusually gifted group). Eastwood spends considerable opening capital on the home life of the Jersey boys with the overdone Sopranos accent and run-ins with local cops to the exclusion of the actual development of their famous songs.With the emergence of the Four Seasons, the musical becomes vibrant. As Frankie moves into performances without his original group in order to pay off mob debt for his partner, Tommy DeVito (Vincent Piazza), the songs still evidence the greatness of the falsetto and the humanity of the singer.Eastwood builds the sentiment into the narrative arc, beginning roughly in the hood and ending sweetly at the Hall of Fame, where the reunion reminds us of their unique charm even though they are old but not out of tune. Jersey Boys may not be the fullest musical imaginable with its middlin' family life sequences, but when it breaks into song with tunes accurately fitting the times, the film becomes a testimony to Clint Eastwood's ability in any genre and the glorious sound of real humans trying to balance audience, mob, and songs. Jersey BoysThe best part of a Doo-Wop group is there are no instruments to lug around.However, the voices in this musical-drama do have baggage.Frankie Valli (John Lloyd Young), a gifted vocalist from New Jersey, teams with Tommy (Vincent Piazza) Bob (Erich Bergen) and Nick (Michael Lomenda) to start a singing group.Relegated to back-up singing, the boys struggle to get their single Sherry heard. When the song is heard, it sets off a chain-reaction of number one hits.Regrettably, when Tommy's debt to a Jersey gangster (Christopher Walken) is called in, Frankie must make a tough choice.While the hits are here, the versions in Clint Eastwood's adaptation of the Broadway Musical about The Four Seasons are as lifeless and boring as the script.Besides, why pay $20 to see actors imitating an old Doo-Wop group, when you can see the actual Doo-Wop group at the casino for $15? Edgar and Hereafter, Clint Eastwood's big screen version of the Broadway smash hit musical Jersey Boys is a frustratingly hollow big screen event that squanders a ripe storyline to become a meandering movie devoid of any real pulse, purpose or cinematic flair.The story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons is clearly interesting enough to set Broadway alight and there are enough elements in the story of these entertainers to fill countless movie tales yet Eastwood's plodding direction seems to reign in all possible emotional arcs present. Eastwood has shown over recent decades a finely tuned directional mind, from the plains of the west in Unforgiven, the suburban streets of old school America in The Changeling or the battlefields of Japan in Flags of Our Fathers, his films have come to life but he can't breathe life into this rise and fall tale especially with his largely unexperienced cast delivering charisma free turns.Without pretending to be a knowledgeable source on anything Frank Valli or the Four Seasons I would assume that the group possessed as healthy dose of charisma that for the most part in Eastwood's tale appears totally non-existent. Other than Boardwalk Empire's Vincent Piazza as the bands troubled leader Tommy DeVito all other acting members fail to make an impact, which more than likely stems from there history of stage performers not movie actors. When the best member of the cast is a dancing Christopher Walken in the closing credits you know you're in trouble but blame must largely fall to Eastwood for his direction of his actors and miss-telling of much of this story.After Jersey Boys concluded I felt that I knew the group no better than when I started out, where successful musical tales like Walk the Line and Ray succeeded at shining a light on the genius and the drive these performers had and did so by bringing them totally to life, Jersey Boys feels like a mere splattering of events that never fully develop into anything more than mild curiosity for the audience.2 oversized safe's out of 5 For more movie reviews and opinions check out - www.jordanandeddie.wordpress.com. Clint Eastwood's movie version of the hit Broadway musical, "The Jersey Boys," a biographical spin on the '60's pop group Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, is pure, old-fashioned entertainment in the best sense. John Lloyd Young (an exact physical replica of the old movie tough guy Richard Conte if ever there were one) is just dandy in reprising his Tony-winning turn as Frankie (nee Castelluccio), capturing every nuance of Valli's high-pitched virtuosity in songs like "Big Girls Don't Cry," "Sherry," "Walk Like a Man" and "Can't Take My Eyes Off You." To those of a certain age, the sound is so accurate it will make you want to reach for your dashboard radio to turn the volume up. Erich Bergen is perfect as Bob Gaudio, who comes to the group as songwriter and singer in the nick of time thanks to the help of a mutual friend _ none other than the future movie star Joe Pesci (played to the hilt with disarming accuracy by Joseph Russo). Vincent Piazza's Cagney-ish Tommy DeVito, the flawed heart and soul of the group in its early days, is fun to watch and absolutely believable in every way, and Michael Lomenda has excellent moments as Nick Massi, a straight-shooter who finally gets fed up and has the nerve to tell off even Gyp as he speeds away (in a red Cadillac convertible). Clint Eastwood decided to take a stab not just at the biopic genre, but also the musical genre with his latest, Jersey Boys.Like most musical movies these days, this is based off of the popular Broadway musical of the same name, yet I have not had the privilege to see it yet. He also has some musical talent as he, a friend Nick Massi and young Frankie Valli (played by John Lloyd Young) like to perform as a trio.They all have dreams to take their voice to bigger places and manages to get a forth guy, Bob Gaudio so that they can get work. Besides giving plenty of chances for the group to serenade us with many of their hits, we get insights on the band members lives from Frankie Valli's daughter running away to Tommy's further troubles with debts and mobs.The Broadway show's gimmick was that you were watching four actors become the Four Seasons and enjoy their songs while the historical stuff is more of a side event. With Clint Eastwood in the director's chair, the historical stuff has been expanded upon, taking more focus then the songs themselves.It's a big gamble, considering that the men playing the Four Seasons are the same actors from the stage show. None of his lines sound natural and he sticks out like a sore thumb, easily one of the worst casting choices in the film.The Verdict: Despite some good acting, good music and staying true to the plot of the stage show, it couldn't keep me awake for me to enjoy. A very entertaining American success story brought to life under the gentle and skilled hand of Eastwood.The movie follows the Four Seasons from their teens up through their sixties and the work they had to do to reach the top of their profession while giving some insights on the hard knocks in the recording industry.Things I would add, none.Things I would subtract from the movie, none.My 15 year old daughter spent the rest of the day playing 4 Seasons songs on her I-pod and learned to sing a few. When I saw "Jersey Boys" on stage I thought it would make a great film, a gift for Martin Scorsese; think "Goodfellas" as a musical minus the killings. I needn't have worried, "Jersey Boys" is terrific; a full-blooded, thoroughly old fashioned biopic that totally transcends the term 'jukebox musical'.It is, of course, the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, or rather The Four Seasons, the band that included Valli, and who rose to inclusion in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame despite their connections to the Mob. In some respects it's a gangster musical along the lines of "Love Me or Leave Me" but with a rock n'roll slant. Based on the Broadway musical the film is the story of four young men who would eventually go onto become The Four Seasons, one of the central doo-wop groups of the sixties. Okay, having not seen the original Broadway musical version of this, I had really wanted to watch this movie version of this group of men who rise to stardom despite a couple of them spending some time in bars previously. The only issue we had with this film directed by the great Clint Eastwood is that after Frankie Valli & The 4 Seasons had their string of hits during the early to mid 1960's...by the late 60's the British invasion ruled and their hits became less and for a few years disappeared until 1975 Frankie Valli and The 4 Seasons had a major come-back with "Who Loves You" and "December 63 Oh What a Night"...but in the movie they go from mid to late 1960's to 1990 and skip their big comeback of 1975. I don't know if that's the case with Jersey Boys but the film was dreadfully slow, the music was not well used AT ALL, the performances were okay at best but I felt like they really lacked power behind them. I had really wanted to see the original stage musical instead but welcomed the chance to see the film version although I did have my reservations, particularly over the choice of Clint Eastwood as director and the use of unknowns in the lead singing parts. I'm afraid both my qualms proved valid and I ended up not enjoying the movie as much as I expected to.The story of the Four Seasons background rise to fame wasn't that well-known beforehand I guess, but even though it has its intrigues and tragedies, it doesn't feel strong enough on which to hang a narrative, not helped, as I said, by the rather character-less actors who get to play the individual group members. At times the movie also feels like it's playing it safe by following most conventions of the musical biopic genre. John Lloyd Young played the same role he did in the Broadway musical as Frankie Valli, and he captures that unique voice in the film. Similarly the recent cinematic version of Les Miserables was filled with so many compelling performances and great set-pieces that it was, and remains, one of the most emotionally-charged films for me of recent years.Unfortunately neither is the case with Clint Eastwood's cinematic version of Jersey Boys, the Broadway and West End smash hit telling the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. "Jersey Boys" is the play and that is it not a great movie piece (bad job Clint, Frankie and Bob), should have shown it with some character and not a play / musical. I had my trepidation's along with Frankie Valli about movie adaptations from the Broadway stage productions but Jersey Boys does not disappoint. With amazing vocals by John Lloyd Young and a story which you feel the highs and lows, this movie is definitely for someone who wants to discover good music or have a sing and a dance. JERSEY BOYS is another winner from director Clint Eastwood and an adaptation of the popular stage musical about the life and times of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. The only time I haven't liked one of his films was "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" - pretty awful."Jersey Boys" tells the story of the Four Seasons, from their felonious beginnings to their attempts to break through into the music scene, their name changes, the success, and the burdens that came with it. The movie is a treasure trove of great music.John Lloyd Young repeats his Broadway star-making role as Frankie Valli. Jersey Boys is a film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical that showed the rise and decline of the 60's rock group, the Four Seasons. Clint Eastwood's film is about the rise and fall of the New Jersey-bred men who joined together to form a musical group based around Frankie Valli's uncommon voice. If you are a fan of the music of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons you will love this movie.

tt0080079

Vampire

A neglected site in San Francisco is about to get new life as the Bryant Park Development Project unfolds. In attendance at the dedication ceremony are the designing architects, John [Jason Miller] and Leslie [Kathryn Harrold] Rawlins, who bow their heads proudly but reverently as Father Hanley [Scott Paulin] blesses the newly-unveiled cross which is to form the foundation of the new Saint Sebastian's Church and the cornerstone of the schools and apartments yet to be built. Also in attendance is retired detective Harry Kilcoyne [E.G. Marshall] who notices, after the blessing is over, the bulldozers are revving up, and the attendees are filing away, that the ground is smoking where the shadow of the cross falls on it. How odd. Later that night, unseen by no one, a naked body crawls out of the smoking hole.A month passes. At a party thrown by the Rawlins, Leslie is introduced by her lawyer friend Nicole DeCamp [Jessica Walter] to a new beau, Anton Voytek [Richard Lynch], tall, blonde, handsome, stately, and rich. Voytek is an expert in art and is able to tell Leslie about the model in one of the paintings she acquired in Paris. As Nicole and Anton are leaving, Anton tells John that he has an interesting proposition to present to him and offers to treat the Rawlins to a night at the ballet so that they can talk about it. Unfortunately, Anton is unable to keep the date, but he asks Nicole to present the project to John and Leslie. It appears that Anton's family were wealthy Europeans who had millions of dollars of valuable artwork by artists such as Donatello, Botticelli, and da Vinci, which they smuggled into the U.S. during the war and buried in caverns under the Heidecker estate, the very place where Byrant Park is being erected. Voytek wants the Rawlins to halt the development project temporarily and dig up the family treasure.The next day, as John tries to make heads or tails out of some blueprints of the underground caverns, Leslie visits the art museum and learns that all the artworks on Anton's list are bona fide...and they've been reported stolen from museums and collections around the world. Work on Bryant Park stops, the artwork is recovered along with a human skull and a rosary, and Voytek is arrested. As the police lead him away, Voytek turns to John and says, "I trusted you, Rawlins, and that trust cost me everything I treasure. I assure you that you will be repaid...in kind."Voytek spends the night in jail, but Nicole bails him out just before dawn. Without a word of thanks, he takes off running down the street and makes it to his light-tight apartment just as he starts to smoke in the morning sun. That night, he pays a visit to the Rawlins's house, catching Leslie as she prepares to leave. She invites him in for just a moment, and so starts the seduction. By the time John returns home, Voytek has killed Leslie and mutilated her body. Unfortunately, the police cannot tie Voytek to the scene, and Nicole swears that Anton was with her all evening. In his anger and anguish, John breaks into Voytek's apartment just as he is waking in his coffin. John realizes that Voytek is a vampire and tears out of there. However, a neighbor calls the police, and John is taken to jail. His friend and colleague Christopher Bell [Michael Tucker] bails him out. On his way out, John is spotted by Harry Kilcoyne. Harry follows John and is intrigued when John goes to the library and takes out a lot of books about vampires, so intrigued, in fact, that when he learns John has been taken to a mental hospital armed with crosses and stakes, Harry goes to see him. Unfortunately, Voytek has gotten there first. Just as Voytek bends over John, who is helplessly strapped to his bed, Harry enters the room. Voytek leaps out the window.Turns out that Harry has had doings with Voytek in the past and also suspects that Voytek is a vampire. Later, as John and Harry share a drink in Harry's living room, Harry tells John the story. Back in 1939, Harry and his cop buddy Maurice Bernier were assigned to investigate a series of murders in the Bryant Park area. In each case, the victim's throat was torn out, but there was never any blood found. At first, they thought they were looking for a homicidal maniac. However, Bernier eventually came to believe it was the work of a vampire. Bernier took an early retirement, became a priest, and founded the first St Sebastian Church a stone's throw away from the Heidecker estate. Harry went off to war. When he got back, Bernier had vanished. It is Harry's assumption that Bernier, along with his rosary, trapped Voytek in the caverns under the Heidecker estate. Rather than face his own destruction, Voytek brought down the whole estate on top of them both, killing Bernier and trapping Voytek there for the past 40 years, releasing him now because of the new construction.Just as John and Harry come to realize that they're going to have to band together to hunt Voytek, there comes a knock on their door. It's little Tommy Parker [Adam Starr] from across the hall and his mother Andrea [Barrie Youngfellow]. Andrea is late for work and is wondering whether Harry can babysit Tommy. After Harry gets Tommy in bed, John tells Harry what he's learned about Voytek from the books he's been reading. There are stories about a golden-haired vampire from as far back as the 13th century in what is now Hungary. John thinks they refer to Voytek, making him over 700 years old!Harry suggests that their first act should be to contact casket companies in the morning, looking for a large purchase by one individual, on the hunch that Voytek would have several places of sanctuary. The next step will be to track down the locations of these caskets and, even if they don't find Voytek in them, to make them uninhabitable for him. When Andrea returns to take Tommy home, Harry presents her with the gift of a crucifix that once belonged to his dead wife and asks her to send Tommy a week early to visit his father in Arizona.The next day, Harry picks up a few vials of holy water and has a friend fashion some stakes for him. Tommy takes off for Arizona, after Andrea places Harry's crucifix on Tommy's neck. John discovers that five caskets for theatrical use were ordered by Maurice Bernier and delivered to 635A Howard Street. At the Howard Street address, which turns out to be a theater, Harry and John find a casket. When they open it, they are horrified to find it contains Leslie's body. At first, John cannot drive the stake. After a little prompting from Harry, he does the deed.Meanwhile, Harry has asked a friend of his to keep his eye on Andrea at the disco where she works. It's closing time, and Harry is a bit late picking her up, so she accepts a ride in the limo of a friend of one of her coworkers. After the driver drops off the coworker, Voytek gets in. When Harry finally gets to the disco, he finds that his friend has been murdered and Andrea is gone. He hurries back to his apartment to see if Andrea has gotten home safely. Instead, he gets a phone call from Voytek who informs Harry that he has captured Andrea.Now it becomes even more imperative to step up their search for Voytek. First stop is Nichole's house. Nicole looks pretty bedraggled, but she reluctantly gives John a list of properties that Voytek has recently purchased through her. John warns Nicole to get away from Voytek, and then he and Harry set out to visit each one of the properties, looking for Voytek's coffins and making them uninhabitable. The first stop is Voytek's Nob Hill apartment, but he has totally vacated the premises. Next top is an old mill, followed by the old Heidecker brewery, where they find nothing but empty coffins. It's getting late in the day when they finally reach the last property way up the coast in Mendocito...five acres of an old cemetery where they must search for the Heidecker family vault.The sun has gone down. Voytek rises from his coffin and wakes up Andrea just as Harry and John enter the vault. Andrea screams at them to go away, but they are determined to end it here and now, even though Voytek promises to go away and never return. As Voytek threatens them with his plans to destroy everyone they love, including Tommy, Harry slowly unscrews the lid on one of his vials of holy water. As Voytek drones on, Harry tosses the water at him. Then, they attack Voytek with crosses, but Voytek overpowers them and gets away. Andrea returns to her senses."We're safe for tonight," Harry says."It's not over," John says.Original Synopsis by bj_kuehl.

paranormal, gothic, murder

train

imdb

A Movie That Left Me Wanting More Of Richard Lynch. Good, gothic-feeling movie. Richard Lynch, with his searing eyes, gaunt, handsome face, flowing blonde hair and sexy voice was a natural to play the vampire, Anton Voytek. Seeing him come up out of the earth, roaring in pain and anguish of being sealed up in his tomb of earth for nearly 40 years was a very creepy site. I highly recommend this movie for vampire movie fans and for Richard Lynch fans it is a MUST SEE I believe this was really the first time I noticed Richard Lynch. I am not sure if I saw him in anything else, previously, but this movie left me wanting to see him in everything he has/had ever done.. How Vampire movies should be done.. It stars Richard Lynch who gives an outstanding performance as the vampire,it also stars the guy who played "Father Karras" in "The Exorcist" who also does a great job. This movie clicks on all levels,story as well as acting. If it were available on dvd or tape,I'd buy it in a heartbeat. Unfortunately I believe the only way to ever see it is on late,late night tv but if you can catch it,I highly recommend you watch it. You'll be glad you did,it's how vampire movies should be done.. Suspense and seduction without all the camp. If you're looking for graphic gore, this is not the movie for you. Loaded with wonderful imagery and insinuation that leaves the horror to your imagination. You won't see Leslie's or the private detective's mutilated body, but we all know what happened to them. Richard Lynch's portrayal as a vampire is superb, with a deliciously evil and seductive air. There are no special effects, yet the story is quite riveting.. Vastly Underrated. Next to the original "The Nightstalker" this may well be the best made-for-TV vampire flick there is. A superb cast led to a superior offering. Special effects were correctly kept to a minimum, allowing the story and performances to carry this hidden gem. Jason Miller gave a wonderful, sympathetic performance. I read where his portrayal of the vampire Voytek is Richard Lynch's favorite role, and well it should be - he is marvelous! I only wish that he would have been able to reprise his role in the series that never was.It is a rare film that leaves a favorable impression after 27 years. Rarer still one that was produced for the small screen. Vampire, for me, is such a film. To the Powers That Be: please release this on DVD soon. It is long overdue. A few extras would be nice too.. Great movie. Great movie. This was a "real" vampire movie. I liked it when I first saw it in '79 and I like it more now. Lynch captures a vampire that is cultured, charismatic, vulnerable, and still human. He collects rare art! As the film progresses we learn this vampire is also evil, materialistic, vengeful, exploitative, selfish, and classically Evil with a capital "E". This movie thoughtfully updated elements of Stoker's conceptualization of the vampire without losing those classical elements that makes it an interesting tale. Acting is excellent and casting great. I had hoped this would be made into a series... A few producers of modern vampire movies could learn something by watching this. My video copy is coming apart - so when is this thing coming on on DVD already?. Vampire, one of my favorites. It's been close to 30 years since I watched this movie with Richard Lynch as the blonde vampire, and who played the part to perfection. For the younger people expecting blood, gore and action, this isn't the one to watch. Vampire is more of a 'reader's' film, where the imagination fills in today's 'action' in movies. An earlier film I saw him in is called The Premonition, where he portrayed a rather creepy carny; also a fascinating film. I've been looking for this movie, Vampire, for all these years and would love to see it released on DVD. I'd wondered for years whatever became of Lynch and am glad to see he remained active for some time. I was surprised to read in his mini-biography that he'd been burnt in a drug related fire. I always had the idea he'd been a burn victim at one time. Although I believe him to be an excellent actor, ultimately it was his voice and unconventional good looks that drew me in.. Un-Dead even after near quarter of a century. Well its almost 2014 and vampires abound the movie and television landscape. Inexplicably the vampire has become gentrified. Ranging from reflective observers of the human condition to teenage heart-throbs, the monster has been exiled as unidimensional and un-interesting. For example, a new TV series called Dracula was launched in October 2013. Utterly insipid and derivative of Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula which dared to portray the Count as a love-sick sinner seeking redemption--the series is a mash up of fantasy and adventure that re-imagines Stoker's central antagonists, Van Helsing and Dracula, teaming up against a common enemy--what poppycock! Although a few exceptions can be mentioned (Blade; Fright Night) the vampire as a monstrous terror inducing evil has become a rarity. And so we come to our little movie from the late 70's: Vampire is a terrific example of a vampire story. It does not make the titular character anything but an amoral, powerful and evil monster. And this is how I believe vampires should be portrayed and this is how I first imagined a vampire upon reading Stoker's novel (aside: it is one of the most scary novels I have ever read). The good guys are valiant and, even if over-matched for cunning and ruthlessness, make a great team that uses logic and good old detective work to track and ensnare their prey. The direction by Mr. Swackhamer puts on all the right moves to evoke dread and horror. He expertly uses brownish colour palettes to portray helplessness and doom and gloom. Steven Bochco's script is tight and involving with a plot that gallops relentlessly to a suspense-filled ending. The brooding presence of Jason Miller and the stalwartness of the Marshall character and a great turn by Richard Lynch who is in turn suave, menacing and evil all mesh perfectly. Yes, the movie is THAT good!! I read somewhere that Vampire was a failed pilot for a series that never came to be. Thank goodness for that. I doubt if a series could have sustained the tone of the original pilot, week in and week out. I mean consider what happened with Kolchak: The Night Stalker series. While interesting, the hourly episodes of that series could never equal the original movie set in Las Vegas.All in all the movie is a triumphant example of smart minds at work taking great care to craft an internally consistent and logical story that is both scary and thrilling. This movie ranks very highly among the films in this sub-genre of horror.I jealously guard my VHS off-air recording of this movie, hoping like the other reviewers for a DVD release. While I wait, I am looking forward to Guillermo Del Toro's TV series adaptation of his novel co-written with Chuck Hogan called The Strain. There are no genteel vampires in Toro's story: only nasty evil beings. And that my friends is what Vampires are!!. name of vampire movie I saw when little. I enjoyed this movie very much when I was a little girl, it was so erotic I din'd want the vampire to be killed at all... But the real reason I'm writing is because I would really appreciate some help to find the name of another vampire film I can't stop thinking about: all I remember about it is that is was in B&W (or maybe it was just my TV, I can't remember) I recall only two scenes: one, there was like a parade and there was this woman who looked very much like a nun, and the vampire grabbed her and sucked her blood inside of a car, and everyone who saw them laughed 'cause they thought they were making out. The other scene I remember is that this vampire (who wasn't attractive at all and looked very much like a mid 40's accountant with a trench coat) made a much needed cash by selling the paintings of the women he murdered. In fact in the scene I remember there was this old lady who was a fan of his art, and the painting she was purchasing was of a nude girl lying in a rock with a knife stabbed in her chest. Does anyone know this picture's name? Is it possible I only dreamed it? Thanks in advance Wendy. Scary,delightful actor (s). When I first saw this movie(Vampire) on TV some years ago, and have looked for it ever since, I was enthralled with Richard Lynch, his portrayal is 'right on' in this role..............now some of you may not agree with me, but I also put Rutger Hauer in a similar category, delightful to watch, downright scary in some of his roles,(Nighthawks) but the ultimate romantic, if given half a chance...........of course, my all-time favorite love story movie is Ladyhawke, so I admit to being a tad prejudiced.......I have seen Richard Lynch in a number of TV movies, series, etc, but have lost track of him over the recent years......there are also websites for Rutger Hauer where his fans can go to keep up with his movie roles, etc........He also is the founder of an organization that helps AIDS victims, mostly children, i believe.....called STARFISH. Its always nice to know that some of the actors today at least have some compassion for others less fortunate than themselves.. A Basic Beginner Vampire Movie. I do admit this movie is just a little boring, however it does have a slight taste of vampirism within it. Watch it! U might like it! Everyone has different tastes. I love vampire movies of all types so I like this movie & I wouldn't mind seeing this 1 on DVD someday. It just might be rather interesting if they added behind the scenes footage, the original trailer, cast & crew stuff etc. U can't write a movie off as bad material just because 1 person doesn't like it or think that it's boring. Well that's his or her opinion. U watch this movie & U decide if it's boring or not!!! That's my advice. Advice from a superior movie watcher!!!. No Fangs?. Slow place but great acting which makes this Vampire tale interesting and enjoyable to watch. Vampire 1979 had all of the classic vampire traits one would expect, except the fangs, considering of course one likes classic vampire mythology and not modern versions which in my opinion fail to do justice to vampires themselves. Come on, if someone told you they saw a vampire, would you believe them?. bad vampire movie. I can't believe that there are 10 people giving this c**p a 10. This is a very boring movie. This movie has the title vampire, so what would you expect: sharp teet, spooky eyes, good effects, gore and lots of blood. This movie has absolutely nothing of these things. If you wanne see this movie and your expecting something like "from dusk till dawn" or "near dark" or "the lost boys" -all fabulous vampire movies- then you'll be wrong and you will be watching a boring drama.. Above The Usual Schlock. Actually, this is an excellent, character driven horror movie made by the creators of Hill Street Blues, which aired 2 years later. Suffice it to say, you have Jason Miller ("The Exorcist")creating another of his too little seen angst ridden characters and E.G. Marshall as an old cop playing Van Helsing, teaming up in search of a vampire uprooted when a construction crew unwittingly release him. It has brains, style and a surprisingly literate script for a change. Again, you get character over MTV videos like those found in the almost unwatchable and campy Lost Boys.Thank God for 1970's movie-making! True, you have a ham of the grind house, Richard Lynch (good in "Scarecrows"), but he is better here as the vampire than you'd expect. At least it was not Henry Silva! For more of this quality, see "The Night Stalker" (a true classic, Dan Curtis' "Dracula" with a fine Jack Palance, and Bob Clark's "Death Dream". Oh yes--- throw in Soprano's creator David Chase's strange drive in flick "Grave of the Vampire" for good measure (not nearly as good though).Sadly, the only as yet released version of this film is a 12 year old VHS tape put out at SLP speed to boot! The above films are all on DVD---let's get this one out there already, huh? Shame on whoever has the rights and has been sitting on it.

tt0001915

A Tale of Two Cities

=== Book the First: Recalled to Life === Dickens's famous opening sentence introduces the universal approach of the book, the French Revolution, and the drama depicted within: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way—in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only. In 1775, a man flags down the nightly mail-coach on its route from London to Dover. The man is Jerry Cruncher, an employee of Tellson's Bank in London; he carries a message for Jarvis Lorry, a passenger and one of the bank's managers. Mr. Lorry sends Jerry back to deliver a cryptic response to the bank: "Recalled to Life." The message refers to Alexandre Manette, a French physician who has been released from the Bastille after an 18-year imprisonment. Once Mr. Lorry arrives in Dover, he meets with Dr. Manette's daughter Lucie and her governess, Miss Pross. Lucie has believed her father to be dead, and faints at the news that he is alive; Mr. Lorry takes her to France to reunite with him. In the Paris neighborhood of Saint Antoine, Dr. Manette has been given lodgings by his former servant Ernest Defarge and his wife Therese, owners of a wine shop. Mr. Lorry and Lucie find him in a small garret, where he spends much of his time making shoes—a skill he learned in prison, which he uses to distract himself from his thoughts, and which has become an obsession for him. He does not recognize Lucie at first but does eventually see the resemblance to her mother through her blue eyes and long golden hair, a strand of which he found on his sleeve when he was imprisoned. Mr. Lorry and Lucie take him back to England. === Book the Second: The Golden Thread === In 1780, French émigré Charles Darnay is on trial for treason against the British Crown. The key witnesses against him are two British spies, John Barsad and Roger Cly, who claim that Darnay gave information about British troops in North America to the French. Barsad states that he would recognize Darnay anywhere, at which point Darnay's defense counsel, Stryver, directs attention to Sydney Carton, a barrister present in the courtroom who looks almost identical to him. With Barsad's eyewitness testimony now discredited, Darnay is acquitted. In Paris, the hated and abusive Marquis St. Evrémonde orders his carriage driven recklessly fast through the crowded streets, hitting and killing the child of a peasant, Gaspard. The Marquis throws a coin to Gaspard to compensate him for his loss, and Defarge comforts the distraught father, having observed the incident. As the Marquis's coach drives off, the coin is flung back into his coach by an unknown hand, enraging the Marquis. Arriving at his country château, the marquis meets with his nephew and heir, Darnay. Out of disgust with his aristocratic family, Darnay has shed his real surname and adopted an anglicized version of his mother's maiden name, D'Aulnais. The following passage records the Marquis' principles of aristocratic superiority: "Repression is the only lasting philosophy. The dark deference of fear and slavery, my friend," observed the Marquis, "will keep the dogs obedient to the whip, as long as this roof," looking up to it, "shuts out the sky." That night, Gaspard, who followed the Marquis to his château by riding on the underside of the carriage, stabs and kills him in his sleep. Gaspard leaves a note on the knife saying, "Drive him fast to his tomb. This, from JACQUES." After nearly a year on the run, he is caught and hanged above the village well. In London, Darnay gets Dr. Manette's permission to wed Lucie; but Carton confesses his love to Lucie as well. Knowing she will not love him in return, Carton promises to "embrace any sacrifice for you and for those dear to you". Stryver, the barrister who defended Darnay and with whom Carton has a working relationship, considers proposing marriage to Lucie, but Mr. Lorry talks him out of the idea. On the morning of the marriage, Darnay reveals his real name and family lineage to Dr. Manette, a detail he had been asked to withhold until that day. In consequence, Dr. Manette reverts to his obsessive shoemaking after the couple leave for their honeymoon. He returns to sanity before their return, and the whole incident is kept secret from Lucie. Mr. Lorry and Miss Pross destroy the shoemaking bench and tools, which Dr. Manette had brought with him from Paris. As time passes in England, Lucie and Charles begin to raise a family, a son (who dies in childhood) and a daughter, little Lucie. Mr. Lorry finds a second home and a sort of family with the Darnays. Stryver marries a rich widow with three children and becomes even more insufferable as his ambitions begin to be realized. Carton, even though he seldom visits, is accepted as a close friend of the family and becomes a special favourite of little Lucie. In July 1789, the Defarges help to lead the storming of the Bastille, a symbol of royal tyranny. Defarge enters Dr. Manette's former cell, "One Hundred and Five, North Tower," and searches it thoroughly. Throughout the countryside, local officials and other representatives of the aristocracy are dragged from their homes to be killed, and the St. Evrémonde château is burned to the ground. In 1792, Mr. Lorry decides to travel to Paris to collect important documents from the Tellson's branch in that city and bring them to London for safekeeping against the chaos of the French Revolution. Darnay intercepts a letter written by Gabelle, one of his uncle's servants who has been imprisoned by the revolutionaries, pleading for the Marquis to help secure his release. Without telling his family or revealing his position as the new Marquis, Darnay sets out for Paris. === Book the Third: The Track of a Storm === Shortly after Darnay arrives in Paris, he is denounced for being an emigrated aristocrat from France and jailed in La Force Prison. Dr. Manette, Lucie, little Lucie, Jerry, and Miss Pross travel to Paris and meet Mr. Lorry to try to free Darnay. A year and three months pass, and Darnay is finally tried. Dr. Manette, viewed as a hero for his imprisonment in the Bastille, testifies on Darnay's behalf at his trial. Darnay is released, only to be arrested again later that day. A new trial begins on the following day, under new charges brought by the Defarges and a third individual who is soon revealed as Dr. Manette. He had written an account of his imprisonment at the hands of Darnay's father and hidden it in his cell; Defarge found it while searching the cell during the storming of the Bastille. While running errands with Jerry, Miss Pross is amazed to see her long-lost brother Solomon, but he does not want to be recognized in public. Carton suddenly steps forward from the shadows and identifies Solomon as Barsad, one of the spies who tried to frame Darnay for treason at his trial in 1780. Jerry remembers that he has seen Solomon with Cly, the other key witness at the trial and that Cly had faked his death to escape England. By threatening to denounce Solomon to the revolutionary tribunal as a Briton, Carton blackmails him into helping with a plan. At the tribunal, Defarge identifies Darnay as the nephew of the dead Marquis St. Evrémonde and reads Dr. Manette's letter. Defarge had learned Darnay's lineage from Solomon during the latter's visit to the wine shop several years earlier. The letter describes Dr. Manette's imprisonment at the hands of Darnay's father and uncle for trying to report their crimes against a peasant family. Darnay's uncle had become infatuated with a girl, whom he had kidnapped and raped; despite Dr. Manette's attempt to save her, she died. The uncle killed her husband by working him to death, and her father died from a heart attack on being informed of what had happened. Before he died defending the family honour, the brother of the raped peasant had hidden the last member of the family, his younger sister. The Evrémonde brothers imprisoned Dr. Manette after he refused their offer of a bribe to keep quiet. He concludes his letter by condemning the Evrémondes, "them and their descendants, to the last of their race." Dr. Manette is horrified, but he is not allowed to retract his statement. Darnay is sent to the Conciergerie and sentenced to be guillotined the next day. Carton wanders into the Defarges' wine shop, where he overhears Madame Defarge talking about her plans to have both Lucie and little Lucie condemned. Carton discovers that Madame Defarge was the surviving sister of the peasant family savaged by the Evrémondes. At night, when Dr. Manette returns, shattered after spending the day in many failed attempts to save Darnay's life, he falls into an obsessive search for his shoemaking implements. Carton urges Lorry to flee Paris with Lucie, her father, and Little Lucie, asking them to leave as soon as he joins them in the coach. Shortly before the executions are to begin, Solomon sneaks Carton into the prison for a visit with Darnay. The two men trade clothes, and Carton drugs Darnay and has Solomon carry him out. Carton has decided to be executed in his place and has given his own identification papers to Mr. Lorry to present on Darnay's behalf. Following Carton's earlier instructions, the family and Mr. Lorry flee to England with the unconscious Darnay, but not before receiving a note from Carton which allows them to pass the France border. Meanwhile, Madame Defarge, armed with a dagger and pistol, goes to the Manette residence, hoping to apprehend Lucie and little Lucie and bring them in for execution. However, the family is already gone and Miss Pross stays behind to confront and delay Madame Defarge. As the two women struggle, Madame Defarge's pistol discharges, killing her and causing Miss Pross to go permanently deaf from noise and shock. The novel concludes with the guillotining of Carton. As he is waiting to board the tumbril, he is approached by a seamstress, also condemned to death, who mistakes him for Darnay (with whom she had been imprisoned earlier) but realizes the truth once she sees him at close range. Awed by his unselfish courage and sacrifice, she asks to stay close to him and he agrees. Upon their arrival at the guillotine, Carton comforts her, telling her that their ends will be quick but that there is no Time or Trouble "in the better land where ... [they] will be mercifully sheltered", and she is able to meet her death in peace. Carton's unspoken last thoughts are prophetic: I see Barsad, and Cly, Defarge, The Vengeance [a lieutenant of Madame Defarge], the Juryman, the Judge, long ranks of the new oppressors who have risen on the destruction of the old, perishing by this retributive instrument, before it shall cease out of its present use. I see a beautiful city and a brilliant people rising from this abyss, and, in their struggles to be truly free, in their triumphs and defeats, through long years to come, I see the evil of this time and of the previous time of which this is the natural birth, gradually making expiation for itself and wearing out. I see the lives for which I lay down my life, peaceful, useful, prosperous and happy, in that England which I shall see no more. I see Her with a child upon her bosom, who bears my name. I see her father, aged and bent, but otherwise restored, and faithful to all men in his healing office, and at peace. I see the good old man [Mr. Lorry], so long their friend, in ten years' time enriching them with all he has, and passing tranquilly to his reward. I see that I hold a sanctuary in their hearts, and in the hearts of their descendants, generations hence. I see her, an old woman, weeping for me on the anniversary of this day. I see her and her husband, their course done, lying side by side in their last earthly bed, and I know that each was not more honoured and held sacred in the other's soul, than I was in the souls of both. I see that child who lay upon her bosom and who bore my name, a man winning his way up in that path of life which once was mine. I see him winning it so well, that my name is made illustrious there by the light of his. I see the blots I threw upon it, faded away. I see him, fore-most of just judges and honoured men, bringing a boy of my name, with a forehead that I know and golden hair, to this place—then fair to look upon, with not a trace of this day's disfigurement—and I hear him tell the child my story, with a tender and a faltering voice. It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.

romantic

train

wikipedia

Highlights. While it is impossible to do justice to Dickens' sprawling novel in 20 minutes, Vitagraph makes a stab at it with this series of scenes in little more than tableaux format. Good costumes, good backgrounds and excellent actors do their best, but stick with the 1935 version directed by Jack Conway.While this would seem to be, from the cast list, an all-star version -- including a very young Mabel Normand -- you should realize Vitagraph worked its actors hard -- starring in one picture, helping to fill out a crowd scene in the next. Still, you might want to play "spot the star" with this one.. "A Tale of Two Cities"...in 21 minutes!!!. This very early film version of Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities" is pretty bad considering they only took 21 minutes to tell the story, though you have to put it in context. For 1911, this is actually a full-length story and no one yet made 90-120 minute films. Versions of other stories such as "Frankenstein" were likewise extremely short and confusing--and best watched by folks who already knew the stories. Additionally, seeing obviously painted backgrounds was the norm for the day and all the nice costumes and attempts to make it look good actually would indicate that this was a prestige film...with a higher than usual budget! So, don't be too quick to dismiss this picture...it's really not that bad considering.If you want to see the film, it's currently on YouTube and would best be watched on your small computer screen and not on a television using a BlueRay player because in the latter case, the film is very blurry and the intertitle cards are hard to read.. The first of a series of three reels adequately reproducing Dickens' favorite story. It is unnecessary to go over the story. Probably most who will see the picture know its main features at least. The first reel takes the audience up to seizure of the peasant girl and the killing of her brother, her death, the visit to Dr. Manette to be a party to the crime, which results in his arrest and imprisonment in the Bastille and the consequent sufferings in a dungeon. The story is complete in itself, but the other two reels which go with it complete the story as Dickens wrote it. Probably most readers have formed some conception of the appearance of the different characters. In this picture they undoubtedly have an adequate reproduction of the story, with the principal personages faithfully depicted. The staging is little short of sumptuous. The staging is little short of sumptuous. There is shown a care in the attention to details which stamps the picture as an unusually faithful reproduction and affords opportunity for those who have read and loved Dickens in the books to see his story move before them, much, perhaps, as it moved before him during its composition. Without being an expert upon Dickens, it seems safe to say that this production of one of his most famous stories will go down in motion picture history as one of the most notable of photoplay productions of the beginning of the year. - The Moving Picture World, March 4, 1911The second part of the three reel release of this great story. This film introduces Lucy, Sidney Carton, the hero of the tale, De Farge and Darnay. The scene changes from the turbulence of Paris to the quiet, homelike attractions of London. The complications which beset these characters are faithfully reproduced. Of course, it must be understood that it is impossible to reproduce everything that is described in the book, but the selections have been made with care, and are indicative of a thorough understanding of the necessities of the story. The main features are sufficiently emphasized to serve as a guide in carrying the audience along, and their knowledge of the story itself will supply any deficiencies. Toward the last there are rumblings from Paris, with its unrest and turbulence, but the main feature of the picture is the quiet of the homes of London and the development of a portion of the love story which is included. It seems safe to say that those who see this film, in conjunction with the one which was released before, and the one to follow, will acquire a new impression of Dickens and will appreciate more fully than ever before the importance of the motion picture as showing the beauties of a good story. Managers will do well if they use these films together, though each one tells a story by itself, which has its interest. - The Moving Picture World, March 11, 1911The third and closing film in this series of remarkable reproductions. This picture takes the audience to Paris and shows them the mob at work destroying property and murdering Royalists and all suspected of being in sympathy with them. The story is followed closely in the main, the principal scenes being shown in strong contrast to the quiet, homelike scenes of the former film. It is here that Carton displays the act of heroism which will forever make him one of the greatest characters in fiction, the sacrifice of his life to save Darnay, who has been arrested and imprisoned because he is a relative of a Royalist, and will ultimately suffer upon the guillotine. The scene when the condemned prisoners are going to the guillotine in the tumbrel cart, and Carton comforts the poor little seamstress condemned to die with him, is dramatic, and holds the attention so closely that the audience sits with tense nerves throughout the scene. But, after all, even though the turbulence of the murderous mob constitutes the theme of the picture, the closing scenes, where Carton dies for his friend lifts it above the ordinary level and makes it one of the greatest pictures of the month. The three should be shown in conjunction. In that way the story unfolds itself in consecutive order, and the connection is clearly perceived. The Vitagraph people have performed a notable achievement in presenting this story in such excellent form. It is a year when Dickens is being studied and considered more than for a long time, and such a contribution as this is a help, not alone to students of Dickens, but to the thousands who have, for one reason or another, perhaps, lost sight of his marvelous faculty for storytelling. - The Moving Picture World, March 11, 1911. " Impressive 1911 A Tale Of Two Cities ". This is really a surprisingly good production by the Vitagraph to bring the Charles Dickens 1859 novel, A Tale of Two Cities to life on film for early movie goers. A very impressive cast of film performers from the early silent era that includes John Bunny, Maurice Costello, Florence Turner, Norma Talmadge, Anitia Stewart, Lillian Walker and a very young Mabel Normand all performing finely in period costumes. The story is told with a rapid succession of scenes that are amazingly well paced and the authentic looking back-grounds along with the many extra players, all helps to provide the appropriate atmosphere. Very historically interesting and entertaining, this 1911 film is great for silent film enthusiasts who appreciate the art of early silent cinema.. Speeds by at the rate of knots, but it is TINTED!. This film originally ran about 36 minutes. I say "about" because in 1911, the actual running time of the movie's original three reels in cinemas depended upon the speed of the projectionist – and most projectionists took it upon themselves to crank slowly through the scenes they liked and speed up the less interesting passages. The demands of the theatre's orchestra or pianist also had to be considered – along with the cinema's manager or proprietor who wanted to squeeze in as many screenings per day as possible. When the 16mm rights were acquired by Kodak, it was mercilessly condensed to two spools running a total of 21 or 22 minutes. However, this Kodascope cutdown did retain all the movie's original tints, and it's certainly a treat to see all these colored tints preserved on the Grapevine DVD disc, even though the scenes now flash by at such a speed, it would be hard for a party of Martians who were unfamiliar with Dickens to follow the plot. We can all do that okay, but the scenes flash by so fast, it's hard to appreciate all the good work of actors like Maurice Costello's Carton, Florence Turner's Lucie Manette and William Shea's Jarvis Lorry, let alone Norma Talmadge's girl on the tumbrel. This tinted Kodascope cutdown is now available on an excellent Grapevine DVD, on the same disc as the 1917 version.

tt0084719

Lo squartatore di New York

An old man is walking his dog in New York City when the dog retrieves a decomposed human hand. It is identified by the police as belonging to Ann-Lynne, a local prostitute. Lieutenant Fred Williams (Jack Hedley), the burned-out police detective investigating the murder, interviews the young woman's nosy and obnoxious landlady, Mrs. Weissburger (Babette New), who tells him that during her daily spying and eavesdropping on her tenants, she overheard the girl last week over the phone arranging to meet a man who spoke with a strange, duck-like voice. Meanwhile, a young woman (Cinzia de Ponti) rides her bicycle down Manhattan to the Staten Island Ferry at Battery Park. After an altercation with a boorish motorist driving a red Volkswagen, whose car she accidentally scratched riding her bicycle, she rides onto the boat with the man yelling misogynist slurs at her. When the ferry is underway, the young woman sneaks into the car-bay and begins vandalizing the man's car, but she is interrupted by an unseen figure. Introducing herself as Rosie, she tries to engage the man in a conversation. But the figure adopts a grotesque 'Donald Duck' voice and brutally murders her with a switchblade, slashing open her right breast and stabbing in the lower abdomen and disemboweling her, then leaving her body to be discovered when the ferry docks at Staten Island. At the morgue, Lt. Williams talks to Barry Jones the pathologist (Giordano Falzoni), who believes he recognizes the "style" of the killing and links it to Ann-Lynne, as well as a similar case in Harlem the previous month. Having informed the press that a serial killer is at large, Williams is visited at the station by New York's chief of police (Lucio Fulci). Williams' skeptical superior tells him not to make any further public announcements about the case to avoid starting a city-wide panic. Soon after the police chief leaves, Williams is notified that a man "sounding like a duck" phoned while he was out at the press conference wanting to speak with him. Williams travels to Columbia University where he meets with a brilliant young psychotherapy professor named Dr. Paul Davis (Paolo Malco) for help in creating a profile of the killer. That night in New York's red-light district, Jane Lodge (Alexandra Delli Colli), an attractive, well-dressed woman in a chic raincoat and derby hat, attends a live sex show and records the simulated moans and groans of the two performers with a pocket tape recorder. A scruffy, dangerous looking man (Howard Ross), with two fingers missing from his right hand and sitting in the same row with her, observes what she is doing. After the show has ended, the female performer (Zora Kerova) retires backstage to her dressing room only to find it totally dark. Hearing a noise, she opens a closet door and is brutally attacked by the maniac, who disembowels her by shoving a broken and jagged liquor bottle from her crotch to her abdomen. Later that night, at the home of Kitty (Daniela Doria), a prostitute regularly visited by Williams, he receives a taunting phone call from the duck-voiced killer saying that he has killed again. The next day, Jane shows her latest tape recording to her husband Dr. Lodge (Laurence Welles), who has agreed to support their open-marriage. Jane goes to a bar in a rough neighborhood where she's approached by two Hispanic bar punks who proceed to fondle and sexually humiliate her right at the bar. After being taken advantage of, the emotionally troubled Jane runs out and drives away. That night, Fay Majors (Almanta Keller), a casually dressed young woman is riding alone on a late-night subway train when she gets menaced by the same ominous man from the live sex theater. Fleeing from the perceived threat, she runs off the train, through the deserted subway station, and onto the street where she gets attacked in a dark alley by the quacking maniac, who brutally stabs her in the leg and slashes her hands and arms as she tries to defend herself. Limping away, Fay stumbles through a doorway into a seedy apartment building where she closes and locks the door behind her so the killer will not follow. Fay passes out from the loss of blood, and then realty and illusion blur: Fay is sitting alone in a dark movie theater watching cartoons when she attacked and killed by a different, handsome young man who slashes her neck with a straight razor. Fay wakes up in the hospital the morning after when the same man visits her in her room. The man is revealed to be her physicist boyfriend Peter Bunch (Andrew Painter), who is relieved that she has survived the attack. Lt. Williams and Dr. Davis visit Fay where she tells them about her attacker who was missing two fingers from his right hand. Williams and Davis both conclude that this is the killer since all forensic evidence points to the killer being left-handed. Somewhere in night-time New York, the owner of his mutilated right hand picks up Jane and takes her to a sleazy hotel room for bondage sex. He ties up the semi-nude woman to the bed. The S&M game she has willingly begun turns nasty when he begins to beat her. Then the man turns up the radio loud while it plays Berto Pisano's "Tic nervoso" and makes a muttered phone-call, describing the bound woman to someone on the other line as "she's right up your perverted alley. " A little later, while the man sleeps, Jane overhears a radio DJ describing the killer, whom the press has now dubbed, 'the New York Ripper' and missing two fingers from his right hand. Jane carefully and quietly unties herself from the bed and flees into the hotel hallway, only to be killed by the real New York Ripper who stabs her to death just as she tries to make for the exit at the end of the hall. Williams arrives at the scene of the crime where the police find Jane's tape recordings of the sex shows and of her 'master. ' Learning from witnesses, Williams discovers that the identity of the man is Mickey Scellenda, a Greek immigrant with a history of sexual assault and drug abuse. Williams and the police step up the search for Scellenda after raiding his apartment, finding photographs of most of the Ripper victims and huge stashes of pornography and drug paraphernalia. Williams also pays a visit to Dr. Lodge to inform him of his wife's murder. Dr. Lodge tearfully defends his open marriage which gets him a sneering response from the moralistic Williams. Meanwhile, Dr. Davis begins to express doubt to the killer's identity for Mickey Scellenda is only a petty criminal with a low intelligence quotient, not the high intelligence that Davis has established in profiling the New York Ripper. Davis then buys a gay porn magazine at a local newsstand (revealing his repressed homosexuality), and pays a visit to Peter and Fay at their house to ask them more questions about Fay's experience. Something about their story arouses his professional suspicious. That evening, after Peter goes out, Fay is attacked in their house by Scellenda who breaks in trying to kill her. But she is saved when Peter returns, and the man flees. A few days later, Williams gets another taunting phone call from the New York Ripper, who wants to "dedicate a murder" to him. Williams and the police put a trace on the line and race to the location, only to find that the killer has set up a two-way radio to a remote phone booth, while he is presently in the home of Kitty, the young prostitute favored by Williams, brutally torturing her by slowly applying a razorblade to her bare chest and her face. Williams races to Kitty's apartment, but is too late as the killer has fled, leaving behind Kitty's horribly maimed corpse to be discovered. Some time later, the dead body of Mickey Scellenda is found having committed suicide from self-suffocation. When Dr. Barry Jones informs Williams that Scellenda was dead for the last eight days, four days before Kitty's murder, Williams finally realizes that they have been tailing the wrong man. Williams relays this to Professor Davis, who is both delighted and disappointed with the news. Davis explains that with Scellenda eliminated as a suspect, his original idea to the killer's identity is confirmed; a misogynist psychopath who used Scellenda to throw the police off his trail. Fay is shown visiting a hospital where Peter has a child from a previous marriage, a little girl named Suzy, who is dying from a rare bone disorder that has led to the amputation of her left arm and right leg. Visiting the hospital, Williams and Davis observe little Suzy in her hospital bed and decide to race over to Peter and Fay's place to arrest both of them. At Peter and Fay's house, one of them gets a phone call from a duck-voiced person, while the other one overhears. When Peter goes into the kitchen for dinner, Fay has disappeared. Going upstairs to Suzy's bedroom, Fay jumps out of the darkness at Peter while stabbing him with a kitchen knife. Suddenly, Peter rises, quacking like a duck, and struggles with Fay in which they both tumble down the stairs. Just as Peter grabs the knife away from Fay and about to stab her, Williams runs in and literally blasts Peter's face off with one shot from his gun. In the ambulance, Davis explains to Fay her deranged boyfriend's motivation for killing. His hatred of sexually active women stemmed from bitterness at the cruel blow fate had dealt his young daughter, who will never enjoy the freedoms of his despised victims. After leaving the scene, the phone in the now-deserted house rings again. In her hospital bed, little Suzy is calling out for her father, pleading to him to answer her call, as her voice is drowned out beneath the indifferent traffic of the city.

dark, grindhouse film, cruelty, murder, cult, horror, violence, suspenseful, sadist

train

wikipedia

Simply put, The New York Ripper is the story of a mad killer with a penchant for slashing young woman and harassing the police with his duck-like voice. Second, Gialli often ask the viewer to suspend reality to accept various plot points, but the final scenes in The New York Ripper cross the line into ridiculousness and really hurt the overall film. The film's plot is simple: a psychopath who talks like a duck is killing beautiful young women in New York City in vicious ways. At the same time, the one woman to survive the killer's attack, track star Fay Majors (Almanta Keller), finds that her life remains in peril.THE NEW YORK RIPPER is unapologetically sleazy. MANIAC is a character study horror film, while THE NEW YORK RIPPER is a mystery thriller, much like Brian DePalma's DRESSED TO KILL(1980).Lastly, I must say that the recently released, uncut, widescreen version of THE NEW YORK RIPPER is a major improvement over the old video version. Obviously not Lucio Fulci´s best ("The Beyond" still holds the top, followed up by "Zombi 2"!), but nevertheless "The New York Ripper" is another gorefest that delights the fans and despairs the censors (Actually this flick is banned in many countries like Australia, the U.K., Germany or Norway...)! Endowed with some nudity (Maybe the sleaziest flick Fulci ever directed...) and elements from Giallo this gem has got some really unforgettable moments: I like the scene when Alexandra Delli Colli (She plays a woman which is permanently on the search for sexual adventures...) gets stimulated by two Latino-boys in a billiard bar and the take where wonderful Zora Kerova ("Cannibal Ferox") was maltreaten by bottle is pretty gut-wrenching! Upon going to all the effort to import this film to my native shores (Australia)I must certainly say that everything i was expecting and more was recieved from this film...(Not that this is positive upon wanting to see the film purely for it's notoriety)What i was hoping (But not keeping my fingers crossed) was to see a violent,and well made "Giallo" with all the trademark trimmings that give them the artistique upper hand over most American horror films,What i was met with in terms of "more" was an incredibly unsettling film from the depiction of the extreme gore and purely downright cruel actions shown in this film.I can understand now why this film had so much trouble passing Australian Censors (Which believe it or not,are rather lenient).For a horror fan dedicated to seeing all the nasties around,this certainly topped the list and the NASTIEST film in terms of Physical grue,It oversteps the line from entertainment value just to extreme exploitation...I had to watch a feel good film straight after before going to sleep that night,to flush the images this film provided,and for me,that is making a bold statement.Normally i would expand a little further,but i really wish not to think about this film any further.Proceed with extreme caution,You have been warned.. Lucio Fulci has filmed vicious scenes of violence before but New York Ripper takes the cake in violent imagery. The bleak nature of New York Ripper(1982) makes Lucio Fulci's gothic films look happy go lucky. Dr. Davis comes out in the film as a narcissist who's too please with his intellect.What turned off even some of the Lucio Fulci admirers was the realistic look of New York Ripper's violent scenes. Lucio Fulci's "The New York Ripper"(1982)is a very sleazy and nasty thriller filled with sadistic sexual violence and gore.A sicko killer is on the loose in New York City.He enjoys slicing up young and beautiful women,preferably naked ones.He also talks like a duck and likes to taunt police.Lieutant Williams(Jack Hedley)tries to find him.Like all good gialli "The New York Ripper" is an uniquely crafted mystery with plenty of red herrings.The film is extremely brutal-women are graphically gutted,Zora Kerova("Cannibal Ferox")has a broken bottle rammed into her vagina,another woman has her erect nipple,then eye slowly slashed by a razor blade.It also features more sex and sleaze than any other Fulci film I can recall for example one scene takes place in a 42nd Street strip club,where a man and woman engage in live sex on stage in front of an audience.All in all "The New York Ripper" is a cult classic and a must-see for fans of Italian giallos.So if you liked this one I'd recommend "Giallo a Venezia","The Killer Is Still Among Us","Born for Hell","House on the Edge of the Park","Maniac","Terror Express" and other nasty movies from the golden times of exploitation!. The emphasis on gore and sleaze creates an image of New York as a Hell on Earth that makes TAXI DRIVER look positively staid, and Fulci uses the story to make some harsh comments on American life. If it walks like a duck, and talks like a duck, it may be a homicidal manic that has it in for beautiful women.Fulci certainly raised the Giallo bar with this film, which is, to say the least, realistic and intense.There is a lot of blood as the ripper plies his misogynistic game to assuage his guilt.One gets a good look at 1980s Times Square and all it's sleaze. It's not actually a good film, the killer sounds like donald duck, but as far as 'Extreme cinema' goes this is up there with 'Cannibal Holocaust'. "The New York Ripper" is one of the best Fulci films ever.**SPOILERS**Discovering a gruesome murder, Lt. Fred Williams, (Jack Hedley) is shocked to find as graphic killing done when assigned to the case. Possibly the nastiest and most vicious of all of Lucio Fulci's movies, this sadistic giallo not only features some truly unsettling scenes of explicit gore, but also manages to tell a rather involving and immoral tale that perfectly captures the sleazy vibe of New York in the early 80s.Jack Hedley plays Lt. Fred Williams, a policeman heading the search for the psycho responsible for a spate of bloody murders. Teaming up with a genius psychoanalyst, he attempts to form a profile of the killer that will help him solve the case before too many more mutilated bodies are discovered.Totally nauseating, unashamedly misogynistic, and completely unmissable if you're fond of graphic on screen bloodletting, this film is perfect viewing for anyone who found the likes of House by the Cemetery, City of the Living Dead and Zombie 2 a little too tame.Complete with umpteen raunchy sex scenes (including bondage and a 42nd Street live sex-show), razor blade eyeball mutilation and nipple slashing, a broken bottle attack, and numerous stabbings and slicings with a nasty stiletto blade, The New York Ripper should satisfy even the most hardened of gore-hound's blood-lust, whilst also offering them a rather nifty mystery to solve.Admittedly, the pace is occasionally a little slow, but with all of the gratuitous gore and nudity, and a crazy villain who talks like a duck, it's easy to forgive the odd lull in the action.. Way more violent than most slasher flicks, and also full of rather explicit sex and nudity, this stunning horror thriller was definitely not made for the weak at heart.Lt. Frank Williams (Jack Hedley) investigates the bloody deeds of a serial killer of women, who slashes his victims in exceptionally gruesome ways. Knowing that he won't make much progress by himself, he asks Dr Paul Davis (Paolo Malco), a psychiatrist and chess enthusiast, for his help with the investigation.Arguably Fulci's most brutal movie, "The New York Ripper" is a stunning and disturbing horror experience. I also loved that the killer talks like Donald Duck, that makes the whole movie a lot creepier.All things considered, "The New York Ripper" is a tantalizing slasher flick, shocking and nasty as it gets. This is arguably Fulci's most violent and disturbing flick, and although it is not his best film, "Lo Squartatore Di New York" is a stunning horror thriller and a good and original movie. In fact, New York Ripper may be Fulci's goriest work ever but since it ranks so low on the totem pole with the fans, you never see articles prasing it's effects like you would with Zombie or City of the Living Dead. It is nearly impossible to bring up 'Lucio Fulci' and 'giallo' without also bringing up Dario Argento; and while some will claim that Argento is the go-to-guy for stylish thrillers splashed with deliberate, often ostentatious uses of Technicolor, I am of the opinion that Fulci had the better stories (and sense of realism)."The New York Ripper" strikes the same hostile notes of urban squalor that William Friedkin mined in his much-vilified 1980 effort, "Cruising"; only instead of a serial killer stalking patrons of the leather scene, Fulci has his slasher mutilating beautiful women in creatively gruesome ways (it is saying something that the film is still effective 25 years later). Along the way, we're treated to the specter of 42nd Street, live sex shows, kinky situations (including a suspenseful sequence where a woman bound to a bed escapes the alleged killer sleeping next to her), and an onslaught of brutality; Fulci has never been bashful when it comes to gore, and one can imagine his own demons being exorcised with each violent act portrayed in this film. Depending on your personal taste, "The New York Ripper" may be the kind of film that requires a shower after watching...and I mean that in the best possible way. Plot is weak and acting is even weaker...but it doesn't matter that much because this is Lucio Fulci's movie =) They prob'ly tried to put some kind of humor to this mad and macabre flick by using "donald duck voice" as the killer's voice. In The New York Ripper Fulci brings all of the sex and violence to the table that made his zombie films so famous. Effective giallo from the master Fulci where he certainly had the most cruel and nasty gore scenes ever,the picture badly reach around fifteen minutes already have three bodies on the morgue,the duck appears soon and many clues are placed in many directions to bewilder the audience's nose,the movie shown us a portrait of a dirty New York in early 80',many scenes in dowtown with sin's streets with a lot the theatres and nightclubs living for sex miss on sighting...true a time machine!!Resume:First watch: 2018 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7. Another Fulci exploitation classic, The New York Ripper is possibly the most depraved film the Italian horror maestro ever made. It's difficult to watch at times but the film is well acted and nicely directed with a funky music score, there is scenes of realistic brutality and gore such as the infamous nipple razor torture sequence which will make people cringe with fear more then the one in "Ichi The Killer". The movie offers a sleazy atmosphere to it with it's sex and violence use as it's perhaps maybe too offensive for some people but it's worth a look for fans of nasty slasher and gore flicks but not for the faint of heart.Also recommended: "The Untold Story", "Ichi The Killer", "City of the Living Dead", "Demons", "Re-Animator", "Hostel 1 & 2", "Se7en", "Inside", "Tenebre", "Maniac (1980)", "Saw Series", "Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky", "Manhunter", "Silence of the Lambs", "Hannibal", "Captivity", "The Hills Have Eyes (1977 and 2006)", "The Last House on The Left (1972 and 2009)", "Frontier(s)", "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer", "Pieces", "The Toxic Avenger", "House By The Cemetery", "Untracable", "Suspiria", "Torso", "Final Destination Series", "Men Behind The Sun", "Cannibal Ferox", "Perfect Blue", "Bloodsucking Freaks", "The Driller Killer", "Cannibal Holocaust", "From Hell", "A Nightmare on Elm Street", "Friday The 13th series plus 2009 version", "Freddy Vs. Jason", "Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers", "Blood Diner", "Opera", "Mother of Tears", "Inferno", "Nightmare (1981 a.k.a. BloodSplash and Nightmare in a Damaged Brain)", "Wrong Turn 1 & 2", "Phenomena", "House of 1000 Corpses", "The Devil's Rejects", "Halloween (1978 and Rob Zombie 2007)", "Borderland", "Midnight Meat Train", "Hellraiser 1 & 2", "The Toolbox Murders (1978 and 2004)", "Candyman", "American Psycho", "Deep Red", and "The Beyond".. (There are Spoilers) Stomach cunning slasher movie with one of the most shocking and graphic murder scenes ever put on film about a serial killer on the loose in the Big Apple taunting the police with duck calls and daring them to catch him.With his first victim found,in pieces, under the Manhattan Bridge by someone walking his dog the killer runs up a score of four victims with his only mistake being Fay Majors, Almanta Suska, who got away from him in a deserted Brooklyn subway station. "New York Ripper" is Fulci's most extreme, nasty and voyeuristic movie. A woman hits the door of a car with her bike and apologizes by saying, "I'm sorry, I was thinking of Boston." A man reveals why he's so smart by admitting: "I eat oodles of carrots." And the killer went mad because, in the professional words of a doctor, "it was the duck that snapped in his brain." This film alternates between revelling in sleaze and the upper limits of graphic violence, and playing out some of the funniest dialogue scenes this side of "Troll 2." My favorite was the anti-American speech one character stops the film to give about how "if you're not the best in America, you're nothing!" In reality only about 10 minutes were shot in NY, the rest in reliable old Cinecitta. And like my fellow commentators I have absolutely no idea why Fulci thought a killer who uses a Donald Duck voice would be scary, but it isn't, and in fact is one of the funniest things I've ever seen, no doubt robbing the Zucker Bros of a good idea for a future horror spoof. (Carrie 2 paid homage to it in one scene BTW.) Once upon a time in a very good film Fulci warned us not to torture ducklings, presumably because they'd end up as adult killer-ducks in hilariously awful movies like this.. I don't even go for murder mysteries usually but I really loved the way Lucio directed something so raw and gripping that was nothing like his more supernatural zombie movies, but was just a simple and straightforward no-holds barred murder romp set in early eighties great old scarier New York about a very jaded, crusty old detective and a cocky young psychoanalyst working to discover the identity of a psychotic butcherer of beautiful women who has begun terrorising the city, and there are a few obvious red herrings thrown in along the way until the bizarre truth is finally revealed! Also there's the duck thing which I could definitely see putting some people right off the movie, but the way I see it if nothing else it certainly grabs you, it's so disarmingly bizarre that it somehow makes the violence more disturbing, so to me the toon-voiced killer worked. It has a surprisingly well developed plot, decent acting, very attractive women, trashy New York locations, gratuitous sex, nudity, deeply disturbing gore, and a very unsettling killer who happens to sound like Donald Duck. The most infamous film of Lucio Fulci (at least in the UK that is) The New York Ripper is also one of his best. New York Ripper is a great chunk of Fulci and a competent horror film. The "plot" is as follows: A killer who talks like a duck is on the loose in New York City, killing many people (especially prostitutes) in extremely violent ways. Fulci is one of the most inventive and most talented horror directors to ever pick up a camera, and I won't hear otherwise.The movie is filmed on location in New York City and it follows the escapades of an intelligent killer that is murdering the lady inhabitants of that city. Fulci's direction for The New York Ripper is fantastic, and it's maybe the best direction he's ever given a film. Even though we don't know, or even care for a lot of the characters that are in the firing line; the tension is still there, and that is testament to Fulci's direction.The New York Ripper is by no means a 'nice' film, but that doesn't hinder it from being a very good one. A burned-out New York police detective (Jack Hedley) teams up with a college psychoanalyst (Paolo Malco) to track down a vicious serial killer randomly stalking and killing various young women around the city.The film gets criticized for its sex and so-called misogyny. Even though Lucio Fulci was not as great as for instance Dario Argento is, he has made his fair slash of good and enjoyable Italian thriller/horror flicks, better known as giallo movies. I GIVE LUCIO FULCI'S THE NEW YORK RIPPER TWO STARS JUST BECAUSE I ENJOY THE GORE.. What makes this psycho different is that he talks with a duck's voice but after letting one victim escape, the police have a good idea who is doing the slashing.The giallo genre offered up quite a few bloody and graphic movies but Lucio Fulci's THE NEW YORK RIPPER is without question that most vile, disgusting, sexually perverted and notorious of them all. With that said, not too many people come to any Fulci film for the story but what also helps is the scope cinematography that perfectly captures the dirtiness of New York City. I can't quite say yet after seeing only three Lucio Fulci films (the other two being Zombi 2, which was good though far from the great cult status many claim, and Zombie which was about as close to awful as a zombie movie can get) if he's really all that much of a terrific director like I've heard at times. But if The New York Ripper does reveal anything it's that Fulci has a kind of twisted grasp of how to do a serial killer thriller that comes off a little like Dario Argento done for the grindhouse. I preferred Maniac and Tenebrae, and indeed those 2 films make an interesting double bill....I will watch New York Ripper again but I don't think I'll like it any more than I do now...a shame really.....

tt0084234

The Last American Virgin

The plot closely follows the original Israeli film Eskimo Limon (Lemon Popsicle), and revolves around protagonist Gary (Lawrence Monoson), a typical high school student in early 1980s Los Angeles, and his friends Rick (Steve Antin), the slick ladies' man, and David (Joe Rubbo). Most of the plot involves their numerous attempts to have sex, which are usually successful for Rick and David, but rarely for Gary. Early in the film the three boys pick up three girls with the promise of cocaine (instead they use Sweet'n Low). They go over to Gary's house where he gets stuck with the homely and overweight Millie, a friend of the other two more attractive girls. But their party is interrupted when Gary's parents return home and pandemonium ensues. A love triangle develops between Gary, Rick and Karen (Diane Franklin). Karen is a beautiful transfer student to their school who is a virgin that Rick is determined to deflower. One day Gary delivers pizza to Carmela (Louisa Moritz), a sexy Latina woman whose sailor boyfriend is never home, and she tells him she wants more than just pizza. Being too afraid to follow up on it, he goes away and convinces his friends to go along with him. They drop by her home using the pretext they were nearby on a pizza delivery and decided to bring her over some extra pizzas. She lets them in, puts on music and performs a sexy dance routine, to the delight of the boys. She promptly fornicates with Rick and David, but her boyfriend Paco returns home just as Gary is about to have his turn, prompting them to flee. Eventually, Rick gets Karen pregnant after they have sex only once, and he leaves her. Gary decides to help Karen pay for her abortion by selling most of his possessions and borrowing money from his boss. After the abortion, Gary and Karen spend the remainder of the weekend alone together in Gary's grandmother's house. While nursing her back to health, Gary tells Karen that he sincerely loves her. Karen appears to reciprocate and they both share a tender kiss. Karen invites Gary to her 18th birthday party the following week. Gary scrapes up a few more dollars and buys Karen a gold locket for her birthday. When Gary arrives at the party, his dreams of a lasting romance with Karen are shattered when he sees Karen making out with Rick. Despite what Rick had put Karen through, she apparently decided to take him back. Gary angrily leaves the party without saying a word to either of them, taking Karen's gift with him. Tears streaming down his face, Gary drives home alone, emotionally broken and defeated.

tragedy, cult, adult comedy, romantic

train

wikipedia

I think after a minute of watching the credits roll he just sort of whimpered "Oh dude....." It goes from dumb 80's teen sex comedy to nihilistic realism so quickly that it catches you off guard. At that time filmgoers were deluged with nothing but mad slasher films and teen sex comedies. Today, after almost two years of prodding from a very close friend, I watched "The Last American Virgin." My feelings are extremely mixed but I must admit there are things I haven't been able to stop thinking about. Suddenly the attempt at madcap humor is replaced by real events and real emotions and "The Last American Virgin" turns into a very special movie.Towards the end our main character finally professes his love to the girl in what may be the best scene ever done in this type of movie. If only he had made a stronger first half with less comedy and more dealings with real life issues and this film would have been a classic.I haven't yet mentioned the soundtrack. Journey's "Open Arms" is played to great effect in the scene when the main character finally spills his guts to the woman of his dreams.I have never seen this film played on cable nor do I recall it being on DVD. They'll no doubt be highly amused by the silliness of the first half (though the nudity might turn off concerned parents), but then they will experience learned lessons in the second half that, if they have yet to go through, most likely will in one form or another.So the final verdict is a terrific final 40 minutes is buried in an average at best teen sex film of the first 60 minutes. Also, there was a surprising amount of male nudity.Then the movie, about halfway through, takes a sudden dramatic turn as one of the boys (winningly played by Lawrence Monoson) falls in love with a girl. And it has a real heart-breaking ending.I'm giving this a 10 because this is probably one of the best teen sex comedy/dramas ever made. Story is about a high school virgin named Gary (Lawrence Monoson) who works at a pizza place as a delivery boy and he hangs out with his friends David (Joe Rubbo) and Rick (Steve Antin). Gary notices Karen (Diane Franklin) who is the new girl in school and one morning he gives her a ride and by this time he is totally in love. No matter how nice you are you don't necessarily get the girl.This film was directed by Boaz Davidson who would go on to be a pretty competent action film director and he did two things right with this movie. Secondly, he had the film end with young Gary without Karen and I think the males in the audience can relate to being screwed over no matter how hard you try and win a girls heart. Like "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" this has a very good soundtrack and the songs being played reflect what is going on in the story. What looks like a ho-hum Porky's rip-off turns out to be quite a touching film about being young and in love.The story concerns three friends, Gary, Ricky and David, who spend their after school hours looking for sex. When a new girl arrives in town Gary falls head over heels in love with her.The film goes from being a sleazy sex film to an examination of teenage insecurities. Maybe that is why I liked the film so much.The soundtrack is especially good and the ending is a definite tear jerker. Certain scenes will stand out and invite reflection on one's own teenage experiences and how those experiences may have affected one's character and outlook as an adult.You can watch this movie and think about the problems young adults must face, and about your own experiences. There's a lot of teenage comedies which we all remember: Breakfast Club, Porky's, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, etc. Lawrence Monoson is fabulous as Gary, a teenager who finds himself in love with a girl(Diane franklin) who is dating one of his best friends. This films ranks with the "best" teen movies, including "Fast Times at Ridgemont High", and "American Pie." It is an honest portrayal of the struggles and awkwardness of being a teenager, and taps into some very serious, tender emotions. "The Last American Virgin", along with "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" is one the last great teen films ever made. Overall as a film, I find it was very successful as a comedy, as a commentary on the sexual dilemmas of young men, and a remarkable coming of age tale dealing with issues such as envy, unrequited love and abortion, which are just as pertinent today as they were over twenty years ago. I can't decide, but the soundtrack *is* the 80's--Blondie, Journey, REO Speedwagon, Devo, Lionel Richie, AND U2--I can't believe this, they would never throw all those genres together in a teen movie of today.I remembered this like a teenager--mainly the sex parts and not a hint of the altruism. This film follows three friends (Gary, Rick and David "The Big Apple") misadventures into the world of first-time sex and true love. What makes this film slightly unique is the use of actual teens instead of the usual 20-something actors and actresses usually used in these movies. While the film certainly suffers its shortcomings (lack of consistency in the preformances) it's still an enjoyable, reasonably honest look at 80's teens with enough good moments to make up for the bad.. Nevertheless, this is a fun film about teen love with a lot of humorous sequences and an absolutely fantastic ending......I have seen this film over 30 times (I had to show it to everybody) and it still wins me over today....While not for all tastes, it will definitely appeal to viewers who loved "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" and more recently "American Pie".. I first watch this movie about 8 years ago and I still can't stop watching it, This movie is the best 80's movie ever made Boaz Davidson if your reading this I would love it if you make Last American Virgin part.2, with the same actors and actress, it is guaranteed to be a hit just like the first one was. A warmth and depth of feeling not normally associated with the genre, a message (perish the thought), an absolutely superb soundtrack that sums up the era's music better than almost any I can remember and of course, it has the gorgeous Diane Franklin....naked!A thoroughly good view, pity it's no longer available.. One of my favorite teen movies from the 80s, about 3 boys who just want to have sex. This time around I cringed at some of the acting but still appreciate the film for what it is.Life is not always fair and the good guys don't always win in fact I think the movie did well to reflect that especially as a teenager the pricks always did better with a lot of girls. as i said in the other comment this is one of the best teen movies of all time,and one of my personal favorites. the last american virgin is also maybe the most honest teen movie of all time. Rated R for Strong Sexual Content including nudity, language, teen smoking/drinking and some drug content.The Last American Virgin is a teen sex comedy/drama released in 1982 around the same time as another popular teen comedy named Fast Times At Ridgemont High.Last American Virgin is an American remake of the 1978 Isreali film Lemon Popsicle which had nine sequels in its home country.I saw Lemon Popsicle a few months ago and I found it to be a good film.I think The Last American Virgin is better than Lemon Popsicle but only by a little bit.The films are basically the same with a few differences such as Lemon Popsicle being set in the 1950's and this being set in the 1980's.If you like 80's teen sex comedies, you will definitely like this one.The film is fairly funny during the first half but is also very dramatic and realistic during the second half.The first half of the film is basically about three friends trying to lose their virginity and their many funny attempts in doing so.One of the friends named "Gary" falls in love with a new girl who moved in town named "Karen".But Karen has the hots for his best friend Rick.That is a small part of the first half.However the second half makes a big twist as Karen tells Gary she's pregnant and that Rick left her.Now Gary basically wants to be the hero and decides to pay for her abortion.He does and they become great friends afterwords.Gary then tells Karen how much he loves her and they seem to hit it off.The ending however is different.Some might expect it, others will not and I wont spoil it in this review.The film has a great 80's soundtrack featuring songs by The Cars,Devo,Blondie,Journey,Commadores,James Ingram,U2 and many more.The Last American Virgin is a film both funny and depressing and I recommend it.. It is a little like American Pie meets Fast Times at Ridgemont High but with more depth. Even though movies like American Pie and Fast Times At Ridgemont High may be funnier, the final act of this devastating film reminds us just how horrible being in love can be...when that love is not returned. I saw this film in Cable and also saw "Fast Times..." and this movie is superior in many forms: Like "Fast Times..." talks about sex, fun, abortion, drugs, friends and love. The only reason this movie is remembered because was the start of the actors and actress like Phoebe Cates, Sean Penn, and others.The Soundtrack in "Last American..." is excelent and condense all about the 80's era. Now, this disease had changed the minds of the young people and make "obligatorie" use of condom.In resume, if you want to watch a teen movies like "American Pie" or "Fast Times...", but dont't forget "Last American". I just saw this movie again on cable, I haven't seen it since maybe 19 years ago, it's got great music. Gary (Lawrence Monoson) is your average high-school guy who falls in love with Karen (Diane Franklin), a new girl in school. The first half of the movie follows in the same vein as "Porky's", "Fast Times at Ridgemont High", and other coming-of-age, teen-sex comedies which were so popular at the time. I can still remember being a kid and staying up late to see this movie on cable...I agree with everyone else who said this is a warm, almost touching film that brings back the memories, in more ways than one. I don't know what it was about that time, but the movies just have a real edge.And I also agree the soundtrack is like opening up an eighties music time capsule.A very fun, well made, eighties teen flick!. A trio of sex-obsessed high-school lads—nice guy Gary (Lawrence Monoson), stud-muffin Rick (Steve Antin), and lard-arse David (Joe Rubbo), spend their spare time trying to get laid as often as possible. Their friendship falls apart, however, when Gary falls for the new girl at the school, Karen (Diane Franklin), who unfortunately for him, has the hots for Rick (ain't that always the way?).If I had already gotten around to reviewing Israeli teen sex comedy Lemon Popsicle, it would make writing about The Last American Virgin a whole lot easier, for the latter is a virtual scene-for-scene remake of the former. The result: The Last American Virgin, and a whole load of dollars to go with their already massive pile of shekels!Being a huge fan of Lemon Popsicle since the early 80s (I saw it many times as a teenager, there not being much to choose from at my local video rental shop), I personally wouldn't class The Last American Virgin as an 'essential' teen sex comedy, however I still found it very entertaining stuff, with impressive performances from its young cast, a wonderful pop/rock soundtrack (R.E.O. Speedwagon rule!), and some very welcome female nudity, particularly from the oh-so-cute Franklin (who has been a favourite of mine since seeing her way back when in Amityville II: The Possession).Before watching The Last American Virgin, I strongly suggest checking out the original (and in my opinion, superior) Lemon Popsicle, but if you're absolutely sure that a Middle Eastern rock 'n' roll sex comedy won't be your cup of Café Afuch (yes, I had to look that up!), then definitely give this one a go—it's still one of the better films the genre has to offer.. I saw this film at the cinema when it was first released and thought it would just be your typical teen sex in highschool movie, but it turned out to be so much more than that. And so, if you're an adult like me (I'm a young adult) and you get to watch The Last American Virgin, you'll notice that something isn't quite right with this film. The better, well actually the BEST teen movie of this time is "Fast Times at Ridgemont High". For the most part, "The Last American Virgin" is your run-of-the-mill teen sex comedy (a genre for which I've apparently lost taste over the years), albeit with a pretty remarkable soundtrack. But what seemed ill fated at first would develop a modest cult following in later years to come for the many times it was shown on Cable TV.The Last American Virgin is not a great movie, but it did strike a nerve for many viewers who invested in the drama only to be bemused and crushed by the abrupt and unexpected ending. As much as I think the ending is a heartbreak I will never give this movie any undue credit overall.It's basically a trashy film with corny dialogue featuring a few exploitative misadventures of three high school friends who explore the vices of lust, partying and mischief. The conflict ensues in this love triangle and this is what makes the movie more interesting.The film's publicity poster was misleading, featuring the Gary character being embraced by the girl of his dreams with an on- looking crowd is not what happened here. I love teen high-school comedies and I love 80s movies, but lets face it pretty much most of them are formulaic and we can predict the ending. The portrayal of teenagers,love and friendship is probably the most realistic I have seen in any teen movie. Karen was dangerous for Gary and for most viewers because Franklin was so sweet looking at that age, movie conventions pointed with absolute certainty toward Karen having a heart of gold and toward a happy Gary-Karen resolution.But writer/director Boaz Davidson was not particularly concerned with convention, nor with logic, story foundation, or good film-making structure. The main difference is that Lemon Popsicle was filmed in Israel and is dubbed into English, and the soundtrack for Lemon Popsicle is (in my opinion) much better as the music all comes from the 50's/60's.If I was going to see either of these movies again I think I would choose Lemon Popsicle.. Face it, there have been juvenile teen age sex comedies since the beginning of film, the only difference is how much "sex" is allowed (don't believe me? Either way, I must admit, if you are of the younger generation and think the late 90s spate of teen comedies was the BEGINNING of this genre, you probably won't be too amused by The Last American Virgin. TBS does show it as well but I wouldn't bother watching any film on TBS, except when they show "The Running Man" just to see Richard Dawson.I'd like to see the current crop of "horny boy" movies have the guts to show the situations that happen here (teen pregnancy, abortions, being given the shaft, fights over women, etc.). Although Golan/Globus have made a lot of bad product, this is actually one that has morals in it.The acting is pretty good, done by real teens, ones who didn't seem to mind showing some skin to make sure the movie was a gritty, realistic story. You won't see a movie like this one made today, at least they made one teenage lust film that shows what the real world is like. The film has an excellent soundtrack that any 80's teen would absolutely love! For me, this movie is an excellent learning experience for pre-teens and teenagers because it deals with sex and relationships. I strongly believe that all pre-teens and teenagers should watch this movie before engaging in the actual act of sex and relationships. A perfect example of this in the movie is when the character "Karen" loses her virginity to "Rick" who's known as a teenie bopper that goes from one girl to another just to have sex without commitment. I supposed that means this was a pretty powerful film for its time.This is almost like two movies in one. 5)the greatest ending in the history of movies (you won't believe when the credits start to roll).In conclusion, if you are between the ages of 16 and 25 or can still relate to being a teenager in any way, gather some friends together and tell them that you are all going to watch the worst movie ever made. one of the best teen movies of all time!. the last american virgin was very great it had everything you could want in a teen movie. this is maybe the most honest teen comedy ever made, and one of the best of all time. This is one of the best and most under rated teen movies ever made.I saw this growing up and it was, and is one of my favorites, maybe not as popular as "Fast times" but just as great.There is a serious side to this movie, as mentioned by other reviewers it starts as a comedy and morphs into a drama about halfway through.

tt0837565

The Witches of Eastwick

This unsold TV series pilot opens with three young women, named Alex, Jane, and Sukie, playing in a little league game when they hear the coach make a sexist remark. All of a sudden, it starts to storm! We then see them laughing and running home in the rain as Alex screams: "Ok, who conjured it?". "We all did!" yells Jane. The girls are apparently witches and all live in the same house together. They are also single and none of them have any children. That night, after much drinking and gossiping, they start talking about what the perfect man would be like and whether or not he really exists or is just too good to be true. Sukie then suggests that they just conjure him up using their powers. After much debate on whether or not this would be a good idea, they finally decide to try it.The next morning, a very obnoxious man comes knocking at the door. He's apparently just moved into the neighborhood and stopped by to borrow a cup of sugar. When Alex answers the door, he barrages inside without even introducing himself and goes right on trying to swoon the girls off their feet by ranting and raving. After a while, he finally introduces himself to be Darryl Van Horne! Both Jane and Sukie find him charming, but Alex knows better. She knows exactly who he is. Later that day, as Jane is teaching the kids music lessons at the school, Darryl arrives to surprise her. As Darryl begins to play the piano for her and the children, the school headmaster, Raymond Gentry, comes in to see Jane. As Jane listens to Darryl's beautiful music, the headmaster suddenly grabs Jane from behind. Jane then turns around and violently slaps him senseless in front of everyone! Embarrassed by what's just happened, Raymond fires Jane on the spot! That night, at a fancy restaurant, Jane tells the others what happened to her at the school. Jane is convinced he was under Darryl's spell and is determined on getting rid of Darryl once and for all. Alex agrees, but Sukie likes him and wants him to stay. After a lot of fighting and a lot of talking, they finally all agree that it would be best to send him back.The next day, Alex stops by Darryl's mansion to talk to him. After Darryl gives Alex a personal tour of the house and all of it's artwork, she then sneaks away for just a moment in order to get some of his hair from one of his combs and his old shirt. They later go up to his bedroom, where he unsuccessfully tries to seduce her into his bed with him. For a moment, Alex is tempted but she then resists him and goes home. There, she, Jane, and Sukie mold a voodoo doll using the old shirt, his hair, and cookie dough. They then cast a spell on it so that "When it dries, it'll crack and turn to dust. And so will Darryl." Just as they are cleaning the kitchen afterwards, Jane gets a phone call from Raymond, the school headmaster, who wants to apologize and give Jane her job back. That night, Jane arrives at Raymond's house to make amends. They both make up for what they did, but it becomes clear that Raymond is still trying to take advantage of her by trying to get her drunk with wine. Unaware to either of them, Darryl is watching them. He puts a spell on Raymond so that the entire truth just comes out. Suddenly, Darryl then appears in the room out of nowhere to save Jane while Raymond, dumbfounded, still stands there scratching his head because of what just happened. As Jane and Darryl are walking out of the house, Darryl suddenly collapses. He becomes very sick and very pale. Jane, realizing Darryl might just not be such a bad guy after all, brings him to their house for help. As Darryl slowly dies away, the girls start to fight about whether they should help him or not. But to their horror, the voodoo doll already dries up and crumples to dust before their eyes. And suddenly, to their shock, Darryl himself bursts through the door, alive and well! It seems that since they changed their minds in the end, the spell didn't work! And following behind him is his butler, Fidel, with a tray full of exquisite feasts. The episode then finishes with the whole gang of friends sitting in front of the TV, watching "The Exorcist".

paranormal

train

imdb

tt0098350

Slipstream

A barren Earth, with rocky dry hills and a slow narrow stream of water. A female narrator voice-over says that pollution has destroyed the surface of the planet, and that the huge wind stream now rule it: the most dangerous situation is called Slipstream- it's like a river of wind. In that scenery, an airplane with a square tail is flying after Byron (Bob Peck). Soon, William "Will" Tasker (Mark Hamill) and Belitski (Kitty Aldridge) capture him. He says the renown sentences: "It's over. End of the hunt.", and makes a comment saying that Byron thought that the winds would help him. Byron says that he's heard god's voice. The two police officers take him to the small Western-like town which they are the police force of. People at the local diner wonder why Byron is so important, why there is such a big reward on his head, and even whether the charges are true at all - Byron is supposed to have killed a man. Some other people say that he's a prophet. The local canteen is a rough place. Everybody is dressed like rough cowboys, except for Byron, who dresses like a British gentleman. Petros (Alkis Kritikos) is the dirty cook there, and Abigail (Susan Leong) is the local waitress, and also the girlfriend of one of the town's rebels. Belitsky tells Matt Owens (Bill Paxton), a bounty hunter posing as a merchant, that he is scum. Belitsky and Tasker behave like they own the place, and a woman who is doing labour for life (Diana Defries) talks like a hard woman.Matt appears out of nowhere wanting to get the reward. At first Belitski and Tasker don't take him seriously, and they talk to him demissively trying to distract him. Tasker shoots a dart and he hits Matt, and tells him that it's got poison, but Matt doesn't seem to believe him. There is another diversion - a small plane crashing on them - allows Owens to take Byron away with him. On the plane, Byron doesn't talk at all while Matt feels all right and worries about Byron creating trouble, as he prefers to produce him alive.Byron says that he knows he must be punished, although he doesn't clearly state that he had killed anyone. Owens talks about Byron's ideas. Byron says that humanity has lost the battle against nature, but that there is time to re-conquer the planet. Owens is a very capable pilot, and he flies through sharp mountain ranges á la Star Wars until he reaches a town whose houses have been carved on the hill rock. Byron is able to uncuff himself. He gives the handcuffs to Owens. Byron tells him that Matt will realise pretty soon that he can trust him. The name of the town is Hell's Kitchen.Several people are having a bath on a jacuzzi. They laugh, including Rosie (Gay Baynes) and Montclaire (Robbie Coltrane) because Owens gives himself airs, but Byron has disappeared while Matt was talking to them. Byron has healed a boy's eyes, so his father (Eris Akman) will always be grateful to him. The fact that he is a healer causes a bit of a commotion on the town. Byron seems to be humouring Owens, staying with him because he's decided to do so. Matt gives his boots to one of the youngsters of the town (Bruce Boa), as he intends to leave somewhere else from that moment on, and never return to that place.The two police officer reach the woods surrounding Hell's Kitchen, and they found some men moonlightning, including Montclaire, and they kill them without difficulty. They bury the contrabandists under the rocks. Matt Owens goes on his way on his airplane with Byron, but they have to land to spend the night on a cave. Matt talks about his dreams concerning having thousands of balloons with his name on them, but he says that he always wakes up. Matt thinks that Byron is trying to plant the idea on his head of letting him go, but hat won't happen. Matt is also worried that Byron will try to do something fishy to him while they are sleeping as Byron sleeps with his eyes open-wide. Byron says that Matt wouldn't be able to kill him even if he tried to escape.Byron tries to check Matt's pulse, as he may have symptoms of curare poisoning, but Matt thinks he's tried to strungle him in his sleep. Matt admits that he's lost. Byron heals a man. Maya (Rita Wolf) says that her people didn't want to defend themselves, as violence only brings out more violence. Ariel (Eleanor David) stays by Byron's side while he heals the man. Byron heals the bleeding wound. The wounded man's name is Travis (Paul Reynolds) doesn't believe in Byron, saying that he is a false prophet, and that he wasn't born from a father. Maya tries to convince Trevor.Tasker and Belitski appear, and they make a deal with Matt: the poison's antidote in exchange of Byron. During the night, strong winds make navigation really difficult. Tasker and Belitski tell Matt that Byron is an android, a robot which wants to behave as human - that's why it was said that he wasn't born from a man. Byron is in a kind of square kite and Matt goes up to release it. Byron says that Tasker - who is ascending by way of a parachute - may join them, but Matt is more realistic and knows that they won't. Belitski says she knew that Matt Owens' word could not be trusted. The thing falls down to the floor.Ariel wants to go with them. Matt goes on wanting his reward, and Tasker mocks the machine who wants to behave as a human. Although Ariel has fought the police officers, she walks on and closes the door after her. Byron says she'll come back and Matt asks him why he is always right: Byron says he's perceptive.They are inside a dereclict church / cathedral, but it leads the way to a bar. Two men (Rico Ross & George Camiller) are drinking champagne, and the first one complains that if they keep on helping everybody, somebody will try to destroy the place in the end. Ariel wants a life which is more than mere survival from day to day. Everybody dances, and Byron does it very well.Ariel defends the idea that Byron may solve the air conditioning problem. Avatar (Ben Kingsley) oposes the idea of using an android: he deems the wind problem an unsolvable problem. He and the mother (Jennifer Hilary) are outraged that an android has shagged his daughter (Maiser Asghar), and even Ariel saying that only Byron is the android - he slept with Ariel - doesn not help Byron's cause. Byron says that he's been able to sleep and that he dreamt. Matt's decided to let Byron go. Byron seems shocked at the news. Byron is happy to have the change of either staying or going.But Bielitski and Tasker reach the hidden town. Byron is terrified: he doesn't want to be free to go if Ariel doesn't want to leave without him. Avatar says that the community is responsible of judging Byron. Ariel believes that Byron didn't kill anybody. Tasker threatens to kill everybody. The people in the community take Byron to Tasker. Bielitski shoots Matt with another dart. He punches her and ties her to a bed.Tasker leaves with Byron. The strong winds force Byron to take the reigns of the plane. However, the plane crashes and Tasker dies. Byron is distraught that Tasker thought that he could have saved him.Matt is with his new girlfriends, and he finally has his fancy-designed balloons flying off onto the sky - a bright but a bit cloudy day with a soft breeze at the most.

satire, murder

train

imdb

Murray Abraham and the great Ben Kingsley make appearances in this unlikely post-apocalyptic action film. Like the original Star Wars Trilogy (before George tinkered with it again, and again, and again), this film is best enjoyed with all it's flaws. Ben Kingsley, Mark Hamill, Bill Paxton I think his name is were all great. I remember the release of this movie way back in 1989, mainly as it saw the return of Mark Hamill to the big screen after an absence of 6 years (Jedi being his last movie). Surprisingly, I actually enjoyed this movie and it's far from being one of the worst films ever, as some of the previous comments have made out.The main players in the film put in some good performances, especially the late great Bob Peck for whose character I did manage to feel sympathy for and care about thanks to his acting skills. A bearded, peroxide blonde Mark Hamill gives a terrifically sinister bad guy performance as the unrelenting cop, albeit a little OTT. Also look out for Robbie 'Cracker' Coltrane.Story wise (essentially a chase movie) it is highly unoriginal, borrowing heavily from Blade Runner and Midnight Run, all done in a futuristic Mad Max style. The movie doesn't hide the fact that it is trying to convey some sort of message about humanity and the future with religious undertones.Special effects and action scenes left a lot to be desired; the shoot out in the forest was very shoddily done (one of the worst I've seen). If you are in the least bit interested in Sci-Fi try and watch this film if you come across this in the video store, or if comes on T.V, if only to see Hamill ham it up and play a bad guy. Ok, if you're looking for a seriously good, quality sci-fi film, I wouldn't expect you to enjoy this movie. It's just a matter of watching it with the right perspective...Allow me to explain: the movie CAN be seen to have these qualities, but only if you look at it in the right way...1) Thought-provoking - Of course it is! I couldn't agree more (previous post re: underrated) this movie was a truly entertaining surprise and I have been trying to find it ever since my husband and i rented it one night after pretty much working our way thru the other rentals at our local video store. I can't believe this got such a low rating, of course, look at how many people voted on it, probably just the IMDb staff who tend to side with critics that lose site of the fact the movies are for entertainment.Compared to a lot of other mindless sci-fi genre this is a classic, let's vote on this one and get it back up to where it belongs in th 8's and 7;s!It's for sci-fi fans that don't need a bunch of special FX in order to enjoy a good movie. Yes, there was a lot of Mad Max in there and okay some of the visual effects were a little ropey, but it did at least boast two of my fave actors - the late, great Bob Peck and a pre-Titanic Bill Paxton. The movie is pretty good for the first 45 minutes or so, then hits a wall and gets really stupid, until finally it ends well. What he doesn't know is that the bounty hunter (Mark Hamill, in his best post-Star Wars role) is now coming after him. The late Bob Peck plays the fugitive, who doesn't seem the least bit dangerous, despite the fact that he supposedly killed a man (There is a twist pertaining to this character, but I won't reveal it, even though nobody will care). My favorite scene was when Paxton first captures Peck and both are flying through the Slipstream for the first time. Underrated Sci Fi. Slipstream is one of those underrated sci fi movies that deserves more attention.it has a very good cast;mark hammil(star wars)bill Paxton(titanic)bob peck(Jurassic park)f Murray Abraham(amadaus)and a brief appearance by the great Ben Kingsley.i seen slipstream recently and enjoyed it.i wont give away the plot but like one reviewer said it must be watched a second time to be really appreciated.its pure sci fi. and mark hammil is outstanding as the tough bounty hunter a stretch from playing Luke sky walker in the first 3 star wars films.bill Paxton plays a wise cracking cocky would be bounty hunter.slipstream is always on those cheaply priced sci fi DVD collection dvds.i found it for 5 dollars from st Clair vision called tales from the future,it also features metropolis,things to come,lost world,journey to the center of time,unknown world,day time ended,frozen alive,and in the year2889. I've liked this movie for years, and it is actually quite muddled and strange, it is difficult to understand, the performances are sometimes strained and overdone; and still it is charming. Further this film breaks Mark Hamil out of the naive Hero status Star Wars could have locked him into. It is worth watching the film for the flying scenes and the key exterior locations alone -- Cappadoccia, Turkey, and Malham Rocks UK. Director Steven Lisberger (Tron), Music Elmer Bernstein, Cast includes Bob Peck, Mark Hamill, Kitty Aldridge, Bill Paxton, Robbie Coltrane, Ben Kingsley, F. The three male leads (Peck, Paxton and Hamill) are entertaining and turn in good performances. I noticed that it was science-fiction, I noticed that it starred Mark Hamill and Bill Paxton and I noticed that Steven Lisberger, director of "Tron" and Gary Kurtz, producer of "Star Wars," were the team behind it. So, I rented it, and was very disappointed.Set in a post-apocalyptic Earth, "Slipstream" follows the story of Byron (Bob Peck), a mysterious android who has the power of healing. He is also wanted for a murder that he didn't commit and is running from the so-called "law." The film opens with a chase scene of the ruthless lawmen, Tasker (Mark Hamill) and Belitski (Kitty Aldridge), capturing Byron and en route to taking him in. There's more to tell, but I'll stop here.The film has that "post-war" feel to it, as seen in many movies like the Mad Max films. Mark Hamill is most of the reason why you should watch the film, he delivers one of his best performances ever here. The man is the complete opposite of Luke Skywalker, looks like he could've blended in with "The Matrix" crew; Bill Paxton is always cool, always funny, yet not used in this film properly, maybe miscast; Bob Peck (you might remember him as the Game Warden in "Jurassic Park") is perfect as the android Byron; and Oscar winners Ben Kingsley and F. Director Lisberger does all he can do with the dying script, definitely not a worthy follow-up to his admirable "Tron." Mark Hamill did a live Q&A on the internet a few years back and someone asked him about this film. The R2 from In Video Entertainment has much better video and audio, but still no features and still pan and scan.I would really like to know what the hell happened with this film. This is a strange movie, with a few twists, and the effects are not too good, but the aircraft Mr. Hamill flies is cool.. I saw this film at the cinema years ago- a sobering experience I walked out in a daze feeling shell-shocked...I mean, I couldn't believe I had paid decent money to see such a dismal attempt at movie-making. Could a major role in Star Wars producer Gary Kurtz's post apocalyptic sci-fi Slipstream be just the thing to revive his flagging career?Does a wookie like losing? Is George Lucas any good at writing dialogue?Despite Hamill's best efforts, the actor putting in a respectable performance as a ruthless bounty-hunter out to apprehend an android suspected of murder, Slipstream is a monumental stinker of a movie, one that attempts to be both popcorn entertainment and cerebral sci-fi, but which fails in both departments. Horribly flawed, charmless, and disjointed, this misjudged mess boasts soporific direction, dreadful characterisation, a rousing score that is completely incongruous to all that it accompanies, and (Hamill apart) terrible acting, with Bill Paxton giving one of the most irritating performances I have ever seen (God only knows how his career continued to thrive after this fiasco).. I realize this isn't going to get remixed for 5.1, but yikes, it didn't even sound like it was in Dolby Stereo which had been around for almost a decade when they cut this film.Slipstream was far too similar to both Mad Max and Blade Runner for comfort. Elmer Bernstien did the scoring, but it sounds like someone else had a hand in sticking in 'other' stuff elsewhere as it doesn't match the overall good orchestral score (with some synthesizer music.)There were great actors cast, Bob Peck, Mark Hamill, Ben Kingsley, Bill Paxton. I'm not sure a heroic stooge is a good choice for the main character who carries the film.) Again, a major flaw with the script.Thank goodness I watched this from a mail order DVD service, and not the theater. The third lead, the late Bob Peck, plays the kidnapped murderer that Hamill pursues; as a multi-talented android straight out of an episode of "Star Trek," Peck shows his acting chops by holding a straight face while uttering his weighty corn-ball lines.The cinematography is mediocre, which is unfortunate because the Turkish Cappodoccian shooting locations have a dramatic other-worldly appeal. If there is nothing else to see on a dreary rain-soaked afternoon, look again before watching "Slipstream." Paxton's charm is unfortunately all that the film offers, and he displayed that in other more worthy vehicles.. I loved it, Mark Hamill was better in this than he ever was in the STAR WARS films, Bob Peck was Bob Peck, Kitty Aldredge was nice to look at, and Bill Paxton was cool (that word was popular back then) unfortunately the film has not aged to well and by todays standards is very, very boring. To a lot of people, that may sound like a joke but he really did turn around and make the film watchable. Bill Paxton plays the obligatory Han Solo character, and from that standpoint, the movie is a lot like - well, just about every 80's action/sci fi flick. On the other hand, I assume that Mark Hamil tapped this for his very credible anger and bitterness, and he really does make a pretty good villain.Their travels, however, are more in the more cerebral style of the late 60's early 70's and their fascination with how humans might behave after the fall of civilization, and that makes the film quirky and interesting enough to watch, if only to scratch your head at how they managed to get F. Murray Abraham and Ben Kingsley in this movie.So in summary, definitely worth watching, but don't go out of your way.. Mark Hamill gives a good performance and so does Bill Paxton. The story set in a Mad Max style future is nothing new but in this case the characters use gliders to make there way around the wasteland using the canyons of the apocalyptic world and the slipstreams which flow through them. The only redeeming feature of the film is Mark Hamill's performance as one of the enforcers. Substitute the planes with horses, make the android a priest and this movie would be indistinguishable from any one of a dozen Italian Spanish semi-arty "shoot-'em-ups with pretensions" of the Seventies.The film isn't as BAD as I had been lead to believe by some of the reviews I had read here but it certainly wasn't good.. I didn't even know about this movie until I was searching for the name of another Mark Hamill classic (Time Runner). The second was a film I was unfamiliar with, SLIPSTREAM, but it featured an all-star cast including Bill Paxton, Mark Hamill, Ben Kingsley, F. And for the record, the slipstream itself is unimpressive and plays little part in the movie other than to explain why all the main characters get around via little planes. Murray Abraham amount to nothing more than cameos and, after having watched this movie twice, I still haven't spotted Ben Kingsley in there. I remember being all jazzed about this film coming out because it had Luke Skywalker in it as a bad guy, then have a vague memory of watching it but having no recollection if it was any good or not. It's not a bad film as such, but…there's not too much going on.The premise is good though. This film was made in the eighties so there's a post-apocalyptic setting, but this is also the late eighties so we've got an environmental post-apocalyptic vibe going on where mankind's treating of the world has come back to bite them, with huge environmental changes resulting in a huge valley running for thousands of miles across the land, which has this constant wind blowing through it like Earth is letting out one continuous never ending fart that people live in.One of those folks living in the fart is Bill Paxton, some kind of salvage tradesman who gets caught up with Mark Hamill, a policeman escorting murderer Bob Peck. So Paxton steals him and they off into the possibly eggy fart of the Slipstream.It's like one of those buddy movies only with a lot of wind involved. On the plus side, we do have a great performance from Bob Peck (the best thing about Jurassic Park too) as the android whose not quite sure what to make of having freedom. I remember the video box emphasized the Star Wars connection – its producer Gary Kurtz also produced Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, while it was the film that marked the return of Mark Hamill to the big screen. This leads to him being pursued by the bad guys.Really, the film is basically a chase movie with some diversions. As a fan of under-appreciated movies, this one caught my eye immediately, and I knew I had something worth having, if only for the possibility of being the only person who may own a copy.Mark Hamill's part in it, while important, makes him seem more of a secondary character to the parts of Paxton and Peck. Paxton's character reminds one of his part in 'Aliens', though he develops more depth near the end, and you see he's not such a selfish person after all.Bob Peck has the toughest job of portraying surprise at new-found emotions. The Byron character's story is intriguing, if also slow in being revealed.The ending was in fact a surprise to myself and those with me, as we're used to seeing Mark Hamill come out on top of things in his parts. The obsession portrayed is convincing, particularly through the lengths taken to try to apprehend Byron.Though not first rate(or even second or third) this film has it's merits in that it demonstrates the difficulty in producing a movie's plots, acting, scripting, and photography. As much as I loved Mark Hamil, his character Tasker was a d**k head, a well played d**k head though! It's been a guilty pleasure of mine ever since.It's not the best, but it's a good romp through a very different Earth of the future, with a group of unlikely heroes and a very memorable adversary in Mark Hamill, and he's not using the Force folks, he packs a very big gun in this one! Hamill's by-the-book cop, and Bill Paxton's, fly by the seat of your pants pilot, looking to make the "Big Score", make great rivals. Would've been nice to see a bit more of the world, and maybe some more background material, but what you get does a good enough job of getting the "feel" of the movie across. This is one of those really oddball, strange films that is so weird but so entertaining at the same time that I tend to enjoy it type of movies.Mark Hamill is Tasker and is looking really good in this film - he's sorta a good-bad guy character, good "cop" but has a really wide bad streak in him - he doesn't see how good Byron really is, all he knows is to bring him in for murder.Bob Peck is Byron. Hamill is a better bad guy than Paxton is a good guy. Has 2 small scenes in this movie, where he's friends with Owens and helps him escapeMark Hamill - after Star Wars, he didn't want to get typecast, so he started acting in small budget roles, which nobody saw, and everyone still only thinks of him as Luke. A strange man in a suit (Bob Peck) is captured by law enforcement agents (Mark Hamill and Kitty Aldridge). They are pursued through villages traveling by air.As time goes on we learn more about this strange man and why he is so important.This film has quite the cast, which includes small roles by Ben Kinsley, Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid) and F. We don't like Matt (well, because he's played by Bill Paxton, among other things). And he likes Bill Paxton.We don't hate Tasker enough (partly because he's played by good-guy Mark Hamill), since while gruff and ruthless, doesn't do anything out of the ordinary for his character -- a post-apocalyptic peace officer. I won't watch it again, so if anyone with the temerity to do so can get back to me with the number of clichéd lines in the movie, I'm sure it will set a record.Some otherwise fine and talented actors got mixed up with this clunker; Mark Hamill portrays a futuristic bounty hunter and Bill Paxton is his quarry. Paxton's character has hijacked Hamill's prisoner, an android taking his name from the poet Byron (Bob Peck). Yes the film is uneven, yes Mark Hamill is not very good as the over the top cop but there are several aspects that I think this worthwhile movie to watch. Bob Peck is great as what turns out to be an android (Byron) accused of murder.

tt0411906

Spider-Man 2

The video game picks up two years after it's predecessor with an opening narration by Spider-Man/Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) and a pan through the large city of New York. After touching bases with the Narrator/Tour Guide (Bruce Campbell) and learning the basics of crawling and charged jumps through the tutorial, Spider-Man is late for his class with Dr. Curt Connors (Joe Alaskey). While swinging to the university, he is disrupted by a cry for help and swings over to stop a group of commandos from stealing a mysterious yet precious briefcase from a woman.Resuming on his personal life, Peter is disgraced to find he is late once again for his professor's class. As if things weren't any better, Peter realizes he is going to be late for his birthday dinner with Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst) and Harry Osborn (Josh Keaton). Fitting into the Spidey suit again, he swings over to the restaurant and learns that Mary Jane is in a play and Harry Osborn is funding money for a brilliant scientist- Otto Octavius, soon to be Doc Ock (Alfred Molina). Mary Jane offers to give Peter a free ticket to her play and Harry agrees to set up a meeting so Peter and Octavius can meet.The following night, Peter meets Mary Jane by a museum to collect the ticket. Only seconds after receiving it, he notices a band of thieves breaking into the art museum and after humiliating himself in front of Mary Jane, reluctantly goes after the thieves as Spider-Man. Moments after Spider-Man's victory over the thieves, a strange figure catches his attention. The figure is Black Cat (Holly Fields) who leads the enticed Spidey through a chase across the rooftops of Manhattan. Black Cat rests and moment and then disappears without a trace.The next day, Spider-Man stops by the Daily Bugle and as Peter Parker- collects information for a Bugle Mission and heads off. After the mission which lead him to taking pics from the top of the Empire State Building, an explosion occurs a few blocks down. Investigating the area, Spider-Man meets the Rhino (John DiMaggio) and the two brawl only to have Spider-Man web up the burly and obnoxious foe. That night, Peter meets Harry outside of Octavius's large apartment by Central Park for dinner. Ocatvius's scientific ambitions are somewhat vague to Peter and come off as a subtle tone of greed as opposed to mankind benefit. The meeting is postponed as Rosie Ocatvius (Susan Egan) promptly calls for dinner.While making photo rounds in Greenwich Village, an alarm goes off at a jewelry store. Spotting the suspicious Black Cat, Spider-Man once more chases her across the rooftops and crevices of skyscrapers. After Cat flirts with Spidey and disappears, he realizes he must meet Mary Jane at a movie theater.The following day after the date with MJ, Peter is at the Bugle and J. Jonah Jameson (Jay Gordon) informs him of a special effects movie star from Hollywood named Quentin Beck/Mysterio (James Arnold Taylor) who is claiming that Spider-Man is a fake. Peter rushes over to Madison Square Garden for pictures- while in reality he will appear as Spider-Man against Beck.Beck and Spider-Man meet amid a fake cardboard audience and phony announcers and Beck declares a series of three challenges. The first two consist of rounding up captured criminals from a prison that Spider-Man had collected and the third is a challenging obstacle course. By the end of the competition, Spider-Man conquers and Beck is both upset and humiliated at his loss. It is during this time that one of the criminals, Herman Schultz/The Shocker (Michael Beattie), unknowingly escapes from both security and Spidey during the highlight of Beck's loss.A day later, Octavius invites Peter to come back to his apartment to discuss the science behind his vision. After the visit, Peter puts on the suit and rushes over to Mary Jane's play before he is too late. Unfortunately, a gang of robbers with snipers and explosives rob a gem store and Spidey forcefully commits to his hero work. Much to his further dismay on missing Mary Jane's play, Spider-Man arrives in the knick of time to catch Mary Jane talking with her new boyfriend, John Jameson (Charles Klausmeyer).Before Spider-Man can intervene, Black Cat sneakily appears once more and informs Spidey that she knows where the art thieves from the museum attempt to attack next. The time arrived yet again for another dazzling night chase through the rooftops in following Black Cat. It ends when Cat leads Spidey to an alleyway where the thieves are boarding crates into a getaway truck. While Spider-Man does the amazing and puts a stop to them for good- Black Cat manages to sneak away once more and this time, she's taken a golden artifact with her.Deciding to visit the Bugle the next day, Peter is instructed by his boss Jonah to go down to the press conference building where Quentin Beck shall speak about Spider-Man. Swinging over there, Spidey only finds trouble as the theater is burning, the conference reporters are in danger from alien-like machines and a large holograph of Mysterio appears centerstage. While Spider-Man saves the reporters and defeats the robots- the Mysterio hologram beckons Spidey to Lady Liberty where an alien invasion is about to occur.Surely enough, Mysterio has created a massive mothership atop the Statue of Liberty's torch where the main brain is kept. Spider-Man swings from the hovering UFO's above the water and to Liberty Island where he destroys 8 orbs and finally the brain that controls the alien illusion. As the extra terrestrial material evaporate, Spider-Man is given one final invitation by Mysterio to come to his funhouse of doom.Spider-Man gets back on the mainland and swings over to Beck's apartment where Mysterio's funhouse lair is hidden behind a bookshelf. In the first room of the funhouse, everything morphs upside down and Spider-Man faces giant, laughing toys known as Mr. Hop-N-Hack. After defeating them, he is brought into a circular room with mirrors where disfigured duplicates of him arise from the reflections. Destroying all of the mirrors brings Spider-Man out of the funhouse and to another dead end as Mysterio escaped in the nick of time.The conclusion of Mysterio's alien invasion is followed with the disastor of the birth of Doc Ock. Racing over to Octavius's apartment for a demonstration of his fusion reactor- the demonstration goes array and Rosie ends up dead while Octavius passes out with the mechanical arm aids attached to him. Even as Spider-Man shuts down the fusion reactor machine, he is too late to save Rosie and Octavius is taken to the medics.While swinging to another class of Dr. Connor's with the mindset he will finally arrive on time, Mysterio's alien robots attack and Spider-Man fights them. During this time, Octavius (now as Doc Ock) has escaped from the hospital and threatens Connors to help him. Declaring him insane, Connors attempts to escape only to be brutally wounded by Ock who flees the scene. Spider-Man arrives seconds late to find his professor in need of medical assistance.Remembering he was going to visit Aunt May (Mindy Sterling) at the Bank of Manhattan, Peter arrives to discuss money matters with a loan officer. The payment is disrupted as Doc Ock and a handful of henchmen rob the bank. Quickly outfitting in his suit, Spider-Man arrives and battles Ock. After knocking out various thugs, Ock seizes bags of cash and Aunt May and flees the building. Matters worsen when Ock as a helicopter and places Aunt May on the El Barrio train tracks and the speeding train is about to kill the loving, senior citizen. Once more, Spidey saves the day and his aunt's life by catching her in the knick of time. However, Ock is still on the loose.Spider-Man arrives at John Jameson's banquet under orders from J. Jonah Jameson- but upon the news that Mary Jane will wed John, Peter is furious and cowers in dismay upon the rooftop. Suddenly when Black Cat arrives, Spider-Man's mood changes, especially when she mentions that Shocker is out and on the loose. Following her to an old warehouse, The Shocker and Spidey have a rendezvous like old times. Shocker escapes as Spidey checks on an injured Black Cat, who is insistent on her condition that she is ok.Later, Mysterio is found in a Speedy Mart harassing the cashier until Spidey arrives and puts Beck in police custody for good. However, when J. Jonah Jameson prints the paper with Spider-Man as the villain, Spidey is furious but promptly stopped by Black Cat who states that she has once again found out where Shocker is hiding. Following Black Cat under the Queensboro Bridge and to Roosevelt Island, the chase ends at an old, run down Oscorp Factory.Once more, the Shocker and Spider-Man duke it out- and with aid from Black Cat- place him back behind bars. Black Cat disappears however before Spidey could thank her, so he decides to see Mary Jane's play in hopes he can make it. He is late however and even though he saves her from three thugs about to mug her, Mary Jane is upset at Peter and repeats that she is marrying John.Deciding to seek Black Cat for girl advice, Spider-Man finds her atop one of the gargoyles on the Chrysler Building. After a brief talk, Cat cheers Spider-Man up by racing him to a warehouse where a group of gangsters are illegally selling armored battle suits. Spidey and Cat crash the party and put an end to the dealing. With one final word of advice from Black Cat about his personal life, Spider-Man goes to MJ's apartment as Peter and tries to talk to her only to end up humiliating himself. Later that night in the Oscorp building, Harry is visited by Doc Ock who demands for more tritium in order to power his fusion reactor. Harry agrees but only if Spider-Man is captured and brought to him personally. He then reveals that Peter is the key to finding him.The following day, MJ thought about what Peter said and decides to meet him at a small cafe'. The meeting is shortlived for Doc Ock comes crashing through the window and kidnaps Mary Jane while telling Peter to have Spider-Man meet him at a tower in El Barrio. Agreeing to his demands, Spider-Man swings over to El Barrio and battles Ock atop the elevated train. However, Spidey passes out from exhaustion at the end of the bout and is brought to Harry.Unmasking him, Harry is horrified to see Peter is the real identity of Spider-Man. Promising he will talk about this matter later, Peter begs Harry for the location of Ock's lair stating that he has MJ hostage. Hypnotically telling him the location, Spider-Man swings over to Doc Ock's waterfront warehouse.The final battle occurs and after Spider-Man shuts down Ock's fusion reactor and knock's some sense into the maniacal 8 limbed supervillain, Ock agrees to destroy his own machine and sacrifice himself by drowning with it in the river. Mary Jane finally sees the truth about Peter and in the end, she goes to his apartment and tells him that she cannot live without him.Police sirens interrupt their love moment but MJ acknowledge's Peter's curse and lets him swing outward as your friendly neighborhood, Spider-Man.

good versus evil, revenge, psychedelic, violence

train

imdb

One of the best games of the year.. An infinite number of times better than the first game. There is so much to do that even if you beat the game without doing anything else, you won't scratch the 50% bar. There's so much to do that doesn't have anything to with the storyline you can spend a month just swinging around collecting icons and helping people without doing much of anything to the storyline. Having the people from the movie do the voices for the game does wonders for the feeling of being sucked in to the game. The one I probably enjoyed using the most cold only happen in spider reflex mode. You would kick the person up in the air and proceed to pummel him many times like you were performing a bicycle kick on him. You could probably spend the better part of a month just trying to find all the hint markers. You really cannot beat this game in a month. Spider Man 2 the game is the virtual monostat of the film you get everything you got in the movie plus more when I say more I mean more villains more characters more action and more freedom. Villains include Doc Ock, Rhino, Mysterio, and Shocker, plus your tribune of criminals at your disposal. Ally's include black cat this time around and she will assist you through most of the shocker missions. Freedom allows you to complete missions from the Daily Bugle to delivering pizza at Peter Parkers day jobs.I really enjoyed this game to its full extent and you should to. Some of the reasons you should love it is because you can do anything a spider can with breathtaking new moves and amazing combos. You can web swing for the first time from street to rooftop across the entire city. But one of the biggest reasons you will love this game is because authentic characters from the movie do voice overs including Tobey Maguire, Alfred Molina, and Kirsten Dunst.One Game this Game is Similar to is Grand theft auto 3 and vice city primarily because of the fact that you have unlimited freedom. combat has changed from the first game which earns it a 10 and the characters are unlimited and lively which earns it a 10 again resulting in this game getting a perfect10 out of 10. I got this game for my Christmas some time ago and I enjoyed it * a lot*! The game consists of you running around New York doing random crimes and of course, story mode which includes Doc Ock and other super-villains. Spider-Man has some really good fighting combos this time around, he can swing faster, the city is larger than ever and the graphics are about decent.There are a few minor flaws such as no subway entrances or subway tunnels and there sure aren't any pets in the city but it is a great game.After story mode, you must work your way up to 100%, which is a very long devoting process in which Spider-Man must complete challenges, missions and find all exploration tokens. But this is still a great game and really fun for those who are not allowed to play Grand Theft Auto because of the rating. Go out and buy this game and beat it!. Spider-Man 2: The Movie Game is by far the best super-hero game ever!In the sequel to its predecessor, Spider-Man 2 gives the player the opportunity to actually live the life of a super-hero, with the abilities to interact with people and objects. The layout for the game is very similar to that of the Grand Theft Auto series, so you can do what you want, when you want, and how you want to -- an experience that Spider-Man: The Movie Game lacked. Being more open-ended, you have a choice of which assigned mission you would like to do first in special layouts called 'chapters'. Accomplishing each mission grants you Hero Points (the modern currency for all tight-wearing heroes), which you can use to buy special combos or locomotion upgrades. Accomplishing each mission makes you one step closer to entering the next chapter.In this game, locomotion and combat tactics are completely advanced. Instead of sticking to the clouds, Spider-Man's web connects to any building that it is pointed to, allowing Spider-Man to swing and gain momentum for the next thread. You can swing the corner of a building to make a turn, or swing from a skyscraper to gain tremendous speed.If you don't want to swing around, then you can do what was well-needed in the previous game: Sprinting. This leap uses Spidey's strength to leap tremendous distances, allowing you to leap from building to building.Combat has changed with new combos and dodging enhancements. The Spider-Sense is now triggered whenever Spidey is about to be attacked, and precise timing will allow Spidey to dodge the attack with ease and execute a counter-attack. If you are having trouble, Spidey can also enter into Spider-Reflexes Mode -- a special combat mode that allows Spidey to move far faster than his enemies for a limited time. This mode can change the way Spidey attacks and can sometimes allow Spidey to execute special combos. Fortunately, you have unlimited -- yet harmless -- webbing that can give you an advantage over well-armed foes or over a group of enemies.Classic characters have entered into the game and some are making a come-back. The mighty Rhino robs a bank; the previously captured Shocker escapes; the master of illusion Mysterio causes havoc by causing an apparent alien take-over; and Doc Ock threatens the lives of your friends and family.Also, the well-known Black Cat makes her premiere in this game as an ally for some of your many missions, especially those involving the Shocker. As usual, the game will eventually go along with the movie, but the game still possesses its open-ended layout.In fact, combating these foes is also completely different. Instead of blindly pummeling the foe in the previous game, Spidey's villains have many tricks up their sleeves that may turn the tide on Spidey. Some will unfortunately get away, but you will be prepared for them next time.This game actually possesses more of the legendary Spider-Man comedy than its predecessor. Either way, you may just belly-laugh at most of his funny moments.Overall: well-built game-play; tremendous amount of opportunities to 'do whatever a spider can'; includes classic Spidey villains and allies; terrific graphics and special effects; excels in providing both direct and tactical combat; and amazing movies.Rating: 10 out of 10. THIS is a Spider-Man game done right.New York not only looks like New York, but you can explore it to the fullest! The boss-fights are creative and expansive, and there is a lot to do in the city without having to follow the main plot. The best part about the shoddy first game and definitely a great addition to this one. When the main story is finished, the only thing left to do is finish gathering all the various icons in the game. The game has replay value, but it's very limited.Overall, a great movie game and definitely sets the bar for any hero games to follow in the free-roam format.. In this game, you are Spider Man. You deal with super villain threats as Spider Man, and personal relationships as Peter Parker. I think the best part of this game is the gameplay. You can explore the enormous New York map while web-slinging, beat up thugs with upgradeable combo attacks, and climb up (and jump off of) buildings. The web-slinging has been improved since the last game, so now you can web faster, and on buildings instead of thin air. The storyline follows the movie decently, and throws in a few extra super-villains and the black cat to enhance the experience. Most of the characters have poorly animated faces, with the exception of Spider Man and Doctor Octopus. The biggest issue with this game is the lack of variety in side missions. This is especially a problem once you beat the game, because from there, the game will have you playing the same (about 8) side missions over and over. despite it's issues, Spider Man 2 is a fun and rewarding experience that texts your skill as a gamer.. I still miss the original game play of the first Spider-Man game. While the first game involved missions of kicking butt and doing investigative work, the sequel is about saving people from New York of all kinds of threats from Sinking Boats, Armed Robberies, Carjackings, Muggings, Explosions and more. I'll admit, the game play is great because you're still experiencing the same excitement as the first game when you follow the movie plot; just like in part 2, Parker has to deal with responbility on his alter ego while Mary Jane Watson is going out with John Jameson. Also the bad guys are no picnic either; you deal with the main villain of the movie, Dr. Octopus along with Rhino, Mysterio, and Shocker. The bad news is that the game is incessant, meaning never ending. As you finish playing the movie version, you are on your own getting points to earn bonus moves and I would say just play the movie levels and that's it.B+. Swinging through new york never felt so fun. Spider-man 2 is a very fun game, the 3rd does beat it, but that's in opinion to me, it's awesome how you get to swing through new york freely and interact with many people, the voice acting isn't great, but its passable, The web swinging was improved in Ultimate Spider-man which is really just an upgrade of this, I say, either buy this game, ultimate spidey, or spidey 3, they're all great, and I own em all, but at least get one of em.The only thing i dislike is that the final boss doc ock, is sooooo freaking hard, i mean, he's near impossible, will take a long time to beat him, if you beat him on your first or second try, then you are a master at these games.. The best Spider-Man game ever created.. This game have fun mission but one thing sucks about this game is the Doc Oc boss fight like it's hard but I manage to beat the game. I'd have to admit Trayac is better then Benox when it comes up with Spider-Man games. This game need to be backward compatible because most of these new kids doesn't know how fun the game is like most of them are into them damn graphics now a days like this is the reason why I still keep my Original Xbox, PS3, PSP, and Xbox 360.. the first game was OK but the sequel to it Blew Me Away i had to rent it a million times because every copy i received had a glitch and it made me angry but after finally securing a copy for gamecube this game was totally the best spiderman game ever while the graphics and details are not as bold as the 1st the gameplay overall is way better the combos are more realistic and the web swinging has been upgraded to actually attach you to buildings the villains were more or less easy to beat but the story line actually made me feel like i was in the game itself i love this game and the movie by far better than i expected like its proceeder i love spiderman so much i couldn't stop playing it this game deserves the title for best superhero video game ever. Vastly improved web swinging, but the fighting is lackluster.. I never won this game, but I got through enough of it to review. Let me just say that final fight was super hard and was really ticking me off so instead of going into a Hulk like rage and smashing the television screen I just gave up. As for the rest of the game it is a mixed bag, but for the most part it is good as there is a nice couple of story lines in it featuring The Shocker and Mysterio. In fact, I think I enjoyed those two stories more than the one that was based on the movie. The fighting was okay at times, but strength seems to have been taken out of Spidey's repertoire. This happened in the next game as well, why they never want to make Spider-man super strong and just make him agile and swing around the city. However, that is the high point of this game, the web slinging is simply great fun. During your web swinging you also have to save people and stop random crimes, this too is a weak point as they just did not add enough variety to the random crimes. Still, this game has its moments like the final fight with Mysterio as that one was not hard but humorous and the voice over work by Bruce Campbell. I just wish they would make a Spider-man game that includes his strength, great web swinging and a lot of super villains.. When I got this game I thought, 'Wow this is fun!' ...but it gets very old very fast. You see, the GTA series has found a way to make their cities have a different look for different areas. It almost feels like you're web-slinging through a map of cubes rather than buildings. Also, the graphics look like they were made for the original Playstation as opposed to PS2.I wouldn't recommend this game, in my opinion, the original Spider-Man video game for the PS1 was much more fun than this one. This game leaves you wanting more. Though miles better than the (awful) first game this still suffers from major bore. The free-roaming game play would be great if there were a bit more variety and things to do. The main problem is that the gaming area is absolutely immense. While this may be a good thing (a whole state is your gaming area in the upcoming GTA: San Andreas) there are very few definitive landmarks to give you some kind of orientation. It's based on the real New York, with all the famous buildings, but literally hundreds of streets look the same and it's very, very easy to get hopelessly lost. Yes, it's cool, but very slow considering the area you have to cover and not to easy to control unless your a genius with the control pad.And the missions are all the same. When you complete a mission that should be it done for the whole game, none of this again and again and again trash. The average score for completing these missions is 250 hero points...you need 1, 000, 000 to reach Doc Ock at the end of the game. Sorry I ain't sticking around long enough to 4000 tedious missions.The only cool thing about this game is that it's narrated by Bruce Campbell. The rest seems like a rushed movie tie-in, not a real game.. Best of all three Spider-Man Movie games!. I love all the games (except for Spider-Man 3, sadly.) Spider-Man 2 was a HUGE step up from the first game. Tobey came back for voicing Peter and Spidey, Alfred Molina left me gaping at his performance as Dock Ock, and Kirsten, wow, Kirsten! She left me speechless providing the voice for Mary Jane. Sadly, she didn't come back for the third game. The second game is overall, ten time's better! Tobey is hysterical in the second game! A VERY ADDICTING GAME! A VERY ADDICTING GAME! Five Million thumbs up for the ceators of such an awesome game! Sadly, the third game isn't all that great. Kirsten didn't come back due to a hectic schedule, and, what really ticked me off, was that Gwen Stacy, who is in the third film, isn't in the game! So, Bryce Dallas Howard who played Gwen in the film, didn't have a chance to provide her voice. On the plus side, James Franco who plays Harry Osborn in the films FINALLY provided his voice for Harry. Overall, the second game IS THE BEST!!!! I am commenting on a video game. Well, let me tell you this, it is a darn good video game. One of my favorite video games. In fact, it is definitely the very best video game based on a movie ever. The game-play is addicting. The dialog is really cheesy, though, and most of the levels are really hard, but there is one huge thing backing this game up. You can go all around New York City. You can also chase a train if you want.Here is the idea for the video game. It has a similar plot of Spider Man 2. Peter Parker is back as Spider-Man but now the scientist Doctor Otto Octavius fused his body with tentacles and is now Doctor Octopus. Not only that, you also have to fight Rhino, Shocker, Mysterio, and numerous thugs that are across New York City. You also meet Black Cat, who you chase through the city. In the meantime you also have to take photos for the Daily Bugle, try to get to Mary Jane Watson's play in time, and try to get to Doctor Connors before school is over. In the end you can just roam anywhere collecting 50,000 Hero Points.Overall, this is one addicting and great video game. One of the highlights is that the actors who played the characters in the movie actually voice them in the video game. Also, Bruce Campbell narrates the video game. All you do is roam around town, helping people out, beating up thugs, and earning 50,000 Hero Points. Still, I am not the biggest fan of comic books and I still loved this game, yet, I do not think that this is for everyone. There a couple glitches here and there and some people will give up at the hard levels. Anyway, this is a great game.9/10

tt0078437

Ultimo mondo cannibale

A light aircraft is flying over spectacular jungle terrain. On board is oil prospector Robert Harper (Massimo Foschi), his business partner Ralph (Ivan Rossimov), the pilot Charlie (Sheik Razak Shikur), and a young lady named Swan (Judy Rosly). There is much talk about inhospitable and harsh the jungle is which is apparently Malaysia. They are on their way to visit a oil prospecting party which has set up camp there.Upon landing, they find the area abandoned. They soon discover a native weapon covered with blood. Ralph is concerned, exclaiming that the weapon indicates the people who raided the camp are; "worse then natives. Judging the way this was made, they're still living in the stone age." Harper wonders into the jungle, while Ralph follows him and they both get lost. During their trek through the jungle, they discover the partially-decomposed corpse of one of the prospectors. Harper and Ralph manage to return to the airstrip where the seriousness of their predicament becomes apparently. But since they wondered off, it is too late for them to take off for darkness comes and they decide to sit out the night in the plane.Later that night, Swan unwisely decides to leave the plane so she can relive herself in the nearby bushes. She is captured by several unseen natives. The three men are all too scared to help even though they hear her screams, convincing themselves that they should stay put for the night and look for her in the morning when it is daylight.The next morning, Harper, Ralph, and Charlie set out into the jungle to look for Swan. Within minutes, Charlie springs a native trap and is horribly impaled by a spiked ball. Momentarily losing his mind at the sight of his dead friend, Harper runs blindly into the jungle followed by Ralph. This time, they really do get hopelessly lost. After witnessing a group of native warriors eating the remains of Swan, the two men continue on and come across a river. They decide to make a raft to float downstream and hopefully make it back towards the airstrip. During the ride, their raft overturns on some rocks, and Harper is left alone as he grabs onto a shore rock as Ralph is swept away by the current.Over the next day-and-a-half, Harper wonders aimlessly through the trackless and inhospitable jungle dealing with insects, snakes, and other wildlife. Desperately hungry, he unwisely gorges himself on mushrooms, starts to hallucinate and soon passes out. When he wakes up, he finds himself surrounded by dozens of long-haired, savage natives, warily poking their spears at him. The natives take the captive Harper back to their camp which is a huge cave dwelling place.The savage natives tie up Harper where they strip him naked, and string him up in a harness and hoist him into the heights of the misty cave. Having seen him arrive by airplane, the natives apparently believe that he has the power to fly, so they let him freefall 60 or more feet before he is abruptly halted by the harness and rope device to which he is attached to. His painful ordeal continues again and again until he passes out, while the natives wave their arms and hoot hellishly.Over the next several days, Harper is imprisoned in a cage and forced to watch the natives and their lifestyle. He is fed dead and rotting small animals, as well as subjected to further torture and humiliation. Harper watches the natives bring a captive warrior from a rival tribe and have him slowly killed by tying the warrior's arm to an army ant hill where they ants slowly eat the captive warrior alive.Harper befriends one of the very few women of the tribe, a native woman who, despite the language barrier, introduces herself as Pulan (Me Me Lai). But she is held in check by Harper's guards who forbid her from talking to their prisoner. Harper soon becomes clear at what the natives have in store for him: they apparently want to use him as bait to catch a very large meal like a crocodile the natives catch after using a bird to catch their prey. He is forced to watch the natives kill, skin, and eat the crocodile among other various animals from a python to a tree monkey.One evening, Harper decides to make his move. He tricks Pulan into opening his cage, and then grabs her as well as bludgeoning the guard watching him. Harper escapes from the cave with Pulan as a hostage/guide. When she tries to escape, he attacks and savagely rapes her, cementing their bond. Being violated, Pulan apparently decides, by her tribe's custom, to become his companion and servant.One day during a sudden rainstorm, Harper and Pulan come across a cave, and find Ralph, who is alive and well and been hiding out from the natives this entire time. However, Ralph's mobility is impaired by a festering leg wound which he got during the overturning of their raft. Both men decide to force Pulan to lead them back to the airstrip to their plane so they can return home. The next day, the three of them set off as Ralph explains more about jungle survival. At one point, Ralph ensnares a cobra, milks its venom, and applies it to the end of Harper's makeshift lance.Pulan's hesitation about traveling through cannibal country is soon justified when they are surrounded by dozens of natives. In the chase, Ralph is hit in the chest by a spear, while Pulan is also hit and falls prey to her fellow native people and quickly killed. Harper is forced to help Ralph along as Pulan is gorily beheaded, sliced open, and gutted. Hot coals are place into her gaping chest cavity and her flesh is eaten.By the time the cannibals catch up to the two men, who make it to the river, Ralph is weakening fast from his fresh wound and can no longer defend himself. So, Harper is forced to fight against one of the cannibal natives. Harper kills his opponent by stabbing him with the poisoned lance. His assimilation into the savage ways of the jungle is completed when in devastating fashion, he disembowels his foe, pulls out an internal organ, and eats in front of the native warriors who watch the whole thing. Following this show of strength, the intimidated natives slowly back away and allow Harper to continue on his journey, carrying his barely conscious friend with him.Harper and Ralph finally follow a track from the river and make it back at the airstrip with the plane still sitting in its place. As the natives look on from a respective distance, Harper places Ralph in back of the plane, starts up and engine and takes off, finally free from his ordeal. But in the back seat, Ralph after hearing from Harper that they have made it and are on their way home, kneels over and dies having succumbed to his wounds.

violence, horror, cruelty, murder

train

imdb

He finally manages to escape and kidnaps a young, beautiful female member of the tribe to use as a guide.The movie has a gritty realism to it that makes it play almost like a documentary. It captures the gradual transformation of the character from a "civilized" man to a grunting "savage" extremely well, although a scene in which he wins over his female companion by raping her is a little over-the-top, to say the least.The midsection of the movie is almost entirely devoid of dialog, so the atrocious dubbing is confined mostly to the first and last sequences. A plane full of annoying oil hunters crash their plane deep in a jungle and almost immediately the non-Caucasian members of the expedition are caught and devoured by a band of revolting cannibal natives, leaving the smart, sensible survivalist Ralph stranded with the weenie, whiny, panicky dolt Robert, who gets them completely lost within minutes. This is a pretty detestable movie.The print I watched was called "Last Cannibal World" and it seemed to have all the good bits (the gore and sex, that is) cut out. At this point their situation goes from bad to worse as they have to deal with getting separated, a tribe of natives who just happen to be cannibals, being lost, and being far out of their element.The movie centers around Robert Harper (Mossimo Foschi) and his ordeals with the cannibals and the jungle in his struggle to get home. Some will find a scene with a crocodile particularly hard to watch.Overall Jungle Holocaust is one of the best of the Italian Cannibal genre and is oddly uplifting for this kind of film. 'The Last Cannibal World' (aka 'Jungle Holocaust') was his first cannibal movie, and isn't as well known or talked about. To many viewers' chagrin, Deodato, as he would later demonstrate in CANNIBAL, shows too much real-life animal mutilation.An alligator is torn apart while still alive, a snake eats a mouse, and other horrific scenes. Ruggero Deodato's general rehearsal before unleashing the notorious `Cannibal Holocaust' upon the world is an explicit horror film, but not as shocking or repulsive as its successor. This film merely serves as an old-fashioned adventure-movie, there were Cannibal Holocaust is a severely shocking ethical portrait. But not only is it a cannibal film, it is also a jungle adventure, one mans story of survival. Don't get me wrong, the gore is great, too, so if your looking for a movie with realistic gore, i highly recommend this, along with Deodato's next film, Cannibal Holocaust. "Jungle Holocaust" of 1977 does not reach the brilliance of Deodato's masterpiece of three years later, this is still a highly atmospheric and at times stunning film that lovers of Italian cult cinema and sleaze should not miss. While the film is of course ultra-violent and often disturbing, it is a bit tamer compared to other genre entries such as "Cannibal Holocaust" or "Cannibal Ferox", and often resembles a traditional adventure film - with the difference that this is filled with constant enormous sleaze and nauseating gore.A group of four people have to land their plane somewhere in the middle of the Amazon jungle, one of them, a man called Robert (Massimo Foschi) is captured by a tribe of cannibals who still live like people in the stone age. His only hope to escape the savages, who eat human flesh, is a beautiful tribeswoman (Me Me Lai)...The film makes a pretty good point about how a civilized man can be driven absolutely savage by being thrown into a world ruled by savagery. As far as I am considered, this film is not nearly as memorable as "Cannibal Holocaust", which stands out as the unmatched masterpiece of the Italian Cannibal sub-genre, but "L'Ultimo Mondo Cannibale" is still an immensely atmospheric with some ingenious aspects that I highly recommend to all my fellow lovers of Italian Horror and exploitation cinema!. If you are setting out like Deodato is in this movie to make a movie about cannibals, you need scenes of people getting eaten or killed in different ways, and of course an explenation to why. Last Cannibal World claims to be a true story about a stone-age cannibal tribe living on the Malaysian island of Mindanao who captures a 'modern' man named Robert Haper, who crash lands on the island. The pilot is sure he can fix the plane ("If I can find the wheel it shouldn't be too hard to put it back again!"), but won't fly until the following day, since it was getting dark.Before long, of course, the group ends up separated and being pursued by cannibals through the jungle, and then the movie becomes a strange mix of gruesome horror and a twisted look at the animal side of humans. (aka: JUNGLE HOLOCAUST)Unlike Deodato's later atrocity CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST, I can at least stomach this one since only one crocodile is killed and skinned by the natives, and then they eat it afterwards. Rassimov is badly hurt while My My Lai get's captured by the cannibals and is eaten alive in some scenes that later appeared in Umberto Lenzi's EATEN ALIVE (1980).In a memorable scene, Foschi cuts open the native guy he has killed and starts to eat his innards, just to let the other cannibals watching know he means business. Last Cannibal World isn't the first even Italian cannibal film (that being Deep River Savages) and it's not Ruggero Deodato's first jungle film either - that's Gungala, a film with a far less sinister atmosphere than this vileness. What this film did was kick off another genre exploiting free-for-all of cannibal movie clones which isn't what you'd call the best period of Italian cinema.Some guy actor called Massimo Foschi, who will be spending the majority of this film naked, plays an oil prospector called Robert Foster. Me Me stands out a mile not only because she's the only cannibal with all her teeth, she also seems to have a very good plastic surgeon judging by those fake boobs!We spend rather a long time watching the natives being primitive and eating snakes/crocodiles, stock footage of animals eating other animals, and the natives being savage by having a rival native's arm eaten by ants before eventually escapes with Me Me and the romance/lengthy chase sequence begins! If you remove the animal cruelty from this one (and luckily my copy is missing the croc eating scene, but keeps the gore intact), you have a decent jungle adventure which thinks it's being clever in showing one civilised man's descent into savagery as the only way he can survive his ordeal in the jungle, although it's all just an excuse for gore and violence. The animal stuff is kept to a minimum thankfully, but that would be remedied in Deodato's Cannibal Holocaust, a truly nauseating exercise without any redeeming features.The goriest part of this film is reserved for Me Me, who is rewarded for leaving the tribe by being served up with a bat confit, grub ganache, native drool foam, bamboo tuille and a crocodile jus. Best to see this gem unspoiled but do heed warnings.) I was expecting a film sort of like Cannibal Holocaust, an exploitation cannibal film probably with gratuitous gore, plenty of nudity, dumb story, dumber acting, explicit animal cruelty, unconvincing natives in loincloths, chintzy budget, and uh lessee really dumb story and dumber acting and oh I uh already mentioned that. My personal take of course but the natives are what I would call refreshingly convincing, the story neither dumb nor predicable, and the acting not bad at all, at least not what one expects from such a title and it is a real cannibal film. The eeriness lies with the fact that this film plays like a dress rehearsal for Deodato's towering masterpiece, "Cannibal Holocaust". That is not to say that Jungle Holocaust is not an enjoyable film in its own right but the faux documentary scenario, opening sequence, genital pulling, animal violence and even parts of the score seemed to have made their way into "Cannibal Holocaust".Jungle Holocaust opens with a plane flying above the Malaysian jungle. When Robert realises that the cannibals intend to use him as live crocodile bait, he takes Pulan hostage and flees.In my opinion, Jungle Holocaust is more of an adventure film than a horror movie. Jungle Holocaust is definitely one of the better films in the cannibal genre despite the fact that it is not particularly scary. Good cast with: Massimo Foschi, Ivan Rasimov,and Me Me Lai. Considering this film was shot entirely on location in the jungle on the island of Mindanao, Malaysia it is exceptionally well crafted. Apparently based on the true story of Robert Harper, Ruggero Deodato's first foray into the cheap Italian cannibal gore sub-genre serves as both an interesting prelude to his quintessential cannibal masterpiece, Cannibal Holocaust, and as a decent entry in the cannibal cycle in its own right. However, getting home isn't going to be easy, as cannibals aren't the only thing to worry about in the wilderness of the Amazon jungle.I'm not sure how the real life Robert Harper would have taken this film. Naturally, there's plenty of violence here; and while it's not as graphic as some of the later cannibal films, like Deodato's own Cannibal Holocaust and Umberto Lenzi's Cannibal Ferox, I still wouldn't recommend this to people with weak stomachs. Ruggero Deodato's "Jungle Holocaust" is nearly as good as "Cannibal Holocaust".This would be Deodato's first cannibal film and it's pretty entertaining.The film is filled with animal cruelty so sensitive horror fans should avoid it.Here,we see the natives kill a python,and kill and cut-open a medium sized crocodile.The camera work is solid and captures perfectly an ever growing sense of hopelessness.The direction is good and the gore effects are very graphic.The scene where Me Me Lai has her head chopped off and is cut open from throat to groin,and later has her guts pulled out,is very disgusting and memorable.The acting is very good-especially Foschi is quite believable as Harper.Overall,"Jungle Holocaust" is a surprisingly good cannibal film filled with animal cruelty,gratuitous nudity and plenty of gore.It's not as powerful as "Cannibal Holocaust",but it's close...Highly recommended.. Unlike Ruggero Deodato's Cannibal Holocaust this film was not one of the infamous video nasties banned in Britain. Of course, most of these animals end up as food after not-so-humane butchering.After watching some natives munching on their comrades, two of the survivors, Rolf (Ivan Rassimov) and Robert (Massimo Foschi) manage to build a raft and they get a nice ride down the rapids. Many years ago, when I was too young to see such things for myself, my dad described to me a scene from a cannibal movie that he had watched at the local flea pit: a man finds a scrap of cloth in the jungle; when he picks it up, a trap is triggered which leaves him impaled on a huge spiky ball. Years later, when I myself developed an interest in all things gory, I recalled his description of this moment, but realised that he had never told me the title of the film.Now, after trawling through virtually every film in the genre, I have finally discovered the identity of this elusive flick: it is none other than Ruggero Deodato's Jungle Holocaust.Deodato, who would later bring us the incredible Cannibal Holocaust (1980), the king of all Italian gut-muncher films, fills this jungle adventure/survival horror with everything one would come to expect from a cannibal film—graphic gore, animal deaths and nudity— and it is, in my opinion, the first true example of the genre (some may argue that Umberto Lenzi's 1972 movie, The Man From Deep River, should be given this accolade, but the cannibals in that were merely incidental).The purportedly true story tells of a group of four unfortunates who crash their plane in a remote area inhabited by man-eating stone-age natives. Two of the group are killed, but Robert Harper (Massimo Foschi) and Rolf (Ivan Rassimov) escape into the jungle, but soon become lost in the dense foliage.Arriving at a river, they build a raft and head upstream. On the brighter side, he also meets a gorgeous female member of the savage tribe (played by genre regular Me Me Lai, who is pretty much naked for the whole film) who gives him a hand shandy for his troubles!After he realises that he is eventually to be used as bait for crocodiles, Robert makes a desperate bid for freedom, taking the lovely Ms. Lai as his hostage. Some of the crew are mysteriously killed and his best friend is lost as well, a tribe of cannibal wild people capture Robert as they torture and humiliate him a lovely cannibal woman helps him try to escape so he can be find his friend and get out.Entertaining, bloody and well made Italian cannibal horror adventure directed by the man who gave the world the infamous "Cannibal Holocaust" known as Ruggero Deoato, this movie serves as a prequel to that movie and is supposedly based on a true story. The performances especially by the gorgeous Mei Mei Lei are good and there's some nice gore effects like a open chest cannibalism scene, the movie does have some scenes of real animal killing such as a bat being fed to a snake and a live Alligator butchering that is quite reminiscence of the Turtle killing scene in "CH". While not as brutal as "CH", this movie is a very good film of the Italian horror genre and of the most underrated.A must see but not if your squeamish! I prefer the FIRST AND BEST Cannibal movie,"Jungle Holocaust" (a.k.a.LAST CANNIBAL WORLD). (Do you really believe she had breast implants?!) I also wish the movie showed more of the cannibal scene with Me Me Lai at the ends of BOTH movies:"Jungle Holocaust" and "Cannibal Holocaust". I had seen most of the other Italian cannibal films from the 70s, but somehow hadn't got around to seeing Jungle Holocaust. Massimo Foschi give a good performance as Robert Harper, who is trapped and kidnapped by cannibals in the jungle. The film has a lot of sicks scenes like Animal mutilation to boring cannibal scenes. And because director Ruggero Deodato chose to use real aboriginals as his cannibals and real jungle locations, the movie has an authentic feel to it that serves to increase the unsettling feeling Jungle Holocaust produces. I sincerely doubt that any stone-age, cannibal tribe in the history of the Earth contained a woman that looks as good as Me Me does in Jungle Holocaust. But of course, this being a cannibal movie, if you really love animals… yeah don't watch this one. Camping in the jungle with the cast,crew,and the real tribe of the land, Deodato dices the shots of animals being killed (which he claims were filmed by the producer as inserts) with gruelling psychological torture to Robert Harper, who observes his humanity from "The West" being raised in the (impressively filmed) caves of the tribe,and slammed down into a savage pulp.Adding an unexpected depth to Harper,Deodato crosses the shocks with gentle moments of silence that close in on the bond Harper makes with tribeswoman Pulan. Saying that, it also contains a wealth of animal cruelty and graphic gore sequences, but it's an Italian cannibal film so what do you expect? The movie did a good job in following the experiences of Robert Harper and made me want to root for him unlike the white reporters in Cannibal Holocaust. Robert and his friend Ralf soon find themselves lost and stranded - and evidence of a primitive stone-age cannibal tribe that have been living in the jungle for quite some time. This is where Robert runs into Pulan (Me Me Lai) - a native girl that appears to taunt Robert sexually in various scenes, and also who is taken by Robert when he escapes from the cannibal tribe after many days of being trapped. There are scenes of animal cruelty, but thankfully unlike the most other notorious cannibal films, there isn't that many, in fact only one where the natives are involved in killing of a crocodile. like other low budget and cannibal films, Jungle Holocaust (i like that title best) takes a certain type of person to appreciate it. A good movie, but not for weak stomaches or people who are just getting into the cannibal genre.* *1/2 out of 4. Overall, JUNGLE HOLOCAUST would be of interest to those that dig the Italian cannibal films, but don't expect a gore-fest - you'll be disappointed - But Me Me Lai and her big fake tits are a definite bonus...7.5/10. Director Ruggero Deodato's JUNGLE HOLOCAUST is part of his cannibal trilogy and a part of the rash of such to flow out of Italy in the 70's. Ultimo Mondo Cannibale, or maybe Jungle Holocaust, Last Cannibal World or simply Cannibal as it's also known amongst English speaking audiences, starts as Robert Harper (Massimo Foschi) the owner of an oil company & his friend Rolf (Ivan Rassimov) land on an island called Mindanao expecting to be greeted by a team of people scouting for oil. However Ultimo Mondo Cannibale doesn't disappoint in the nastiness stakes either, there's as graphic scenes of cannibalism as in any film I've seen, there's plenty of controversial animal killings, there's rape, murder, gore, torture & loads of nudity to offend those with weak constitutions or sensibilities. I mean I just think these people are cowards & have an 'out of sight, out of mind' attitude, I bet there's more suffering in slaughterhouses throughout the world in one day than in all the Italian cannibal flicks put together.Technically the film is great, I love the way it's shot with really nice 2:35:1 widescreen cinematography that showcases the jungle locations.

tt0101393

Backdraft

At a Chicago city firehouse in 1971, a young boy and his even younger brother are trying on a fireman's coat. The older boy, Steven McCaffrey, lectures his brother, Brian, on how to properly buckle the front so it won't open in a hazardous situation. Just then, the alarm goes off in the firehouse and their father rushes in, asking Brian if he wants to join them on the call. Brian does and his father takes him in the fire engine with him. He shows his son how to properly blow the engine's horn to clear the streets and intersections on their way to the site.When they arrive on site, the call is for an apartment building. Brian watches as his father quickly makes his way up to the top floor where the blaze is. He and his partner, John "Axe" Adcox, rescue a kid about Brian's age and give him to their cohorts waiting on a nearby ladder. McCaffrey and Axe continuing battling the fire when a gas line ruptures and the entire floor explodes, killing McCaffrey. Brian watches his father's helmet land in front of him on the street. Axe, pushed away from the explosion by McCaffrey, rushes out and hugs Brian, then appears to bark orders to the rest of the company. Brian is stunned and picks up his father's helmet just as a photographer snaps a picture of him. (The picture later becomes a prize-winning cover of Life magazine.)Twenty years later, in the present day, Brian is at a party being thrown at a local bar; he has just graduated from a firefighter's training academy and the class is celebrating. He and his friend, Tim, are also waiting for their station assignments. Tim is given Engine 17, the toughest company in the city. Brian's own assignment is elsewhere because he'd bribed the city fire chief. Brian doesn't want to work for 17 because his older brother, Steven, runs the house and the two have become estranged. At the party, Brian also meets up with his old girlfriend, Jennifer, who isn't very happy to see him; Brian has hardly made any effort to keep in touch with her or his family for several years. Tim interrupts them, saying that 17 has been sent on a nearby call and that they both should go and watch their comrades work.Moments before, after parking his Porsche in front of his house, a man named Seagrave is entering his house when he's consumed by a huge explosion that propels him back into the street and through the windshield of his own car. When Brian and time make it to the site, the fire is already out and Brian's brother and Axe are there, bragging about the completed job. Brian sees Seagrave, horribly burned and dead, still embedded in his windshield. Steven appears and tells Brian that he's talked to the fire chief and convinced him that Brian belongs at Company 17. Brian is flustered that his brother interfered with his station assignment. Meanwhile, Donald "Shadow" Rimgale, an arson inspector, arrives on site and begins to collect forensic evidence. When Steven asks him if he's found a cause, Rimgale smartly answers "Mice, with matches."Brian visits his sister-in-law, Helen, and his nephew. He also notices that Steven isn't home; Helen tells him they've been separated. Because he didn't keep in touch with anyone back home, Brian didn't know about their situation. He next goes to his father's fishing boat near the river, where Steven has been living since the separation. Steven is suspicious of Brian's return to firefighting and suggests that Brian won't stay in the job, much like his failure at several other career fields of the previous few years. Brian tells his brother he's wrong.The next day, Brian gets up early for work, however, his car won't start and he must run to 17's house. When he gets there, the company is already on their way out to a call. He jumps aboard Steven's engine and dresses inside, catching up with Axe, who had looked after the McCaffrey brothers after their father died. The company reaches the site, a dressmaker's factory. After Steven embarrassingly buckles Brian's fire coat for him, they go inside and begin to battle the fire, which turns out to be quite difficult; it seems to be "jumping floors". At one point, the floor collapses and the men have to save one of their buddies and pull him up safely. The team receives a call saying there are no other companies to help them out. Brian is helping Steven with his hose when he thinks he hears someone calling for help. He rushes into another room but is blown backward by a blast of fire. When the fire backdrafts, Brian sees someone lying unconscious nearby, whom he carries outside, only to find that it's a mannequin, not a real person. Later, while he vomits outside, Steven yells at Brian for wandering off. Back at the fire station, Brian and Tim, as new candidates (or "probies") are ordered to make lunch for the entire company. The company welcomes them both and plays a prank on Brian, using the mannequin he'd "rescued" from the building.At a party being thrown for the Chicago Fire Chief, Steven spots his wife with another man. A Chicago alderman, Swayzak, offers Brian a chance to work with Rimgale. Brian turns him down and finds out that his old girlfriend, Jennifer, works in the alderman's office. Steven grows increasingly jealous of his wife and also becomes quite drunk and starts a fight with the man. Brian tries to help and they're both ejected from the party. Brian takes Steven home and Steven, before passing out, tells Brian that fire itself will not kill him.Later, Brian and Steven respond to a fire raging in a slum tenement where they're told they'll find a trapped kid. The two rush into the building without waiting for backup. When they find the apartment where the child is trapped, Steven breaks the door down and rushes in. Brian hesitates and is blown back by an explosion of fire and air. Backup arrives and Steven saves the young boy. Later, the two talk on the street and argue about Steven's seemingly uncontrollable need to emulate their father which often gets him in trouble and risks the lives of his crew. Brian decides to leave Company 17, take Swayzak's offer and goes to work for Rimgale. Rimgale takes Brian out with him immediately to the parole hearing of a pyromaniac, Ronald. When Brian first meets Ronald, the man is excited, recognizing Brian from the cover photo of him from Life magazine. He also shares the story of Rimgale's nickname, "Shadow"; Rimgale had been burned badly in a fire started by Ronald years before and the blast from a small tub of phosphorus had thrown Rimgale's shadow on the wall (Rimgale still carries horrific scars on his back and side from the incident). At the parole hearing, Ronald says that his incarceration has reformed him and he's ready to rejoin society. Rimgale isn't convinced and interrupts the hearing to show Ronald a burned doll from one of his child victims. Ronald admits he'd like to burn the entire world and his parole is denied.At a city theatre, the proprietor, Donald Cosgrove, opens his office door and is killed by an escaping blast of heat. Company 17 responds, but most of the blast, a "backdraft" has burned out. Brian and Rimgale arrive to investigate the scene. Brian's former colleagues from 17 seem somewhat resentful that he's taken a desk job. Rimgale searches the proprietor's office and finds a clue behind an electrical socket in the wall. When they talk later with the county coroner, Brian and Rimgale are told that the accelerant from the fire was a chemical called trichtochlorate, traces of which were found on Cosgrove's corpse.Brian reunites with Jennifer and shows her around Rimgale's firehouse. The two climb onto the back of an engine and have sex, just as the company is called to a high-rise fire. Company 17 is also there. While inspecting the burning floors, Steven takes the opportunity to train Tim on breaking doors down with their axes. Tim forgets to check one of the doors for heat and is blown back by a blast of fire when he breaks it open. Another blast sets him on fire. By the time the rest of the company comes in with hoses, Tim is horrifically burned and taken away in an ambulance. At the hospital, Brian and Steven get into a fight when Brian suggests his brother's need for heroics caused Tim's injuries.Brian asks Jennifer to do some snooping in Swayzak's office for any evidence that could link the deaths of Seagrave & Cosgrove. Rimgale is convinced they were all victims of the same arsonist. Jennifer finds evidence that they were friends of Swayzak and were involved in a complicated fraud scam that forced the closure of firehouses throughout the city; the firehouses would later be turned into parks or community centers, costing firefighters their jobs and resources. Rimgale and Brian go to Swayzak's home. When they smell escaping natural gas, they search the house. Brian finds Swayzak unconscious and is attacked by the arsonist, who wears a ski cap. Brian wrestles with him and shoves him against a shorting electrical plug (the one meant to set the natural gas ablaze). Rimgale finds them and throws the man off Brian. The arsonist runs off. Brian and Rimgale pull Swayzak from the burning house just as it explodes. Rimgale lands on a wrought-iron railing and is impaled through his shoulder. While angrily recovering in the hospital, he charges Brian with continuing the investigation.Brian visits Ronald in prison to try and understand the psychology of the arsonist. Ronald gets Brian to admit that he'd always wanted to be a firefighter because of his father and his untimely death. Brian also admits that fire itself still scares him, much like it did the day he saw his father burn to death. Ronald suggests to Brian that the arsonist is likely a firefighter who has access to trichtochlorate. Brian suspects his brother and goes to his father's boat, finding cans of a solvent containing the chemical. Steven shows up and the two argue over Steven's responsibility in raising Brian and Brian's failure to be a firefighter. Steven counters, saying that he found the responsibility of taking care of Brian after the father died thrust unfairly upon him years before. Brian goes to 17's house and searches Steven's locker, finding nothing. As he closes it up, he sees Adcox, shirtless, in the locker room. He notices a strange burn on Adcox' back, shaped like an electrical socket. Brian realizes it was Axe that he fought in Swayzak's house and he is the arsonist.Outside, in an alley, Steven asks Brian if the arsonist is Adcox, not noticing Axe listening at the window above them. The company is called to a fire at a chemical factory and Brian joins them. A few blocks from the site, the truck Brian is riding in flips over in a minor auto accident and Brian must run to the factory. He finds Steven and Axe arguing on the roof; Axe explains that he was fed up with politicians closing down firehalls, reducing the number of firefighters in the city and placing the lives of the remaining fighters in danger due to downsizing. Axe's plan was to kill all the politicians responsible. While the three continue to debate Axe's actions, the roof of the building begins to collapse. All three run to the edges of the roof and Brian makes it to a fire escape. A blast of fire causes him to fall into a large elevator shaft that fills with water. A broken gas pipe throws fire in his direction but he is saved by Steven. As they walk out of the building, they are attacked by Axe. Axe and Steven seem ready to fight each other with their axes but Adcox breaks down. A blast from a few chemical barrels below them wrecks the catwalk they're standing on and they end up hanging from the twisted metal, with Steven holding on to Axe several stories above the inferno below. With Steven's hand slipping, Axe tells Steven to let him fall. Steven refuses and his hand slips. Axe is killed and Steven falls onto a pipe-railing, causing serious injury to his abdomen. Two of 17's other men rush into the room but lose their hose in another blast. Brian makes it down to the floor of the massive room and takes control of the hose, allowing the two men to reach Steven. Steven is proud that his brother has overcome his fear of fire and is bravely fighting the blaze.Steven is rushed to the hospital, with Brian at his side. On the way, Steven's condition worsens and he falls unconscious and dies. Before he dies, he implores Brian not to reveal that Axe was the arsonist so it won't taint the department. Following a traditional funeral procession through the city, Steven and Axe are buried with honors. Brian and Rimgale interrupt a press conference being held by Swayzak and present the evidence they've collected, stating that Swayzak engineered the downsizing of the Chicago fire department along with Cosgrove, Seagrave and others. Brian apologizes to Jennifer for bringing down her boss.Brian rejoins 17 and keeps the shield from his brother's helmet. A call comes up and Brian joins the company on the run. On the way, he helps a new candidate buckle his fire coat properly, much like his brother had done for him.

cult, melodrama

train

imdb

tt0377471

Be Cool

In this sequel to the 1995 film, 'Get Shorty' former loan shark-turned-movie producer Chili Palmer (John Travolta), after years of filmmaking in Hollywood, enters the music industry after witnessing the execution, by the head of the Russian mob, of his friend Tommy Athens (James Woods), owner of a record company. Chili uses the opportunity to help his friend's widow, Edie Athens (Uma Thurman), manage the failing business, which owes $300,000 to the hip hop producer Sin LaSalle (Cedric the Entertainer). Chili enters the music industry on the talents of a female entertainer, Linda Moon (Christina Milian).Moon convinces Chili to take on her cause, getting out of contractual obligations to Nick Carr (Harvey Keitel) and Raji (Vince Vaughn), who has a gay Samoan bodyguard named Elliott (The Rock), an aspiring actor and the butt of Carr and Raji's homophobic jokes. Carr and Raji take exception to Chili's intervention, and hire a hitman, Joe "Loop" Lupino (Robert Pastorelli) to kill Chili. In the meantime, Chili convinces Edie to produce Moon, hoping to resurrect Athens' failing record company through a live performance with Steven Tyler and Aerosmith.LaSalle threatens Chili and Edie for payment of the $300,000, but they convince him to give them a few days to get the money plus the vig. When the Russians attempt to kill Chili, Joe Loop mistakenly kills Ivan Argianiyev (George Fisher), the Russian Mob hitman. Carr is furious about the mistake and orders Raji to confront Loop at once. At a restaurant, he informs Loop about Carr's anger with him and warns him to do his job properly. Raji then kills Loop with a metal baseball bat after Loop "disrespects" him. After Chili talks Linda into leaving Carr and his girl group, Carr tries to trick Chili by handing him a pawn ticket, claiming that Linda's contract was at the pawn shop owned by the Russians. This is actually a set-up by Carr to get Chili killed.Wary of Carr's plans to get him killed, Chili hands the ticket to Edie, who turns it over to the police. Now the cops, instead of Chili, pay the Russians a visit. Meanwhile, Raji and Elliot set up LaSalle by making him believe that Carr tricked Chili in giving him the $300,000 grand to get Linda's contract. Furious, LaSalle and the DubMD pay Carr a visit to confront him in his office. Believing that Carr tricked him by giving the ticket to the police, Bulkin and his men pay a visit to Carr's office while Sin LaSalle and the DubMD's are there. Insulted by Bulkin's racist remarks, LaSalle kills him. In the meantime, Raji sends Elliot to kill Chili. However, Chili befriends Elliot and tells him that he can help him out with his acting career. When Carr threatens Chili, Chili sends him to the hands of the police with a pawn ticket. Finally when Raji and Elliot threaten Chili, he again befriends Elliot when Edie helps him figure out how to answer his cell phone message on it.After learning that Chili had gotten him an audition for a film, Elliot turns on Raji because he erased the evidence of it on his answering machine. For all his smooth talking and flamboyant wardrobe, Raji finds himself in a firework conflagration which roasts him live on camera. Carr is arrested on murder charges when they find him with the bat used to kill Joe Loop.During all of this confusion, Chili squeezes in a dance scene with Edie (a nod to his "Twist Contest" scene, also with Thurman, in Pulp Fiction) and Moon gets her debut with Aerosmith. Finally, LaSalle becomes the producer for Moon and Elliot embarks on a successful acting career (his first film is with Nicole Kidman).

murder, flashback

train

imdb

tt0109439

City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold

A year after the events of the first film, Mitch Robbins (Billy Crystal) is a much happier and livelier man, having moved out of the city and become station manager at the radio station where he works, where he has employed his best friend, Phil Berquist (Daniel Stern). However, he is being plagued with nightmares about his deceased friend, Curly, and comes to believe that he may still be alive. On his 40th birthday, Mitch sees a man resembling Curly on the train, which does nothing to placate his worries, and later finds a treasure map belonging to Lincoln Washburn hidden in Curly's old hat, albeit with a missing corner. He and Phil investigate the contents of the map in the library and learn that Lincoln Washburn, Curly's father, was a train robber in the Old West and in 1908 infamously stole and hid one million dollars in gold bullion in the deserts near Las Vegas. With an impending trip to there for a convention, Mitch decides to venture out to find the gold (which would now be worth twenty million) along with Phil and his estranged younger brother, Glen (Jon Lovitz). Several mishaps ensue, such as Glen accidentally burning a hole in the map with a magnifying glass, Mitch almost falling off a cliff while retrieving it and Phil believing he was bitten by a rattlesnake while he actually sat on a cactus. They are ambushed by the two cowboys who they bought their supplies from, who demand the map, since Phil recklessly told them all about the gold. Just as they are poised to kill them, a man appears and fights them off. He introduces himself as Duke (Jack Palance), Curly's identical twin brother, and explains that long ago, his father had plans to find the gold with his sons once he was no longer being monitored, but he died before. On her death bed, their mother gave Curly the map, and he contacted Duke to find him so that they could find the gold together, but he died on the cattle drive. Duke learned from Cookie that Mitch had Curly's belongings, and so sought him out, though he believed he was Curly. Though Duke is prepared to take the map and find the gold by himself, Mitch chastises him for his attitude, reasoning that Curly would not approve. Out of respect for Curly, Duke relents and allows the others to accompany him and share the gold. A reckless act by Mitch causes a stampede in which the map and almost all their supplies are lost. Thanks to Glen's memory, they are able to press on and find the location of the cave where the gold is hidden. They eventually find it, but are confronted by two armed cowboys also seeking it. In the ensuing fight, Glen is shot and apparently killed, but Duke discovers the bullets to be blanks with red paint. At that moment, Clay Stone (Noble Willingham), the organizer of the cattle drive, appears along with some of their old friends, such as Ira and Barry Shalowitz. Clay explains that the cowboys are his sons and he has been looking for Duke for some time. Having left the cattle business, he is now making a living taking men on a trip to find the gold, which is revealed to be lead painted with that color. Though Mitch, Phil, and Glen feel lost, Duke remains convinced that the gold is out there somewhere, and stays behind as the others return to Las Vegas. However, Mitch is visited by Duke in his hotel room, who reveals that the entire time, he knew where the gold truly was and intended to keep it all for himself, but couldn't bring himself to do so. He also reveals to Mitch that the one thing he had to find out for himself is honesty. Through Mitch's skepticism, Duke reveals that he had the missing corner of the map, which points to where Lincoln reburied the gold in 1909, and presents a bar of it to Mitch as a gift. He tries to scratch the gold off with a knife, and screams in joy upon realizing that it is real after all.

violence

train

wikipedia

tt0097428

Ghostbusters II

After saving New York City from the demi-god Gozer, the Ghostbusters—Egon Spengler, Ray Stantz, Peter Venkman, and Winston Zeddemore—are sued for the property damage they caused, and barred from investigating the supernatural, forcing them out of business. Ray owns an occult bookstore and works as an unpopular children's entertainer with Winston, Egon works in a laboratory conducting experiments into human emotion, and Peter hosts a pseudo-psychic television show. Peter's former girlfriend Dana Barrett has had a son, Oscar, with an ex-husband, and works at the Museum of Modern Art. After an incident in which Oscar's baby carriage is controlled by an unseen force and drawn to a busy junction, Dana turns to the Ghostbusters for help. Meanwhile, Dana's colleague Dr. Janosz Poha is indoctrinated by the spirit of Vigo the Carpathian, a powerful sixteenth-century tyrant and magician trapped in a painting in the gallery. Vigo orders Janosz to locate a child that Vigo can possess, allowing him to return to life on the New Year. The Ghostbusters' investigation leads them to illegally excavate First Avenue at the point where the baby carriage stopped. Lowered underneath, Ray discovers a river of pink slime filling the abandoned Beach Pneumatic Transit line. Attacked by the slime after obtaining a sample, Ray accidentally causes a city-wide blackout, and the Ghostbusters are arrested. They are found guilty of investigating the supernatural, but before they can be taken away, the slime taken as evidence reacts to the judge's angry outburst and explodes, releasing two ghosts who were murderers that the judge had executed that proceed to devastate the courtroom. The Ghostbusters imprison the ghosts in exchange for the dismissal of all charges and that they be allowed to resume their Ghostbusting business. Later, the slime invades Dana's apartment and attacks her and Oscar. She seeks refuge with Peter, and the two begin to renew their relationship. Investigating the slime and Vigo's history, the Ghostbusters discover that the slime reacts to emotions, and suspect that it has been generated by the negative attitudes of New Yorkers. While Peter and Dana have dinner together, Egon, Ray, and Winston explore the underground river of slime. While measuring the depth, Winston gets pulled into the flowing river, and Ray and Egon jump in after him. After they escape back to the surface Ray and Winston begin arguing, but Egon realizes that they are being influenced by the slime, so they strip off their clothes. They also learn the river is flowing directly to the museum. The Ghostbusters go to the mayor with their suspicions, but are dismissed; the mayor's assistant, Jack Hardemeyer, has them committed to a psychiatric hospital to protect the mayor's interests as he runs for governor. Meanwhile, a spirit resembling Janosz kidnaps Oscar from Peter's apartment, and Dana pursues them to the museum alone. After she enters, the museum is covered with a barrier of impenetrable slime. New Year's Eve sees a sudden increase of supernatural activity as the slime rises from the subway line and onto the city streets, causing widespread paranormal activity with ghosts attacking citizens. In response, the mayor fires Hardemeyer and has the Ghostbusters released. After heading to the museum, they are unable to breach the power of the slime barrier with their proton packs. Determining that they need a symbol of powerful positivity to rally the citizens and weaken the slime, the Ghostbusters use positively-charged mood slime, and a remix of "Higher and Higher" to animate the Statue of Liberty and pilot it through the streets before the cheering populace. As they arrive at the museum, the slime begins to recede and they use the Statue's torch to break through the museum's ceiling to attack Vigo and Janosz. Janosz is neutralized with positively-charged slime, but Vigo immobilizes the Ghostbusters and attempts a transfer into Oscar's body. A chorus of "Auld Lang Syne" by the citizens outside weakens Vigo, returning him to the painting and freeing the Ghostbusters. Vigo momentarily possesses Ray, and the other Ghostbusters attack him with a combination of proton streams and positively-charged mood slime. Dressed in full Ghostbusters attire, Louis attacks the weakened slime barrier around the building with a proton stream of his own. This combination destroys Vigo and changes the painting to a likeness of the four Ghostbusters standing protectively around Oscar. Outside, the Ghostbusters receive a standing ovation from the crowd and, at a later ceremony to restore the Statue, the Key to the City from the mayor.

comedy, fantasy, paranormal, allegory, cult, humor, action

train

wikipedia

The first one was so original, so enormously popular than any sequel was bound to fail as far as matching it.This second Ghostbusters was just fine, very entertaining and it was nice to see all the main characters back. It had a little nicer feel to it and was more family-friendly language-wise, so it even had some things going for it the first one didn't have.The other major different in this sequel was watching Peter MacNichol, who reprized his "Renfield"-type character from Mel Brooks' "Dead: And Loving It" comedy with Leslie Nielsen. Unlike the first picture, though, it seems like they took the family-friendly route and didn't feel like building up to the oh-so-apocalyptic tone of the first film (even though "Ghostbusters" was still pretty funny aside from the occasional dark tone).And also, director Ivan Reitman knows their material and it looks like the filmmakers made the wise decision of bringing back everybody from the original film, including Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis. After being almost bankrupted by countless lawsuits and being unable to practice their trade because of a judicial restraining order, the boys are reduced to moonlighting in other fields, such as catering to the needs of spoiled yuppie children at their birthday parties, a task that neither Ray Stanz (Aykroyd) or Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson) take pride in.Egon Spengler (Ramis) is the only one of the original Ghostbusters who seems to have actually moved on with his life. Anyway, things get underway when the boys discover that nasty pink slime of supernatural origin is discovered building up underneath the city, something that old friend and Venkman's old flame Dana Barrett (Weaver) realizes first hand when the slime attacks her infant son, and it's an investigation they have to do on the down-low because of their current legal situation.This slime, they learn, feeds off the misery and stress of a downtrodden New York City, and it's only getting stronger as the holidays are approaching. They're back in business, all right - with cynical Janine Melnitz (Annie Potts) answering the phones and Louis Tully (Moranis) on the books - tracing the source of their ghost-busting investigations to a 17th-century Moldavian tyrant named Vigo the Carpathian who wants in on the 20th century, and has possessed museum curator Janosz Poha (a hilarious Peter MacNicol) to go out and kidnap Dana's son so he can have a body so he can live again.One thing "Ghostbusters II" provides for the viewer is solid entertainment, which is what any good sequel should do. This time, we see 5 years later where the Ghostbusters parted ways (Venkman to a Talk show, Spengler to a child psychologist and Stanz as a book store owner) but are put back together because of new activity in the paranormal that could end the world (courtesy of a painting named Vigo). Or does someone else have those?As usual Ghostbusters Bill Murray, Dan Ackroyd, Harold Ramis, and Ernie Hudson see the problem, but to convince the rest of New York that their general misanthropic behavior is what the nasty spirit feeds on.Joining the gang is former victim Rick Moranis. We have seen these guys set-up, we have had the origin story, they were cheered by the city after saving the world from 40 years of darkness, earthquakes, volcanoes, the dead rising from the grave, human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together mass hysteria!Get the point?Instead the movie stumbles over the starting line by announcing that they were sued by everyone in New York for blowing-up Spook Central and were labelled as frauds. In this 1989 sequel to the original blockbuster, the storyline picks up 5 years later as Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver) is trying to move on with her life and her new baby. The film is a strong sequel and is almost as fun as the original, but some plot holes and loose ends make this not nearly as good. A lot of the story and humor is recycled from the original, but fans of the first film will definitely enjoy this above-average sequel.. The story of the slime was pretty good and it was funny seeing them do kid's birthday parties (though I doubt a kid at that time would have watched He-man cartoons). However when it comes to the sequel for ‘one of the biggest films of the 1980's', that being Ghostbusters II, the fuss was not so big and the talk was not so loud, about it being good or bad. When Venkman says ‘Sometimes, weird things happen, someone has to deal with it, and who are you gonna call?!', you know it is time once again to call on the ‘Ghostbusters'.Five years after waging a war on slime that cost New York City millions, the Ghostbusters find themselves out of business--until an ancient tyrant, preparing a return to the Earthly domain through a river of slime under the city and his portrait at the Manhattan Museum of Art, sets his sights on Dana Barrett's baby as the new home for his wicked soul! Now only the Ghostbusters can save New York City, by turning paranormal pest control into an art form!The surprising part about this film is that almost every aspect from the first, returned to do it all a second time. If either of these areas of Ghostbusters II were a failure, than I am sure that this film would not have been anywhere near as good, as I thought it was.I was glad to see all the cast back for a second time. With great special effects, funny story and roles from all involved, Ghostbusters II is not as bad a sequel as some would have you to believe. "Ghostbusters II" is an incredible movie; funny, entertaining, and a perfect sequel to the original 1984 classic. This film doesn't fall into the typical sequel trap by not living up to the original, because it is just as great as "Ghostbusters". The Ghostbusters go from being out of business to back in business to stop this evil prince.The movie is full of filler (the court scene and the obligatory ghosts are absurd to say the least; they don't look like humans yet the judge quickly identifies them?) and is so bad that I would have turned it off halfway through if I had been watching it by myself. It was quite a task for writer harold ramis and director Ivan Reitman to follow the success of the sci/fi comedy hit "Ghostbusters" because usually most sequels have an air of pomp to them and lose track of what the original was about. Although it cannot create the fun and excitement of the original "Ghostbusters II" will not disappointment fans of the first films sly humor and cheesy/entertaining action. This sequel appears to have been watered down for the kiddies who watched the Ghostbusters cartoon show for the previous half decade, while simultaneously selling cinema tickets to their parents for nostalgia (and a soundtrack album).The now disgraced (after the destruction of Manhattan in the first film) Ghostbusters are called back into action, when a sea of slime is found running under the city, feeding on negative energy, and while a fictitious former warlord attempts to re-enter the world of the living, via a haunted painting.Goofy and inane, silly plot - at its core, it offers a generic "be nice" message, and it tries to top the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from part 1 by giving us the ghost of Titanic. Mainly the scene's with the three Ghostbusters Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis are extremely fun to watch but also the Rick Moranis scene's are highly fun, also thanks to the dialog he had been given.But no, it's not the perfect sequel. The special effects look far better and also the dialog has become even more better and fun.Best performances of the movie are given by once more; Bill Murray, Rick Moranis and Peter MacNicol in a fun 'villain' role.It's not the perfect sequel but that doesn't take away that this is a good and certainly fun movie to watch. the scoleri brothers were scarier than slimer the song monologue when the ghostbusters were in the nuthouse Vigo the painting shows up more than Gozer in part one.Though there are punchlines that people might repeat such as the "sometimes s**t happens", it could've work better as a comedy like the original. Ivan Reitman would return as director of this sequel, set five years later, that sees the team(Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, & Ernie Hudson all return) recovering from the multitude of lawsuits(the ingratitude!) they faced, now working kids' parties for extra cash(!) Their fortunes would turn around after Dana Barrett(Sigourney Weaver) once again finds herself the center of spectral activity, this time centered around her baby, who is coveted for possession by an ancient warlock, who is also responsible for a resurgence of ghost appearances, originating in a river of angry slime flowing beneath the city in the sewers. Ghostbusters II Is directed by Ivan Reitman and stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, Rick Moranis & Ernie Hudson. The characters look bored and lack the expresso timing that was once evident, especially Murray who is badly underused here, and more troubling is that his Venkman, the best thing about the original film, is reduced to being a normal type bloke. After a good start, the film mainly follows the formula of the first "Busters": There's a "Ghostbusting" montage(This time with a rap remix of the Ghostbusters theme);A problem involving Dana Barret(Sigourney Weaver);the boys get imprisoned while ghosts run amok; and finally the Mayor decides to let the Ghostbusters free and defeat this menace in a climax which involves a giant supernaturally-powered icon walking through Manhattan(Although this time on the Ghostbuster's side). This time, there are some new characters and they are played by: Peter McNicol (Ally McBeal), Kurt Fuller (Scary Movie, Wayne's World).Life has been stressful ever since the Ghostbusters business shut down 5 years earlier. The Ghostbusters then find out that the slime is related to the main ghost on their list, a 16th century magician known as Vigo the Carpatian (Wilhelm von Homburg), and that he needs an infant body so he can come back and rule earth.I wanna save the rest for a suprise because there is so much more to tell.Produced and directed by Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters, Stripes, Evolution), and co-produced by Joe Medjuck (Road Trip) and Bernie Brillstein (Ghostbusters), Ghostbusters II is a movie for all ages and I highly recommend it to any family who is looking for a good comedy to watch together.. On the plus side the original cast are back (there is great on screen chemistry with the 4 ghostbuster actors), Rick Moranis plays the geeky Louis role to perfection and Bill Murray is on form again with his classic deadpan one liners, the scenes at the courtroom are excellent and several aspects of the film are in fact, very entertaining! While I felt the second film lacked the first's sense of desperation, the cast still did a good job at doing everything necessary to make it good.Again, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, Annie Potts, Rick Moranis, and Ernie Hudson were great in their roles. The villain didn't induce the same sense of terror Gozer did, and the final battle between the Ghostbusters and Vigo wasn't as spectacular.Still, despite its failures, it was still a much better film than most others in the Comedy/Special Effects genre. I also have to get outta the way that i of course love the '84 original classic it's one of my top 20 fave movies of all time it's just i prefer it's underrated but BRILLIANT sequel. A BRILLIANT movie in it's own right that has a much better main villain/monster in vigo than the first film,we also get so much more fun between the 4 Ghostbusters such nice scenes like the Toaster scene & the dana & baby oscar scenes at venkmans apartment & really creepy cool scenes like the ghost train & spiked heads & the slime bathtub scene & the classic courtroom scene!!! Ghostbusters 2 holds that very dear spot in my heart that warm feeling i get watching this film never goes away it's truly a childhood classic of mine & i can't say enough lovely things about this Great film except just enjoy it & see how good it makes you feel!!! GHOSTBUSTERS 2 makes my Top Spot my number 1 movie of all time followed by another Aykroyd classic Dragnet (1987) my 2nd fave film. Five years after the first "Ghostbusters," Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis team up for this sequel. The special effects still look better than many that are overly-CGIed nowadays and best of all, it's funny.If I was really trying to be critical I could mention that it does seem a bit odd that, by all accounts, the city of New York has completely forgotten about how the Ghostbusters saved the world (and, sometimes, it's even debateable whether the populous even BELIEVES in ghosts!). And soon enough, Venkman, Egon (Harold Ramis), Ray (Dan Aykroyd) and Winston (Ernie Hudson) will discover that a new wave of terror is about to take the Big Apple by storm, and it all ties back to a mysterious haunted painting of an ancient tyrant known as "Vigo the Carpathian", whose spirit is hatching a plan to be reborn at the strike of midnight on New Year's Eve...What salvages the film and helps it to fundamentally succeed is the continued charm of the returning cast and a surprisingly well-constructed and atmospheric tone. New cast member Peter MacNicol is also a blast as a co- worker of Dana's who is entranced into becoming Vigo's familiar in the world.Director Ivan Reitman crafts a much darker tale here, and injects a lot of pure suspense and eerie sequences of horror that give the film a good sense of dread. I honestly can't say I'm a fan of these "Ghostbuster" movies--but this lame sequel makes the first one look like a masterpiece by comparison.The unfunny business struggles to find a few laughs in the same old situations but it's pretty hard to work up any enthusiasm for staying tuned in to this movie. If I remember correctly GHOSTBUSTERS 2 performed rather badly at the box office and recieved rather poor reviews on its initial release in 1989 , and strangely it wasn`t until 15 years later that I finally got round to seeing it .Like the first movie this sequel is fairly impressive and amusing for the first 15 minutes as we find out Ray and Winston are now employed as childrens entertainers - " Who ya gonna call ? Little do they know it, but the city of New York will once again need the talents of the ghost battling foursome, when a surge of spiritual activity bubbles over from beneath their feet.Thankfully all the cast are still here, including Rick Moranis and Sigourney Weaver; and once again its a fun film that is littered with hilarity.Ghostbusters II does lack the freshness and ideas that made the first film such a hit, but it is still entertaining and well worth the watch.6/10. While making an earnest attempt to be an authentic sequel (catching up with the boys 5 years after their duel with Gozer), the film is afflicted with several missteps that smack of desperation: 1) the inclusion of a weird-accented gallery owner (Peter MacNicol--"Bean"); 2) the expansion of Rick Moranis's gawky accountant character; 3) the placement of a child in peril (in this case, Dana Barret's infant); and 4) an 'up-with-people' theme that feels more than a little silly.Granted, the film has Ivan Reitman's assured direction, Richard Edlund's superb FX work, and the presence of the original cast on its side. Even Sigourney Weaver doesn't carry any sort of context with her character this time around.A movie like this must mix the elements of comedy and horror effectively, Ghostbusters II doesn't. First thing that I like that this movie contains most of the original cast from Ghostbusters.The special effects are as good as Ghostbusters. But when an old friend comes back to town and starts having paranormal troubles again, the four of them investigate the situation and discover a river of slime flowing to the art museum where a powerful warlord has come to life and plotting to rule the earth on New Year's Eve. The four of them return to business and take out ghosts left and right again and are ready to go into the final battle in the museum.The thing I liked most about this movie is that the characters were more interesting and entertaining this time around. In fact, if memory serves me correctly, I saw the sequel before the original, which may have something to do with my love of the film.The Ghostbusters (Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, and Ernie Hudson) have been plagued by numerous lawsuits since the opening of their prosperous business, and a court has ordered them to close down their business. We'll both be better off.Ghostbusters II (1989) is very underrated and hated by so many people and fans of the original movie, including Billy Murray him self. The movie is good on it is own, but does not beat the original film! "Ghostbusters II" was not quite as funny as the first film nor was it quite as dramatic as the first movie, but it was okay because I enjoyed watching Bill Murray and the rest of the gang in action. "Ghostbusters II" was not quite as funny as the first film nor was it quite as dramatic as the first movie, but it was okay because I enjoyed watching Bill Murray and the rest of the gang in action. The sequel to Ghostbusters is not quite as good and doesn't have the same charm as the original, but it still can be quite funny.